Today sees the launch of the B Team – a collective of some of the world’s leading figures in business, including Sir Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz. The B Team believes that global business is at a crossroads – with the need for a new way of doing business – motivated by people, planet and profit (read their declaration, and watch the B Team videos opposite).
The members of the B Team, announced this morning, are:
- Shari Arison, Owner, Arison Group
- Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, and Co-Founder and Co-Chair of The B Team
- Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway and Deputy Chair, The Elders
- Kathy Calvin, President and CEO, UN Foundation
- Arianna Huffington, Chair, President & Editor In Chief, The Huffington Post Media Grou
- Mo Ibrahim, Founder of Celtel and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation
- Guilherme Leal, Founder and Co-Chairman, Natura
- Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Chairman, Econet
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Coordinating Minister of the Economy & Minister of Finance, Nigeria
- François-Henri Pinault, CEO and Chairman, Kering
- Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
- Mary Robinson, The Elders and President, Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice
- Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Group
- Zhang Yue, Founder and Chairman, Broad Group
- Muhammad Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank and Chairman, Yunus Centre
- Jochen Zeitz, Director of Kering and Chairman of the board’s sustainable development committee; Co-Chair, The B Team
The B Team will be focusing on a series of Challenges that “accelerate us toward our vision of business motivated by people, planet and profit”:
- The Future Bottom Line – To include people and planet in business’ bottom line
- The Future of Incentives – To catalyse incentives that benefit people and planet alongside profit
- The Future of Leadership – To ignite a movement of leaders committed equally to people, planet and profit
Of course, this revolution is not entirely new – members of Business Fights Poverty are the pioneers of this emerging movement – combining commercial success with positive social, economic and environmental impact. In fact, for many, employing innovative business models or partnering with established companies offers the opportunity to achieve impact at a level of scale and sustainability that traditional philanthropic and development approaches have not been able to, or ever could. Take a look at the many inspiring member examples that we are featuring across our new set of Knowledge Zones and Regional Hubs.
So for me, the B Team should be as much about harnessing the power and potential of business for social impact, and celebrating the contribution that progressive businesses are already making.
You can watch the video of the launch event live from 9.30 am here, and a recorded version afterwards.
Please share your views here.
Join the conversation Twitter, via the hashtag #planb.
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