From Crisis to Vision
Imagine it’s 2045. What kind of world do you see? Today’s headlines paint a bleak picture—a tangled knot of political, economic, social, technological, and environmental crises. But step back from the noise, and we can ask a more important question: What kind of world do you want to see?
While we may differ on the details, most of us can agree on the broad outlines: a thriving planet and a fairer society—a future that is sustainable and resilient, where everyone has the opportunity to live a healthy, safe life, earn a decent livelihood, and build the skills to adapt and succeed.
The Business Imperative
The role of business in shaping this better future is under greater scrutiny than ever. But the reality is clear: business leaders recognise the material case for action on social and environmental challenges—while investors, customers, and employees increasingly expect it.
This case is most compelling—and the impact greatest—where companies take action through their core business. By understanding the social and environmental contexts in which they operate, companies can better manage risks, reduce costs, and unlock valuable innovation.
This deeper understanding also enables businesses to understand, enhance and communicate the full value they create—not only through their products and services but also through the jobs, value chain opportunities, and tax revenues they generate.
Realising the full business and societal value requires breaking down internal silos, aligning incentives, and embedding collaboration across social, environmental, and core business functions—such as finance, legal, and procurement. It also means elevating the voices of those closest to the issues and strengthening external partnerships to drive change at scale.
Five Bridges
Building five critical bridges will unlock the full potential of companies to create value for both business and society—by connecting teams, aligning priorities, and driving lasting impact. Together, these bridges provide practical steps to take us from where we are today to the future we want.
Bridge 1: Connecting Social Impact and Core Business Functions
Strengthening the connection between social impact teams and business functions—such as finance, legal, human resources and procurement—is essential to embedding social impact into core business. Building this bridge fosters deeper relationships, mutual learning, and collaborative problem-solving, enabling companies to address priorities from meeting new regulations to advancing workplace fairness and opportunity.
Bridge 2: Breaking the Silos Between Environmental and Social Issues
Climate, nature, biodiversity and social equity are deeply connected, yet companies often separate these efforts. Building a bridge between environmental and social impact teams fosters collaboration, helping businesses align strategies, manage trade-offs, and unlock opportunities—ensuring the transition to a green economy creates jobs, protects human rights, and benefits both people and the planet.
Bridge 3: Aligning Leadership, Management, and the Workforce
For companies to succeed in a changing world, alignment across leadership, management, and employees is essential. Strong corporate governance embeds social and environmental priorities into strategy, ensuring accountability and long-term success. Building this bridge fosters a shared vision where culture, incentives, and innovation drive both business performance and lasting societal impact at scale.
Bridge 4: Connecting Decision-Makers with Those Closest to the Issues
Too often, strategies to address social and environmental challenges are developed without engaging those closest to the issues. Building this bridge fosters co-creation, ensuring solutions are practical, scalable, and grounded in local realities. By working with those most affected by social and environmental challenges, companies can develop more effective strategies, enhance resilience, and drive lasting impact.
Bridge 5: Strengthening Cross-Sector Collaboration
Tackling complex global challenges requires businesses to collaborate across industries, with policymakers, and with civil society. This bridge enables companies to maximise their impact on the issues most material to their operations while leveraging the expertise, resources, and networks of others—ensuring collective action drives systemic change beyond what any one organisation can achieve alone.
Agenda for Action
Across 2025, Business Fights Poverty is facilitating a global discussion to:
- Co-create a shared vision for 2045, outlining how companies can create business value and drive resilience through their core operations.
- Strengthen collaboration across the five bridges by fostering insights sharing and relationship-building through public and private convenings, including deeper engagement between social impact teams and core business functions.
- Develop practical resources and toolkits to embed social impact within core business strategy, ensuring it drives both business value and societal impact.
We’ll be creating opportunities to share insights and engage in public and private over the coming months, including at our Global Equity Summit (5-6 March) and Global Goals Summit (23-25 September).
Our initial focus will be on the first bridge—strengthening the connection between social impact teams and business functions—because it is foundational to embedding social impact into core business operations. In a shifting political and economic landscape, deeper integration ensures resilience, shared ownership, and alignment between business and social value, positioning companies to drive long-term, sustainable impact.
This is just the start of the conversation. I’d love to hear your thoughts: Which of these five bridges do you think is most critical for businesses right now? Do you have examples of companies doing this well? What advice would you share for making these connections stronger? And what have I missed?
Let’s collaborate to drive real impact. Drop a comment below or message me—your insights will help shape the next steps.
