Insights

To Change the World, Business Must Share its Profits and Power

This year’s UN General Assembly is finally here, and pledges to once again achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have already begun. Much of this activity is focused on the private sector, a key actor in delivering on these ambitious goals. Even though we have moved into an era of business coalitions and actions for good—with a new initiative literally being created on a daily basis—economic inequality continues to rise, the climate crisis is worsening, and gender equality is far from a reality.
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Strengthening the MSME Ecosystem to Enable Business Growth and Social impact in Frontier Markets

MSMEs are vital drivers of growth for large companies and the lifeblood of communities, but many continue to struggle with multiple challenges. All those organisations with a stake in their success – large companies, governments, donors and funders, and NGOs – need to move towards a more holistic and joined-up approach to enterprise support with the goal of strengthening the underlying ecosystem in which MSMEs operate.
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Being Authentic About Purpose: From Words to Action

Recently, a group of 181 CEOs, collectively representing over 15 million employees and more than $7 trillion in annual revenues, declared that they are no longer putting shareholders before everyone else. How can words be turned into action?​
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How Technology Can Help Tackle Modern Slavery Through Worker Engagement

Over 40 million people are in modern slavery. It is a crime affecting all countries, yet it is often hidden and difficult to measure. In a new Business Fights Poverty Challenge, we are setting out to explore how technology can help tackle modern slavery through worker engagement.
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How Can We Save Purpose from Purpose-Wash?

This year, Business in the Community reported that companies are in danger of purpose-wash. Whilst 86% of the companies surveyed had a statement of purpose, 83% had not considered its implications for their departments or team targets. This implementation gap threatens to undermine the potential of business purpose as a force for good.
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The New ILO Violence and Harassment Convention: Signalling a Shift in Norms and Expectations

On 21 June 2019, the International Labour Conference agreed with a near-unanimous vote to adopt a new ILO Convention to eliminate violence and harassment in the world of work. As the focus now shifts to ratification and implementation of this new international treaty, leading businesses are taking a hard look at their own policies and practices and assessing whether they, too, are meeting the new global benchmark for protection and prevention.
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Romero: The Ambivalence of the Sacred

About ten years ago, I hosted a conference on religion, business and peace.  It was held shortly after Yale University Press released my book, Prophets, Profits and Peace, which dealt with the same topic and I wanted to see if we could further engage representatives from religion and business to see how each could separately and together foster peace. The conference proved fruitful, but one of the more interesting aspects was the reaction of invitees. 
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Purpose Precedes Clarity; Clarity Precedes Success

Following my experiences of Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2019, I explore the link between purpose, clarity, and success, and share learnings about how companies around the world can embed purpose authentically.
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How Should Business Encourage Family-Friendly Workplaces?

Family friendly workplace policies, such as paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and support for affordable childcare, play a fundamental role in ensuring children get the best start possible in life. But are businesses doing all they can to support parents manage a changing work-family balance?​
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How Male Mentors Can Develop Women at Work

The workforce includes more women — especially in traditionally male professions — and business leaders are changing workplace environments to be more flexible, collaborative and caring in a calculated effort to attract and retain the best talent, both male and female.​
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Raising the Purpose Banner (Again) is Only the Start

It is progress when communications and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) teams unite under the purpose banner*. But to deliver sustainable success for all it is critical that Executive Teams and their Board’s grasp the initiative and hot-wire purpose into the core of their business strategy.
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Big Impact: How Go Give to Create Change

The world is full of big problems and big challenges where organizations of all scale and industry are trying to address through corporate giving.  Modifying the approach, and treating giving with the same rigor and business process used on the commercial side will lead to big change.
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The Fix Up: Campaigning for the Right Reasons – Marketing Campaigns vs “Advocacy” Campaigns

We’re facing unprecedented times – a climate and environment emergency has been declared, displacement is a threat for more and more communities, civil space is increasingly restrictive, regressive girls’ and women’s rights, etc. – the need for everyone, brands included, to take action, has never been so urgent
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As One: A Different Chapter in Table Tennis Diplomacy

In the third edition of a series exploring the relationship between culture, film, and business, Timothy Fort shines a light on how “ping-pong diplomacy” helped countries participating in World Table Tennis Tournaments along a path of more peaceful, open interaction.
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How Can Businesses Unlock the Potential of Social Intrapreneurs?

How businesses can foster an enabling environment that unlocks the potential of social intrapreneurs to drive commercial and social innovation? We recently held two online discussions to explore this question as part of the Inclusive Business Boost series funded by DFID.​
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Five Ways Companies Embed Purpose into their Business

‘Nothing is greater than business governed by conscience.’ Lord Lever. This article explores five ways that companies can move beyond purpose washing to embed purpose and conscience into their strategy and operations impactfully and sustainably.  Case studies shared by five companies illustrate the five steps: Define, Do, Live, Say and Partner.
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How Businesses Can Help Achieve the SDGs for Refugees

Following on from Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2019, Daphne Jayasinghe of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), reflects on how businesses can best support refugees to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She discusses the role of job creation in driving forward SDG progress for refugees and the value of cross-sectoral collaboration. She also offers an opportunity for businesses to support refugee inclusion in the SDG Agenda ahead of the SDG Summit taking place in September this year.
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Connecting People to Purpose Creates Value for All Stakeholders

Over the past several years GSK has strengthened the role of purpose within its business strategy and day to day operations. Sally Jackson from GSK shares insights on how to define and embed authentic purpose and reflects on how prioritisation is essential for transformational change.
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Eliminating Violence and Harassment Just Became an Obligation for Businesses Worldwide

On June 21, 2019, the International Labour Organization (ILO) voted overwhelmingly to adopt a Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. This represents an important step forward on strengthening protections for all workers around the world against violence and harassment.
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Charities Good! Companies Better?

The times are changing. Some of the world’s leading companies are doing well by doing good. This is a lesson for charities. And an opportunity.
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