Unlocking the power of data for sustainability systems
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” runs the old business adage. Conversely, good metrics and data can help you make better management decisions, develop effective strategies and monitor progress. Measuring sustainability, though, isn’t easy. While it may be simple enough to quantify the financial performance of a producer, a supply chain business, an economic […]
We can’t ignore mindsets if we want to reset capitalism
Does the disruption created by Covid-19 create opportunities to reset capitalism in the long term, or will inertia prevail? That is the key New Year question as we look beyond the Covid crisis to possible future pathways. Our contention is that mindsets will determine whether this disruption catalyses deeper change, or is just a swing […]
2020 Hindsight to 2021 Foresight: Driving the Inclusive Digitization of MSMEs
2020 was a year like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every facet of life, from lives to livelihoods to long-term prospects. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)–the lifeblood of local communities and economies—were hit extremely hard by the lockdowns, shifts in consumer behavior, evaporation of capital and financing and disruptions to supply chains and […]
Business Fights Poverty Fortnightly Roundup
The New Year presents an opportunity to set new resolutions and examine our intentions for the future. This year, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and the political unrest in the USA has made these questions more pressing than usual. What is the future that we want, and what is our role, both professionally and personally, in […]
Inclusive businesses’ insights to staying resilient in times of crisis
Resilience is one of the widest used terms among the global business community in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. An innumerable number of toolkits and guidelines have been prepared by consulting firms and other organisations to support companies in assessing their level of preparedness to confront and survive the pandemic. However, as Ndidi Nwuneli of Sahel […]
The shifting expectations of business: aligning strategy, business model and culture with a sustainable purpose.
These vulnerabilities are likely to be exposed further by global trends that, on our current trajectory, look set to get worse. As Unilever’s CEO Alan Jope put it “the other big problems in the world, things like climate change and inequality, are not going away”. This year UN conferences in Glasgow and Kunming will seek to further the intergovernmental ambitions and […]
Business Mentorship for LGBTQ Refugees
LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers around the world are fleeing their home countries due to life-threatening persecution and violence. Even when this vulnerable population arrives in a host country where same-sex relations are not criminalized, they can still face discrimination, isolation and fear of rejection. To help LGBTQ refugees integrate into their new communities and […]
Diversifying livelihoods for Maasai people: The value of business
For Antonella Mpario, her first step into small-scale business as a beekeeper has proved fruitful in more ways than one. Not only does this bring much-needed funds for her and her community, but it has also resulted in greater equality for both her and her fellow female beekeepers in a traditionally patriarchal society. Antonella is […]
Kicking our addiction to plastics
The demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to this year’s COVID-19 pandemic has seen single-use plastic waste soar across the globe. The use of face masks in China alone is 12 times higher than pre-pandemic levels, with people getting through 116 million a day in February. If the whole world were to use […]
Clearing the Air in Darfur
Feeding your family and keeping warm are basic human needs. But in North Darfur, indoor pollution created by smoke from the firewood and charcoal used on household stoves is a major cause of death for women and children. 90% of households rely on wood and charcoal for their fuel. It’s expensive to buy and produces […]
Impact enterprises collaborate with the public sector to provide sanitation services
Access to safely managed sanitation is considered a basic human right, yet 4.2 billion people, over half of the world’s population, are living without access to safe sanitation services. The devastating effects of the global sanitation crisis have deepened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic – and at a time when the need for […]
Top 10 Articles of 2020
Amidst the darkness of the pandemic, this community has shone. I have been humbled by the willingness of people to step forward and openly share their insights and knowledge – through articles, online events, or by engaging in our rapid Challenge-based collaborations – in an effort to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the most […]
Business Fights Poverty Fortnightly Round Up
At the end of a challenging year, it is wonderful to end our program of content with more examples of leadership and purpose from across the Business Fights Poverty community. Several of our articles continued the theme of our Virtual Summit on Gender, held at the beginning of this month. In Gender-Based Violence and Tourism, […]
Corruption, Covid-19 and Inequality: the vital role of companies in preventing this deadly mixture
So far, there are almost 40 million cases of COVID-19 globally and more than one million deaths. Despite these staggering numbers, we now know the virus does not affect us all equally. Failing to address corruption risks in this environment can make that inequality so much worse. And alongside policymakers, businesses arguably have the biggest […]
A sustainable equitable food system needs to be nourished at the source
COVID-19 has exposed many of the vulnerabilities in our food system, one of which is just how reliant global supply chains are on people’s well-being at every step of the journey. The small-scale farmers in emerging markets who produce much of the world’s food ingredients, live in countries that face high rates of malnutrition, with […]
I Am Purple: Youth-Focused Gender Empowerment
I Am Purple was a youth-focused gender empowerment programme, funded by DFID, now FCDO, that used digital platforms to change harmful social norms around gender equality among young men and women in Nigeria. This 5-year programme applied social norm theory to address 3 key areas: Women’s voice and leadership Women’s role in decision-making Violence against […]
Early Intervention Results in Greater Gains for Girls
If leaders are made, and not always born, then why not begin nurturing women leaders as soon as possible? Dr. Angela Reddix’s Envision Lead Grow program intercepts girls at 10 years old. Over the course of eight years, the program nurtures their entrepreneurial skills as they become “girl bosses.” Reddix was not content with building […]
Business Fights Poverty Fortnightly Round Up
At the beginning of December, we held the second in our series of online Virtual Summits – this time, with a focus on gender. Hosted in partnership with CDC, the 2X Challenge, UN Women and CARE International, the Gender Summit included live events, peer networking, and a wealth of online learning resources, from seminars to toolkits, reports, […]
Gender-Based Violence and Tourism
Although the study of gender as a pertinent issue within tourism and hospitality has been on the agenda for 30 years, women continue to face injustice. Women make up between 60 and 70% of the labour force internationally (Baum, 2013), but are far more likely than men to be found in lower-paid, unskilled jobs. Women […]
SEMINAR VIDEO: WHY SHOULD COMPANIES HAVE PROGRAMMES TO DEVELOP WOMEN LEADERS?
PROFILE Vasanthi Srinivasan is Professor of Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management, and Chair of Digital Learning at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Also, Vasanthi is a Past President of the Indian Academy of Management. WHAT THIS SESSION COVERS In this session Professor Vasanthi Srinivasan talks about her work and research on leadership development, […]