Growing Responsibly: Olam's Corporate Purpose
By Sunny Verghese, CEO and Group Managing Director of Olam International There’s a temptation for companies entering milestone years, as we just have with our 25th anniversary, to lionise past achievements and eulogise key milestones. We’ll certainly and justifiably be doing some of that. But to only do that would be to miss the point. […]
Growing Responsibly: Olam’s Corporate Purpose
By Sunny Verghese, CEO and Group Managing Director of Olam International There’s a temptation for companies entering milestone years, as we just have with our 25th anniversary, to lionise past achievements and eulogise key milestones. We’ll certainly and justifiably be doing some of that. But to only do that would be to miss the point. […]
Mobile4Development And The Triple Bottom Line
George Soros heralds Africa as the last bright light on the economic horizon. It is boom time for companies wanting to grow their market share – and mobile is the only true mass media channel in Africa to speak of. Juxtapose the Triple Bottom Line principle and the well accepted term “doing good is good […]
Lighting Rural Communities in Africa and Asia
Panasonic Corporation, one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers, joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) today with a commitment to improve the quality of life for the people in Africa and Asia by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing greater access to energy. The company plans to provide one million solar lanterns as a […]
Lessons On Supporting Energy Access Enterprises
Lessons on Supporting Energy Access Enterprises – how best can you support enterprises that provide access to clean energy? Last week I hosted a panel event, inviting a group of experts to discuss the findings and recommendations of a joint Christian Aid and Ashden report that aims to answer this question. The definition of energy […]
Enterprise Development – Empowering Social Visionaries
“I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul”—the closing lines to William Ernest Henley’s 1875 poem ‘Invictus’ are indelibly inked on South Africa’s consciousness. During his incarceration on Robben Island, Nelson Mandela recited Henley’s poem to other inmates, drawing inspiration from its message of self-reliance. Today, Mandela’s example inspires […]
Profit Needn’t be a Dirty Word in Impact Investing
Interview with Edward Hanrahan, Director of Climate Care, on the barriers to scaling-up impact investment. Interview conducted by Duncan Jefferies is Assistant Editor, Green Futures. What are the barriers to scaling up impact investment on sustainability issues from ClimateCare’s point of view? We believe that it is absolutely essential for a truly sustainable business to […]
Australia’s Foreign Aid Program and the Private Sector
Today Julie Bishop launched Australia’s new foreign aid policy. Central to the Foreign Minister’s address at the National Press Club was her opening statement that our foreign aid program will have two main goals: human development and private sector development. Human centred development makes sense. We all understand the imperative to meet basic human needs […]
Intensifying Mobile Money Usage
Despite the usual protestations that their country is not like Kenya, that they are not as dominant as mobile operator Safaricom is in its home market, and that their regulator is not as flexible as the Kenyan one has proven to be, most mobile money providers that I have seen largely follow the early M-PESA […]
Can Good Research Promote More Investment In Nutrition?
The nutrition sector is at a critical point in its development. Scientists and economists are in agreement nutrition is critical to good health and economic growth. New platforms like the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, have seen more than 50 national governments develop nutrition strategies, and new pledges to nutrition were announced at the Nutrition […]
Jobs For Africa, Food For The World
Why investing in agricultural entrepreneurship is the best bet for generating wealth and food security in Africa Young people, no matter where they are from, search for a different life from the ones their parents lived. It is not surprising therefore, that so many young Africans are reluctant to take on farming as a career. […]
Milk For Sale Not Just Survival
I never thought I could become consumed by the size of a plastic bag of milk, but it was a huge part of my life during the 2 years I spent in Mzuzu, Northern Malawi. The Mpoto Dairy Farmers’ Association (MDFA) became my home community while I volunteered as their marketing advisor and I still […]
Bouygues UK – Emergency Architect Partnership
Bouygues UK send volunteers to work with Emergency Architects in Haiti using their skills to help local people rebuild services and their lives. Social impacts Bouygues has assessed and evaluated work needed on 3,360 homes, re-housed 1,378 families and refurbished 15 community centres. It also refurbished ten health centres, giving 574,500 people access to healthcare. […]
Shell – Relief & Rehabilitation For Haiyan Victims
In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, Shell mobilised immediately to provide relief and support long-term rehabilitation of the affected communities. Social impacts $3.5 million in funding and in-kind support provided immediate assistance for basic necessities (water, food, medicine, shelter), as well as sustainable livelihood opportunities, access to energy, environmental protection and community redevelopment programmes. Regional […]
Shell – Relief & Rehabilitation For Haiyan Victims
In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, Shell mobilised immediately to provide relief and support long-term rehabilitation of the affected communities. Social impacts $3.5 million in funding and in-kind support provided immediate assistance for basic necessities (water, food, medicine, shelter), as well as sustainable livelihood opportunities, access to energy, environmental protection and community redevelopment programmes. Regional […]
Allen & Overy LLP – Mitigating The Impact Of Disasters
Allen & Overy has developed a suite of legal tools which countries can use to deal with issues that arise in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Social impacts Allen and Overy’s resources have been used by policymakers in Afghanistan, Argentina, Botswana, Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Pakistan, […]
Allen & Overy LLP – Mitigating The Impact Of Disasters
Allen & Overy has developed a suite of legal tools which countries can use to deal with issues that arise in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Social impacts Allen and Overy’s resources have been used by policymakers in Afghanistan, Argentina, Botswana, Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Pakistan, […]
BT Group plc – International Disaster Relief
BT uses its products, services and people to help restore communications in disaster-hit areas, and via their MyDonate platform supports fundraising for the Disaster Emergency Community (DEC) and other charities. Social impacts £21.5m was raised through MyDonate to support the DEC appeal following Typhoon Haiyan. Supported fundraising by processing cash donations to the DEC and […]
UPS Humanitarian Relief Programme
UPS’ Humanitarian Relief Programme uses pre-approved funds, Logistics Emergency Teams and their own expertise and supply chains to assist disaster relief efforts around the world. Social impacts UPS made $7.5 million in humanitarian relief funding, technical support and in-kind services in 2013. 250 humanitarian shipments across 46 countries were made in 2013 and 16 weeks […]
Tata Consultancy Services – InsighT
Tata Consultancy Services has implemented InsighT, an IT camp which mentors students in India to improve their IT proficiency and employment prospects and help plug the IT skills gap. Social impacts Since inception, 6,600 students have benefited from InsighT, improving the employability chances of students as a way out of poverty and creating an IT […]