Prosper – The Next Stage of SABMiller’s SD Journey
Over the past decade, leading multinational companies have recognized that to effectively manage environmental, social and governance issues, they have to integrate them into their core business practices. This moves sustainability beyond compliance and community social investment, although these are still important elements of the whole. SABMiller has been one of the pioneers in this […]
Prospering through Partnerships
Around the world, most of our beers are brewed locally, often with local barley, maize or other crops – and always with local water – by local people, for local consumers. Our brands are also mostly local, with more than two hundred local beers brands which have grown from national or regional identities. Beer is […]
Inspiring a New Generation of Intrapreneurs
Photo Credit*: Tim Maynard/VSO July 7th 2014: Public debate on the role of the private sector in poverty alleviation is longstanding, but there is no doubt that the lines between the private, public and non-profit sectors are becoming more blurred. Recently, Gib Bulloch, Executive Director of Accenture Development Partnerships, blogged on the Huffington Post about […]
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 […]
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 […]
How Can Markets Identify The Better Farmers?
The answer to this question is not trivial. In fact, it might mean the difference between a healthy, vital and sustainable agricultural sector and a poor, desperate and very unsustainable one. Ashoka Fellow Lucas Simons explains. In the next 40 years we need to almost double our food production to feed our fast growing world […]
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 […]
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 […]
Grameen Caledonian College Of Nursing
Glasgow Caledonian University set up the Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing to support the poorest women in Bangladesh to become nurses, reducing mortality rates. Social impacts Boosted Bangladesh’s capacity to improve maternal health and reduce the child mortality rate by graduating 138 nurse-midwives, and recruiting 150 students in 2014 alone. Improved the financial position and […]
Hogan Lovells – Hunger and Acute Malnutrition
Hogan Lovells worked with Action Against Hunger to implement the Hunger and Acute Malnutrition project in Liberia, helping to keep child malnutrition below 5%. Social impacts 8,549 children (4% of the under five population) with severe acute malnutrition received treatment with a 90.3% recovery rate. 10 lawyers provided over 1,400 hours of pro bono advice […]
Proactive Business Responses to International Disasters
Governments and the humanitarian community around the world are struggling to cope with the frequency and scale of international disasters. During Responsible Business Week 2014, senior business, INGOs and government representatives discussed the key opportunities and challenges to business engagement in international disaster response, recovery, mitigation and preparedness. The following highlights some of the key […]
Business Schools Stimulating Inclusive Leadership
To the question: “what are the most successful innovations around?”, most professionals would answer Facebook, Apple or Candy Crush. Less likely they would name SimGas, which provides affordable renewable energy for low-income people in East Africa, M-Pesa, the most successful mobile money transfer system for the unbanked in Kenya, or JITA, an innovative way of […]
Lessons on Supporting Energy Access Enterprises
What Support Do Energy Access Enterprises Need To Thrive?
Many enterprises are working to solve the huge problem of energy poverty in the developing world by delivering electricity to the 1.3 billion who live off the main grid, or by selling improved cook stoves to people cooking over smoky stoves or open fires that damage their health. Lots of donors, NGOs, investors and others […]