Examples from the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark COVID-19 study: How some companies are responding to the crisis in a meaningful way
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit businesses hard, wiping out the equivalent of 255 million jobs in 2020 alone – four times more than the 2009 financial crisis. Unskilled labourers, minorities and women have been particularly hard hit. In February 2021 the World Benchmarking Alliance released a COVID-19 and human rights study of the same 229 […]
Digital Dividends in Plastic Recycling
Plastic is an integral and valuable part of the global economy, and is used in thousands of products that add comfort, convenience and safety to our everyday lives. It supports innovation in medicine, lightens cars and airplanes (saving fuel and, therefore, emissions), extends the life of fresh food and delivers clean drinking water to billions […]
Social metrics – or how to move towards a sustainable future that works for everyone
When we talk about businesses it is easy to forget that we are really talking about people. Companies are collections of humans, whose decisions and actions impact other humans: employees and their families, surrounding communities, workers in their value chains, and consumers. It all starts and ends with people, for people, by people – it […]
Business Partnerships as a Force for Good
Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) is a UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office programme which invests in partnerships with businesses to test and scale shared value initiatives that support achieving the SDGs. Managed by Mott MacDonald, the programme hosts the Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility, a rapid COVID-19 response facility partnering with 20 international agricultural […]
Will you partner with us to help small businesses survive the pandemic, thrive in the aftermath, and build self-reliance?
In late November 2020, a mother, and low-income garment worker in Bangladesh, called the Maya helpline. Her nine-month-old baby had severe stomach pains and she didn’t know the cause or what to do. Amidst the pandemic, the Maya team gave expert medical advice via a free telephone consultation, judged the severity of the issue, and […]
In finance we trust
With a raging global pandemic, a continuing climate emergency, and widespread unrest, it is clear the current economic and social order is in deep crisis. These issues have been exacerbated by widening inequality and threats to democratic norms that have resulted in a remarkable breakdown of trust in the institutions that govern our world. We […]
Seeing Purple!
Perhaps like me, your heart was touched by the story last month of Chris Nikic. The 21 year old American entered the Guinness Book of World Records by becoming the first person with Down Syndrome to complete the Ironman event: swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and running a 26.2-mile marathon. “You have shattered barriers […]
Business calls on governments to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 and accelerate SDG progress for refugees
On 16 September, the Business Refugee Action Network (BRAN) released its Business Takes a Stand for Refugees Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Statement, endorsed by 19 businesses and organisations, including Virgin Group, Ben & Jerry’s and Citi and supported by Deputy Chair of The Elders and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Ahead of the UN General […]
To achieve the SDGs, business needs to grapple with its inequality footprint
COVID-19 is exacerbating the global inequality crisis – here is what business can do. Rising economic inequality, now exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is a major threat to the world’s economy and to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. SDG 10 (reducing inequality) has been one of the most neglected SDGs by companies to date. […]
Join us to participate in the largest ever global conversation on building the future we want
In less than two weeks, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High Level Meeting will begin in New York, but for the first time in its 75 year history, the event will be held almost entirely online and sessions will be streamed into homes and workplaces around the world. Usually tickets for UNGA are a […]
Indigenous Perspectives on Poverty Eradication, Corporate Engagement and the SDGS
Indigenous Peoples play an essential role in land management, clean water and in maintaining the diversity of global food systems. Even though they make up less than 5% of the world’s population, Indigenous Peoples manage more than 28% of the globe’s land surface. They continue to use traditional methods that have evolved over centuries that […]
Unlocking systems transformation – A business view
The term “systems transformation” is increasingly being used to describe what is needed to achieve sustainable development. Players across government, industry, academia and civil society are more and more aligned in their position that the sustainable development challenges we face are complex, highly interconnected and systemic, and that incremental change will not be enough to […]
Technology and the Workplace: Putting People First
Work is the engine at the center of our economies. Shaping a future of work where people can thrive is essential for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Over 20 global member companies of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have collaborated to develop shared business principles aimed at putting people first when it […]
Holding Course in the Middle of a Storm: Navigating the Deeply Disrupted Decade Ahead
Predicting the future in any detail is hard at the best of times, but in the middle of a pandemic, it actually might become easier – even though volatility has increased dramatically, our focus and options have necessarily narrowed. Existing vulnerabilities have been tangibly and tragically exposed – rich as well as poor countries have […]
A Just Transition that Leaves No One Behind
World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) sets out plans to ensure SDG Transformation benchmarks reflect a ‘just transition’ Read the scoping report The WBA aims to build a movement to measure and incentivise business impact towards a sustainable future that works for everyone. We will assess the 2000 most influential companies (SDG2000) against the set of systems-transformations […]
UN SG Launches Road Map to Address COVID-19
Alongside this, the Secretary General has established the United Nations COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support low- and middle-income countries in the face of the pandemic. All businesses have a crucial role to play in supporting the global response. “The world is facing an unprecedented test. And this is the moment of truth. … […]
Cohabiting with a Virus: We Must Learn to Live Life on Land More Sustainably
On Saturday 21 March, the world celebrated the UN’s International Day of Forests. But instead of stepping out into nature or joining one of the many activities planned to recognise this day, many of us are – voluntarily or not – staying put in our homes, amid the bleak global fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. […]
Is your company working to advance the Sustainable Development Goals?
Is your company working to advance the Sustainable Development Goals? Does your organization transform lives and markets with sustainable solutions to development challenges? If so, we want to hear from you. FT/IFC Transformational Business Awards is inviting applications from forward-thinking companies and impact investors whose work proves that the private sector can help drive sustainable […]
Five Golden Rules of Successful Partnerships
Fortunately, there is a wealth of experience about what works and what doesn’t, and in my role at Business Fights Poverty I have been fortunate to observe and learn from many individuals and organisations over the past 15 years. Take a look, for example, at the close to 400 articles on our site, our reports that explore case studies, […]
A New Way to Measure Impact, Both Good and Bad
Total Societal Impact measures the wider impact of ventures, both positive and negative. Considering social impact can lead to new markets. Digital solutions offer opportunities to lower carbon output and create new business models. The world is facing a series of difficult problems right now, from climate change to societal and economic challenges. It’s imperative […]