Fairtrade Olympics
Last Friday, London, the largest Fairtrade City in the World, welcomed the London 2012 Olympic Games that are the Fairest Olympics the World has ever seen. During the Games, an estimated 10 million Fairtrade bananas from the Windward Islands and South America will be eaten, 7.5 million cups of Fairtrade tea served, 14 million cups […]
The Fairest Olympics the World has Ever Seen
Last Friday, London, the largest Fairtrade City in the World, welcomed the London 2012 Olympic Games that are the Fairest Olympics the World has ever seen. During the Games, an estimated 10 million Fairtrade bananas from the Windward Islands and South America will be eaten, 7.5 million cups of Fairtrade tea served, 14 million cups […]
Inclusive Business – The Next Frontier for Corporate Responsibility
Anne Stubert, Senior Consultant, Corporate Citizenship Since its foundation in 1997, Corporate Citizenship has worked with leading sustainable businesses around the world, advising them on all aspects of what it means to be a responsible business. Over the past few years, our clients and partners have increasingly explored the opportunities of Inclusive Business and our […]
Understanding company impacts on development – examples of what is useful
Pity the poor executive who is tasked with enabling a company to understand its contribution to development. A quick review of the landscape shows an array of approaches, with little discussion of their usefulness for different purposes. That said, the range of impact reports is certainly growing. More companies are adopting what are known as […]
Every Label Tells A Story: Crafting the New Normal in Fashion
Was it Machu Picchu? Or maybe Kilimanjaro? Perhaps my first trip to Asia? I’m not exactly sure when it really hit me…the devastating impact of industry on our environment and its citizens. But, an idea started to form one day. I had just come home from grocery shopping where I had obsessed over the labels […]
Access to Food and Improved Nutrition at the BoP: Five business interventions to achieve social impact, financial sustainability and scale
Improving food and nutrition security through better availability, accessibility, and utilization of food and food products is a complex challenge. It involves a sector where key activities – such as the production, distribution and consumption of food and the identification of food markets – are largely in the hands of private enterprises. Interventions by the […]
Announcing the winners of the G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation
The 15 winners of the G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation were announced on June 18, 2012 at the G20 Leaders Summit in Los Cabos Mexico. Ambassador Mr. Rogelio Granguillhome, Executive Secretary of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation and Chair of the G20 Development Working Group presented the awards. Business Fights Poverty first […]
Citi and The Red Bush Tea company named winners of Business in the Community International Award
The Business in the Community International Award identifies examples of how businesses are helping to tackle global poverty and whether using microfinance models or the power of the brand through cause related marketing, Citigroup and Redbush Tea Company win for their different responsible business programmes supporting global communities Citi won Business in the Community’s International […]
Supporting Local Innovation to Improve Nutrition and Health
Encouraging local business to accelerate delivery of nutritious foods into markets One in seven people do not get enough food to lead an active and healthy life, and an estimated two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies globally. There is plenty of published evidence to suggest undernutrition is having a severely negative impact in the […]
Anglo American's Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox in Action: Nickel – Local workforce development and community livelihood support
Barro Alto is a nickel mine and associated smelter located near the small town of Barro Alto in Brazil’s Goiás State. Since 2006, Anglo American has been supporting local training and capacity building, in partnership with local NGOs and government organisations, to enable local communities to obtain the skills required to be employable at the […]
Anglo American’s Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox in Action: Nickel – Local workforce development and community livelihood support
Barro Alto is a nickel mine and associated smelter located near the small town of Barro Alto in Brazil’s Goiás State. Since 2006, Anglo American has been supporting local training and capacity building, in partnership with local NGOs and government organisations, to enable local communities to obtain the skills required to be employable at the […]
Rio+20: Enabling Green and Inclusive Markets – A Case for Public-private Collaboration
Twenty years after the first Earth Summit, the international community will gather again in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20-22 June for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The conference will attempt to develop a road map that will provide a framework in which we can enjoy growth today, but not at the expense of […]
Rio+20: Business Opportunities at the BoP
The private sector has a critical role to play in engendering sustainable economic development. Business investments can stimulate job creation, promote entrepreneurship, and improve living conditions for those living in poverty. At the same time, there is growing recognition among private sector companies of the untapped market potential among the several billion people living on […]
Is it Immoral to Earn Attractive Profits from Poor Customers?
There are at least 7 billion different perspectives on morality, but the viewpoint I like best defines sin as the failure to reach your potential. By this definition we have at least 2.6 billion deep sinners – the 37% of people in the world who live on less than $2 a day. They are the […]
Paul Polak, Founder, IDE: Is it Immoral to Earn Attractive Profits from Poor Customers?
There are at least 7 billion different perspectives on morality, but the viewpoint I like best defines sin as the failure to reach your potential. By this definition we have at least 2.6 billion deep sinners – the 37% of people in the world who live on less than $2 a day. They are the […]
The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition – leveraging the role that business can play in Africa
Last month I was privileged to attend the G8 Symposium on global agriculture and food security in Washington DC. The presence of President Obama, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, African Heads of State and senior UK government representatives raised the profile of this important event. As part of the symposium, I joined a selected group […]
Coffee Climate Crisis
We’re often reminded that climate change is one of the biggest challenges we face globally today. And yet sometimes we can get lost in the overwhelming scale of the problem. An incredible 75% of the world’s coffee is grown by smallholder farmers with tiny plots of land, and at Cafédirect we are seeing first hand […]
Making international supply chains work better for smallholder farmers
Making international supply chains work better for smallholder farmers is a potential ‘win-win’ for thousands of farmers and businesses. A new reportby the Fairtrade Foundation analyses six case studies from farmer groups producing tea, cocoa and nuts in Kenya, Cote D’Ivoire and Malawi asking them from their experience, what really makes trade fair? This report, […]
No future without sustainable agriculture
By 2050, the world will have to feed more than nine billion people. To meet this demand, current levels of global food production must double. This is not a new issue. Ten years ago, Nestlé was one of three major consumer goods manufacturers to found the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative, the only global food industry initiative […]
Putting women at the heart of Africa’s economic future
On April 7th, 2012, Malawi elected its first female president. Mrs. Joyce Banda is the daughter of a policeman and the eldest of five children; her rise to power took her swiftly up through the ranks of a mainly conservative and male-dominated society. Mrs. Banda is the second woman to lead a country in Africa. […]