It’s Time We Understand All of a Business’ Impacts on People and the Planet
Many of us are entering the new decade with a sense of urgency as well as possibility. Whilst we know more and more about the global threats to society and the environment, we are increasingly made aware of the opportunities to actively contribute to positive change. This awareness is reflected in the way that we […]
Sustainability and Profitability Can Co-Exist. Here’s How
There is an urgent need for businesses to look beyond the bottom line. Businesses with ESG principles built into their strategy, can mitigate risk and drive profitable growth. The onus lies with business leaders to figure out the right balance between short-term and long-term priorities. As part of my routine interactions with colleagues, industry peers, […]
Top Stories of 2019
While the social impact and business agenda is shaping up for 2020, we first wanted to share the most popular stories we published in 2019 with you. A huge thank you to the authors featured in this list and to all of you who made contributions. We hope these stories inspire you and welcome your submissions this year*. 10 Seven Key Learnings for Corporate Partnership Leads in […]
10 Trends That Should Be on Your Board’s Radar
Ten things that caught my attention on the topic of business and social impact: 1.Climate change goes social: Global CEOs rank it as the biggest threat to business. But it has taken Greta Thunberg leading six million people to strike for the climate on one day to generate a feeling of real action. The global […]
How a Sanitation Waste Partnership is Transforming Cities in Bangladesh
SWEEP, a simple yet highly effective public-private partnership model, was launched in 2015 in Dhaka. This model has enabled the private sector to enter the sanitation market, which they previously viewed as high-risk and low-margin, and entrepreneurs can now deliver profitable waste collection services. Watch our new film on SWEEP here: https://youtu.be/mCI-yVtRV0Q The model addresses […]
Self Devouring Growth
We all know that the dividends of growth and progress have not been adequately shared with people living at the bottom of the pyramid. Growth has disproportionately and negatively affected people in poor locales, or it will do so in the decades to come. Lower income communities and the Global South will be least resilient […]
Five Questions on Partnership with the Pollinate Group
1.What is Pollinate Group’s business model? Pollinate Group is a social enterprise with a mission to empower women as leaders of change to distribute products that improve health, save time and save money for the world’s most neglected communities. It was established in Bangalore in 2013, and later expanded to Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kanpur and Lucknow. […]
In Memoriam: Tribute to Paul Polak – Market-Based Development Pioneer 1933 – 2019
We were greatly saddened to hear the news of the death of Paul Polak, a pioneer of market-based development, on 10 October 2019. Paul’s mission was to inspire a revolution in how we tackle poverty – showing how market-based approaches to development can benefit the 2.7 billion customers who live on less than $2 a […]
Bringing the Lessons of Clean Sanitation Home
Banka BioLoo, which produces environmentally-friendly bio-toilets, looks to the communities where its products are present to measure how they’re improving lives by raising hygiene and sanitation standards in children’s schools Having access to clean toilets is not just a basic human right – it’s also a health necessity. But in India, nearly 50 million people[1] […]
How Can the Healthcare Sector Leverage its Economic Power to Address Climate Change?
Towards a roadmap for Climate-smart Healthcare in Europe Healthcare contributes with ~5% to global greenhouse gas emissions through energy consumption, transport, and product manufacture, use and disposal. The lion’s share of emissions come from the healthcare supply chain – the production, transport, and disposal of goods and services, such as pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, food […]
We Finally Have an Official Climate Emergency. But is that the full picture?
We are just midway through the year and yet 2019 has already seen several unprecedented weather events from Cyclone Fani, which evacuated more than a million people in India, to the two storms that devastated the Mozambican coast. These disasters have thrown into sharp focus just how much climate change is compounding our already complex […]
PREVIEW #BFPOXFORD Keynote Profile: Monique Ntumngia, Winner of the Visa Everywhere Initiative
“But Madam, we do not have lights; how are we going to be able to study at night? “When we go into the bushes to search for firewood for cooking, we usually get raped. Madam, we need this to stop.” Aminata, the leader of a group of Muslim girls, presented these questions to my team […]
The Journey of Total to Inclusive Energy Solutions
Over the last decade, many multinational corporations (MNCs) have attempted to set up inclusive businesses of one kind or another, with varying success. Despite good intentions and the investment of significant resources, few of these pilots have been successful and an even smaller proportion has reached significant scale. Conversations with the intrapreneurs who have been […]
The Business Case for Climate-Resilient Agriculture
In 2018, the World Economic Forum ranked extreme weather events and natural disasters as the top two global risks for businesses in terms of likelihood. Modern supply chains rely on complex and increasingly interconnected global networks, leaving both companies and producers around the world vulnerable to climate threats. But climate change is a local issue just as […]
No Time to Waste: The Plastic Crisis and the World’s Poorest
Crisis, breakdown, emergency – however you talk about it, the environment is high on media and political agendas across the world. A new cross-organisational report, No Time to Waste: Tackling the plastics pollution crisis before it’s too late, calculates that between 400,000 and 1 million people die each year in developing countries because of diseases related […]
In Benin, Young Entrepreneurs are Tackling the Plastic Problem
The room is unassuming, with pale blue walls and sunlight that filters in from the open door. Inside, Babatundé Oguidi meticulously arranges biodegradable bags and boxes on a large wooden table. A massive chalkboard covers one wall, filled with a seemingly endless list of new and completed orders. On the opposite wall, the company’s mission […]
To Boldly Go Where We’ve Not Been Before Doesn’t Need to be a Leap of Faith
Sometimes the future is not hard to predict – it’s totally logical. Widely cited, Star Trek’s Chief of Logic (COL), Spock nailed it when he said that “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” If we are bold and if we act now to change our organisations and our systems we […]
Business as Usual – Or Business with Purpose?
While the debate on business’ social and environmental impacts (both positive and negative) is not new, when the CEO of Blackrock, one of the world’s largest investors, and the head of Oxfam International are both talking about the potential for business to help achieve inclusive and sustainable development, it feels like we’re at a tipping […]
How We Got Our Toilet Business Moving Again
By May 2018, we knew something was missing in the business model for Sama Sama, a toilet business iDE had started in rural Ghana in 2016.1 After two years of knocking on doors, sales were lower than expected or desired. This is a sure sign that another round of design is needed. Prior to starting […]
New Ideas are Essential to Ward off Global Water Shortage Threat
Agriculture is a water intensive sector, accounting for 69% of the world’s water abstraction according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. As climate change drives global temperatures higher, the pressure on our water resources will grow. Given there are already over 800 million people who don’t have clean water close to […]