Category: Uncategorized

Two Powerful Lessons from Mandela for Today’s Precarious World

It was a beautiful moment when Caroline Modiba, South African soprano, sang Thula Babain front of images of Nelson Mandela in the Nelson Mandela Lecture Theatre of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford this past week; a moving celebration of his centenary on 18 July. Listening to Caroline sing, and seeing those images of Nelson Mandela, […]

Brand Purpose – How Social Impact & Shared Values Win Customer Love

2017 – The death of marketing In 2012 the US PR and marketing consultancy, Edelman predicted that ‘purpose’ would be the re-engineering of brand marketing. Looks like they were right: in 2017, the online marketing platform CMO proposed that it’s now time to admit that traditional marketing is dead. That brands with real purpose and meaning are already winning the […]

Rethinking Collaboration: Collaboration in Action

On July 10 and 11, over 300 people came together for our annual flagship event, Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2017 at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. The headline sponsor for the event was Mars Inc. It was held in association with the Center for Business and Poverty at the University of Wisconsin Madison and […]

Why Business Should Support Global Standard Setting

Two recent legislative developments on mandatory due diligence point to an exciting, yet somewhat troubling trend in the field of corporate social responsibility. The Netherlands Parliament adopted the Child Labour Due Diligence Act, which will make it mandatory for companies in or exporting to the Netherlands to assess whether child labour has contributed to a […]

Weaving Together Benefits for Bangladesh Garment Workers

Saif Rashid believes that, given the right market opportunities, millions of Bangladeshis can lift themselves up financially. With an innovative new model called APON, he is empowering the workers of Bangladesh’s ready-made garment manufacturing industry to increase their disposable income and build better, healthier lives. According to Clean Clothes Campaign, only China is ahead of […]

Building Resilience Among Micro Entrepreneurs in the Philippines

The Philippines ranks third in the list of countries in the world where a natural disaster is most likely to occur, after the Pacific islands of Vanuatu and Tonga. Although it is also prone to earthquakes, flooding and droughts, it is typhoons that strike the Philippines most frequently. The state weather bureau PAGASA estimates that, […]

2016: No More Business as Usual

One of the many factors in the election of Donald Trump as US President was a rejection of the status quo. In response, we need to re-think business, with human rights at the forefront. In September, US President Obama called in an address to the UN General Assembly for a different path from “soulless capitalism […]

How Africa Can Restore Robust Growth Through Trade and Aid

The narrative of “Africa Rising” has recently been tempered by uncertainties and risks in the global environment. Following two decades of growth averaging five percent, many of Africa’s economies, especially the commodity exporters, have cooled. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund cut its 2016 growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa to only 1.4 percent. Like […]

Investing in Human Capital

“Gringa Abroad”: 1st Installment from Valle del Cauca, COLOMBIA “¡Linda! “ I heard my name one hot day in Valle del Cauca, Colombia. “¿Me Recuerdas?” (Do you remember me?) – I turned to face a familiar girl in the street. After a pause her name crossed my lips… “¿Ángela, eres tú?” (Is that you, Angela?) […]

Labour Rights in Vietnam: Progress and Challenges

A month after I first joined Unilever, in February 2013, Oxfam published a report on Unilever in Vietnam – “Labour Rights in Unilever’s Supply Chain – from Compliance to Good Practice”. A month later, we were conducting a joint stakeholders consultation in Vietnam. I remember reflecting at the time on the importance of the transparency […]

Going the Extra Mile for Labour Rights

It’s always important to have an evidence base when addressing ethical trade issues. It’s also important to acknowledge progress as well as to address any supply chain challenges. That’s why Oxfam’s five-year collaboration with Unilever in Vietnam is so useful to other companies and brands that want to be ethical leaders in their particular industrial […]

Words and Actions: Lessons from Unilever’s Supply Chain

‘You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do’ (C.G. Jung) Why did Unilever open itself up to scrutiny? The new Oxfam Unilever progress report on labour rights in Vietnam is out. Unilever has provided Oxfam with all the necessary information to assess its performance on labour rights in practice. If Unilever were […]

The Unilever Global Development Award

The entry period for the Unilever Global Development Award, supported by Business Fights Poverty is now open! Seeking entries from business demonstrating positive impact against one or more of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Unilever Global Development Award, supported by Business Fights Poverty is part of Business in the Community’s Annual Responsible […]

Happy New Year and Introducing New Strategy for 2016

We’re excited about the year ahead: in response to the feedback and advice many of you have kindly given us, including through our survey, we have been working hard on a new strategy for 2016, and I can’t wait to share the details with you! One message that we have heard consistently is that people […]