Connecting People to Purpose Creates Value for All Stakeholders
Earlier this year Larry Fink, of Blackrock investors wrote to CEOs of companies, including GSK, in a letter entitled “purpose and profit”. He said, “purpose is not a mere tagline or marketing campaign; it is a company’s fundamental reason for being – what it does every day to create value for its stakeholders.” In my […]
Eliminating Violence and Harassment Just Became an Obligation for Businesses Worldwide
On June 21, 2019, the International Labour Organization (ILO) voted overwhelmingly to adopt a Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. This represents an important step forward on strengthening protections for all workers around the world against violence and harassment. Business should see the adoption of the Convention as a […]
Charities Good! Companies Better?
Fans of George Orwell’s satirical novel Animal Farm will recall how the changing nature of the revolution on the farm was characterised by a shift from the old chant of “four legs good, two legs bad” to the new one of “four legs good, two legs better”. Over the past few years, a similar revolution […]
Registration Open: Business Fights Poverty NYC 2019, 23 September
The Power of Purpose
Over 300 people converged on Saïd Business School last week to explore how to embed purpose authentically into business. Supported by GSK, Unilever and Visa, our annual event, Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2019, was our most ambitious to date: 85 expert speakers, 10 practical workshops, 6 deep-dive Knowledge Zones, 5 delegate-led Connection Lunches, 4 Keynote […]
Why the Truth of a Brand’s Story is in the Doing
For over 40,000 years we’ve been telling each other stories to make sense of the world –with ancient cave walls frequently offering a more captivating canvas than our slide equivalent today. Character-driven stories, particularly when there is a tension in the narrative, produce oxytocin in our brains, which enhances our empathy and connection to others. […]
Can Profit and Purpose Really Go Hand in Hand?
It’s fair to say I believe that, despite all its considerable limitations, capitalism is the least bad economic system around. But I also agree strongly with Martin Wolf, who wrote a piece in the Financial Times on 11th December 2018 with the view that businesses which only pursue profits lead to dire outcomes. The global […]
Joyeux Noel: In The Midst of War
It’s a piece of history that bubbles up from time to time: The Christmas Eve Truce of World War I. In December of 1914, German soldiers faced Allied troops in the early stages of the brutal trench warfare that characterized much of that global conflict. According to a BBC documentary, there were many “live and […]
How Can Business Advance Gender Equality Across the Value Chain by Engaging Men as Allies?
Men have a critical role to play in achieving gender equality. What is less clear is what this might mean in practice for organisations in their approach to advance gender equality. A new Business Fights Poverty Challenge will explore how businesses and organisations are advancing gender equality within their organizations and across the value chain […]
Not Just a Women’s Issue
What are some of the causes and consequences of violence against women? What role do men play? How can men unite to ensure the world is safer for everyone: women and girls, men and boys? In the inaugural presentation of the Clayman Institute’s 18-month symposium on breaking the culture of sexual assault, noted educator, author […]
Managing Human Rights Risks: Embracing a More Robust Approach to Human Rights Risks in Supply Chains
Oxfam will lead a panel at Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2019 on its supermarket campaign, Behind the Barcodes, giving a platform to two influential supermarkets as well as perspectives from consumers, investors and a multi-stakeholder initiative on ethical trade. The top six UK supermarkets have already responded to the campaign. As more consumers and investors […]
Five Pillars for Embedding Purpose Authentically into Business
There is much talk about purpose, sustainability and business as “a force for good”, but is it for real or just rhetoric? The common ground between those who believe in the impact of purposeful business and those who question it is a desire for authentic action; the recognition that we need to move beyond words […]
PREVIEW #BFPOXFORD: Capitalism Needs You – As a Smart Influencer
I am sceptical of capitalism as it stands; anyone who had to blow the whistle on a boss for fraud will be, but I still believe that it’s the best system available to make the world work. Why? Because I believe it’s an effective system that’s being hijacked by a few really badly chosen incentives […]
The Improv Intrapreneur: How Learning to Let Go Could Offer Important Lessons for the Intrapreneurship Movement
It was only on leaving Accenture in 2016 that I realised how defined I’d become by my role. It’s an issue that affects many of us in business. I had to discover who I was, as opposed to what I did for a living. Since then, I’ve gone to task on the promises I made […]
Purpose Goes Hungry Without Culture
Business Fights Poverty is currently asking: “How can we embed Purpose authentically into business.” But what can this look like in practice, and where do we go from here? First, the Purpose has to be worth embedding! In other words, it has to be inspiring and convincingly explain how the business creates value for itself […]
Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2019 Purpose Zone: Why Should We Decide 31 Years Ahead of Time What Will Happen in 2050?
Last week the UK government rejected all 18 of the recommendations put to it by a committee established to investigate, amongst other concerns, the negative impacts of the world’s second largest polluter – fast fashion. Meanwhile in Brussels the European Unionwas incapable of uniting to set a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050 and over in Canada the […]
Business Fights Poverty Oxford 2019 Women’s Equality Zone Workshop: Preparing for possible new ILO regulation
CARE International UK are delighted to support the Business Fights Poverty Challenge on business and GBV and to host the Women’s Equality zone at the Business Fights Poverty Oxford conference on 11 July 2019. By the time this event takes place, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) are likely to have adopted a new international labour […]
Time For A Fresh Look At Inclusive Business
I remember the excitement in the early noughties when I first started hearing about big businesses such as Unilever, SAB Miller and Vodafone grasping the opportunity to reach huge numbers of people previously excluded from their supply chains. It seemed to be such a great win-win. Large companies – and multinationals (MNCs) in particular – […]
Supporting Business Solutions To Poverty
Over the past few decades, much progress has been made on a range of development challenges – including poverty reduction, preventable disease and access to education. Yet much remains to be done and the urgency of dealing with intractable, global problems that put these gains at risk has increased. With so much at stake, the […]
How Can Businesses Foster an Enabling Environment that Unlocks the Potential of Social Intrapreneurs to Drive Commercial and Social Innovation?
