Towards an Investment Stewardship Council: Providing Credible Assurance of the ESG Assessments of Investment Products As the practice of specialist socially responsible investment and impact investing, on the one hand, and mainstream responsible investment on the other, have grown, so has the sector of analysts and raters of the environmental, social... Read more
TAGS: Leadership Beyond LeadersI recently had lunch with someone who worked with a global network of young leaders and also a group of elder statesmen and women. With such an intergenerational exposure to leaders and leadership I had to ask what she thought leadership is. After some discussion I was surprised at how many people working in fields that convene or praise “leaders”... Read more
TAGS: leadership The Sixteen Steps for Responsible Business SchoolsAfter the financial crisis Business Schools were criticised for the content of their teaching and the character of their alumni. Although that critique continues today, most recently in the Oscar-winning documentary ‘Inside Job’, the appetite for business education appears strong worldwide. Business Schools will continue to play a role in... Read more
TAGS: What Business Can do to Reduce Disaster RiskAs the full tragedy of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami begins to be undertood, it is important to consider what business can do not only in response to disasters, but to reduce people’s exposure to disaster risk. As the costs of natural disasters increase, so the topic of “business continuity” has become more important for risk... Read more
TAGS: Long live accountability!If AccountAbility, as an organisation governed by its stakeholders, is “dead” then long live accountability! Because many lessons can be learned for how to create more democratically accountable organisations and societies from the changes at AccountAbility and the subsequent criticisms from its disgruntled stakeholders and former staff. The lessons... Read more
TAGS: accountability, The Corporate Responsibility Movement Managing the Pro-Development Impacts of Your BusinessLooking back on corporate responsibility in 2010, one of the topics that rose to the top of the agenda was the role of business in international development. In particular, this was spurred by the UN’s review of (a lack of) progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. There are a range of initiatives to advance business contributions... Read more
TAGS: base of the pyramid, inclusive business, social enterprise, sustainable inclusive business Sustainability in the Wellness Sector – why now?What has CSR and sustainability to offer the wellness industry, and vice versa? That was the topic addressed by Lifeworth founder Dr Jem Bendell in a keynote for the Wellness Summit in Singapore on October 14th. The talk aimed to invite wellness professionals to take sustainability to heart and integrate it in what they offer clients and how they relate... Read more
TAGS: wellness CSR Disclosure Gets HotYesterday I chaired a session of the CSR Singapore Compact Summit on measurement and disclosure of corporate responsibility. It was the type of topic I skipped at CSR conferences in the past decade, as I headed off to things seeming more exciting and new, like leadership, partnership, finance or enterprise. But now matters of measurement and disclosure... Read more
TAGS: asian csr, disclosure, Jem Bendell, reporting Responsible finance could do more for development than MDG charityThis week the world’s leaders meet in New York to discuss progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were agreed ten years ago as time-bound targets for achievable reductions in poverty. The spin masters of global policy have already been busy framing this milestone in the media. But aside from the spin, the reality is very different... Read more
TAGS: development, MDGs, poverty Critical Thinking on Partnership: free chapters mark ten years“Ten years after Terms for Endearment was published it continues to be groundbreaking, as it provides a more nuanced analysis of cross-sectoral partnering than many studies on the subject, and maps out an agenda for corporate citizenship that continues to inspire us today. A decade ago Terms for Endearment was critical in helping me to realize... Read more
TAGS: partnership
