Looking 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 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 Study finds CSR, ESG and social enterprise overlook the publicly and commercially critical issue of economic inequalityEconomic inequality is increasingly recognised as negatively impacting on the environment, poverty, crime, peace, health and even financial stability. As such, the rates of economic inequality represent both a public issue and concern for business and investment. A study published on September 24th in the the Journal of Corporate Citizenship, finds... Read more
TAGS: 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 UN Report Calls for Further Standardising CSR & ESG to Promote Public Interest“In the wake of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, questions have been raised about the meaningfulness of voluntary corporate responsibility communications and the analysis of these by responsible investors,” claims the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Supachai Panitchpakdi. This has made it necessary... Read more
TAGS: responsible investment, UNCTAD From Global Compact to Global ImpactIn June the largest corporate responsibility (CR) initiative in the world, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) celebrated 10 years since its launch, with a Leader’s Summit in New York. I’ve followed the the Global Compact since correspondence in 1998 with its founder Georg Kell; we discussed how the UN could learn from how NGOs and... Read more
TAGS: Economic Goverance, Global Compact, Systemic Change, UN Will Design Thinking Save Us? The Creativity Revolution in Responsible Business.There is a shift under way in the how some executives are thinking about their relationship to society and the great challenges of our time. If you work in this field, you will have begun to hear more about social enterprise, social innovation, CSR 2.0, a sustainable enterprise economy, and design thinking. This is part of what I call a ‘creativity... Read more
TAGS: creativity revolution, design thinking, jounral of corporate citizenship ¼ of the world’s financial capital now signed up to responsible investingAccording to new figures, over a ¼ of the world’s capital assets under fund management are now signed on to responsible investing, through being signatories of the UNPRI (the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment). Happening in less than 5 years, this is an unprecedented movement in the history of world finance. Is a jobs boom in this... Read more
TAGS: Pakistan’s 1st signatory to the UNPRI would further the reach of responsible investmentLifeworth Associate Hanniah Tariq returned to her home country of Pakistan to do some pro-bono work advancing responsible investment there. We are delighted that through her efforts even challenging conditions such as those faced by Pakistan at present, need not be barriers to responsible investment and we hope, such investment strategies might support... Read more
TAGS: Hanniah Tariq, Pakistan, responsible investment, UNPRI Post-crisis, Capitalism now a focus for CSR, says Lifeworth ReviewCapitalism is up for debate, and that’s a good thing, according to a new review from a management consultancy. “The dual financial and climate crises are leading people in all walks of life to question the kind of economy that makes sense for their businesses, communities and families,” explains lead author of the review, Associate Professor... Read more
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