Best Practice & Ethics
Corporate leaders vow to radically change business models
Leaders of 12
World
Business Council for Sustainable Development companies have released a
statement of intent in which they commit to looking beyond corporate
philanthropy for
business development models that are substantial, sustainable and profitable.
The signatories – which include
ABN AMRO,
BP,
Toyota and
Vodafone – said they were committed “to
play[ing] our part in building capacity and empowering people so they have the
opportunity to move out of poverty and into the formal economy”.
In order to align profitable, self-sustaining business ventures with the needs
of developing societies, the signatories said they would work to develop a
deeper understanding of how global issues such as poverty affect individual
companies and sectors; to use these understandings to work towards more
inclusive business solutions, operating at both a local and global scale; align
core business strategies with these solutions; and incorporate long-term
measures into measures of success, ensuring profitability is sustainable.
However, the signatories said business cannot achieve these objectives on its
own, and they will therefore be collaborating with governments, international
bodies, customers, employees, educational institutions and the general public.
Links
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Statement of Intent for Doing Business with the World
ABN AMRO
BP
Toyota
Vodafone
March 2007 |
