Welcome to our monthly newsletter, the last of this year – in fact, the last of this decade.
It’s hard not to be glad to see the back of this one. Yes, we did get international agreement on climate change and sustainable development, but we never overcame the impact of the global financial crisis, the consequences of which rumble on still, nor address its causes.
Here in the UK, an election battle is in full swing. So it’s timely that we’re looking at what companies are doing to step up beyond the safe spaces of their community and internal CSR programmes, and looking out to address the big issues facing societies around the world – lack of affordable housing, rising personal indebtedness, mental ill health and disaster responsiveness, to cite just a few.
Faced with voter anger at the current state of affairs, all the political parties here are pitching packages of increased government intervention, with differing mixes of tax, spend and borrow; none is saying, let’s roll back the state and leave it to companies.
Welcome though increased corporate ambition to tackle the “wicked issues” is, some words of caution are warranted. Before acting, do make sure you have a recognised competence on the specific issue, relevant to your own business, lest it be seen as window-dressing. Above all, first make sure you are getting the basics right – that means paying full and fair taxes, rewarding workers justly all along your value chain, offering consumers a good price, and not maximising short-term shareholder returns or making that your north star goal.
If we can get these basics right, and then step up our ambitions as companies, the decade ahead will surely be something to celebrate. Here’s to the twenties!
Mike Truffey
Co-Founder, Corporate Citizenship
