In May, the SIX team had the pleasure of attending the third annual B for Good Leaders Summit in Amsterdam and also co-curating a series of conversations in the ‘Corporate Activism’ theme of the event.
Over the past year, SIX has been exploring how stakeholders across sectors can collaborate and meaningfully accelerate the “business for good” movement (see examples here and here). Some of the questions that have been top of mind for us include what collective ownership and accountability look like in practice; how businesses can authentically involve communities and young people in their work; and how businesses can extend care to stakeholders beyond their immediate workforce.
At the Summit, we took some of these questions into our ‘corporate activism’ sessions, discussing what ‘activism’ vs. ‘advocacy’ looks like, and reflecting on how being a corporate activist can enable businesses to be better contributors to society and make a wider impact.
Ash Pollock, Head of Transformation & Culture at minimalist shoe company Vivobarefoot, emphasised that corporate activism “is their value proposition” and that leadership in the company regularly questions and reflects on the way that they do business. “Challenging the status quo” is encouraged at Vivobarefoot, empowering individuals to show up authentically, and for leaders to embrace a “yin and yang” balance to navigate and thrive in uncertainty. How to measure ‘success’ is also a key consideration for the company – for accountability, they report on 15 metrics (see p. 12 of their annual report) year on year to ensure that through their company and products they are having a net positive impact on society and the environment.
Amber Westerborg, Director of Sustainability & Impact at the hybrid hospitality space The Social Hub (TSH) discussed how corporate activism involves defining the role TSH wants to play in societal change, whether as a “driver” or ”facilitator”. One example is through their newly launched TSH Talent Foundation to empower emerging changemakers. Community is at the heart of its mission, and Amber highlighted the importance of sometimes allowing the community to lead, “which can be scary”, to ensure authenticity and impact. She asked “shouldn’t we as businesses challenge ourselves to hurt a little bit?”, noting that while established environmental strategies can add value, social strategies are still evolving and require businesses to take a stand.
In the corporate activism stream, we highlighted the importance of actors across professional services in shaping and influencing conversations and actions around sustainability on a corporate level. For instance, external accountants, who are taking a greater role in impact measurement because of changes in sustainability reporting across the EU, have direct access to the CFO, and indirectly to the board, and can work to convince these stakeholders to make changes across the business. And whether it is through mediating conflicts responsibly or ensuring companies are avoiding ‘greenwashing,’ the legal profession also has a critical role to play in the business for good movement.
If our questions and these topics resonate and you’d like to explore more from local to global perspectives, please get in touch at zaf@socialinnovationexchange.org.
