Social Impact in an Era of Inequalities

A new global taskforce was launched in September 2024 to highlight the financial risks to companies and financial institutions of global inequality. The Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD) will develop a global framework for companies and financial institutions to include within their public reports more effective disclosures about impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities related to social issues, including inequality.

This perspective sheds new light on the interdependencies between business and society. Inequality destabilises communities, weakens talent pools, and creates operational and financial risks for businesses. Addressing inequality is not just the right thing to do—it’s vital for business resilience and long-term success.

As our CEO was invited to speak at the Business for Societal Impact’s Global Annual Conference in late November, we learned about shared value approaches that trailblazers adopt to drive social impact at scale in the APAC region. The business case for embedding social impact into core strategies is stronger than ever. By aligning societal needs with business priorities, companies can create measurable outcomes for communities while boosting business performance.

One example from the summary paper for the B4SI conference: Abigail Lovell, Experian’s Chief Sustainability Officer, explains that adopting a shared value approach has allowed the company to scale its social impact programs. By offering innovative products, Experian is providing essential services to underserved communities while also generating business returns. One example is the Limpa Nome programme in Brazil, which helps consumers renegotiate and restructure their debts.

Explore the main takeaways regarding social impact in an era of inequalities and more examples in the conference report.