In principle, many of us believe that bringing a social element into core business strategy is the right thing to do. However, it can often be difficult to understand and quantify the importance to the bottom line. This article explores how a company’s purpose can be unlocked by linking it to social issues and the associated benefits.
Several members of our global team have had the opportunity to participate in the SVIHK training led by Richard Welford. This has been an important step toward developing greater insight into the concept of shared value and an opportunity to reflect on case studies that demonstrate its genuine commercial potential. We are now positioned to take steps towards enacting change, and the overwhelming consensus from our teams is that we are ready and willing to do this.
In 2018, Barclays was named on Fortune Magazine’s 2018 “Change The World” list for the first time. The list was created to recognise companies that have had a positive social impact via activities that form part of their core business strategy.
Some people think Hong Kong can be a hard-nosed, apathetic place on the surface. But look a little deeper and you’ll find many people here have a generous capacity to “care” and design creative solutions to complex problems. That much is clear from our daily conversations with businesses, NGOs and social innovators. So what’s lacking?
Shared Value Initiative India (SVII) held the Shared Value Summit 2018 on November 29 at Taj Lands End, Mumbai in conjunction with NITI Aayog. The event was attended by key stakeholders from the government, the business community and the field of academics. The theme of the summit, “Goals to Transform Our World”, revolved around the role that corporates play in driving the Sustainable Development Goals of countries.
Three months ago, I moved back from New York, quite unexpectedly, to help build Shared Value Initiative Hong Kong, after one fateful coffee meeting. Coming from six years in public relations, this new role is vastly different and yet makes perfect sense. I was asked to share my story – so here’s a candid account of my wandering path to purpose, and a few things I learned.
As part of our efforts to increase understanding of shared value, SVIHK recently hosted our first public talk on the topic of impact investing, green finance and ethical screening in partnership with The Executive Centre, to illustrate examples of and opportunities for shared value in financial services and the investment arena.
There is a common, grass root concern and why we at Shared Value Initiative Hong Kong (SVIHK) are advocating that big business engage and identify the opportunities. How can I get my company to adopt a shared value business strategy?
Hong Kong’s first Global Goals Jam took place last weekend, on 22-23 September 2018. The event was organised by Loftwork Hong Kong and SUSTAINHK, implementing a design thinking curriculum developed by The United Nations Development Programme and the Digital Society School (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences). The event was hosted at nakedHUB New Street and MTRL HK (Loftwork’s creative lounge).
This time last year, a few business leaders and I convened a community of Shared Value champions with a vision to promote a new way of doing business in Hong Kong.
