1 Global poverty and its challenge for business © ETHICAL GOVERNANCE OPTIONS, 2008 Independent advice, consultancy and training for responsible business, investment and trade

2 Overview  What is the greatest threat to society?  Poverty is a perennial theme  Making Globalisation work for all – challenges and opportunities for business opportunities for business  How can my company respond?

3 What is the greatest threat to society? At first glance, surveys can suggest it depends who you ask. In December 2007 for example the Corporate Citizenship company found groups answering differently Social Activists  37% Poverty  22% Health and obesity  20% Climate Change  11% Other issues CSR Practitioners  53% Climate change  26% Poverty  9% Poor educational standards  4% Health and obesity  8% Other issues

4 But poverty is a perennial theme  Poverty has varied impacts and labels so its scale is often disguised  In absolute terms it continues to grow – 50% of the worlds population now lives in urban areas and looks for work in the global economy but over a billion people still live under one dollar a day  Even the climate change debate itself is driven by public concern about inequity (eg; Katrina, rising sea levels, )  Challenges will persist at local, national and global levels  So will opportunities. Google images signifies poverty with four boys playing. Can business and society help make them the next Beatles?

5 Making globalisation work for all –challenges and opportunities for business  Access to markets and the licence to operate  Building reputation  Creating wealth – and - new customers  Responding to government and stakeholders Not a wholly new challenge – there is a long history of economic theories on equity and wealth creation are general Likewise for history of business responses (see examples from Ford’s Model T to Nortel’s partnership with Grameen Telecom)

6 How can my company respond? 1. Build your understanding (and do more of what successful businesses often do anyway)  Ask your stakeholders what they would like  Learn what others businesses do  Identify your impacts and risks  Prioritise what impacts matter most and where you have influence  Don’t be afraid to think long term if you can (eg; see Measuring Unilever's Economic Footprint: The Case of South Africa”) 2. Commit to improve 3. Communicate your commitment 4. Develop your measurement systems 5. Set objectives and targets for improvement 6. Report achievements or failures to key stakeholders 7. Review commitments and systems © ETHICAL GOVERNANCE OPTIONS 2008 Independent advice, consultancy and training for responsible business, investment and trade