Archive
Purposeful Business
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Davos Digest 2019: Issue Two
January 24, 2019
Yesterday at Davos was a rude awakening for those of us hoping for a respite from more Brexit and US government shutdown debate. On Tuesday, Former US Secretary of State John Kerry had a one-word answer when asked for his message to President Donald Trump: "Resign". But our favorite politician’s soundbite so far came from UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox. Accused by UK Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn of attending only to quaff champagne with...
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Davos Digest 2019: Issue One
January 23, 2019
Welcome to Day 1 of FleishmanHillard’s 2019 Davos Digest. The world’s leaders have descended upon the snowy ski resort for the unmissable World Economic Forum – or have they? The biggest news of this year’s gathering so far seems to be its notable absences. Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi have all relinquished their prized invitations to deal with domestic problems. Many commentators are interpreting this string of no-shows as...
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We are the 76%: The unholy alliance between the 1% and the 75%
January 21, 2019
The investor class - the 1% - is waking up and speaking out on a bigger business agenda - purpose. They are joined in their journey by a generation on the ascendancy – the millennials. Why should investors and employers care? Because by 2025 will make up 75% of the world’s working population. At seventeen I took my first flight. It was to Rome where, despite objections from dad, I was to represent the UK...
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PRedicting 2019: What’s next for…Purposeful Business?
December 6, 2018
Paul recently spoke at Ethical Corporation conference on why businesses are failing to beat climate change and why millennials are the key to winning. You can watch the 10 minute video here. Making the millennial manifesto everyone’s manifesto 2019 will be the year of the purposeful millennial. Why? Two simple reasons. First, because the Brexit-voting Boomer generation has failed to deliver the economic change their generation promised. Second, because by 2025, millennials will make up...
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IS CSR slowly dying?
July 23, 2018
The biggest social issues of tomorrow that will define purposeful businesses are automation and AI (56%), mental health (40%) and gender diversity (30%), according to our inaugural Purpose Trends Report, where we asked senior decision makers at FTSE 100s on the value of purpose. In contrast, only 9% of business respondents believe that delivering the SDGs will drive purpose within corporates. What’s more? 74% believe businesses should actively solve societal issues beyond regulated mandates. So...
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A millennial manifesto for companies
July 12, 2018
https://youtu.be/3PYVNBoKH40 In 1984 two diametrically opposed things were supposed to happen. One was George Orwell’s dystopic vision of the future. The other was the birth of a new era of corporate social responsibility. Following a seminal essay by management guru Peter Drucker in the same year, companies were urged to not just think about how they fattened the bank accounts of their shareholders, but how they could also create social and environmental value. In the...
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Now is the time to take action on ESG
May 2, 2018
Last week Helena Morrissey head of personal investing at Legal and General - which manages a staggering $1.2 trillion in funds - announced the firm was prepared to pull investment from companies that won't act on climate change. They are the latest big money manager to flex its substantial financial clout on sustainable issues – following the precedent set by Blackrock’s Larry Fink. But why now? Over the last few years there has been mounting...
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Davos Digest 2018: Day Four
January 26, 2018
As the sun sets over the Swiss Alps on another action-packed World Economic Forum annual meeting, it’s time for the FHF Davos team to take one last look at this year’s gathering before signing off… “The spirit of Davos has returned. After last year’s doubts over the true decision-making power of the event, 2018 seemed to put real issues top of the agenda. Yes, the meeting is all about status – who is the top...
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Davos Digest 2018: Day Three
January 26, 2018
Day three of Davos, and the finishing line is on the horizon. Thursday’s WEF agenda covered some of the most pressing and influential topics to date, from international trade to interest rates, from bitcoin to that recurring theme of data governance. However it was obvious that everyone at Davos had one eye on the front door, anticipating the arrival one man – President Donald Trump. With his aides speaking at the Forum in the days...
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Davos Digest 2018: Day Two
January 25, 2018
Gender equality, tech transformation and warnings against anti-globalisation – the themes set on day one continued to feature heavily on Wednesday’s agenda. It was, however digital and tech that stole the show with Alibaba’s Jack Ma, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella touching on artificial intelligence, healthcare transformation, women in tech, borderless trade. But it wasn’t just the big tech players dealing with the subject as German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of...