A new sense of urgency and confidence is sweeping the professional community engaged in corporate responsibility work, leading to greater attention on how the root causes of poverty and environmental change can be tackled collectively. This is the assertion of “Serving Systemic Transformations” a review of last year’s trends, published today by Lifeworth.
In the foreword to the new review, WWF’s Jules Peck, explains that “transforming capitalism to a system that enables prosperity in harmony with each other and the planet is the greatest challenge of our time.” He argues that as sophisticated companies recognise they cannot shift their business models to more sustainable ones without the support of government, consumers and investors, some executives are working together to create that support. The review chronicles efforts in areas such as finance, government relations, and consumer marketing, where executives are serving systemic transformations toward more sustainable and equitable operating environments.
Lead author of the Review, a Professor of Management at Auckland University of Technology, Dr Jem Bendell argues that people engaging in such work are manifesting a particular awareness, where they see systemic causes of social problems and cross personal, institutional and cultural boundaries in order to transform those causes. The cross-boundary orientation of the review is exemplified by sponsorship from organisations from different fields – including environmental group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and Nike, the footwear, apparel and equipment company. Nike’s Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, Hannah Jones supports publication of the annual reviews, to provide “insightful commentary on emerging trends in the field and identify implications for the future of business in society.”
This review marks the 5th anniversary of Lifeworth, a ’boutique’ professional services firm that focuses on bridging the personal and systemic to sustain transformative action in the corporate responsibility field. “Whether we are doing research, strategy or policy work, or even coaching, we infuse a system-transformation dimension to all our work. This means looking at how we perpetuate existing systems through our contributions to social norms, regulations, ways of thinking, and resource use. And it means crossing boundaries to act collectively to transform those systems.”
The review incorporates columns from the premiere academic publication in this field, The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, and is also sponsored by the University of Nottingham’s International Centre on Corporate Social Responsibility. “Serving Systemic Transformations” can be accessed for free at www.lifeworth.net Contact: [email protected]
