Newsletter | Being Authentic Means Acting on Our Values

Notes from the Council | Newsletter July 2022

Now more than ever, the public, our employees and customers, and governments look to the private sector as a key partner in providing for the needs of people and the planet. The Council for Inclusive Capitalism just hosted its second-annual member convening to reflect on the complementary moral and market imperatives that drive the work of inclusive capitalism. Brian Deese, Director of the U.S. National Economic Council at the White House, and the Right Reverend Professor David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, joined us to share their thoughts on what is needed to achieve inclusive and equitable economic growth.

Speaking to Council members, Brian Deese offered us a rallying call-to-action: “I think the thing that we most need to do both on the public and private side is demonstrate credibility and purpose in addressing this transition. Credibility is incredibly important. Walking the walk and demonstrating purpose in this moment will be judged by whether or not companies really make decisions that are hard in the short term but that demonstrate a commitment to stakeholders.”

Our members are acting on their values every day. To date, they have shared more than 600 hundred commitments to action that put purpose into operation. We invite everyone to explore their ideas and join us.

Authenticity demonstrated through action is the core around which the Council for Inclusive Capitalism was founded. We launched this movement being inspired by Pope Francis’ public appeal to business leaders to respond concretely to the issues of our day. Pope Francis’ address to the Council in November 2019 speaks to the morality that we all share as human beings and to the agency that we have as business leaders to act:

“You have taken up the challenge… by seeking ways to make capitalism become a more inclusive instrument for integral human wellbeing…Your presence here is thus a sign of hope, because you have recognized the issues our world is facing and the imperative to act decisively in order to build a better world. I express to you my heartfelt gratitude for your commitment to the promotion of a more just and humane economy.” – His Holiness Pope Francis

We recognize that faith and ethical leaders provide vital guidance on the moral imperative to act for our economics to be inclusive and sustainable. We also recognize that the work of inclusive capitalism belongs to each of us, regardless of where we come from or what we believe. That’s why the Council for Inclusive Capitalism was founded as a non-sectarian organization that is open to members of all — or no — religious backgrounds. I am therefore pleased to announce that we have partnered with Religions for Peace — the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition advancing common action — to expand and diversify the moral leadership that guides the work of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism. Through this partnership, members will have greater opportunities to engage with the teachings of faith and ethical leaders around the moral imperative for broader economic and social systems change.

Thank you for the work you are doing each day to “walk the talk” of your organization’s values. I invite everyone to walk with us.

Lynn Forester de Rothschild
Founder and Co-Chair

Explore 50+ actions to promote just, peaceful, and inclusive societies. Explore actions

📺 Meet Dr. Azza Karam of Religions for Peace

🦺 Council leaders take the GreenFin stage to discuss concrete actions for fair clean energy

The energy transition is an economic, political, and existential imperative. But it can’t be done without recognizing and acting on the ethical imperative to develop and grow wealth for nations and communities left behind in modern development. Global business has a major role in realizing the transition to a clean economy, justly.

In this recorded session from GreenFin ’22, held in New York City on June 28 and 29, 2022, BCG Global Chair Rich Lesser, Esteé Lauder Companies SVP of Global Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability Nancy Mahon, and Council for Inclusive Capitalism CEO Meredith Sumpter cover how the Council for Inclusive Capitalism’s Just Transition Framework for Company Action can be used to support company action on the energy transition that accounts for justice, not just gigawatts.

What to learn more about making a Just Energy Transition commitment to action? Please contact Programs Manager Carson Thal at carson@inclusivecapitalism.com.

Ally Resource: Caux Round Table Principles for Business

For nearly thirty years, the Caux Round Table (CRT) network of business leaders and professionals has provided a platform for discussion and advocated for the adoption of moral capitalism. In 1995, long before the terms ESG and stakeholder capitalism were coined, CRT put forward a comprehensive set of ethical norms to guide businesses operating internationally and across multiple cultures, known as the CRT Principles for Business.

Seven core principles underlie the Caux Round Table’s approach, and they are supported by guidelines for management, governance, good citizenship, and wealth ownership. These Principles, affirmed by the World Economic Forum and the U.S. Business Roundtable, have been published in twelve languages, reprinted in numerous textbooks and articles, and utilized in business school curricula worldwide.

Steward Resource: EY report “Enough” urges corporate sustainability efforts to step up to meet the next decade’s challenges

“Now, more than ever, society is leaning on businesses to lead us through the climate and ecological crisis. At the same time the corporate world has never expressed more willingness to rise to this challenge. This offers cause for great optimism, but it also forces the recognition of a significant problem – corporate sustainability isn’t working and needs to dramatically change to solve the problems the world needs it to.

“Corporate sustainability is not new, and yet we treat it as such. We treat it as a discipline and movement that is too novel to be critically appraised and too subjective to be measured against real-world outcomes. In reality, corporate sustainability is a quarter century old, and we have more than enough information to measure its success against the real and urgent boundaries of planetary sustainability.”

In “Enough – A review of corporate sustainability, in a world running out of time,” EY offers a critical review of the ability of corporate sustainability to rise to the challenge it has set itself – embodying the goal of Sustainable Development.

Steward action: PayPal dedicates $108M in strategic funds to financial services for women

Digital payments platform PayPal believes access to affordable and convenient financial services should be a right for all, rather than a privilege for the few. PayPal is committing to invest $108 million to advance financial inclusion and economic empowerment for women and girls around the world by 2026.

As the private sector lead for the Economic Justice and Rights Action Coalition of the U.N. Women’s Generation Equality Forum, PayPal committed to strategic external and internal investments over the next four years supporting economic empowerment of women and girls, including financial partnerships to increase access to microloans for women and capital provided to women-led or -focused investment funds.

📅 Upcoming events

Preparing for “S” Disclosure
September 13 & 15, Virtual
Companies and investors are increasingly focused on advancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals to achieve long-term profitability and lasting value creation, but companies are often confused by how to approach reporting on S goals in particular. The Council for Inclusive Capitalism, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Shift will invite Council members and experts on people-related issues to join a webinar series on September 13 and September 15 to discuss best practices, key tools and resources for companies to prepare for expanded “S” disclosure. For more information about attending this event, please contact Melissa Victor, Programs Manager for Community Engagement at melissa@inclusivecapitalism.com.

🤝 Welcome New Council Members

📰 Inclusive Capitalism in the News

Buyouts Insider | A Q&A with Lynn Forester de Rothschild about pensions, ESG, and the future of capitalism

Nestlé | Mark Schneider: With peak carbon behind it, Nestlé zeros in on dairy emissions

Wall Street Journal | Lack of progress on deforestation puts net-zero targets at risk, study says

The Economic Times India | Marc Benioff: Salesforce announces $2-million local grant for India

Repsol | Josu Jon Imaz: Repsol and Suma Capital launch new Venture Capital fund to invest in cleantech

GreenBiz | Ronald O’Hanley: State Street CEO: Active engagement is imperative for reaching net zero

Reuters | Mark Carney: Guest view: A platform for climate collaboration

Rockefeller Foundation | Rajiv Shah: The Rockefeller Foundation commits $15 million to accelerate World Bank’s Pandemic Prevention Financing Fund

Wall Street Journal | Businesses urge SEC to consider mergers in climate-disclosure rule

Business Wire | Troy Prince: Wall Street Bound introduces its inaugural diverse college and university student stock picking challenge

Fortune | ‘ESG’ represents a fundamental shift in business strategy—but the term is unclear, unpopular, and increasingly polarizing

Financial Express | Punit Renjen: “ESG reporting will build competitive edge”

Reuters | Positive ESG performance improves returns globally, research shows

Eni | Claudio Descalzi: Eni signs new 6-billion-Euro sustainability-linked credit line

Financial Times | Duncan Wanblad: Anglo American warns on investment threat to energy transition

Forbes | Hans Vestberg: Verizon makes its stakeholders happy