Running a venture that helps both people and planet is hard. Amid inflation, instability and even war, it sounds almost impossible. But, for the pioneers of green business in Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt, sticking to the mission makes sense.
The social enterprise gatherings at the UK Labour Party conference left Nick Temple underwhelmed. The impact economy must stop rehashing the same old arguments if it doesn’t want to remain on the fringes of the national debate.
How is politics influencing impact investing in Latin America? How can the nascent impact investing movement grow its presence in the region? We report from Impact Minds in Oaxaca, Mexico, to answer these questions and more.
From inclusive film screenings to baking for kids with special needs, the businesses Social Ark incubates are all created by young people with lived experience of their area of work. Founder Lisa Stepanovic tells us why that matters.
C SUMMIT: Business leaders are ready to ‘do the right thing’ but need the ‘radical collaboration’ of philanthropists and corporate social investors as their catalysts – agree Halla Tómasdóttir of The B Team and EVPA chair Steven Serneels.
C SUMMIT: Corporate social investors and parent firms are working together more strategically, partly driven by Covid-19, as the experiences of two European insurance firms show.
C SUMMIT: All the components of a company – foundations, impact investment funds and regular business – should work together towards a joint vision of meaningful social impact, says sustainability boss at Schneider Electric.
C SUMMIT: Sanofi Espoir Foundation boss says the pandemic has confirmed its conviction that medicine and healthcare are not the full solution for global health challenges – while Repsol Foundation leader predicts a "time for doers".
C SUMMIT: The first carmaker to set up its own social entrepreneurship scheme is placing social impact even higher up the firm’s agenda. But some fear corporates more generally will continue to put the brakes on, despite this year's crisis.
C SUMMIT: Organisations need to collaborate to build a circular economy – but putting in the time and effort, shared ambition and navigating the 'machinery of government' are all important if they want to be successful.
C SUMMIT: Although many corporate foundations are still enjoying stable income streams and, for some, even more interest from their donor corporations, they must be sure to prepare for the inevitable impact of Covid-19.
C SUMMIT: Setting up a corporate social investor can bridge the gap between foundations and the commercial side, making a bigger difference than philanthropy alone – Åsa Skogström Feldt from IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and Margot Cooijmans of Philips Foundation.