Endorsements
Major global businesses not only create millions of jobs and great products for consumers, but are also beginning to play a leading role in tackling some of the biggest challenges of our time, from resolving water scarcity to lifting people out of poverty. This book explains in dynamic fashion why taking this approach is fast becoming ‘business as usual’ for some of the world’s largest companies, and provides an inside track on why those who take this approach are more likely to win in the marketplace Graham Mackay, Chief Executive, SABMiller plc
This is a book that many of us have been waiting for! Written by three ‘insiders,’ it describes how social pressures are influencing corporate behaviour. It will change, for the better, both the tone and substance of debates over corporate social responsibility. Ethan B. Kapstein, INSEAD Chair in Political Economy, INSEAD Business School, France
A new generation of leaders give the inside story on how to become a sustainability-responsible leader. Indispensable. Sara Parkin, Founder Director, Forum for the Future
This unusual book highlights and humanizes the challenges facing those who wish to effect social progress from within a system rather than outside of it. It provides a useful and timely map through the distrust and conflict that can too easily arise where capitalism and activism meet. Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Author, The Future of the Internet–And How to Stop It
Dunstan Hope, Andy Wales and Matthew Gorman have written a book that captures beautifully the realistic idealism that is at the heart of the modern sustainability movement. Their book is a great guide to the ways that companies are making a difference in the world while also enhancing their competitiveness. Aron Cramer, President and CEO, Business for Social Responsibility
The role of business in helping establish a more sustainable economy is much discussed these days – especially by NGOs and academics. We don’t often hear from the practitioners: those charged with front-line responsibility for mainstreaming sustainability across their respective companies. Calling on their 30 years of combined experience, the authors of ‘Big Business – Big Responsibilities’ eloquently fill that gap, with a wealth of insights and good practice examples from companies in many different sectors. Jonathon Porritt, author of ‘Capitalism as if the World Matters’
Big Business, Big Responsibilities makes a valuable contribution to both the debate and practice of responsible corporate leadership in an increasingly complex global operating environment. Written by three highly-regarded practitioners who are working at heart of the corporate sustainability agenda, the book provides a succinct overview of global challenges and operational barriers to change… Optimistic, yet grounded in the day-to-day realities of running a business, the authors offer a leadership agenda for the 21st Century Corporation and for the consumers, regulators, activists, executives, and above all employees, who are helping to drive this agenda forward Jane Nelson, Director, Corporate Responsibility Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
I have believed for some time that big business need not be the sustainability villain, and that big business can bring about big outcomes. The examples in this book paint an encouraging picture of how far we have come. The book’s themes of shared responsibilities, collaboration, trust, regulation and opportunity-not-risk are important messages for the future. Janis Kong OBE, non-executive director Kingfisher plc and Portmeirion Holdings, board member of Visit Britain.
This engaging book shows you how, and why, many large companies are leading the way on sustainability. Wales, Gorman and Hope have produced an entertaining and informative read that challenges both business and NGOs to raise their game on partnerships and collaboration Toby Webb, Founder and Managing Director, Ethical Corporation
The narrative of the Global Network Initiative – how three information technology companies came together with NGOs and other stakeholders to forge protections for human rights – is illustrative of the broader themes this book highlights: addressing corporate citizenship questions remains complex and unfinished work, but the way business approaches these questions is changing in important ways. Chuck Cosson, Senior Policy Counsel, Microsoft
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Media Coverage
Andy Wales writes in the Sunday Times Think Tank column (subscription required): https://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/Comment/article347662.ece
Andy Wales answers questions on Guardian Environment: https://tinyurl.com/3xzqdgx
Dunstan Hope writes in the Huffington Post about Google and human rights: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/aron-cramer/google-and-china-when-sho_b_508675.html
Dunstan Hope appears on FORA.tv discussing corporations, the internet and human rights: https://fora.tv/speaker/7047/Dunstan_Hope
Andy Wales talks to Toby Webb of Ethical Corporation magazine about how business is changing for the better and the new book Big Business Big Responsibilities in this extended podcast: https://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=6909
Andy Wales writes in the Guardian regarding water scarcity: https://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2010/apr/29/industry-water-smart
Matthew Gorman speaks on decarbonising the aviation sector at the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum, June 2010 https://www.westminsterforumprojects.co.uk/forums/showpublications.php?pid=195
Dunstan Hope moderates at the Yahoo! Business and Human Rights summit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0YIubx3v_0
Dunstan Hope debates sustainability reporting: https://blog.bsr.org/2010/02/bsr-debates-should-sustainability.html
Andy Wales featured in INSEAD business school article: https://knowledge.insead.edu/social-innovation-water-scarcity-100519.cfm
Andy Wales speaks in the Royal Geographical Society’s 21st Century debates, chaired by the BBC’s George Alagiah: https://www.21stcenturychallenges.org/challenges/importing-goods-exporting-drought
On the frontline of sustainability – an interview with Andy Wales: https://www.sabmiller.com/files/pdf/brew_guardian.pdf
Green Futures Magazine interview with Andy Wales: https://www.forumforthefuture.org/greenfutures/articles/interview_andy_wales_SABMiller
The Times Eureka Science supplement interviews Andy Wales: https://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/eureka/article7041183.ece
Boris Johnson appoints Andy Wales as a London Sustainable Development Commissioner: https://www.londonsdc.org/documents/press/Mayor_appoints_new_Commissioners_2.pdf
Andy Wales quoted in National Geographic Magazine’s water edition: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091127-virtual-water-footprints.html
Davos Debates 2010 – Andy Wales posts a YouTube message from the 2010 World Economic Forum in Davos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDqPudswdSY
NYTimes green blog focuses on water, interviews Andy Wales: https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/brewer-invests-in-watershed-protection
FT Special Report quotes Andy Wales: https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5f08103c-0953-11df-ba88-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=68347df0-0956-11df-ba88-00144feabdc0.html
Andy Wales interviewed on CNBC Africa about working with smallholder farmers and the outlook for agriculture in Africa: https://www.executiveinterviews.com/2982-sabm-cnbcaf
Matthew Gorman speaks on aviation and sustainability at the Airport Operators Association Annual Conference, December 2009 https://www.aoa.org.uk/feature/index.asp?ID=31
Matthew Gorman speaks on environmental priorities at the Airport Operators Association Environment Conference, April 2009 https://www.aoa.org.uk/feature/index.asp?ID=26
Overview and Extracts
From the foreword: ‘Why we wrote this book’
“We have sought careers that enable us to live the values we believe in – not in the fringes of the economy, but in its mainstream. We wanted to experience big business and discover how sustainability would fair when merged with the desire to make money”
“We wanted to put corporate responsibility to the test and understand what change we can affect by working inside business”
“With more than thirty years between us in working to bring sustainability to life inside business, where do we stand on the responsibility of big business? Have we sold out, captured by the glamour of global corporations? Or have we become disillusioned, unable to create the change we were seeking? We stand in remarkably similar positions to where we started. Has big business changed for the better? Yes. Is the change going far enough? Not yet. And most importantly, what can we do about it? Continue to work with business to ensure that it creates, not destroys, value for society”
From the introduction:
“Big Business; Big Responsibilities shares the inside track on why some of the world’s best known brands are doing this as a core part of business strategy: protecting the environmental systems they depend on, building consumer trust and creating new markets to ensure long term success”
“This book describes the surprising speed with which business is recognizing that it will thrive best in societies that succeed and identifies the major challenges that still need to be overcome for business to make its full contribution”
“This is, at its heart, an optimistic book. We argue that companies succeed best in societies that succeed, and that businesses have a strong interest in supporting economic and social development and environmental protection. We have seen, and believe in, the potential of business to lead change and progress”
“But we know also that this potential is severely limited if it is undertaken in isolation from others. It is only through collaboration, shared learning and consensus building between business, government and civil society that we will attain the systemic change required to achieve sustainable development”
Book Overview
Part One
- We describe the scale of the social, environmental and ethical problems facing the world today, challenges that are increasingly shaping the landscape in which business operates.
- We set out why and how leading companies are responding to these challenges, and why this is increasingly done in collaboration with government and civil society.
- But knowing just how much still needs to be done, we also describe why reforms that are good for everyone can still be defeated by vested interests and how, despite the goodwill of many in big business, sensible changes can still be thwarted.
Part Two
- We examine the connection between businesses and consumers. We consider how businesses can help consumers reduce their own environmental footprints and how companies and governments are even restricting consumer options (‘choice editing’) in the name of sustainability.
- We also describe how in both the virtual and real worlds businesses can often find themselves in coalition with consumers in support of more proactive or responsible actions by governments.
Part Three
- We address the question of who is driving this change.
- We describe how in certain emerging markets with weak civil society it is governments that are playing a strong role in shaping the actions of companies – but at the same time are bracing themselves for new waves of civil activism.
- By contrast, we describe how in more developed western markets an intriguing interplay between CEOs and increasingly engaged employees (‘everyday champions’) is enabling innovation for sustainability and the development of more responsible approaches by big business.
Part Four
- We set out our vision for a more responsible and sustainable future. We look back a generation to reflect on just how much business has been transformed in this time and take an optimistic view on what is within society’s grasp over the next 35 years.
