The Respectful Business Podcast

If you’re looking for a successful career but you also want to change the world for the better, where do you go?  In decades past, the answer would be that you would go to a not-for-profit. Or maybe you would go into public service. The very last place you would go would be into business.  After all, businesses are part of the problem, aren’t they? And everyone who goes there is just greedy. That was a caricature even then, but it served to keep businesses on the back foot. The growth of the corporate social responsibility industry was all about how companies might voluntarily hold themselves to account, and make it easier for others to do so. But there are now 5 good reasons why it’s time to see things differently (and one important caveat). 

Ravinol Chambers, founder of the social enterprise Be Inspired Films, talks about what drives him towards social impact, and why he thinks vehicle can be one of the best vehicles for sustainability. This is the full interview, an excerpt of which appeared on my YouTube channel. Be Inspired Films: Website: http://beinspiredfilms.com Twitter: @beinspiredfilms Mallen Baker: Website: http://mallenbaker.net Twitter: @mallenbaker YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrXbiKCUkRNd0Dgn3sDXqw

Melody Hossaini, social entrepreneur and former contestant on The Apprentice (UK version) talks about what drives her to run a business that aims to achieve social impact, and what she seeks to achieve. This is the full interview, an excerpt of which appeared on my YouTube channel. Melody Hossaini: Website: http://melodyhossaini.com Twitter: @Melody_Hossaini Mallen Baker: Website: http://mallenbaker.net Twitter: @mallenbaker YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrXbiKCUkRNd0Dgn3sDXqw

According to a recent report by the Charities Aid Foundation, businesses have been a helpful presence in a number of countries where human rights problems have needed to be solved. But on launch, the report was denounced by some other campaign groups that argued that businesses were in fact the problem. So what’s the story behind the claims? Additional reading: Tiffany & Co backs investigative reporter in Angola blood diamonds case This week I may be jailed for writing a book on human rights abuses Report praising companies on human rights criticised as whitewash

Elon Musk recently published his updated master plan for Tesla. Some say it is a joined-up vision to usher in a more sustainable age. Others say it’s a grandiose fantasy that has no chance of being executed. Who’s right? 

The role of the media is changing in the face of new technology. Not only does it act as a mirror reflecting back the nature of society to itself, but it is also a mover, changing the way we are and, potentially, acting as an instrument for more sustainable behaviour. That’s the principle. But it’s not easy.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is being sued by one of its founding companies. Greenpeace Canada is being sued by Resolute Forest Products. Is this a case of companies trying to silence dissent, or the final recourse to law to achieve accountability for a sector that is used to acting with impunity? This episode references an article by Toby Webb on the topic, which you can find at: http://sustainablesmartbusiness.com/2016/05/should-companies-sue-ngos-over-financially-damaging-campaigns/ Also, Toby and Scott Poynton discuss it further on the Earthworm podcast https://soundcloud.com/earthworm-net/ngo-campaigns-and-brands-why-are-companies-going-to-court-toby-webb-and-scott-poynton

As we try to digest the news that the Great Barrier Reef seems soon to be consigned to the history books, we look at a couple of the most pressing issues relating to the sustainability of the oceans. In particular, what’s been happening with tuna, and one of the companies that’s been the target of criticism from all sides.  And also the new shrimp on the block, krill. Krill is emerging onto the supermarket shelves in the form of a replacement for standard fish oil as a source of omega 3. And in principle that should be okay, because krill is massively abundant across the world. Shouldn’t it? You can find the John West can tracker mentioned in the podcast here (It has been updated to include other countries, including Thailand although I’m not aware if campaigners have repeated their tests). If you enjoy this podcast please share the episode on Twitter or Facebook or anywhere else, and if you haven’t already subscribe to the podcast via iTunes. If you fancied giving us a five star review on iTunes, that would be the icing on the cake, and you would earn our eternal gratitude, which has got to be worth something, right?

The Millennials are the digital natives, and it seems possible that this generation of always-on, widely-connected youngsters might be the harbingers of more change than we thought possible just a few years ago.

On March 31st, GlaxoSmithKline announced that it would give poorer countries cheap access to cancer drugs. It was the latest initiative from a company that, under CEO, Andrew Witty, had been ready to ask some of the hard questions of the pharmaceutical industry business model. But it seems that some of the defenders of the status quo may have won, for Witty is to step down from the top job next year. So is it back to business as usual from now on? The short quote from Andrew Witty included in this episode comes from the longer interview by Bloomberg at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSKwNQ7iugg

Does a recent survey that shows the difficulty of persuading the centre-right of energy efficiency and renewable energy provide clues as to why the mainstream business voices have yet to see the light on corporate sustainability? The Climate Outreach report referenced in this podcast can be downloaded here.  

The world of sport has been rocked by scandal after scandal recently, with corruption, doping and top athletes expressing abhorrent views. This is obviously a dilemma for sponsors, and we’re seeing a trend of increasing activism by companies in defence of ethics in sport, and of their own reputations. But does it go wider than that? What role can sport play in companies’ CSR programmes? And have recent events made that a more difficult proposition?

The Body Shop is reputed across the world for being a company that lives its values and is more to be trusted on sustainability than most. It’s now just launched a new commitment that it says will place it as “the world’s most sustainable global business.” But does the programme match the scale of the ambition?

Apple has placed itself in direct confrontation with the FBI and the US Government, appealing directly to the hearts and minds of its customers in defence of its stand on privacy. Is it really a question of just getting access to this one phone, formerly the property of a now-deceased terrorist? Or is this part of a bigger game that has been brewing for some time?

Palm oil is big news at the moment. It’s one of the world’s most widely-used foodstuffs and in principle it could be quite sustainable, but its production at the moment comes at a terrible cost. Can the new ‘RSPO Next’ standard help? Or will it come down to the interesting science that points to a possible alternative?

Valentine’s day approaches, and what could be a better present for your beloved than something containing the magic ingredient - chocolate? In a miracle of timing, companies Nestlé, Cargill and Archer-Daniels-Midland have just been told they have to face a lawsuit concerning the presence of child labor and, worse, child slavery in the cocoa supply chain. What’s going on, how can it be fixed, and what can you do as a consumer who wants to be able to consume guilt-free chocolate goodness?

Google hit the headlines this week with the news that it has agreed a £130m payment to the British taxman, an amount that critics, and even some investors, have dismissed as derisory. It’s just the latest chapter in an ongoing saga of revolt against the big corporations that organise their operations to pay as little tax as possible. But some companies at least have taken the view that paying their fair share of tax is part of their overall social responsibility. Lush is one such company. What are the barriers to this sort of thinking entering the mainstream? And why do almost none of the companies in the front guard of socially responsible firms follow suit? Includes a short excerpt from the video with Mark Constantine of Lush on YouTube. 

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in businesses has begun to recover after the low point following the financial crisis. But how significant is a growing “trust gap” between opinion formers and the broader population? What can we learn about how companies that have had a scandal can rebuild trust? And since 80% of people now believe that business should take a lead in solving societal problems, how much of a change in how businesses operate would have to take place for that to become reality? You can find details about the 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer here. This episode also draws material from the excellent case study on Siemens by the Institute of Business Ethics (pdf).

DuPont used a chemical called C8, or PFOA, in the manufacture of its world famous Teflon products. But when the company allowed the chemical to be placed in a poorly maintained landfill site, it had a devastating impact on the health of people living nearby. This episode is the story of how the company was called to account by a few individuals following a trail of lies and cover-up. Information for this episode has been drawn from the excellent three part series of articles by Sharon Lerner for The Intercept, the article on Rob Bilott by Nathaniel Rich at the New York Times, and the piece by Mariah Blake at the Huffington Post. All of these articles go into great detail of the blow-by-blow cover-up – much more detail that we can cover in a 12-minute podcast and if you can spare the time, it is a compelling read. https://theintercept.com/2015/08/11/dupont-chemistry-deception/ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-became-duponts-worst-nightmare.html?_r=0 http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/welcome-to-beautiful-parkersburg/

New research showing that putting a tax on fizzy drinks does successfully reduce their consumption has caught the attention of policy makers in different parts of the world. The growing determination to tackle the obesity crisis seems certain to take shape in a new assault on the business model of the likes of Coca Cola and PepsiCo. Have they got the right target, and what sense should we make of all the conflicting research continually appearing on the subject? And what has been - and should be - the response of the companies who find themselves in the spotlight?