The Responsible Business Summit was held in London on May 7 and 8. It explored the future of sustainability in the business world and how firms can develop a strategy that will enable them to grow while at the same time providing benefit to society. A lot of big questions were asked, with a particular focus on collaboration and the need to listen and respond to a variety of stakeholders.
Here are some of the strongest, salient points that came out of the event:
- “Businesses cannot be successful when the society around them fails.”
- “We need to give leaders the time, space and resources to think if we want business to drive sustainability transformation.”
- “Challenge for big businesses is ensuring HR communicates with centres of talent discovery, such as universities, so needs are aligned.”
- “Gap between consumers' values and their actions cannot be closed by focusing on their motivations.”
- “Business has come to believe the solution to problems lie within their own resources rather than in collaboration.”
- "When we inspire people by explaining why the destination is important, they develop the motivation to see the race through."
- "CSR can be very hard for employees to relate to if we don't make it tangible to their everyday working lives."
- “CSR isn't a particular programme, it's what we do every day, maximising positive impact and minimising negative impact.”
- “Loyalty is to the values of the company, not to the company. If there are no values, there is no loyalty.”
And the winner . . .
