Richard Branson calls for new attitudes to ethical business
November 2011
The distinctions between 'doing good' and 'doing business' are becomingly increasingly blurred and rightly so, according to a new book by UK entrepreneur Richard Branson.
No sooner was the ink dry on the epilogue, the Branson family had their bush with Hurricane Irene out in Necker Island - which confirmed to the multi-millionaire how fragile life on earth really is.
Branson is inviting the world’s ethical entrepreneurs to upload their case studies and any relevant video footage of their businesses to his website http://virginunite.screwbusinessasusual.com. His new book Screw Business as Usual is aimed at those who, at the same time as wanting to develop a business and make a living, also want to do more to help people and the planet. It’s a vibrant and definite sea change from the way business was always done, when financial profit was a driving force.
He says: “the message is the same everywhere: we must change the way we do business. In the townships enthusiastic young people are grabbing opportunity by the scruff of the neck to develop their own businesses as a way out of poverty; women in small villages are funding new opportunities with loans as tiny as US$15 from microfinance organisations; entrepreneurs in emerging markets are creating enterprises that respond to issues such as lack of sanitation and electricity; successful businesses such as cleaning care company ‘method’ are emerging and existing giants such as GE have made millions by reinventing their product offerings – at the same time as protecting the planet.”
One example up on the site is a French grocery company, Alter Eco, founded by Tristan Leconte. With a turnover of EUR20m (US$27m) and 45 employees, Alter Eco is France’s premier fair trade goods importer and distributor. Over 100 products from tea to cotton wool balls, sourced from 40 cooperatives in 30 countries, are on the shelves of the country’s major supermarket chains. Tristan has also developed a system to offset and reduce the carbon impact of his products. Alter Eco’s chocolate was the first carbon neutral mass product on the French market. From 2005, Alter Eco made their branded products available in North America and Australia In 2006, the organisation approached Brazilian retailers to sell Brazilian products in the country under fair trade terms. It was the first “south-south” fair trade experiment.
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