A Community of Practice for Leaders

Redefining the Bottom-line:
People, Profit, Planet
Deploying Social Capital and Finance to Transform the World

with David Batstone, PhD (view bio)
President, Right Reality, an international social venture fund,  Author, Saving the Corporate Soul and Not for Sale; Professor of Ethics, University of San Francisco; President, Not for Sale Campaign [links to related information below]

Hosted by EMC Corporation, Santa Clara

Yet in the past two months all three of these landmarks have occurred...

Twenty-five years ago Fortune 500 companies did not think in terms of a triple bottom line: people, profit, and planet. On the rare occasion that a CEO publicly would acknowledge the planet or the people as a business value, it would tend to fall into the category of "corporate philanthropy." To insinuate that human dignity or a sustainable environment would stand as a core business practice - on a par with the company's profit margin - would have been career suicide.
 
No CEO today needs to be told how radically different the corporate atmosphere is from 25 years ago. As the global economy starts to rebound and the corporate profit leaders reemerge, executives should reconsider what constitutes the bottom-line. 
 

Today it could be detrimental for a corporation NOT to have an environmental policy.

Over the past decade business leaders like Al Gore, Karen Florini, and thousands more have fought countless battles to make the planet's concerns a central part of the corporate discussion. Due to their efforts, airlines now are working to become carbon neutral and the auto industry is turning to hybrid and alternative fuels to restore their viability. Additionally, the work of CSR advocates and chief executives like Sir Richard Branson of Virgin and Katsuaki Watanabe of Toyota have helped to change the corporate frame on environmental issues. Today it could be detrimental for a corporation NOT to have an environmental policy. 
 

Yet what about the third P - The people on the planet?

Opinions on economic development aside, why so little focus on corporate engagement regarding forced labor? No doubt about it, corporations are embracing carbon neutral and zero tolerance policies on the environment, so where is the zero tolerance on forced labor or accountability of supply chains? 
 

That tide is beginning to shift.

Consider this: In my 25 years of working at the convergence of the social and business sectors, I have never seen corporate, government, and civil society leaders meeting to discuss how to eliminate forced labor and human trafficking. Never before has the US Department of Labor published a report on goods produced using forced labor or child labor. And forget about the US Department of Agriculture establishing a consultative group to eliminate forced labor from imported agriculture products. Yet in the past two months all three of these landmarks have occurred.

If I was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, I would take notice and decide which bottom-line my corporation should be concerned with next. The social sector and its technology tools are poised for corporations willing to engage and commit to understanding their supply chain. 
 
As one corporate leader declared at this year's Clinton Global Initiative, "If you can't afford to do business ethically, you can't afford to do business".

Join us for a provocative, evocative and crucial conversation with David and the Thought Leader Gathering community.

related sites/information:
Not for Sale Campaign
Free2Work Campaign
Saving the Corporate Soul--and (Who Knows?) Maybe Your Own
Right Reality, Inc.

 Schedule for the session:
7:45-8:15 am: Check-in and breakfast
8:15 am-12:30 pm: Thought Leader Session
12:45 pm: Lunch (optional, $17)