…creating an economy in service to life is, in my opinion, possible
I run Responsible 100. It is an alternative to B Corp but relevant to a much broader range of companies. What businesses do to participate, and what they can say about themselves as a result, are significantly different.
Responsible 100 supports businesses and other types of organisations to achieve ‘optimal responsibility’ across all the social, environmental and ethical issues that affect them. That is, to perform as well as possible, on balance, across all the issues we explore, according to their particular size, sector, circumstances and goals.
I’ve spent 25 years working at the experimental edges of Sustainability Inc, this entire industry which has sprung up to flog SRI, then CSR, and now ESG, impact and purpose etc. It has always hinted at the better world that is possible, based on an economy that works for people and planet. Yet at the same time it has served ‘business as usual’ and prevented any meaningful transformation from occurring by directing attention and resources to the wrong places.
I remain hopeful, if not always optimistic. The chances of taking one giant coordinated step from our current business as usual to a degrowth / postgrowth / regenerative economy is vanishingly small. However, creating an economy in service to life is, in my opinion, possible as long as enough businesses commit to it, and adequate numbers of customers, employees and investors support them.
We envisage – and aim to catalyse – a race to the top, where firms compete on price, quality and on their ability to increase their positive impacts on people and planet – while decreasing their negative impacts – as fast, far and wide as possible.
More of the key concepts underlying Responsible 100 can be found here https://responsible100.com/faqs/#alternatebadges The website also includes full details of our model and process, as well as details explaining how trial it.
