Business and philanthropy - what can they learn from each other?

Last week I met Conny Braams , one of my former wonderful female bosses, colleagues and role models from my 联合利华 times for a summerly lunch at Paloma, a newly renovated restaurant on a charming square in the centre of The Hague. This meeting was long overdue but now the moment seemed right, as we’re both about to embark on a new journey with the objective to create more positive impact in the world around us.

Of course, we’re all too aware that this sounds nice, but how do we measure this and how do we know we’re doing the right thing and not creating unintended impacts that are possibly worse then what we were trying to improve? You don’t need to be an expert to see a past full of well intended (often ‘ white saviour’) projects that have done more harm than good.

There is a healthy scepticism towards business that are blurring the lines with philanthropy, particularly if this is part of their #CSR strategy. Indeed some even reject business’s involvement in philanthropy often with the argument that they should rather focus on their position in society and addressing strategically the positive and negative impacts they create for people and planet.

Not surprisingly therefore, I often get the question if and, if so, what business and philanthropy can learn from each other. My lunch conversation last week inspired my curiosity in exploring this question beyond the surface of the obvious answers. Surely there are PR and green/woke washing pitfalls, of course the complexity of the problems philanthropy is addressing is mind-boggling, and yes, listed companies’ shareholder driven short-termism doesn’t sit well with the long term approach required to achieve the systems change.

Yet despite and, in fact, because of these and many more challenges, I believe business and philanthropy must do more to learn from and support each other. In fact they not only have a moral obligation to do so, but it makes sense from all perspectives provided it is done with the right purpose and intention and within robust guardrails. Humanity is at a pivotal moment of time. On the one hand we are all aware how climate change, wars, inequality and poverty are affecting millions of people in the most tragic ways, but on the other hand, we know that the resources, solutions and opportunities exist to leap forward to a better world for all.

Rather than holding back, shouldn’t we ask ourselves how business and philanthropy can accelerate learnings for mutual benefit and benefit for the world? I can see at least four areas:

1. In an increasingly complex operating context, in which no organisation or business is shielded from the positive and negative impacts they create, both worlds have so much to learn and improve. Progressive businesses such as Unilever and 宜家 have understood that their activities and choices have deep systemic implications for people and the environment, extending far beyond their own profit and turnover results and co-workers. Philanthropy has the expertise and means to encourage business to transition and transform their strategy and operations to benefit society and the environment.
2. Philanthropy and business require societal support but low trust seems to be the new normal. How can they bridge gaps with society in a meaningful and lasting way and change the narrative?
3. System change requires resources, but both business and philanthropy are under scrutiny on origin and nature of their resources, how they spend it and the impact they create. There seems to be an obvious interest for both to leverage these resources by working more effectively together, learn and move on from failures, and, very importantly, to create the conditions to achieve scale.
4. Encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation from within is key to societal change. There are already quite a few examples showing the mutual benefits for business and philanthropy if they learn and team up together. Let’s indeed celebrate these entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and changemakers who make positive change happen!

I’m sure there are more areas and we all know that many good practices exist. The key question is how we can make this happen in unprecedented ways and in ways that create real positive impact for humanity. There has never been a better time, now is the time to step up!

Thank you Conny Braams for the inspiring lunch. Looking forward to continue exploring these questions.

?#Philanthropy #SustainableBusiness