How are businesses judged? It depends on who you ask really. Board members, investors and auditors would check financial statements and look at a business through that lens. They use the numbers to make decisions on whether to restructure in the case of board members, or whether to invest or stay invested in the case of investors. The common public has a bit of a different view though.
Numbers in the eyes of the public
The way the common public crunches numbers is not similar to how the board does it or how investors do it. While the board looks at the bottom line and investors look at share price, the public looks at the employment numbers. Sure, there are members of the public that are educated enough to grab a piece of a company’s pie through shares. The vast majority of people though, judge a business entity by how many people they have hired in the community. Is the company operating like an occupation force or is it engaging the locals? Are people from the community able to feed their families because of the business, or is it just there to take from the people?
Tim Edwards of Aspire Group UK is a social entrepreneur who is making waves not just in business, but also in changing people’s lives. His company keeps developing what they refer to as “Social Value Champions” in local authorities, through effective procurement processes. Delivering social value through procurement means; involving the community by way of hiring locals directly and also awarding contracts to small merchants who operate in local communities.
Charity also puts in a good shift
Charity and donations get a bad rep because many deem this strategy ineffective especially when trying to help the developing world. Some countries in the developing world are also beginning to discourage aid in favor of investment. Ghana for example, has a thirst for impact investment. Aid is not being rejected, they just want foreign goodwill ambassadors to partner with local businesses to achieve more than aid can achieve.
There are some voices in the western world that are also anti-charity and anti-donations, because they see it as a waste of resources. A lot of these voices are sadly mistaken. The growing anti-donations sentiment is born out of ignorance because we don’t see enough images of the wonders of charity. Businesses that commit to charity would be a great place to start if we are looking for examples of the wonders of giving.
Starbucks, to most people is a place where you go not only for some tasty and rich coffee but also for social and business meet ups. Few are aware of the impact the company creates through its giving arm. As you sip that sweet coffee, you may not be aware that part of the money you pay for each cup goes towards supporting conservation, agricultural training and water sanitation in the regions where the coffee is grown. In 2015 alone, the company gave $1.5 million in social development grants and $3 million to the Starbucks Opportunity for Youth program. Starbucks through its donating arm has had hundreds of people trained in various disciplines that have gone on to improve their condition and their respective communities.
Social impact through advocacy
If you think social justice work is only advanced by a few individuals on the streets who carry around placards and make a lot of noise, you are mistaken. Big businesses also get involved and in a big way too. Sensible businesses realize the need to get involved in causes that touch their demographic of interest. A great example is Nike. Nike made the decision to stand behind the polarizing figure that is Colin Kaepernick. Nike understood that Kaepernick’s concerns were shared by a significant part of their customer base, and they took a moral stand. Businesses that stand on the right side of moral advocacy not only retain the support of their customers, but also gain significant moral capital.
Provision of impact products
Companies have also shown support for communities of interest by delivering products that have a lasting impact. Music producer Akon and his associates started the LightingAfrica initiative back in 2014. The company has gone on to provide solar energy lighting solutions to fourteen African countries. The initiative has seen over a million households get access to electricity through provision of solar panels.
LightingAfrica is a great example of an enterprise that is growing as their consumer base grows and develops.