Newsletter #15
In this issue:
Board Members elected Ilham Kadri as the new Co-Chair of B4IG.
B4IG joining forces with WBCSD.
Launch of the OECD Observatory on Social Mobility and Equal Opportunity.
and more!
Joining forces to mainstream business action on inequality and create more impact. This is the objective of the proposed joint platform that B4IG and WBCSD Board members have approved, considering that both organisations share a common objective and same approach of mobilising business action to tackle inequality, with a focus on operational and concrete collective actions, through partnerships with governments and key stakeholders.
There is a strong momentum for collective business action against inequality and for fostering strategic partnerships with governments and multilaterals on this agenda. The joint platform will capitalise on significant opportunities for operational synergy, to enhance impact across a broad range of social topics including the creation of a Taskforce on Social-related Financial Disclosure (TSFD). The joint platform will also benefit from strategic alliances and partnerships of B4IG and WBCSD, increasing overall outreach and impact.
What an exciting journey ahead! WBCSD, B4IG and OECD teams are currently working on the implementation plans, with the objective to make a public announcement by March 2023.
B4IG Annual Board meeting
B4IG held its Annual Board Meeting on November 17th, co-chaired by Emmanuel Faber and then Ilham Kadri, CEO and President of the Executive Committee of Solvay, and Yoshiki Takeuchi, OECD Deputy Secretary-General.
Board Members elected Ilham Kadri, CEO and President of the Executive Committee of Solvay as the new Co-Chair of B4IG. She succeeds Emmanuel Faber, who has been co-chairing the coalition since its launch during the G7 Summit in August 2019.
Ilham Kadri’s new leadership will direct B4IG into the next phase of business action on inequality. As part of this, B4IG Board Members have also approved the concept of combining B4IG with the WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Tackling Inequality work to form a joint platform for business action to drive enhanced impact at scale (see above).
Three critical topics were then addressed: living wage, forced labour, and funding the just transition.
Following introductory remarks by Romina Boarini, Director of the OECD WISE Centre on the impact of inflation on inequality, and by Alexandra Palt, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer and CEO of the Fondation L'Oréal on the challenges related to living wage implementation, Board Members discussed the barriers companies face when implementing living wage commitments in their own operations and in their supply chains. The coalition will continue to support companies on their journey by addressing the barriers that they face and push forward the topic collectively.
The conversation then focused on the topic of forced labour. Sophie Bellon, Chairwoman of Sodexo's Board of Directors and CEO presented the B4IG achievements on Forced Labour, notably the B4IG Toolbox on Agency Workers and Service Providers that was published earlier this year. Following remarks by Steve Moody, the Director of the US State Department’s Office of International Labour Affairs, Board members then engaged in discussions on the coordination between governments and businesses to tackle Forced Labour, in the context of recent efforts at the European Union and United States level.
Then, the project of a Just Transition Fund was presented by Lionel Paquin, Deputy Head of Real Assets, member of Amundi Executive Committee and Laurence Laplane-Rigal, Head of Impact Investing at Amundi. The Fund will support SMEs and SMIs to increase their economic performance and scale up their social impact. A “consortium” will be set up around the fund to involve key stakeholders especially B4IG companies.
Board Members were then presented with the results of the B4IG Incubator’s 2022 cohort in the form of a movie.
Incubator 2022
The 2023 Incubator Program came to an end on December 1st, when we gathered the B4IG Community around our yearly Graduation Event. This year, the B4IG Incubator supported 10 social innovation projects related to Diversity & Inclusion, Access to Essential Goods and Services, Just Transition, and Inclusive Sourcing, and located in 7 countries around the world.
Focusing on early-stage projects, the 2023 Incubator program aimed to help project teams manage socially innovative projects and prepare for their future scale-up phase. It included several training sessions on the fundamentals of inclusive business, with the support of a consultant for each project team throughout the program. To learn more about the 2023 projects and the key takeaways from the program, watch the 2022 B4IG Incubator movie!
From the OECD
Celebrating its 2-year anniversary, on November 25th, the OECD Centre on Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE) launched its new Observatory on Social Mobility and Equal Opportunity that aims to push forward the OECD’s work on these key topics by collecting new data, discussing new policy options and analysing the role played by the civil society and the private sector.
During the launch event, the OECD Secretary-General delivered an opening keynote address exploring the issues of social mobility and equal opportunity in the context of the recovery and ongoing megatrends, and introduced the Observatory and the new OECD hub on social mobility and equal opportunity. The event also included an intervention by a representative from Youthwise, the OECD's Youth Advisory Board, who provided insights into what youth see as priorities for the agenda on equal opportunities. This was followed by a high-level roundtable with policy makers and key civil society stakeholders on how to promote social mobility and equal opportunity on the ground. Finally, the launch included an expert workshop focused on sharing research experience and innovations from around the world. You can watch the event here.
Around the Globe
EFRAG submitted the first set of draft European sustainability reporting standards (ESRS) to the European Commission on November 22th. This first set takes into consideration the input from the public consultation on the draft ESRS Exposure Drafts. The European Commission will now consult EU bodies and Member States on the draft standards, before adopting the final standards as delegated acts in June 2023. The reporting requirements will be phased in over time for different kinds of companies. This first set of 12 draft ESRS is composed of Cross-cutting standards (ESRS 1 and 2) and Topical standards on Environment (ESRS E1to E5), Social (ESRS S1 to S4) and Governance (ESRS G1).
The Fair Circularity Initiative was launched end of November by UK NGO Tearfund, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Nestlé and PepsiCo. The group has developed Fair Circularity Principles in collaboration with Shift. These principles apply the responsibilities outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights to the informal waste sector. Earlier this month, Tearfund and Unilever presented the initiative to the members of the WG on Inclusive Recycling. Moving forward, the WG will discuss possibilities to join forces and build on this exciting work.
The World Benchmarking Alliance, issued in November the fifth iteration of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, which assesses 127 companies in the food and agricultural products, ICT manufacturing, and automotive manufacturing sectors. Key findings and full report here.
On Living Wage, AIM-Progress has launched a practical guide to support its members, FMCG companies and beyond to build living wages into their supply chains. The Playbook compiles publicly available case-studies and knowledge already identified or developed as part of this process. Download the Playbook here.
Save the date(s)
WG3 Inclusive Recycling meeting on January 25th from 3-4pm CET to discuss possible synergies with the Fair Circularity Initiative and next steps.
WG4 Social Metrics and Impact meeting on January 24th from 3-4pm CET to finalise the Living Wage mapping with member companies.
WG1 Grievance Mechanisms meeting to be organised in January/February (date TBC) to continue best practice sharing from member companies and to discuss potential collective action.
WG2 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion meeting to be organised in January (date TBC) to share the roadmap for 2023 on the selected focus areas (age/generation and DEI Survey).
WG3 Living Wage meeting to be organised in January (date TBC) to share a first draft of the key learnings from the work cycle conducted in 2022, bringing together concrete cases from member companies and tools.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to the B4IG team should you have any questions (contact@b4ig.org).
Thanks for reading, and be sure to follow B4IG on Twitter and LinkedIn!
The B4IG Team