Tuesday, 30 June 2020 07:29
We are proud to announce that 26 Oslo Business for Peace Award winners have come together to release a joint Call to Action statement calling to build back better business in the wake of the current pandemic.
Representing over 23 countries, this Call to Action is a united voice for business leaders in diverse sectors and across the globe.
This interview is a part of a series highlighting #businessworthy efforts in response to covid-19 and has been edited for length and format. Watch the full interview here: https://www.facebook.com/businessworthy/videos/2825640327548691/
What does Covid-19 look like in a country with no stable government? Until April, Covid-19 was something Yemenis citizens only read about in the news. Other major challenges were already part of their daily life. War and hunger have been their reality since September 2014.
The Former Minister of Information and former Chief Editor of Yemen Times, Dr. Nadia al-Sakkaf has hope for the private sector to rebuild the country and bring a future to the many young Yemenis entrepreneurs. The 2013 Business for Peace Honouree gave us insight as to the current situation, the growth of the business sector, and what anyone — everyone — can do in order to positively change the future of Yemen.
What is the COVID-19 situation in Yemen?
We knew inevitably that the virus would come, but there is no state authority, so who is going to prepare us? It is left to civil society and the private sector. More than 24 million people — 80% of the population — is in need of humanitarian assistance. There is a lack of infrastructure, sanitation, and access to clean water, making the population vulnerable. There are other diseases which are being spread as well. Until April, Covid-19 was unreal. What was real to them was war and hunger.
We started to teach about social distancing and hand washing. Some of the reactions we received were so sad. “You’re telling me to wash my hands with soap and water. I don’t have access to soap or clean water.” For many young men on the frontline, they would rather die from a bullet than to the suffocation felt from Covid-19. The reality is that the choice is still death. There is a disconnect and a denial of the extent of this.
Can you tell us about the projects you’re working on in response to the pandemic?
I’m a part of several small projects. One is the Women’s Solidarity Network, which partners with Food for Humanity. This organisation is on the ground helping communities get access to clean water.
Then there is also the global advocacy element. We’re trying to amplify women Yemenis voices through op-eds in mainstream media to try and bring a different perspective. I am disappointed in mainstream media. International newspapers are not accepting these pieces because they don’t write about war or famine.
At Business for Peace, we focus on the role of businesses in building up societies. What role do you see for the private sector in helping Yemen through this crisis?
Yemeni business people are the ones providing protective and testing equipment. Their sense of social responsibility is big. Tech-based entrepreneurs held a hackathon in April. There were three ideas that passed onto the next stage: a medical consultation app, low-cost, fast-paced mask production, and recycling plastic for PPE with 3D printing. These great ideas need more support; there’s so much potential.
Yemen is a large country, but it is very fragmented. The de facto authority is the private sector. They’re the ones that will bring the country back, and it is important to acknowledge them as an important stakeholder. They are being ignored but ignoring the private sector in national policy does not make sense. They are involved in the local levels, involved in sanitation, clean water, and renewable energy. The private sector is holding the community together and giving people hope.
The economy will motivate people. Yemenis are getting paid to be involved in the frontline. If they have a proper job, if they have a system around them that is somewhat prosperous, they will think twice before they join any armed conflict. The solution is economic, not political.
Much of your career has been about women’s empowerment. What sort of unique role do women play in navigating this crisis?
Globally, women make up 75% of healthcare workers. Equal pay, promotions, and even just recognition would help. Women are working hard on the frontlines and have been able to mediate more than the official means. Yemeni women deserve recognition for what they do. They are powerful. They are superheroes, despite disadvantages and lack of resources and even the cultural discrimination against them. It’s not right.
Women-led organisations are doing much better than male-led organisations. They are more effective and cut through the nonsense and get things done. They are the ones who are the peace builders.
I cannot express enough how important it is to consider women as a main stakeholder when it comes to discussions. For sustainable and fair peace, women need to be at the table and involved in partnerships.
Finally, many people are talking about the chance to build a new normal. What would you prioritise?
Talk to the real actors on the ground and recognise them, in Yemen and countries in similar conditions. Facilitate the engagement of Yemeni entrepreneurs. We need to think about the economy post-Covid. It doesn’t have to be expensive. You could easily start a project for $1000 and help a community of 200. Just the planting of the seed will quickly spread to others. They will be jealous and will want to replicate the success. We need to motivate and network the right people.
Want to help?
Support the initiatives! A like, retweet, comment, or signing a pledge helps gain global attention. You can support organisations like Food for Humanity or sign the petition for a ceasefire. The Hackathon ideas need expertise, funding, and expanded networks.
Free speech allows room for discussion and perspective. Make sure women’s voices are heard globally in the Yemeni peace process.
Support from abroad “brings life back to us,” as Nadia said.
Wednesday, 13 May 2020 09:02
This interview is a part of a series highlighting #businessworthy efforts in response to covid-19 and has been edited for length and format. Watch the full interview here: https://www.facebook.com/businessworthy/videos/2880110645413004/
How has the crisis affected your business?
Covid-19 has affected every business. We were shut down from 15 January, and offices reopened by the last week of February. In my organisation, everyone was working from home. We had been working with our member companies for the past fifteen years on a plan in case of an epidemic so that they would be prepared. We were perhaps the least affected companies in China as a result of that.
I remember an article from 2006 written by Keith Bradsher, who at the time was the bureau chief for the New York Times in Hong Kong. In that article, he talked about the possibility of an outbreak in 2006. I discussed with him the possibility of not if an outbreak will happen, but when.
Thanks to that discussion, we did a survey of our companies on how prepared they were and we found out that they were not. We are not as affected by this outbreak because we had a plan. Our preparedness and our willingness to face the problem head-on has helped keep our employees safe. We have worked hard — from home.
You have been doing a lot of work in response to the global pandemic to help those in immediate need. Can you tell us about the initiatives you’ve been doing with the Chamber in this regard?
Our first priority was to raise money. Regardless of the wealth level of a country, there are those that are not caught up and have been left behind. We have raised $38 million USD, which has been distributed to those who need it most in China, Cambodia, and the U.S. We also distributed over one million USD to frontline workers. Business has an obligation to move ahead and not wait for direction. We cannot wait for governments to take action; they have their own priorities. Business has an obligation to fill the void, to continue to secure the supply chain.
One of the many studies we have done this year was in March, and focused on the supply chain. The study raised the alarm that 32% of the 237 companies we surveyed in China were already facing shortage of materials or were already empty. A good portion of these products were to be shipped to Asia, Europe, and the U.S. We need to guarantee that continual movement of supplies.
We are helping people with immediate needs like masks and supplies, and helping to make sure the supply chain is open and operational. Most of our member companies are now fully operational again. There are some that are not, but that is because there are 50,000 expats who have not been able to return to China yet. We are working with several authorities on that to try to find ways to get production back up to the top level.
How have you as a leader responded with regards to your team? What sort of leadership demands have been on you?
We have an excellent team. Everyone here recognises that the problem is everybody’s problem, and no one person can do it alone. No country can do it alone.
What I see is that a lot of people are pointing their finger at the politicians for not being as prepared as they perhaps should have been. Every country in the world is staffed with thousands of professionals whose job is to prepare us. We need to re-examine how to change the process so that the people in charge actually have us prepared.
One of the things that I consider the responsibility of business, is that while we try to overcome the current difficulties, we must look forward to the future. For example my partners and I in Allelon Energy Systems, built a power plant in a poor area of China in 1993. That area developed as a result of having electricity, and they became one of the most well-off areas of China.
We reduced our carbon footprint of the city by recently decommissioning that plant. We took care to make sure that the land was redeveloped and turned it into one of the world’s largest medical instrument development and manufacturing centres. We will be investing in similar projects, and this one will create 35,000 high-skilled jobs. It will house a research development centre, university branches, and all kinds of things that can help solve the current and future problems.
How do you hope the world changes in the aftermath of this crisis?
There is a fire burning in each and every one of us. It doesn’t matter what religion you are, what country you’re from. None of that matters. That fire is to give our children a better life than the one we have ourselves. Every investment I’ve ever made, I’ve always kept in mind that whoever is touched by my investment, is going to have the ability to give their children a better life than they have. I think that I have achieved that in every one of my investments.
If we go forward with that in mind, then all of the questions of a better environment, global warming, world hunger, all of these things will have been answered, because our focus will have been to create a world where ALL of us can give our children a better life than we had.
If we make that a reality for everyone, we will not worry about wars, hunger, or the environment. Whatever you do, whatever your investment, has to have this in mind.
Thursday, 30 April 2020 14:32
This interview is a part of a series highlighting #businessworthy efforts in response to Covid19. For more on Sarah Beydoun, visit https://sarahsbag.com/our-story/
Sarah’s Bag is a Lebanese fashion house and social enterprise that empowers women, employing over 200 prisoners, ex-prisoners and underprivileged women. Their artisan handbags have been spotted on the arms of Beyoncé and Amal Clooney, but now the company is navigating a dual crisis.
In many parts of the world, the economic and political situation was already precarious before the pandemic outbreak. Producing and selling products in Lebanon has not been easy since the revolution began several months ago. This means that the current pandemic forced 2016 Business for Peace Honouree Sarah Beydoun to take on the complexities of a crisis on top of a crisis. We talked with the fashion designer and entrepreneur about how her company, Sarah’s Bag, is responding.
What’s the situation in Lebanon?
For us, the pandemic has been able to inflict maximum damage on a country already going through one of the worst crises of its history. By the time we started quarantine in March, Lebanon was already months into the worst financial crisis the country has seen since the Civil War ended in 1991.
As a social enterprise, the human element of our work is at the heart of what we do and everything that we create. We are involved in local initiatives to support the creative sector in Lebanon, because this feels like an existential crisis for all of us here. We don’t know where the country is heading.
Sarah’s Bag has been in crisis mode for the past five months. We have been in business for 20 years. We have already weathered war and political and economic crises, but what we are experiencing now is unprecedented. I am in a crisis within a crisis.
How has the pandemic affected your business? How have you as a leader responded?
I had to be honest with my team and tell them that things are tough and are going to be tough for a while. We had to make difficult decisions as a team and a company.
During the past five months, hundreds of businesses in Lebanon have gone bankrupt, or cut hours, salaries and jobs. Unlike others, I wanted to avoid lay-offs as much as I could. Now, we are operating at 10% of our capacity, so some of the team and I are on half salaries. However, for employees who are in the lower wage bracket, the salary cuts were less.
We worked on a strategy to compensate for the local loss in sales by focusing on our online boutique in addition to focusing on the international market. The type of products people are buying are essentials and things for the home. We therefore plan to work on big pieces for home décor rather than for handbags. This way, I can keep all these artisans employed.
What would you say to fellow business leaders about how to act during these times?
Consumers are more aware than ever of how brands treat their workers. Companies have to be careful not to be tone deaf during a crisis. People will be watching to see how these companies will react, and business as usual will no longer work. I do not think people will go back to this. This is the right time for businesses to think of the kind of impact they can have, and I hope this means an increase in social enterprises.
Businesses have to find ways to protect their workers, especially in crisis. This means we have to focus on saving jobs as much as possible. This is more important than shareholder profits; these are the people behind the successes of the company. It would be incredibly sad and disheartening if there isn’t any kind of reevaluation of business values after this global disaster.
I started from scratch. When you start from scratch, you can always do it again. A lot of businesses also are going to start listening to social demands, and other businesses are going to emerge as a response to social needs.
Many people worry that this crisis will have a disproportionate impact on underprivileged groups. At the same time, there might be an opportunity to create a ‘new normal.’ How do you hope the world changes in the aftermath of this crisis?
We have to be in tune with what is happening around us. The crisis will impact a lot of underprivileged people. Everywhere in the world, this is going to impact those who have the least. There will be an opportunity to create a new normal. I hope people will emerge from this crisis and extract from it a new way of acting and living.
A lot of nice things come out of a crisis. This pandemic has brought the world closer and people are looking for instances of hope, kindness, solidarity and humanity. These should also be business values and consumers will be watching to see how companies stepped up and had a positive impact during a crisis and these companies will be rewarded for it with loyalty after this difficult time is over.
Thursday, 23 April 2020 13:28
At a ceremony which took place at Clarence House, 2011 Business for Peace Honouree Sir Francis Yeoh received the Queen’s knighthood (KBE) by HRH Prince Charles. This is an incredible achievement, which celebrates Sir Yeoh’s extensive contributions to economic relations and to economic growth. Sir Yeoh is the managing director of the YTL Corporation, Malaysia’s top integrated infrastructure group.
The Foundation is delighted to see our Honourees continue to be leading examples of businessworthy behaviour long after they receive the Oslo Business for Peace Award.
Sustainable business is a core reason as to why the Award Committee chose Sir Yeoh to be one of the recipients of the 2011 Oslo Business for Peace Award. To this day YTL continues to thrive in and focus on long-term sustainability business practices, which takes into account not only the social and economic aspects, but the environmental and cultural as well.
“I feel humbled and honoured by this award which recognises the hard work of all the great employees at the YTL Group in the UK and Malaysia. I also want to thank my family for their support and love, which gives me strength and energy in my work.”
For more information in YTL, visit: http://www.ytl.com/aboutus.asp
For more news from Business for Peace: see: https://businessforpeace.org/category/news/
Sources:
https://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/article/2260/25-oct-2019-kingston-university-alumnus-tan-sri-sir-francis-yeoh-receives-queens-knighthood-kbe-at-clarence-house/
Malaysian tycoon Francis Yeoh receives British royal honour
This interview is a part of a series highlighting #businessworthy efforts in response to Covid-19. For more on Vladas Lasas and his rebel leadership, see: https://vimeo.com/404685461
You’ve taken swift action to start new initiatives in response to the global pandemic crisis. Can you tell us what you’re working on?
“In mid-March, we started Hack the Crisis, which is now a global initiative. It is supported by the European Union and is attracting people globally. In the beginning, only small countries like Estonia and Lithuania were part of the initiative and we were surprised at how productive it was. We had 1000+ attendees joining; everybody managed to work on Zoom and Slack teams. Everything was almost as if it happened in person, even though it was on teleconferencing. It is incredible. We need to stay up-to-speed if we want to make an impact on the world and help people.”
How has the crisis affected your core business? How have you as a leader responded?
I am trying to help our CEOs with what can be done. In a time of crisis, there is a lot of opportunity to grow new leaders, to help them, to encourage and mentor them. I think it is better for everybody and for the future if you use the situation as an opportunity to grow leadership in your young colleagues.
You’ve previously told us that sometimes one has to be a rebel to make change. Is that what you’re doing now?
Yes absolutely. People are reluctant and, as always, a little bit afraid of change. One thing that institutions and officials do not recongise or understand is that democracies and their resources are optimised for an ordinary way of living. We are right now in a completely unprecedented situation. It is understandable that governments do not have resources to deal with this on their own. We have exponential growth of our enemy, and therefore we need stronger exponential growth in order to break the barriers.
What sorts of collaborations and partnerships are needed in order to respond quickly?
Institutions should not have any objections to accept help from professionals, academics, and the private sector, and let them do things that institutions in the government cannot. Sometimes in business the best people are outside of your company.
In democratic societies you can easily mobilise people. If you communicate in the right way and are open. That is really the test as to how democratic a country is, if you can accept help from people and let the professor work next to the minister and have a level understanding that the academic knows better in this situation. The Lithuanian National Health Authorities at first were really slow at communicating. The data was handled mostly manually. No system was prepared for this. In a few days, we managed to get the best IT guy next to the Head of Authority, and within a few days we got these pain points fixed. It’s only one example but I remember 30 years ago, early in Lithuania’s independence, we had some code to take over from the Soviets at that time. I worked with no official authority but I was working with the Parliament to help communicate and translate for journalists about what was going on. That was also without any approval or order or law for that. Red tape that is usually useful in ordinary times, needs to be cut.
What would you say to fellow business leaders about how to act during these times?
Use this situation to make your organisation stronger, to grow new leaders. Look for new opportunities. These are really huge right now. It is hidden as a crisis, but actually we can handle the crisis and build up more new and good things for the future.
Thank you so much for your insight and time, Vladas! We are feeling more confident in winning at the Olympics now.
Wednesday, 20 March 2019 10:22
The 2019 Business for Peace Honourees who are delivering opportunities for women, minorities and diverse and disadvantaged groups
The Oslo Business for Peace Award is given to inspiring business leaders around the globe who have accomplished extraordinary things. The award honours ambassadors of businessworthy values, who are shaping society for the better.
The 2019 recipients are: Dr Agbor Ashumanyi Ako, co-founder of GiftedMom, Alice Laugher, the CEO of CTG (Committed to Good) and Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder and CEO of Chobani.
These three leaders are at the helm of companies which have a broader view than just the bottom line and see business as a tool for change. As individuals, they look at the world around them and work to improve it.
“The 2019 Honourees have managed to create enterprises with a significant social impact, exemplifying outstanding business contributions to society. In a world of imbalance, they have taken the initiative to establish and grow businesses that offer opportunities to women, minorities, diverse and disadvantaged groups”, comments Business for Peace Founder, Per L. Saxegaard. “These three celebrated individuals have worked tirelessly to counteract inequalities, encouraging inclusion and democratising access to health, aid, and work. Through their businesses, they promote human rights, contribute to sustaining peace and help build environments in which human potential can flourish.”
Agbor Ashumanyi Ako is one of the co-founders of GiftedMom, a digital health platform based in Cameroon that gives pregnant women and mothers across Africa access to vital health information and care.
As a digital-first platform, GiftedMom is able to expand faster than traditional health care systems and the start-up aims to reach 10 million women in the next 10 years. Started by Alain Nteff and Doctor Tankou Conrad in 2012, the platform now has over 170,000 users.
The award-winning app has significantly improved both pregnancy check-up attendance and vaccination turnouts, with an ultimate goal to see a world free of preventable maternal and infant deaths.
Dr Agbor enthuses, “This recognition is a symbol to show that there is progress in the right direction for the company GiftedMom. It comes as a reminder of the mission ahead. Being nominated by experts from the United Nations Development Programme Business Call to Action community and selected by former Nobel Peace Prize laureates is an indication of how the work GiftedMom is doing provides a global solution to help solve today’s challenges.”
Alice Laugher is the CEO of CTG, Committed to Good, which provides employment and logistics services to development and relief programmes in fragile and conflict-affected countries. From running Ebola treatment clinics in Liberia, to food distribution in Afghanistan and South Sudan, monitoring and assisting refugees in Libya, and rebuilding government constitution in Somalia, the work of CTG is as diverse as our world’s issues.
British-born Laugher is a vocal advocate for the Sustainable Development Agenda, with a particular focus on gender equality. She is passionate about CTG being a force for good and creating economic opportunities for women in war-torn regions through CTG’s initiative Female First, which pledges that 30% of project-related roles are represented by women by 2030. She explains: “At CTG, we’ve made empowering women through humanitarian employment in conflict-affected regions our focus. This award, this incredible recognition for our commitment, strengthens our determinations that we are moving in the right direction. I hope it will inspire business leaders, both women and men, to believe that their commitments to change and peace – no matter how small or large in scale – are the only way forward.”
Hamdi Ulukaya is the founder and CEO of Chobani, the company behind the number one Greek yoghurt in America. Today, Chobani has over 2,000 employees in the United States, 30 percent of which are legally resettled immigrants and refugees. Ulukaya has created a corporate culture in which everyone is welcome and has an opportunity to thrive with innovative profit-sharing and parental leave programmes. Ulukaya has also taken a leadership role in the global business community to encourage action from the private sector to tackle the global refugee crisis.
Turkish-born Ulukaya comments: “I’m very humbled by this honor, and I’m proud to accept it on behalf of the women and men of team Chobani. This new way of business–where companies focus on people and not just profits, try to make the world a little bit better–should be at the heart of every modern company. As CEOs we don’t need to have more, we need to do more. When we see an injustice, we need to speak out. When we have tools and resources to solve problems, we have to use them.”
The Oslo Business for Peace Award is given out annually to exemplary business leaders who apply their business energy ethically and responsibly, creating economic and societal value. Winners are selected by an independent committee of Nobel Prize winners in Peace and in Economics after a global nomination process through the International Chamber of Commerce, United Nations Global Compact, United Nations Development Programme, and Principles for Responsible Investment. The Award Committee consists of Ouided Bouchamaoui (Tunisia), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Finn Kydland (Norway), and Eric Maskin (USA). The committee evaluated the nominees on the criteria of being a role model to society and their peers, having earned trust by stakeholders, and standing out as an advocate.
The three winners received the Award in a ceremony at Oslo City Hall on 15 May 2019 as part of the annual Business for Peace Summit.
Thursday, 14 March 2019 20:01
On March 20, we will announce who will receive the 2019 Oslo Business for Peace Award. Following a global nomination process through our partners, the International Chamber of Commerce, Principles for Responsible Investment, UN Development Programme, and UN Global Compact, our Award Committee of Nobel Laureates has made its selection.
Hear from Raymond Johansen, Governing Mayor of Oslo, Per Saxegaard, Board Chair of Business for Peace, and Fiona Reynolds, CEO of Principles for Responsible Investment, as they share the news.
Tuesday, 21 August 2018 12:20
Business for Peace is seeking candidates for the 2019 Oslo Business for Peace Award. Candidates can be nominated through the Foundation’s global partners: International Chamber of Commerce, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Global Compact and, new this year, Principles for Responsible Investment.
The Award, first conferred in 2009, is the highest distinction given to a business leader who exemplifies outstanding businessworthy accomplishments: ethically and responsibly creating value both for business and society.
Help us celebrate businessworthy leaders and nominate a candidate for the 2019 Award by using our partner nomination tool via the links below.
Candidates can come from a wide variety of business backgrounds and industries. Previous Award recipients range from a United Kingdom product designer who has created sustainable refrigeration, to a Nigerian entrepreneur who has increased the overall returns to rice farmers through improved quality, enhanced productivity, and guaranteed crop buy-back.
There are three evaluation criteria:
Following the nomination process, Honourees will be selected by an independent committee consisting of Nobel Laureates in peace and economics. The current Award Committee consists of Ouided Bouchamaoui (Tunisia), Shirin Ebadi (Iran), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Finn Kydland (Norway), and Eric Maskin (USA).
Winners of the 2019 Oslo Business for Peace Award will be announced March 20, 2019 and will be presented with the award at Oslo City Hall May 15, 2019 in a public ceremony. Previous winners include Elon Musk (Tesla and SolarCity), Paul Polman (Unilever), Marilyn Carlson Nelson (Carlson Companies), Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Sarah Beydoun (Sarah’s Bag), Edgar Montenegro (Corpocampo), Martin Naughton (Glen Dimplex Group), and Durreen Shahnaz (Impact Investment Exchange).
Monday, 09 July 2018 17:32
The 2018 Business for Peace Summit brought together business leaders, investors, politicians, academics, and civil society to discuss businesses’ role in accelerating climate leadership and how trust is central to the way forward.
The Summit report, prepared in collaboration with McKinsey, covers how businesses can thrive by embracing sustainability, the role of the finance sector in funding a sustainable future, what’s ahead for the energy sector, and more.
See key insights from Summit speakers such as Christiana Figueres, Convenor of Mission 2020, Matthew Harrington, Global COO of Edelman, Leymah Gbowee, Liberian peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2011, and other thought leaders. Case studies from companies across the world add further insight.