Climate change. Natural and man-made disasters. Political unrest. A global pandemic. Yet despite all that, humanity still exists. We plan, work, and hope. In this day and age, despite everything, we’ve seen a different level of resilience that makes one think it’s not all doom and gloom after all.
As these crises continue to develop, there are two questions that must be asked: what have we learned and what do we do next? How can we and our businesses survive and thrive in the face of challenges?
The answer may lie in shared value. Shared value is based on the idea that a company can thrive while achieving social progress through togetherness, collaboration, and innovation. It is designed to promote business practices that yield profits while simultaneously improving livability for all, thus creating winning outcomes for the planet as a whole. Whether it’s about energy-saving initiatives, promoting green living, addressing social issues such as food insecurity and access to proper healthcare, shared value practices allow businesses to take actions that will create significant impact and positive solutions.
How is your business contributing to and forging a meaningful narrative about the social issues our world — our country, even — is facing? Nowadays, even consumers are looking at the ways enterprises are building not just profitable products, but also building a smarter and more sustainable future through it. Is your business creating strategies for a new reality in which we strive to serve the needs of the people in ways that are gentler to society and the world?
It may be hard to believe that a more accountable and resilient world can emerge but there is always a way. Of course, just like with any endeavor, it is much more efficient if done with like-minded people. Shared value will champion your business along with other enterprises that are keen on advancing economic and social conditions.
Here’s a word from one of our internal public relations experts on the reality of shared value, and why your company should care. It bolsters not just good PR, but goodwill, good practices, and good company culture overall.
The Crises of the Post-Industrial Revolution
by Rene D. Pineda, Jr.
Projections have it that the peak oil will happen in two or three decades. When this happens, the world’s economy is expected to be hit hard, not only because of the mad scramble for supply that may or may not lead to wars, but also by the inevitable shift to non-fossil fuel economy because the majority of the industries are not ready. Peak oil is when the maximum rate of extraction of petroleum is reached, after which it is expected to enter into a terminal decline.
Already, continuous pressure by the civil society sector on the oil industry resulted in a major setback. The oil and gas industry, after all, accounts for 42% of global carbon emissions. The call to reduce these emissions, the call to de-carbonize, have been heeded by many an industry giant. This move to de-carbonize is, of course, expected to affect the economy as a whole because the industries, and practically all industries, will have to bear the brunt of the painful and expensive transition.
And as this creates a precedent, we can almost expect that more and more players in the oil industry will continue to comply.
Coupling this phenomenon with the pandemic crisis, we can almost conclude that the world is transitioning into a new order. We can deduce, therefore, that our crises are rooted in environmental degradation and worsening public health. These have been wreaking havoc, not only on the life-sustaining systems of the planet earth, but also on social equality.
Many scientists, academicians, and economists had long seen these coming. They had been issuing warnings and offering solutions. The academicians had postulated the idea of Shared Value as one of the major solutions.
Shared Value is defined as business policies and strategies aimed at enhancing competitiveness – even in the worst of times – while also addressing social issues that beset the market.
There are only very few practitioners of Shared Value in the country. It may benefit you, as early as now, to have a chat with one of them.