Soft Skiils

Why should we care? The social side of sustainability

François Barrault focuses on how companies can make a greater difference by making an investment instead of a simple donation

François Barrault

When someone asked me in last year’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on why the business people should care about sustainability, my answer was simple: “CEOs have children too”.

The theme at Davos was “The Shifting Power Equation”. As Klaus Schwab, the Forum’s Founder and Executive Chairman, said, it was chosen because “economies are booming and the global signs are promising, but underneath are also economic, political and social risks, imbalances and inconsistencies.”

To put it another way, there could be a very human downside to all the progress we’ve seen in recent years.

Take the achievements of the communications industry, for example—those of companies like BT. Digital networks now connect businesses and supply chains all over the world, providing applications and services that are improving many millions of lives.

But even today, five out of every six people in the world do not have Internet access. And the consequences of these are worrying. Because access to jobs and education are increasingly related to being ‘connected’, disadvantaged communities all over the world are at risk of being condemned to a life of poverty.

At this point you may well ask: why should communications companies care? Businesses exist to make profits for their shareholders, don’t they? It isn’t their job to cure the world’s ills.

It’s true—unless you’re running a charity, profit has to be your prime motive. Turn in losses and your business will have a very limited future. But business doesn’t operate in a vacuum. It interacts constantly with those around it and has a greater responsibility to society than simply to maximize its profits. In particular, I think it has a specific duty to care for anyone who might be disadvantaged by its actions.

So how can these ideals be put into practice?

An example is the three-year partnership between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and BT. Its long-term aim is to improve the prospects of thousands of children living in the most economically deprived communities of South Africa, Brazil and China—countries whose importance in the global economy is growing fast.

In this first year, the project will focus on 25 schools in two of South Africa’s most disadvantaged provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. By installing 250 computers and connecting them to the Internet, it will provide more than 18,000 children with practical IT skills that will improve their employment prospects, and give them a real chance of escaping the cycle of poverty that has blighted their communities.

The benefits of a project like this for the children of developing countries are clear. But let’s be open about this—the business stands to benefit as well.

It’s no secret that global companies are finding it harder to attract and keep top talent these days. Outstanding employees know they have the upper hand and are increasingly looking for jobs that offer more than good pay and working conditions. They want to feel they’re making a difference to the world and increasingly prefer to work for companies whose actions and values align with their own.

Just as important is that, South Africa is fast becoming a key market for multinational enterprises. With a GDP growth of 4.4 percent—the fourth highest in the world—many companies are now adding South Africa to the list of emerging economies they do business in, turning BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) into BRICS.

Clearly if companies are investing in South Africa and growing their business there, it makes sense to invest in the country’s people as well. Who knows how many of those companies who help educate today could go on to play a big role in their future.

So it’s true—when business acts to improve society and the environment, it often does so in ways that meet the needs of its customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders and adds value to its bottom line. Business is business after all, and companies are in business to make a profit.

But this benefits both sides. In deciding to make an investment instead of a simple donation, companies make a far greater commitment to achieving the expected outcome. That way, both business and society will get a good return.

François Barrault is CEO, BT Global Services