第1章
When Business Meets Purpose: The Power of Corporate Change
In a world where business and social impact increasingly intersect, Alice Korngold's "A Better World, Inc." arrives at a pivotal moment. This isn't just another corporate social responsibility handbook-it's a comprehensive roadmap showing how companies can drive meaningful change while enhancing their bottom line. The book has become required reading in boardrooms across Fortune 500 companies, with executives from Microsoft to Unilever citing its influence on their sustainability strategies. What makes this work particularly significant is its timing-emerging as global challenges like climate change and inequality reach critical inflection points, while simultaneously, stakeholder capitalism gains unprecedented momentum. Through meticulous research spanning five continents, Korngold demonstrates that when companies embrace inclusion and sustainability, they don't just contribute to social good-they unlock tremendous business value. The question isn't whether corporations should address global challenges, but how they can do so most effectively while creating shared prosperity.
第2章
Corporate Power as a Force for Global Transformation
The vision of an inclusive, sustainable future depends on recognizing a fundamental truth: corporate boards hold tremendous power to shape our world. These boards determine how wealth is created and distributed, who gets employed, which suppliers receive contracts, and where retirement portfolios are invested. Their decisions influence policies on education, healthcare, and human rights, while determining which countries receive investment capital.
This power comes with responsibility. The book expands on the Golden Rule, envisioning a world where every person has the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential, live in peace and safety, and enjoy community with others. This vision isn't merely idealistic-it's pragmatic for business success. Companies that embrace inclusion and sustainability aren't just doing good; they're positioning themselves for long-term prosperity.
Discrimination and marginalization based on ignorance and bias not only denies fundamental human rights but wastes valuable human capital and talent. In the United States, white communities receive resources at approximately three times the rate of the least-served racial communities. Globally, climate injustice plays out along colonial lines, with countries in the Southern hemisphere suffering the worst effects despite contributing minimally to emissions.
Gender equity represents another critical dimension. Women and girls worldwide face systemic discrimination in education, healthcare, employment, and human rights. They are fourteen times more likely to die in climate events and four times more likely to be displaced. Of the 349 million severely hungry people globally, nearly 60% are women and girls, trapped in cycles of disadvantage by deep-rooted gender norms and lack of equal rights.
The past decade has revealed crucial lessons for addressing these systemic problems: collaboration between businesses, NGOs, and governments is essential; technology innovation is fundamental; home-grown leadership from affected communities is vital; people-centered approaches that co-create solutions yield better results; and hybrid models that adapt solutions to local contexts rather than imposing external frameworks prove most effective.
第3章
Climate Crisis: Business Risks and Opportunities
Climate change represents an existential threat that makes sustainability fundamental to business success. The twin crises of nature loss and climate change cannot be addressed separately-we must solve both or we'll solve neither. Since the 1970s, humanity has been extracting more resources than Earth can renew-currently requiring 1.7 years to regenerate what we consume in one year. Without changes, we'll need three Earths' worth of resources by 2050.
Climate and environmental justice represent critical ethical issues requiring redress. Throughout the Global South, resource extraction causes severe environmental damage and social harm, particularly to indigenous and rural communities. Weak governance and corruption mean revenues disproportionately benefit corporations while bypassing communities of origin.
Climate change functions as "an accelerant of instability and a threat multiplier," according to the American Security Project. These predictions have proven eerily prescient, with climate change increasingly recognized as a harbinger of violence and instability.
Yet within these challenges lie tremendous opportunities. Companies can grow value by providing market-based solutions to mitigate climate damage. We already possess the technology to transition energy systems and build more resilient cities with infrastructures adaptable to extreme weather and natural disasters. The challenge isn't capability but will. Market forces present a powerful mechanism to save our planet, with customers, employees, and investors driving necessary change.
In 2022, three major global conferences addressed climate and environmental challenges. COP27 in Egypt introduced the first plan to create a "loss and damage" fund for the Global North to compensate the Global South for environmental damage. COP15 in Montreal secured commitments to conserve 30% of the planet's terrestrial and marine areas by 2030. CITES CoP19 in Panama produced 365 decisions aimed at ensuring international trade in wild animals and plants doesn't threaten species survival.
Despite challenges in global agreements, meaningful progress is happening at regional levels. Governments are providing incentives for climate action while competing for economic opportunities worth a potential $43 trillion by 2070. Examples include the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, the EU's "Fit for 55" package, India's Production Linked Incentive plan, and China's Five-Year-Plan.
第4章
Corporate Innovation for Environmental Solutions
Businesses are finding market opportunities in decarbonization solutions for cities, buildings, and transportation. With over half the world's population living in urban areas and cities generating more than 80% of global GDP, urbanization presents both challenges and opportunities. Cities account for 70% of global carbon emissions, with buildings alone responsible for nearly 40% of energy-related emissions.
Trane Technologies exemplifies how companies can evolve from equipment manufacturers to global climate innovators. The company now provides decarbonization consulting services that combine facility and financial engineering expertise. This shift has transformed sustainability from a risk concern to a revenue opportunity, gaining board-level attention. Trane's solutions include energy efficiency through AI software, electrification through heat recovery systems, refrigerant management, and renewable energy implementation.
Intel has developed technologies essential for smart cities by focusing on microgrids-smaller, more flexible, decentralized energy systems. These microgrids operate locally, allow for more sustainable energy consumption, enable usage tracking, and facilitate transitions between renewable energy sources without service disruption.
Carbon pricing represents corporate sustainability's next evolution, allowing companies to assign financial value to each aspect of their CO2 reduction strategy. CDP reports an 80% increase in companies using or planning internal carbon pricing over five years, with most using it to drive low-carbon investment, energy efficiency, and behavior change.
Market forces are proving to be powerful drivers for environmental conservation as businesses recognize both risks and opportunities. The World Bank warns that ecosystem collapse could reduce global GDP by $2.7 trillion by 2030, while "nature-smart policies" could increase GDP by $50-150 billion. For food and agriculture companies, climate change threatens production through extreme weather, floods and droughts.
Private-sector collaboration is essential for sustainable development progress. In 2019, Action for Sustainable Derivatives (ASD) was formed as a collaborative initiative co-managed by BSR and Transitions to transform palm oil derivative supply chains. By 2022, ASD achieved collective transparency for 825,000 tons of palm-based materials-nearly double its first year.
第5章
Economic Development Through Inclusive Growth
Global economic trends create both risks and opportunities for businesses worldwide. The private sector has become the key driver in advancing global prosperity, with private finance growing by 10% annually compared to public finance's 2%. Companies find strategic growth opportunities by helping advance people from poverty to middle class, gaining access to new markets, developing workforces, and driving innovation.
The wealth gap presents a serious global threat, with 52% of global income going to the richest 10% while the poorest half earn only 8.5%. Even more stark is wealth ownership-76% owned by the richest tenth versus just 2% by the bottom half. This growing disparity undermines economic development, drives health and social problems, increases crime rates, threatens democracies, and foments authoritarian movements.
Gender inequality remains severe, with women earning only 35% of labor income-a small improvement from 30% in 1990. Women earn 24% less than men, with 700 million fewer women in paid work. Meanwhile, racial inequities persist through systemic barriers. While white household wealth has tripled since the 1960s, Black household wealth has barely increased, perpetuating a racial wealth gap rooted in historical discrimination.
Nearly four billion people-half the world's population-live on less than $6.70 a day. Beyond ethical concerns, global poverty poses geopolitical threats. Brookings research shows poverty drives transnational threats including disease outbreaks, terrorism, crime syndicates, and climate change effects.
In 2022, a record 100 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced-more than double the number a decade ago and the highest since World War II. While migration causes disruptions, it also presents economic opportunities, especially for countries with declining demographics. McKinsey research shows migrants comprise just 3.4% of the global population but contribute nearly 10% of global GDP.
第6章
Innovative Models for Economic Inclusion
"Once a refugee gets a job, that's the moment they stop being a refugee," says Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani's founder who immigrated from Turkey before building a billion-dollar brand. His Tent Partnership for Refugees mobilizes over 300 multinational companies to improve the lives of 36 million displaced people through hiring, training, and mentoring. Research shows companies hiring refugees benefit from greater creativity, higher productivity, increased retention, and better marketing opportunities.
Mobile money technology has revolutionized financial inclusion by allowing previously unbanked people living in poverty to participate in the economy. In Kenya alone, registered mobile money accounts reached 67.9 million by 2022, exceeding the country's population of 55 million. This innovation has driven economic growth by enabling easier access to trade credit, increasing consumption, mitigating negative economic shocks, improving food security, and reducing extreme poverty.
M-PESA, meaning "mobile money" in Swahili, began when Vodafone responded to a UK Department for International Development proposal to deepen financial access for unbanked people. Though initially designed for microfinance loans, Vodafone quickly discovered customers were using it to send money to distant family members. Within nine months, they signed up a million subscribers.
Despite economic disruptions from the pandemic, climate change, and global conflicts, mobile money continues to thrive. Transaction values reached $1 trillion in 2021, with registered accounts growing tenfold to 1.35 billion since 2012. Africa dominates with 70% of global transaction value, with M-PESA alone serving 51 million active customers across seven countries.
Inclusive employment makes companies more innovative, competitive, and profitable by expanding access to diverse talent while increasing market consumption. Systemic racism globally degrades economies-costing France potentially 150 billion over 20 years, Brazil significant consumption opportunities, Australia $44.9 billion annually, and the US $1-1.5 trillion in lost consumption between 2019-2028.
Supportive housing provides a documented solution to homelessness by combining affordable housing with comprehensive, voluntary services addressing residents' individual needs. This approach strengthens communities by improving healthcare and safety while stabilizing property values. The Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) has created access to 385,000 homes, provided $1.5 billion in loans and grants, reformed policies across 48 states, and trained thousands through its Supportive Housing Training Center.
第7章
Education as a Pathway to Opportunity
Educational neglect threatens economic growth, with pandemic-related learning losses potentially reducing global GDP by $1.6 trillion annually by 2040. For businesses, education is existential-a well-educated workforce is essential for global competitiveness, especially in STEM fields needed to address climate change, healthcare, and other global challenges.
The United States has fallen from 2nd to 16th among OECD countries in bachelor's degree attainment for young adults, largely due to extreme wealth disparities along racial and ethnic lines. While 66% of higher education expenses in OECD countries are publicly funded, only 36% receive government funding in the US. This shift to family financing has created stark inequities-college graduation rates for students from the highest income quartile are four times higher than those from the lowest quartile.
Computer and information technology jobs are projected to grow faster than average, offering median salaries twice the overall national median-over $120,000 for network architects and $100,000+ for security analysts and software developers. Yet Black Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and American Indians remain severely underrepresented in science and engineering degrees. Gender disparities are equally stark: women comprise only 28% of STEM positions, with even lower representation in the highest-paying computer science and engineering roles.
The most effective educational interventions are developed and led by people from the communities being served, rather than solutions "parachuted in" from the Global North. Francis Kere, the first Black and first African architect to win the prestigious Pritzker Prize, exemplifies this approach. Born in Burkina Faso and educated in Germany, Kere designs buildings that serve his community by incorporating indigenous materials and local symbols.
Kennedy Odede's Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) demonstrates the power of locally-led initiatives. Growing up in Kibera, one of the world's largest slums outside Nairobi, Odede experienced firsthand the violence, lack of infrastructure, and absence of educational opportunities. Starting with a youth soccer group that evolved into street theater against domestic violence, Odede eventually gained a scholarship to Wesleyan University. Upon graduating, he returned to establish tuition-free schools for girls, the most vulnerable community members.
第8章
Corporate Partnerships for Educational Access
HP Inc. has set an ambitious goal to accelerate digital equity for 150 million people by 2030. The company's Digital Equity Accelerator aims to expand technology access for women, girls, elderly people, educators, people with disabilities, and historically marginalized communities worldwide. HP partnered with Aspen Digital to identify effective organizations serving marginalized populations worldwide. Seven NGOs were selected from the US, India, and Morocco, focusing on various initiatives from telehealth for the elderly to STEM education for young women.
HP's methodical approach to digital equity involves working closely with local schools, nonprofits, and ministries to understand literacy gaps, identify barriers, develop solutions, and scale what works. Their most successful initiative, HP Innovation and Digital Education Academy (HP IDEA), launched in 2020 during COVID-19 school closures. HP approaches education ministries as advisors rather than salespeople, offering free hybrid education programs and convening ministerial delegates in problem-solving roundtables.
Girls Who Code (GWC), supported by corporate partners like Synchrony, is building the world's largest pipeline of female engineers. Over 10 years, GWC has served 500,000+ students (half from diverse backgrounds), with alumni earning computer science degrees at seven times the national average. The organization tackles systemic barriers including gender stereotypes, male-dominated cultures, and lack of role models through programs ranging from third-grade clubs to college graduate hiring summits.
Technovation, a global tech education nonprofit, has trained 150,000 young women as technology entrepreneurs over fifteen years, resulting in 10,000 solutions to community challenges including domestic violence, the opioid epidemic, and e-waste. The organization builds trust with local community leaders to adapt flexible programs to diverse community needs. Their 19,000 volunteers, many from corporate partners, serve as mentors and facilitators.
Per Scholas advances economic equity by providing tuition-free technical training and employer connections to people often excluded from tech careers. Operating in over 20 U.S. cities, the organization has helped 17,000 graduates launch successful tech careers, with 85% being people of color and one-third women. Most have only high school diplomas, yet graduates earn four times their pre-training wages.
第9章
Health Partnerships for Global Impact
Companies have multiple stakes in healthcare outcomes: they need healthy, productive employees; they aim to reduce healthcare expenditures; they benefit when employees aren't distracted by family health concerns; and they seek expanded market opportunities among healthy consumers with purchasing power. Well-functioning healthcare systems create robust economies where businesses can thrive.
Despite global progress in reducing child mortality, sub-Saharan Africa still experiences the highest rates worldwide at 74 deaths per 1000 births-14 times higher than in North America and Europe. NGO VillageReach partners with governments to increase healthcare access for 58 million people across remote African villages, supported by technical logistics expertise from UPS and the Kuhne Foundation.
UPS has created a transformative bi-directional infrastructure connecting twenty hospitals with thousands of clinics in Africa, enabling medicine delivery and lab sample transport. Their "Drones for Health" initiative has revolutionized access to vaccines and medicines in geographically challenging regions. Since March 2021, UPS has delivered 1.5 billion vaccines to countries with the lowest vaccination rates across Africa.
Since 2001, mothers2mothers (m2m) has provided healthcare services to nearly 15 million people across ten African countries through its innovative Mentor Mother Model. The organization trains and employs over 1,800 local mothers living with HIV as peer-to-peer mentors who serve as community health workers in under-resourced clinics. This approach has virtually eliminated mother-to-child HIV transmission for program participants for eight consecutive years while keeping over two million at-risk mothers and children alive.
When mothers2mothers was rapidly growing, it lacked the business infrastructure to support its expansion. Pfizer deployed Global Health Fellows who worked full-time with m2m to establish essential systems including financial records, human resources, payroll, communications, and monitoring. Meanwhile, HP created a transformative mobile technology and cloud solution that converted m2m's paper-based records to a digital system.
第10章
Human Rights and Corporate Responsibility
Following World War II, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights established international commitment to preventing atrocities, with Eleanor Roosevelt driving its 1948 adoption. By 2021, human rights adherence became a regulatory matter with SEC disclosure requirements for conflict minerals, while companies face increasing legal risks over worker rights violations.
Labor conditions present global corporations with serious human rights challenges and responsibilities. For over a decade, tragic and avoidable deaths of garment workers have brought public scrutiny to working conditions in global supply chains. Companies are taking steps to address these humanitarian issues, motivated by brand protection, risk management, and stakeholder expectations.
Forced labor, defined by the ILO as work imposed against someone's will through coercion, fraud or force, affects over 27.6 million people globally, including 3.3 million children. The global community committed to ending modern slavery by 2030 through the UN Sustainable Development Goals, though progress is threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, and climate change.
In 2004, Carlson became the first US-based global hospitality company to sign the "Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism." Despite concerns about legal exposure and public relations risks, CEO Marilyn Carlson Nelson and her executive team proceeded because it was "the right thing to do." The decision required massive investment in training across 1300 hotels in 160 countries and adding anti-trafficking clauses to supplier contracts.
Forced labor connects to women's lack of empowerment, as many female employees in global supply chains face harassment and violence that deprives them of basic human rights. BSR established HERproject in 2007 to improve workplace conditions for women through health, financial inclusion, and gender equality initiatives, reaching over a million women across 17 countries.
Cybersecurity attacks, misleading content, privacy loss, and constraints on expression bring broad social and economic costs that invoke fundamental human rights issues. For businesses, these challenges extend beyond regulatory compliance to potential reputation damage from data misuse. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights provide the framework for companies to assess and iteratively improve their practices.
第11章
Governance for a Better World
Companies have both the capacity and self-interest to address climate change and social concerns, but it's corporate boards that possess the ultimate responsibility and authority to guide corporations toward greater value. To fulfill this role effectively, boards must drive the global agenda for an inclusive, sustainable future, comprising qualified individuals with diverse experiences, expertise, and backgrounds who can envision the company's global potential and ensure proper leadership and culture.
Board composition has improved significantly since 2014. According to the Spencer Stuart Board Index for S&P 500 companies, new directors in 2022 reflect greater diversity: 46% are women, 46% are from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, and 18% are under 50. Companies are now recruiting directors with expertise in critical global issues like ESG, technology, digital, and cybersecurity beyond traditional CEO and CFO experience.
Diverse boards make better decisions and deliver better outcomes and profits for companies. Research shows correlation between board diversity and financial performance. Boards with people from diverse backgrounds are more likely to understand broader market opportunities. With broader perspectives, directors will be better equipped to imagine and advance the company's greater potential in the global marketplace.
Companies could tap into an additional $300 billion annually by better serving Black households in the US, according to McKinsey. This would add to the approximately $835 billion in Black household expenditures from 2019. Black consumer spending has grown 5% annually over two decades, outpacing white household spending growth (3%).
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is a business framework driven by investors and regulators. Research indicates a positive association between climate change performance and corporate financial performance for firms engaging in science-based targets. Investors are driving ESG because it helps companies mitigate risks while growing value-ESG assets may reach $53 trillion by 2025, representing a third of global assets under management.
Experience over the past decade has revealed important lessons for addressing entrenched systemic problems. Collaboration stands out as particularly crucial-no single business can solve any of these issues alone. Companies have explored various ways of working with NGOs, governments, and each other. As Aron Cramer, CEO of BSR, notes, collaboration has never been more important in this "decisive decade" that demands solutions amid global fragmentation.
This book demonstrates how companies can achieve their greatest potential by advancing an inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous future. Global corporations possess the vast resources, global footprint, and market incentives to build a better world. By engaging together in an iterative process with NGOs and governments, we can achieve "A Better World."
