Unusual Talks Unusual Pioneers by Yunus Social Business

Plan A manages and analyses the carbon footprint of companies such as BMW, Societe General or BCG DV. We talked with Lubomila, Plan A CEO and Co-Founder about the developments on the carbon market and concrete options for companies to reduce their footprint.

Peter Smith, the author of “Procurement with Purpose”, takes us on a deep dive into the world of impactful procurement, how companies can build structures to integrate sustainability and inclusion into their value chains and how we can move the needle through collaboration. This episode highlights how we can leverage diversified supply chains with various partners to create meaningful impact. And it addresses how procurement managers can overcome challenges with working with smaller organizations – such as social businesses.

Corporates often struggle with deeply understanding their customers needs. This is especially true when it comes to issues of sustainable consumption and the so-called "conscious consumer". Kantar's data driven approach helps companies to discover trends and to deepen their understanding of the market in order to act on sustainability and social responsibility. They are able to show companies how to cater to the individual needs of vulnerable groups and minorities. Jonathan Hall, Kantar's Partner for Sustainability, gives tangible recommendations for meaningful marketing and transformational products.

In this year-end episode, we take a look back at 2021 to highlight key developments in social intrapreneurship, social business and social procurement. We take this opportunity to share our high- and lowlights, talk about the future of the stakeholder economy and how we want to contribute our small part to this transformation at Yunus Social Business.

More and more companies understand that diversification of their workforce has a massive impact on their performance, sustainability and social impact. However, only few seem to be able to realize their diversity plans. Inclusively helps companies to hire people with disabilities and manage their special needs. Karen McEliligott at the Autodesk Foundation highlights how they have been working with Inclusively to bring people with special needs to the company.

100 million people across India depend on the textile industry as their main source of income. However rural artisans which are mostly women often lack the skills to operate on a wider market and hence live under the poverty line. RangSutra provides the bridge between these rural artisans and the global industry. They give access to training, working capital, and quality control. By seeling their textiles to IKEA, Rangsutra was able to impact over 20.000 lives. Rural artisans working with RangSutra were able to increase their income by a factor of five. Especially the female workers profit from a better social status due to their financial independence. Learn more about this inspiring partnership.