Since 2013, we have been working, one way or another to catalyse responsible business – our core purpose. And now, in 2018, after 5 years of hard work, some brilliant clients and projects, and not too many tears, we have a very happy announcement to make… we are now officially a Certified B Corporation 🙂

Over the last few years we’ve worked on a whole raft of ways to catalyse responsible, ethical and just plain sensible business. Some have been pretty good, some have fizzled, but The Good Xmas Trail is burning bright.

There’s no foolproof approach to finding your social purpose. However, we’ve developed some questions and tips to set you on the right track for uncovering the right social purpose for your business and figuring out how to put it into action.

As cause marketing enthusiasts we recently published an article about how effective it can be for business. It’s certainly a great way to raise funds for causes and get the business noticed for doing some good, but we’ve started to consider the question: are some charities actually losing out thanks to cause marketing?

We’re often devising cause marketing initiatives as part of a new or evolving brand strategy and for good reason. Activated in the right way, cause related marketing and the inspiring stories it generates can form a robust pillar of your ‘do good to do well’ strategy.

Customers’ perception of business social responsibility and cause related work is on the rise and the oft cited term “do go and do well’ is actually coming to life through consumers willingness to pay more for ethical brands.

The case for cause marketing has never been stronger: increased sales and market share, increased ability to attract, motivate and retain employees, improved corporate reputation and a strengthened brand position. Here are a couple of excellent examples

A sustainable competitive advantage cannot be attained if the business fails to address the relationship between it’s core purpose and social purpose. Strategists must unearth the why before getting buried in the how.

What does it take to become “the most responsible business” in Australia? Who holds the “title” and how on earth would you judge it?

Whatever the size of the business you work in, it’s likely that you’re a lot better placed to gain a deep understanding of your customers than you may at first think. Chances are, if you’re a smaller sized business you’ll be geographically or philosophically co-located.

Guest Author: Daniel Schwartz

Today, maintaining a sustainable supply chain is no longer solely the domain of the large corporate. Not only are there opportunities for small suppliers in bigger chains, but it’s never been easier for small and medium sized businesses to meet sustainable supply chain criteria.