IslamicFinance.de

The movement to reimagine the social purpose of business is accelerating at lightning speed, spinning off a renaissance of entrepreneurship that’s exhilarating to behold. This wave of corporate creativity for good is transforming the relationship that businesses have with their communities and the possibilities for real change. A new generation of businesses is filling the leadership vacuum by building philanthropy directly into their founding missions. For this innovative breed of companies, giving back is not optional or half-hearted; creating sustainable and measurable impact is as core to their definition of success as a high return to their shareholders.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mary Schapiro have taken up leadership positions with the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Bloomberg has been named as board chair and Schapiro as vice-chair of the organization. SASB was launched publicly less than two years ago. The San Francisco-based nonprofit provides an industry-specific reporting framework for crucial sustainability issues that integrates with the companies’ quarterly 10-K financial disclosures, which are required by the SEC. SASB is working on reporting guidelines for 88 industries across 10 sectors.

Despite efforts to support financial literacy, only 35 percent of teens know how to manage a credit card and only 20 percent of teachers feel prepared to teach the subject. To help combat this critical social gap, some leading companies have started initiatives. For example, PwC is mobilizing its 35,000 people who are skilled in finance, accounting and business to address youth education with a focus on financial literacy. The firm’s centerpiece commitment, formally titled PwC’s Earn Your Future is a five-year commitment to reach more than 2.5 million students and educators and represents a $160 million investment for the firm, $60 million in cash and 1 million service hours.