People want businesses to do good in the world. It's just that simple.
John Mackey, CEO, Whole Foods
The Peace Company embodies a passionate belief that business can and must be a "force for good” in the world -- to steward the planet, address global issues, care for community, and empower people. We embrace social entrepreneurship and ethical business as a noble pursuit®, recognizing commerce and fair trade as essential elements in a world that works for all. This requires us to rethink the "traditional" paradigm of business as means to profit, and focus on relationships as the true currency of human community.
As the concept of sustainability takes root in corporate culture, many business leaders today are beginning to measure performance against the triple bottom line, which is People, Planet and Profit. This triad of concerns—economic growth, environmental protection and social equity—was once considered an impractical, blue-sky ethic. Yet today it has begun to define both long-term strategy and everyday practice for leading corporations around the world. Developed by business theorist John Elkington, the triple bottom line has given business a useful tool for balancing economic goals with a desire to “do better by the environment.” Many companies have used this standard to minimize environmental impact and social liabilities. While these are important shifts, and first steps toward identifying problems, we believe that leadership must go further, and proactively "do good" not simply "do no harm."
Business as a force for good elevates and shifts the focus toward the positive role companies can play in society. It is a higher standard for all those who believe the key to sustainable business is to make a contribution to human, economic, social and environmental progress. Our goal is to create an educational and interactive space to explore how companies can fulfill this role in society – from human rights to poverty alleviation to climate change -- and do so in a values-based, principles-driven way. While this idea is gaining traction across the country and world, we are still in the early stages of adoption and innovation. We want to connect with others who share similar commitments and aspirations, and collaborate with like-minded leaders who aim to empower communities and find better solutions to the complex issues facing our world.
Beyond the Triple Bottom-line: Top-line Thinking, Deep Values Integration, and Beyond
The Four Pillars - People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace
Generally in for-profit companies the ultimate goal and metric of success, or bottom line, is profit. The concept of the “triple bottom line”--people, planet, and profit--is a guideline that many have chosen in order to address the reality that profit must be taken in context with people and the planet to measure real success. At The Peace Company, we advance this model in two ways: A) We shift the paradigm from profit to prosperity to better reflect our intention to co-create sustainable success for and with all parties; and (B) We have added a fourth P: peace. For us, Peace encompasses Purpose, Principles, Philanthropy and peaceful interactions as the true measure of systemic success. We think of these principles in terms of value:
In a culture of peace everyone has, returns, receives and creates value. These four pillars represent the guiding principles of our organization.
The Peace Company's mission is to use the medium of ethical business to strengthen and heal communities; promote educational initiatives that cultivate a culture of peace; and develop programs that educate and empower women, girls and youth. Our goal is to increase public awareness and support solutions related to economic, environmental, humanitarian and social justice issues, and to promote actions and strategies that have positive impact. We aim to create sustainable value through innovative partnerships, and to generate sufficient revenues to fund operations and invest in the well-being of others.
Working in cooperation with The Peace Leadership Institute, the Center for Living Values, the Center for Business Ethics and other, The Peace Company publishes and/or disseminates research, brings business people together to generate and share ideas, and influences decision makers in companies, government, the investment community, NGO's stakeholder groups, business schools, and the community-at-large. Please contact us for further information on how you can be part of this ongoing work and dialogue.
For Benefit Enterprises and "B Corporations"
The Peace Company is an educational portal and business platform that serves as agency for public good. We operate as a For Benefit Enterprise, an emerging class of organization that combines the purpose-drivine attributes of a non-profit with the financial and creative engines of entrepreneurship. Our mandate is to serve and maximize benefits for all stakeholders, which includes our employees, customers, partners, suppliers, local community and society as a whole.
What are B Corps and Why do they matter? In a word, they make business aim higher on behalf of community
When you support a B Corporation, you’re supporting a better way to do business. Governments and nonprofits are necessary but insufficient to solve today’s most pressing problems. Business is the most powerful force on the planet and can be a positive instrument for change.
Our vision is simple yet ambitious: to create a new sector of the economy which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. This sector will be comprised of a new type of corporation - the B Corporation - that meets rigorous and independent standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
As a result, individuals will have greater economic opportunity, society will move closer to achieving a positive environmental footprint, more people will be employed in great places to work, and we will have built stronger communities at home and across the world.
NOTE: We are currently redesigning and expanding our website and organization to provide additional resources, interaction and support. Please check back with us in January 2012 for additional offerings, articles and resources.
Recommended Resources:
What's the Economy for Anyway - John deGraaf and David K. Batker
In this funny, readable, and thought-provoking book based on the popular film of the same name, activists John de Graaf (coauthor of the bestselling Affluenza) and David Batker tackle thirteen economic issues, challenging the reader to consider the point of our economy. Emphasizing powerful American ideals, including teamwork, pragmatism, and equality, de Graaf and Batker set forth a simple goal for any economic system: The greatest good for the greatest number over the longest run. Drawing from history and current enterprises, we see how the good life is achieved when people and markets work together with an active government to create a more perfect economy-one that works for everyone.
Hardcover,304 pages
Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
Working for Good: Making a Difference While Making a Living - by Jeff Klein
The words "business" and "social change" may seem contradictory, but the fact is a successful business may be the most powerful force for positive change in the world today. In Working for Good, Jeff Klein, one of the visionaries and driving forces behind Spinning, Seeds of Change, ChiRunning, and other forward-thinking brands presents a how-to guidebook for becoming a "conscious entrepreneur"--one who addresses social issues while running a profitable business based on integrity and self-actualization. Putting the tools of conscious business development firmly in our hands, Jeff Klein takes readers step by step through the five keys to Working for Good, showing how to: --Express your humanity through full awareness and embodiment while engaging others with your work. --Establish purpose grounded in principles that sustain both your business and your virtues. --Generate rich experiences in and outside of work through a network of spirited connection and collaboration. For anyone who has yearned to make a comfortable living in service of real social change, Jeff Klein offers an essential read that is at once deeply inspirational and wholly practical: Working for Good.
