BSR Insight Articles About Financial Services

The Future of Business-NGO Relationships

Ayesha Barenblat, Former Director, Stakeholder Collaboration

In my new role as BSR’s Director of Stakeholder Collaboration, I am focused on building relationships with NGO colleagues globally to bring their insights to our member companies and develop next-generation stakeholder engagement approaches that are outcome based and take into account trends in the field. BSR created this position to deepen relationships with civil society and foster collaboration between stakeholders and business. Read more →

Posted: August 23, 2011 | Topics: Consumer Products, Energy, Financial Services, Food, Beverage & Agriculture, Health Care, Information & Communications Technology, Media & Entertainment, Mining, Stakeholder Relations, Strategy & Integration, Transportation

Why Is Living Wage So Complex?

Roger McElrath, Manager, Advisory Services

Ever since the United Nations adopted its new human rights framework, companies have had an added impetus to ensure that the treatment of their employees, workers in supply chain partners, and people in local communities is just and in accordance with international standards. Read more →

Posted: August 2, 2011 | Topics: Consumer Products, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Energy, Financial Services, Food, Beverage & Agriculture, Health Care, Mining, Strategy & Integration, Supply Chain, Transportation, Travel & Tourism

Bringing Access to Finance to Supply Chain Workers

Chhavi Ghuliani, Manager, Advisory Services

Approximately 2.5 billion adults do not use formal financial services to save or borrow money, and 90 percent of them live in the developing world. Companies across all sectors can work through their supply chains to address barriers to access by offering financial education programs and products through automated payroll and direct deposit schemes. This can ensure that workers are paid the right amount and at the right time, and prevent fraud that sometimes occurs in factories and erodes take-home pay. Read more →

Posted: June 21, 2011 | Topics: Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Financial Services

BSR Around the World

From helping the world’s largest shipping company develop a sustainability strategy to building a multi-stakeholder coalition to address the challenge of conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we work with business in all sectors and regions to redefine leadership in sustainable business. Read more →

Posted: June 7, 2011 | Topics: Consumer Products, Financial Services, Food, Beverage & Agriculture, Health Care, Information & Communications Technology, Media & Entertainment, Transportation, Travel & Tourism

Partnership Innovation: It Takes a Supply Chain to Improve Women’s Health

Over the past six weeks, I have traveled from meeting to meeting in Washington, D.C., Bangkok, and Geneva to develop opportunities for BSR to partner with funders and others to provide resources to tackle challenges as diverse and broad as childhood nutrition, climate change adaptation, and energy efficiency. These discussions have gotten me thinking about the importance of innovative partnerships in addressing big challenges, and how business can be more effective in its work with government, civil society, and even private funders. Read more →

Posted: May 31, 2011 | Topics: Climate Change, Community Engagement & Development, Consumer Products, Financial Services, Human Rights, Labor Migration, Stakeholder Relations, Supply Chain