JONATHAN COOK: The business of having a positive effect on your environment

I don’t know how many lives Bill and Melinda Gates have saved through their foundation, but it runs into many millions. Gates is one example of successful business people doing good after accumulating a fortune.

Some entrepreneurs do this intentionally in what are called social enterprises. These companies make a profit but have a mission to improve some aspect of life and are willing to put mission above profit when necessary to provide a service or product that a purely commercial enterprise might not. Some business schools encourage this in their MBAs.

EthioChicken uses an innovative model of agents to sell chickens to small farmers in Ethiopia. It supplies chickens that yield up to five times as many eggs and mature in a quarter of the time of domestic strains. By rearing chickens for the first 40 days and training their customers, agents have reduced the mortality rate from 80% to less than 5%.

As a business owner, you add social value when you treat your staff with dignity often denied them outside your business; when you grow your staff through training; when you pay a living wage to staff who earn the least and insist that your suppliers do the same; when you innovate; when you donate time and resources to organisations improving the wider community; when you protect the environment through energy saving, recycling, and responsible waste disposal; when you are a daily example of...

Canada Canada Latest News, Canada Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

US business yanks Finbond profitsThe outlook for the SA operations is more positive for the second half of the year
Source: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Read more »

Get to grips with your digital business future at Business Day Focus 4.0New event will focus on the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in SA
Source: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Read more »

In City Press Business: What it takes to be a millionaire; Nuclear back on the table; Taxis rev up on natural gasIn City_Press Business today: Gwede Mantashe says that coal producers need to lower their prices while the country is still dependent on coal; Taxis are converting to use natural gas which can halve their fuel bill; What does it take to be a millionaire? Is the it me or we can all seen that our government response to well established, diagnosed problem with such a surprise that you will swear, they are hearing about them for the first time even? Worse, they have been on Mars for like 30 yrs. Maybe Mantashe should look at getting rid of the whole festering rank of BEE middle men in the coal supply chain.
Source: City_Press - 🏆 7. / 72 Read more »