The Business Pickle: Recent Episodes
The Business Pickle
This is part two of our series on the great packaging pileup: finding better ways to wrap up our goods. How can businesses improve their approach to packaging, maximising its value and eliminating waste?
- Claims and terms about packaging: recyclable, recycled content, biodegradable, compostable, reusable
- Cradle to Cradle Certified: L'Oreal case study
In this episode, we take a closer look at the claims and terms that we see often written on packaging or said about packaging, like recyclable, recycled content, reusable, biodegradable... and try to demystify really what they mean in practice. We give some advice to businesses around how they can tell customers what to do with packaging once it's in their hands. We also share another framework to help businesses improve their packaging approach from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, with an example about the world's largest cosmetics company, L'Oreal.
The Business Pickle: research, case studies, podcasts, toolkits, actions: everything to help you fast track doing business for good. thebusinesspickle.com
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
This is part two and the final part of our series on the billion-dollar question of corporate giving.
Businesses give billions to not-for-profits every year. But what if the way you donate hurts
instead of helps?
• Is unrestricted funding the way forward?
• Case studies from Thankyou and iDE Global
• Interviewed: Peter Yao (Thankyou), Nadia Campos (iDE Global), Andrew Davies (B Lab)
In this episode, we look at unrestricted funding as an alternative corporate giving model: with
case studies about social enterprise Thankyou (shifting from tied to unrestricted funding), and
nonprofit iDE Global (providing a long-term market based solution to open defecation in
Cambodia using unrestricted funds). The episode features insights from interviewed guests
Peter Yao (Thankyou), Nadia Campos (iDE Global) and Andrew Davies (B Lab).
The Business Pickle: research, case studies, podcasts, toolkits, actions: everything to help you
fast track doing business for good. thebusinesspickle.com
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
We recently hosted a panel event on the real world challenges of doing business for good, and wanted to give our listeners access to the full session recording.
We covered a lot of ground: what business for good means, the biggest social/environmental challenges currently facing industries, examples of businesses improving their impact, whether profit & impact can work together, larger systems changes, and recent findings from our survey of business leaders.
About the panellists:
- Daniel Flynn, ThankyouDaniel Flynn is the Managing Director and Co-founder of Thankyou. In 2008, Daniel led a group of people who launched Thankyou and have seen it grow from a small start-up to become one of Australia’s leading mainstream social enterprises. Today, Thankyou’s products are stocked by major retailers in Australia, with every product contributing to helping end global poverty. To date, Thankyou has raised over $17 million to impact the lives of people across 22 countries.
- Monica Becker, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation InstituteMonica Becker is Director of Beauty, Personal Care and Household Products at the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which sets a global standard for products that are safe, circular and made responsibly. Monica has over 35 years’ experience in improving the sustainability of products and packaging.
- Melina Morrison, BCCMMelina Morrison is the CEO of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM), the peak body for member-owned businesses in Australia. Melina has worked for more than two decades for the cooperative movement, both internationally and in Australia, dedicating her time to raising the profile of this sustainable business model.
thebusinesspickle.com
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
This is part two of our series on the problem of food waste: we're wasting a third of our food, so what can businesses do about it?
In this episode, we look at another tried and true approach for addressing the problem - repurposing - with a case study about condiments brand Rubies in the Rubble. We hear how the business began, and their approach: using longstanding preserving techniques to take food that would otherwise be wasted and create high value products that are stocked in some of the UK's best known retailers and eateries. Featuring insights from interviewed guest Jenny Costa (Founder & CEO, Rubies in the Rubble).
The Business Pickle: research, case studies, podcasts, toolkits, actions: everything to help you fast track doing business for good.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
[00:00:00] Gillian Pereira: You're listening to The Business Pickle.
[00:00:04] Gillian Pereira: Last week we hosted a panel event on the real world challenges of doing business for good.
[00:00:10] Daniel Flynn: I think business for good ultimately is using the, the tool and the model of business, to make a positive impact on people on the planet.
[00:00:18] Gillian Pereira: On the panel: Melina Morrison, CEO of the Business Council for Cooperatives and Mutuals or BCCM;
[00:00:25] Melina Morrison: I think capital, capital and regulation are the two things that are really going to drive systemic change
[00:00:32] Gillian Pereira: Daniel Flynn, Co-founder and Managing Director of social enterprise Thankyou;
[00:00:36] Daniel Flynn: my feelings on this is it's urgent. then there's a sense of great hope.
[00:00:41] Gillian Pereira: and Monica Becker, Director, Beauty, Personal Care and Household Products at the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
[00:00:50] Monica Becker: If you don't have the budget to do, let's say a detailed carbon accounting effort, you know, pick one, two or three things to get started.
[00:01:00] Gillian Pereira: You can access the full discussion on our website, thebusinesspickle.com.
[00:01:04] Gillian Pereira: It would be great to begin with what we mean by business for good. All the way from, providing jobs, essential products and services, for others, it might mean becoming carbon neutral, donating revenue or profits to a good cause it might be reviewing supply chain and thinking about ethics, environmental, sustainable practices.
[00:01:27] Gillian Pereira: And just yesterday, we heard the news from Patagonia that as of now earth is their only shareholder, as they said, as the Chouinard family gives the entire $3 billion company to a trust and non-profit.
[00:01:40] Gillian Pereira: Melina on what does business for good mean for you in your context?
[00:01:46] Melina Morrison: If you think about the whole context for which we are trying to deliver impact through businesses now, we do live in market economies and most economies are capitalist. And that is the economic system that's brought the world to this perilous state of being on the edge of a systems collapse.
[00:02:08] Melina Morrison: I just wanna call that out because, you know, that's why a business leader like the CEO of Patagonia is responding. Because what is the point of all of this, if we're generating capital to what end and I think it's just important to take a moment to think about that.
[00:02:25] Melina Morrison: For us in the cooperative and mutual sector, unless you can actually resolve the tension between the purpose of the business and the impact it has then you can't really have business that is good for anything except, negatively impacting overall on society, the economy and the environment.
[00:02:47] Melina Morrison: So I, I rather than sort of picking off chosen causes, all of which are critical for me, this doing business for good is really about business. Being able to resolve any tension between its purpose and the impact that it creates more broadly its stakeholders and more broad broadly, the ultimate stakeholder, which is, the planet that we live on.
[00:03:14] Gillian Pereira: Wow. That's a powerful response. And I love that idea of the tension between purpose and the impact that we're creating. And Daniel, would love to hear your thoughts on what business for good means.
[00:03:26] Daniel Flynn: I think business for good ultimately is using the, the tool and the model of business to make a positive impact on people on the planet at a real simple level. And, uh, interesting kind of where we're hitting hard on capitalism, straight out of the gate.
[00:03:42] Daniel Flynn: And at Thankyou our business is owned a hundred percent by our charitable trust, similar to Patagonia's latest move and, for us, we've sort of been anti the way the world's become, but actually interesting to see the role that capitalism or capital markets has, have helped lift some areas out of poverty.
[00:04:00] Daniel Flynn: And so there's an argument and those that are fundamental on capitalism would say no, no, no, no. But can you see in the data, it has been a force for good. And like all good data you can draw many things from it. There's no doubt that business and progress helps lift society. However, it's got out of balance, it's got absolutely outta whack. Now there's the destruction of people, planet, all for the pursuit of profit for that ultimate shareholder gain.
[00:04:30] Daniel Flynn: And so I would say businesses that exist for good have figured out how to lead with purpose and have the business model support that purpose, you know, while also taking care of its stakeholders from investors to employees and leaders. It's a huge tension. Everyone's talking about it. Very few people are walking the talk. And I think it's a something for us to all wrestle with.
[00:04:54] Gillian Pereira: And to you, Monica.
[00:04:56] Monica Becker: Yeah. So, you know, I'm glad Melina and Daniel that you've kicked us off, at that level of thinking about the business enterprise and what business for good is all about.
[00:05:07] Monica Becker: What I wanna do is to dig in a little bit more from my role in the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, where our work is really supporting what I think is a pretty bold and beautiful sustainability vision with the focus that we have, which is on products and the systems that create them.
[00:05:27] Monica Becker: So, let me share our vision with you, which I think nicely addresses this question, Jill. So our vision at the Institute is a world where safe materials and products are designed and manufactured in a prosperous circular economy to maximize health and wellbeing for people in planet. And we use a shorthand statement as well, which I really like, which is safe, circular, and responsibly made.
[00:05:54] Monica Becker: To us business for good in the context of businesses that are producing products and materials and chemicals, and for companies that are selling products like retailers is business that is keenly focused and is really marshaling resources to bring forth products that are safe, circular and responsibly made.
[00:06:14] Gillian Pereira: We'd love to know: how would you answer that question? What does business for good mean to you?
[00:06:22] Gillian Pereira: This is just a taster from our panel event on the real world challenges of doing business for good, but there's plenty more to the conversation. So to access the full recording, head to our website, thebusinesspickle.com.
[00:06:37] Gillian Pereira: Thanks for listening to The Business Pickle.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
This is part one of our series on the great packaging pileup: finding better ways to wrap up our goods. How can businesses improve their approach to packaging, maximising its value and eliminating waste?
- The concrete realities of packaging
- When 'eco-friendly' backfires: the cautionary tale of the plastic bag
- How Heinz redesigned their squeezy ketchup bottle lid to make it recyclable
- Beauty brand Kester Black's approach to packaging
- Seeing the whole story with life cycle assessments
- Practical advice for getting started
In this episode, we look at the concrete realities of packaging, hear a cautionary tale about the humble plastic carrier bag, and look at a case study about Heinz ketchup bottles. We examine one framework - the life cycle assessment - and share some practical advice to businesses getting started on improving their packaging. Featuring insights from interviewed guests Anna Ross (Kester Black) and Monica Becker (Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute).
The Business Pickle: research, case studies, podcasts, toolkits, actions: everything to help you fast track doing business for good. thebusinesspickle.com
This is part one of our series on the billion-dollar question of corporate giving. Businesses give billions to not-for-profits every year. But what if the way you donate hurts instead of helps?
In this episode, we look at two corporate giving models: buy one, give one; and tied funding, with a case study about TOMS shoes and insights from interviewed guests Peter Yao (Thankyou) and Nadia Campos (iDE Global).
The Business Pickle: research, case studies, podcasts, toolkits, actions: everything to help you fast track doing business for good.
We've learned that doing good in business can be complicated. We want to be able to help people in business to know what decisions to make next, to find their impact areas to focus on and to learn from what the latest research is telling us.
This podcast is just one part of what we're doing at The Business Pickle. We do in-depth research reports, feature case studies and toolkits, make podcasts and video, suggest actions: everything to help you fast track doing business for good. If you would like to explore further, go to thebusinesspickle.com. You'll see our first season of research with many more seasons to come. We hope you'll join us!