Re-election of Emmanuel Faber as co-chair of the coalition

Project Description

Paris – December 2, 2021 – The B4IG coalition held its annual Board Meeting today. After re-electing Emmanuel Faber as co-chair of the Board, Members and Partners had several working sessions focusing on how to ensure Inclusive Transitions, to eliminate Ethnic and Racial discrimination in workplaces and to deploy Inclusive Sourcing practices.

Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG) is a global CEO-led coalition of major companies fighting against inequalities of income and opportunity. With the OECD as its Strategic Partner, B4IG coordinates with governments to advance inclusive growth at both global and local levels.

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The coalition held its annual Board Meeting on December 2. It was co-chaired by Ulrik Knudsen, OECD Deputy Secretary General, and Emmanuel Faber, Astanor Partner, along with the participation of member companies’ CEOs and partners.

Three topics were on the agenda of the Board Meeting: Governance (appointment of the co-chairperson elected by member companies’ CEOs), Managing and funding inclusive transitions, and Building inclusive workplaces and ecosystems.

Governance: re-election of Emmanuel Faber as co-chair of the coalition.

Emmanuel Faber, Astanor Partner, was re-elected to continue his tenure as co-chair of the Board for the year 2022 given his long-standing engagement for a more inclusive economy.

Managing and Funding Inclusive Transitions

Board Members had in-depth discussions on how to render the current transformational processes more inclusive. Following introductory remarks by Nicolas Schmit, EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Florent Menegaux, CEO of Michelin, and Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever, presented the Responsible Transformation Guidelines developed by the coalition to encourage companies to adopt inclusive actions in the design, implementation and monitoring of restructuring activities.

In terms of managing Inclusive Transitions, Paul Hermelin, Chairman of Capgemini, put forth the initiatives taken by several members and partners to bridge the Digital Divide gaps around the world through the development of basic and technical digital skills and Hicham Abdessamad, Chairman and CEO of Hitachi America, presented the objectives of a new workstream to build upskilling and reskilling programs to address the negative social impacts of transitions through on-the-ground initiatives.

Following an introduction by Hiro Mizuno, UN Special Envoy on Innovative Finance and Sustainable Investment, and a presentation by Bertrand Badré, Managing Partner and Founder of Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital, Board Members then discussed how to foster partnerships to direct funds toward strategic and transformative inclusive growth initiatives. The coalition will pilot innovative funding partnerships and new investment vehicles on chosen themes and programs.

Building Inclusive Workplaces and Ecosystems

With the objective to join forces to counteract rising social inequalities and support people in vulnerable situations, Board Members then shared views on two major topics, Ethnic Diversity and Inclusive Sourcing.

On Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion, Jean-Marc Ollagnier, CEO of Accenture in Europe and Denis Terrien, CEO of Salesforce in Southern Europe presented the Operational Recommendations developed by the coalition. This guidance provides a holistic view on actions to take to ensure equality of opportunities and fair treatment at work for underrepresented ethnic and racial groups.

Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L’Oréal, and Antoine Vanlaeys, COO, presented the practical methodology developed by the coalition to integrate Inclusive Sourcing practices into the procurement decision making process. It provides tools and best practices to render value chains more socially sustainable.

All three tools, Inclusive Sourcing Methodology, Ethnic Diversity Operational Recommendations, and Responsible Transformation Guidelines have been adopted by the coalition and will be published in early 2022.

B4IG Incubator

The B4IG Incubator accompanies selected social projects developed or supported by B4IG companies to develop and scale novel approaches to inclusive growth. Board Members were presented the results of the 2021 cohort, which included 10 projects spanning across topics of Human Rights, Inclusive Workplaces, Digital Divide, and Inclusive Sourcing.

In 2022, the B4IG Incubator will continue its engagement through a set of applied training modules, dedicated tutoring, and networking events to enrich value propositions, strengthen capabilities and connect project teams with peers.

Emmanuel Faber, Astanor Partner and co-chair of B4IG, declared: “As the multi-facetted challenges people and the planet are facing cannot be confronted without decisive business action and strong partnership between governments and the private sector, I feel honoured to have been re-elected as B4IG’s co-chair. During this Board meeting, we held several fruitful discussions to further join forces to fight rising existing and new social inequalities, and support people in vulnerable situations. By adopting three major deliverables: an Inclusive Sourcing Methodology, Ethnic Diversity Operational Recommendations and Responsible Transformation Guidelines, this Board meeting confirmed the increasing reach of B4IG through all three dimensions of our work: public-private partnerships, leadership on social issues and collective tools and actions. B4IG is definitely growing as an ambitious and pragmatic pathway for change.”

Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General, declared: “Global challenges like the COVID19 crisis and climate change have highlighted the interconnection of social, environmental and economic challenges. To meet our sustainable development ambitions, we must involve all actors, public and private. The OECD’s strategic partnership with B4IG is exemplary in this respect. Together we can transform our economies to deliver well–being for all.”

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Press contacts:

• Marie Brambilla Bas – marie.brambillabas@edelman.com /+33 (0) 6 23 09 72 74
• Camille Putois – camille.putois@b4ig.org

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About B4IG: Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG) is a global CEO-led coalition of major companies fighting against inequalities of income and opportunity. With the OECD as its Strategic Partner, B4IG coordinates with governments to advance inclusive growth at both global and local levels. More information on www.b4ig.org.