THE ARTFUL DESIGN OF YOUR BRAND AND LEGACY WITH INTENTION, PURPOSE, WISDOM AND STRATEGY
Step 28: Map Your Impact
There is a escalation, an intensifying, a quickening across the globe that is driving business and brand leaders to seek far reaching solutions to the problems we face on earth today – inequality, women’s rights, intolerance, housing, healthcare, and education, poverty, disease and drought.
These challenges are too large and complex, and we can’t expect government, philanthropy and not for profit organisations alone to bring long-term solutions.
We need everyone involved and it seems the global rallying call is being heard.
From micro-finance and sustainable agriculture to investments in emerging or developed markets, there is a change coming. And rightly so.
We need more brands building businesses that have a vision beyond themselves.
Consumers are also savvier than ever before and are increasingly making their purchase decisions based on the sustainability and impact credentials of the brands they choose.
If businesses don’t live and breathe an empathetic, impact driven brand vision, they won’t find themselves surviving the mighty winds of change.
The ultimate goal for anyone or any business that desires to be a firebrand is to make an impact by carefully thinking about creating quantifiable and valuable social or environmental change alongside their profits.
What can you do to ignite your firebrand’s impact?
Have insight, foresight and wisdom - to realise that resources here on earth are finite and that without the capital and action to address social and/or environmental issues we’re in danger of leaving a failing planet for our children to inherit.
Expect accountability - and encourage innovative approaches to solving environmental and social problems within and without your business and community.
Support sustainable practices in all your business does – from recycling to sustainable production, building and construction, providing healthcare and social support to staff, to community participation in sustainable projects.
Consider impact investing* – this involves injecting business capital into organisations that focus on social and environmental solutions - not for profit organisations, social enterprises and aged care, the arts, community development, health, employment, housing, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and international development programs.
Impact investing offers an alternative to philanthropists who are looking to go beyond traditional grant making. The outcomes you should expect are both financial as well as measurable social and environmental benefits.
However impact investing is not a replacement for philanthropic contributions, but rather a complement, helping organizations leverage the power of markets to create change once they have proven the success of their model using, frequently, philanthropic contributions.
