The directors of companies should engage more with the societies in
which they trade, executives of the International Business Leaders’
Forum have said after a visit to economic and social projects in India
during the Christmas and New Year break.
They agreed that India presents huge business opportunities but
insisted that companies should work with local stakeholders in tackling
the problems in their communities.
The forum’s executives saw first-hand how local project leaders and
social entrepreneurs dealt with poverty issues such as inadequate
education and water access, a lack of solar energy and scant heritage
conservation, and tried to promote sustainable tourism and city
regeneration.
Richard Edelman, chief executive of the Edelman public relations group
and a member of the forum’s board, said: ‘Every year, every chief
executive should have a transforming experience that takes you out of
your normal path and shakes your presumptions about society.’
Malcolm Williamson, chairman of National Australia Bank Europe and
chair of Youth Business International, added: ‘It’s important for top
leaders to insist that all their staff get engaged in these issues and
have an understanding of them, and that means they have to set an
example by getting engaged first.’
The visit took in New Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur, outlying areas of
Rajasthan and downtown Mumbai. It was arranged under the forum’s
Crossing Borders programme, which was set up in 2005 to bring business
leaders face-to-face with the communities in which they operate and to
learn how the two interact.
