Purpose Champions
Purpose starts with people. People wanting to make a change, people standing up for what is right and people trying to make a positive impact. In a world that is often clouded by the negative, at GOOD we think it’s important to shine a light on the people that embody Purpose.
In this second instalment of Purpose Champions series, we are celebrating people who inspire us personally and professionally. We asked five GOOD people to share their Purpose Champions, with Purpose defined as:
The demonstration of positive impact on relevant social and environmental issues, to create value for individuals, the business and wider society.
Chris Norman, CEO
My Purpose Champions are those who have demonstrated vision, bravery and commitment way before Purpose was even a term. They might be celebrated less but have been important pioneers who recognised the need for social and environmental change early on. They were – and still are, leaders, enthusiasts and organisers that drove change from within their organisation to have a positive impact on wider society and the environment.
All five of these Purpose Champions understood that to achieve change, you need to inspire colleagues to share a vision of a better world and you need to be brave enough to embrace change needed to make it happen.
- When Vicki Nobles was at Diageo, she aligned the Executive team and staff to make a significant and meaningful engagement to help disadvantaged young people for the first time in the company’s history.
- Nicko Debenham led the entire cocoa sector for many years to improve environmental sustainability, eradicate child labour and to improve working conditions in the supply chain.
- Very early on in her career at Mars, Fiona Dawson led the business drive to invest in and commit to having a positive social and environmental impact.
- Sandrine Ricard helped transform Pernod Ricard to become a business with a clear Purpose beyond profit, prioritising social and environmental impact at the same level as commercial success.
- Through great communication and dogged perseverance, Vicky Edmonds has been a key driver in moving Kingfisher plc from a position where CSR was a silo function with limited impact to Purpose being a key strategic driver for growth across the whole group.
We all know famous names such as Paul Polman and Mike Barry who are rightly acknowledged as leaders in Purpose, but we also need to celebrate the lesser known. They are Purpose pioneers who had the vision and bravery to pursue Purpose way before it was recognised as the right thing to do, and now the commercially smart thing to do.
Kate Sloan, Senior Planner – Caroline Criado Perez
Why is Caroline a purpose Champion?
Caroline is on the forefront of challenging the gender data gap.
An issue which may sound dull, but in reality has serious implications for womankind.
The issue is that the majority of data we have in the world is based around the male body and the typical male life pattern.
The consequences of this can be annoying for women, like the average smartphone being too big for the average female hand.
But they are also deadly, like cars being designed for male drivers leaving women 47% more likely to be seriously injured in a car crash and 17% more likely to die.
By not only bringing to light the data biases that exist but showing the dire consequences they have on women Caroline is pushing for a world we’re we finally start to design women in – and for that I salute her!
To find out much more about the gender data gap and how it impacts the lives of women check out this article by Caroline https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/23/truth-world-built-for-men-car-crashes
Joanna Mills, Senior Account Manager – Venetia Le Manna
Venetia is a sustainability activist. Her media presence caught my eye because of the educational insights she offers and the injustices she highlights in the fashion industry. The exploitation of garment workers in particular and the human impact of clothes is something that many of us are unaware of or may assume is in decline, but this is sadly not the case.
80% of garment workers are women, who are frequently victims of verbal and physical abuse and sexual harassment all while working in factories that make our clothes. In a bid to help this, Venetia co-founded ‘Remember Who Made Them’: A campaign to spotlight the situations and demands of these garment workers and to raise awareness and action.
I’ll leave you with something she said that you’ll hopefully consider next time you’re about to make a fashion purchase:
To me, sustainable fashion means celebrating the clothes that we already own in a bid to show love and respect to the people who made them.
Honey Weston, New Business Director – Rebecca Hopkins, Co-Founder, Balance Me Natural Skincare
I know Rebecca personally as I have worked with her in the past. I have always been inspired by her (and her sister’s) story.
After experimenting with natural potions and lotions in their kitchen for their own skin concerns, Rebecca and Clare quit their jobs and went for it. They launched their Balance Me brand and the original products at a time that natural beauty was just seen as a bit green and below par on quality. Now look at the market!
They project their own values and beliefs via their brand- the importance of self-care for wellbeing, clarity and honesty in labelling, never tested on animals, free from paraben, sulphate nasties, etc.
They never say ‘job done’ and are always looking to do better- whether it be on packaging or new natural ingredients.
They don’t shout loud, just concentrate on doing their best. The industry needs more modern -day Anita Roddicks!
I do end up buying a bit too much for myself and as presents for others though.
Toks Adeola, Multimedia Designer – Agenda Brown
My purpose Champion is Agenda Brown a visual storyteller and lead creative of Visual Marvelry.
Agenda created the New Chieftains which is an image led story using photography to celebrate and highlight the tenacity within people.
Black Resilience is a chapter within the New Chieftains which focuses on people of colour and how their passion, challenges and transformations have helped them to make positive changes within their communities. He wanted to make a difference on the perceptions of people of colour by sharing the stories that wouldn’t normally be seen or heard of.
To find out more about the New Chieftains and the Black Resilience chapter you can visit his website here: https://thenewchieftains.com/
Posted by Katie Daley
