Responsible Business: Rhetoric Or Reality?

Responsible business has become a buzzword of modern culture, but what does it actually mean? Is the drive for profit inherently in tension with social good? This panel will consider how corporations can navigate climate change, consumer expectations and the future of commerce. Corporate communications teams may have created strong rhetoric about more inclusive cultures and low carbon operations, but what should we be looking for?

Tom Rivett-Carnac

Founding Director at Global Optimism and co-host of Outrage + Optimism. He is a political lobbyist for the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change, one of the architects behind the Paris Climate Accord of December 2015 co-author of The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis with Christiana Figueres, ex-Chief Executive of CDP North America.

Michael Gidney

CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation, and previously Director of Policy at Traidcraft. He has worked in international development for 20 years, with a particular focus on reducing poverty and developing small enterprises by helping producers identify and access markets.

Professor Colin Mayer CBE

The first professor at Said Business School, fellow of the European Corporate Governance Institute, and research fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research. He is an expert on corporate finance, governance, taxation, and the role of a corporation in contemporary society.