A Better World, Inc.: How Companies Profit by Solving Global Problems…Where Governments Cannot

by Alice Korngold

In A Better World, Inc., Korngold shows companies and their executives how to profit by developing solutions to the world's most daunting challenges – those that governments cannot and have not addressed. Using case studies of various global companies from Nike to Pfizer to Vodafone and GlaxoSmithKline, A Better World, Inc. delineates best practices for corporations to maximize profits, decrease costs, and build the longer-term value of their companies by ensuring a more sustainable and humane world.

In declaring that 'only global corporations have the resources, global reach, and self-interest to build a better world,' Korngold shows how to ensure that this is a mutually beneficial and equitable relationship for business and society. A Better World, Inc. provides a roadmap to success, including stakeholder engagement; partnerships among businesses, NGOs, and governments; measurement, accountability and reporting; and effective corporate governance. Korngold also discusses the most powerful drivers for companies to further intensify their innovations in solving global challenges: consumers, employees, and investors.

Genres: Business, Sustainability, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 7, 2014

About the author

Alice Korngold, President & CEO, Korngold Consulting LLC, provides strategy advisory services for board members and executives of multinational companies and global and regional nonprofits. Drawing on nearly forty years of experience, Alice's expertise is in board governance; sustainability and ESG; DEI; and measurement and ratings. Korngold authored three books, including A Better World, Inc.: Corporate Governance for an Inclusive, Sustainable, and Prosperous Future (Palgrave Macmillan, July 2023). She has been a visiting professor and guest lecturer at a number of graduate business schools. She is a keynote speaker at global meetings including most recently for the U.N. Global Compact Network USA.

Reviews

[Oki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A World of Problems:
The biblical four horsemen of the apocalypse – famine, death, war and pestilence – ride today, and other apocalypticglobal problems gallop with them: human rights abuses, resource destruction, refugee crises, climate change,inadequate health care and inferior education.

Big Business Steps Up:
Comparing with the governments and NGOs, international corporations are well positioned to take effective action because corporations uniquely possess the human and intellectual resources,the financial assets, the global footprint, the scalability and the market power to address and make progress on problems that transcend governmental borders and overwhelm NGOs.

Corporations have the necessary resources; NGOs possess the commitment, specialized knowledge and experience to work on making the world a better place.

Benefits for big corporation to do so:
-Participating at an international level increases their profile, competitiveness and profitability.
-Brand enhancement. Companies can maintain and enhance their brands by publicly exhibiting accountability and by adhering to accepted labor standards and environmental practices.

Three essential requirements for corporation to realize this change:
1. Their boards provide enlightened governance in terms of sustainability issues –Walmart, for example, invested in the “Sustainability Consortium” – asking 60,000 of its suppliers to change their processes and packaging to promote sustainability.
2. They engage with all of their primary corporate stakeholders on CSR – Keep your constituency informed about organizational policy with a “social, environmental and economic impact.” Corporate stakeholders should make their opinions known – for instance, via social media – and wise firms “welcome stakeholders to the table” and utilize their input.
3. They collaborate productively with NGOs and other concerned entities – This includes governments and other major companies. These firms work with several NGOs simultaneously on varying projects. Know your “mission and goals” before approaching likely NGO partners. Pick your likely partners only after careful research and after confirming that their strategies match yours.

[Rogier Clarisse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and inspiring! The book is divided in different chapters, all covering specific issues, and it describes how companies tackle them by working together with different actors like governments and NGO’s. The book has taught me that being sustainable and philanthropical doesn’t necessarily need to have a negative impact on profits. On the contrary! I highly recommend it because it approaches business from a different angle.

[Sarang Shaikh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books indirectly gives a complete review on how companies under its Corporate Social Responsibility department can do much more than just philanthropic projects.

[Joel Luzmoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched and written. Korngold proposes and provides evidence that the private sector is better equipped to manage global issues than governments.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thanks to Alice Korngold and Goodreads First Reads Giveaway for my copy of A Better World, Inc,: How Companies Profit by Solving Global Problems... Where Governments Cannot.

A Better World, Inc,: How Companies Profit by Solving Global Problems... Where Governments Cannot shows the power of big business and money to control global problems and solve labor problems, economics and how our world functions. The book shows examples of how this works when major corporations work to solve problems. It really makes sense that money drives the world and governments follow the money. I found the book interesting and informative but it isn't for everyone unless your are interested in how the world works.

[Rob Saunders]

Extensively researched and meticulously sourced, Korngold’s book is well-written and easily digestible. Korngold touches on the ways in which corporations, NGO’s, governments, and local communities are impacted by myriad global sustainability issues including climate change, ecosystems, education, healthcare, and human rights. She makes a compelling case that “global corporations have the human capital, the financial resources, the technology, the international footprint, the power of markets, and the profit motivation to build a better world.” This book is another wake-up call for cognizance and change.

[Constantin Sinowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and sanguine guideline for the enlightened consumer

This book going to the root of problems as well as hinting to solutions we face currently on planet earth and how big corporations, companies and soon-to-be's can not only influence but also steer the course of the fulfillment of the Millenial Development Goals set by the UN. It focuses heavily on high-tech companies and points out that their use of raw materials as minerals is dangerous and often not traceable.
This is a handbook for the enlightened consumer!