Partners against poverty? Businesses and international development

A report of the Business Forum meeting on 14th July 2009

What part should food businesses play in international development?

As businesses and consumers try to make sense of competing certification schemes like Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance, they need to consider the pros and cons of different labels, and wider questions over corporate accountability for international development claims and poverty reduction.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of different schemes, both for businesses and for the communities they work with? What part should accreditation schemes play within companies’ overall commitments to contribute to tackling poverty? Which companies have been pioneering good practice as partners for international development? How can businesses assess the effects they have on poverty and develop their business models to address the needs of poor people? Should businesses be expected to ‘do good’ for international development, or just to ‘do no harm’?

The July 2009 meeting of the Food Ethics Council’s (FEC) Business Forum discussed such issues. We are very grateful to Bill Vorley, Head of the Sustainable Markets Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development, for speaking. The chair was Helen Browning OBE, Food and Farming Director of the Soil Association and chair of the FEC.

A full report of the meeting can be downloaded below.