RSVP chris.macrae@yahoo.co.uk wash dc 1 301 881 1655

Do tell us if you have any links to corporations going beyond pr with leadership responsibility and value multiplying purpose it into their mult-win business models- World Class Brands (sub-network of Entrepreneurial Revolution) was founded in 1988 when the scoop we offered to te survey on The Year of The Brand in The Economist explained that brand valuation algorithms (being advanced by the big 5 accounting monopoly) had taken a wrong turn being all about valuing perception and nothing about how unique purpose gravitates trust flow and what every stakeholder communally wants most longer-term . This requires wholly different governance metrics and process from ruling over what one stakeholder can extract from everyone else short-term. However in an intangibles world (ie any corporation whose majority value is intangibles) not auditing how multi-win or multi-lose your goodwill model will ultimately face up to compound consequences- such as startegies not being implementable blind of this information

2012 starts with denmark chairing the EU- the country that tries hardest to get corporates to report beyond greenwash; it would be a fun idea if londoners can network it to host a public gallery for any olympic brand that wants to poster what its most responsible (or at least pro-youth) contributions are . Across the pond in Washington DC, after a 10 year hiatus, Brookings Institute is starting a 3 year researc probgram on corporate purpose (last postponed under title Unseen Wealth when Bush Admininstration stopped all funds of models of compound risk that didnt agree with the industry sectors texas wanted to promote including ENRON that bought its rating as us's most responsible corporate- turning CSR into complete fluffery according to serious journalist M Kelly)

LOVE THE WHOLE EARTH,

Whole Foods is sparking change around the world with Whole Planet Foundation

By Shelley Seale

12.25.11 | 10:05 am

Kelly Stevens watched as the children raced toward the playground, arms outstretched and giggling with joy. They jumped on the swings, climbed onto the see-saw and quickly formed a line 15 kids long for a chance at the slide.

But this was no ordinary playground, or typical group of kids. Stevens was in a remote village in India, with a group of fellow Whole Foods Market team members who had just spent a week building this playground at an orphanage that is home to more than a hundred children.

The team had traveled to India as a project of Whole Planet Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Whole Foods with a mission to assist the poor in developing-world communities. Stevens and her colleagues partnered with Austin's The Miracle Foundation, which manages and supports the orphanage that provides a home, housemothers, education, nutritious food and medical care to children who have no other parents.

"The playground we built is an awesome assortment of swings, a slide, badminton court and teeter totter," Stevens says, "all born from hard work, dirt and buckets of sweat with my fellow teammates, to whom I also grew very close." She was amazed at the way the children stood by patiently during the construction of the playground, seeing it each day and certainly tempted, but obeying instructions to stay off until it was complete. Once it was, however, the party started. Even the housemothers took a turn down the slide.

Stevens enjoyed not only her experiences with the kids, but also with her Whole Planet team members. "Each night we ate amazing meals together and talking about the day, exhausted and sinking into deep sleep each night, proud of the day's accomplishments." At the end of the trip, one of the girls approached Stevens and placed a hand over her heart.

"You will always be felt here," the girl said. "You are like a sister to all of us." Stevens adds that she couldn't have said it better herself; she left India with an experience and memories that will last a lifetime, and the reward of knowing what an improvement the Whole Planet Foundation's volunteer trip to The Miracle Foundation orphanage had made in the lives of those children. After eight days at the orphanage, the WPH team visited Indian micro-credit clients, along with Whole Foods partners such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Seventh Generation and others.

Im just the past year, Whole Planet Foundation has doubled the number of countries where it supports poor entrepreneurs with microcredit. In addition to India, WPF works in 47 other countries including Brazil, Tanzania, China, Afghanistan, Burundi and Indonesia. It also has several U.S. programs in Indianapolis, Omaha and Detroit, in partnership with Grameen America.

"Whole Foods Market has long been committed to giving back to the communities where they do business," says Lauren Evans, Marketing and Outreach Specialist. "Whole Foods Market launched the nonprofit Whole Planet Foundation in 2005 to take that mission globally, empowering the poor in developing-world communities where its stores source products to lift themselves out of poverty through microcredit loans."

WPF chose the microcredit model because rather than just a hand-out, micro-lending sparks change by providing the poor with a viable chance to lift themselves out of poverty through their own hard work and ingenuity. "Simply put, the impact of a handout is short-lived, but the power of a helping hand is infinite," Evans says. Whole Foods Market covers all the operating expenses for its foundation, so 100 percent of its fundraising dollars go directly to the projects and recipients.

In just five, short years, Whole Planet Foundation has helped more than 177,100 poor entrepreneurs in 48 countries to improve their own lives through microcredit, positively impacting more than million people worldwide. To date, the nonprofit has funded more than $15 million and committed more than $26 million to fund micro-lending programs. Evans adds that there’s no limit on how much each one of those dollars will pay forward, as these entrepreneurs effect change in their own families and entire communities.

On a personal level, working for WPF has given Evans a new zest for life. "I have been given the amazing opportunity to witness the effects of microcredit first hand and to meet the very people who benefit from WPF-funded microloans. The creative energy of our microcredit clients empowers them to lift themselves and their families out of poverty in a sustainable way, and being able to see how just $1 can make a difference in the lives of women and families all around the world is beyond inspiring."

Want to get involved? You don't have to travel to India to make an impact through Whole Foods. Check out these ways you can help this holiday season:

Donate online at www.wholeplanetfoundation.org (all year long), and in stores during the annual five-week Prosperity Campaign in the spring (2012 dates: Feb. 22 to March 31)
Pick up a Whole Planet Foundation 2012 Calendar. All $3 from each purchase goes to fund micro-lending programs, and each calendar packs more than $20 worth of coupons for natural and organic products at Whole Foods Market.
Create your personalized donation profile online, and invite friends and family to help raise $200 (average amount of a full loan) or more.
Purchase Whole Trade™products. A percentage of the retail sale of some Whole Trade products goes directly to the Foundation to fund micro-lending projects
Take advantage of local Whole Foods Market store’s interactive fundraising events throughout the year. Check your store’s calendar of events for garage sales, charity races, donation drives, etc.
Purchase a Whole Planet Foundation gift card. A $1 donation is added to the face value of each card purchased.

"I think that most of the amazing work that Austin-based Whole Foods Market does to support our global communities is often overlooked," Evans says. "I am excited to dedicate my energy and hard work to change that, and to make an even greater impact."

Courtesy of Kelly Stevens
Kelly Stevens and her team of volunteers in India, October 2011.

Courtesy of Whole Planet Foundation
Whole Planet Foundation 2012 calendar.

Muhammad Yunus expresses faith in entrepreneurs at G20 summit

Posted on: November 23, 2011

Category: News

Microfinance Focus, November 4, 2011: Professor Muhammad Yunus was invited to deliver a key note speech during the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Summit held in Nice, France. Professor Yunus addressed an audience of more than 400 entrepreneurs from all G20 countries. In his speech, he shared his personal entrepreneurship experiences, his faith in young entrepreneurs to be the pillars of society and the need to include poor countries in the discussion process in making global decisions.

Professor Yunus being an entrepreneur himself started off creating the Grameen Bank that provides microfinance services to the poor who had little access to financial provisions. From that, he ventured into a wide number of social businesses such as Grameen Nursing College, Grameen Eyecare Hospitals, Grameen Shakti, etc.

He has always considered young entrepreneurs to be the most effective solution for the future. He said “In my opinion, G20 YES is a fabulous initiative, gathering so much energy and momentum from all over the world. Because of their creativity and leadership, provided that they commit to share the value they create, these 400 young entrepreneurs in this room can change the world.”

Professor Yunus is also a member of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Advocacy Group, advising the Secretary General of the United Nations. Hence, he believes that the next generation of youths should be handed over the process of the MDGs as soon as possible. He believes that entrepreneurs will have a key role to play in fulfilling the MDGs, if they are committed to the social value created by their companies, and social business can be part of the solutions.

In his speech, he added that the G20 needed to broaden its scope to deal with the current world crisis. It can no longer remain a political forum with economic agendas. The G20 needs to create a social agenda as well. Professor Yunus proposes that ‘social business’ should be brought to the agenda of G20, as one of the concrete and effective solutions to be considered for immediate implementation so as to guide capitalistic investment towards social value and jobs creation, rather than sheer profit maximization strategies. A social business is a cause-driven business where profits stay within the company for its sustainability.

Lastly, Professor Yunus concluded that the G20 should be expanded into the G25, where poor countries from each continent should be included in the global agenda which they are part of. He added that “Their problems are inter-related with others, and their proposals of solutions should be considered by the most economically advanced countries in making global decisions. A G25 would be a big step toward ensuring that global social issues are raised, and MDGs implementation is fully shared on the global agenda. And finally, because fighting poverty together is the only way to bring long lasting peace in this world.”

Source: http://www.microfinancefocus.com/muhammad-yunus-expresses-faith-entrepreneurs-g20-summit

It explores how to make the invisible principles and practices of real wealth creation visible, and therefore useable. Our planet needs case studies underline the search for new win-wins that build ‘system integrity’
Trust-flow is the unseen wealth to invest sustainability in. Tranpsarently mapped it develops a goodwill gravity tyhat invites with roleplayer in a community to multiply goodwill while sustaining their own cashflow.. Trust is not some vague, mushy, abstract warm-hearted sentiment. It is an economic powerhouse – probably just as economically and socially important as oil.
The point is, there are specific things you need to do to get trust flowing, just as there are specific things you need to do to get oil flowing. And like oil trust has a dark side. Right now, the world is awash with the carbon emissions which threaten the stability and sustainability of its ecosystems. Right now, the world is also awash with the ‘carbon emission’ of trust – mistrust. Indeed it may well be that our ability to tackle the one issue – the threat of environmental catastrophe – depends on our ability to tackle the other issue: how to generate, deepen, extend and sustain trust.>br>But what is the best way of doing this? One thing is for sure. You don’t build and sustain trust via some sentimental exercise of goodwill to all and sundry. There are three very simple principles at the heart of effective trust generation.
First, trust is generated via win-win relationships. It’s virtually impossible to generate or sustain trust without mutual benefit for those involved. But beneficial outcomes are not enough in themselves. For trust to be built and sustained, both sides need to signal a demonstrable commitment to finding win-win ways forward. Such a commitment may require real changes to what we say and do. Second, real ‘win-wins’ are hardly ever purely financial or material. You don’t build trust simply by walking away with more cash in your pocket. Trust works at all the dimensions and levels of human exchange. Yes, it’s about financial and material rewards. But it’s also about purpose (what people want to achieve). It’s about politics with a small ‘p’: the use and abuse of power, the crafting and application of rules of fair play. And it’s about emotions: the sometimes overwhelmingly strong emotions, both positive and negative, that are generated when people deal with other peopleWhat’s constitutes a ‘win’ – a sense of real improvement – is therefore highly specific. It depends absolutely on the details of who the parties are, what they are trying to achieve, in what context. Building trus, therefore involves discovering these specifics. Just as oil doesn’t flow out of the ground, get refined and pump its way into motor vehicles automatically and without effort, so identifying and doing what is necessary to get trust flowing requires dedicated, skilled effort. It requires a disciplined, structured process, not a vague sentiment.

3) Third, even if we do steps 1) and 2) there’s still a good chance it won’t succeed. Why? Because it ignores an invisible third factor. In the real world, purely two way bilateral relationships don’t exist. There is always a third party whose interests or outcomes are affected by what the other two parties do but who is not a party to the contract. The environment is a case in point. Producers and consumers may both benefit from buying and selling to each other – but what happens if, in doing so, they destroy the environment they both depend on?

This raises a hugely important question. When two parties pursue win-wins and build mutual trust, are they doing so in a way which creates a win and builds trust for the third party at the same time? Or are they simply pushing the problems – and the mistrust – further down the line on to this third party? Building vigorous, healthy networks of trust is a different kettle of fish to ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’ win-win conspiracies. It requires a Map of all the key relationships plus careful consideration of knock-on consequences. It requires a different perspective.

These three simple, basic steps do not happen automatically. They need to be worked at. The territory needs to be deliberately Mapped and explored. What’s more, there are obstacles in our way – mental and practical obstacles that need to be cleared. Prevailing economic theories about ‘rational economic man’ for example, deny the need to commit to win-win outcomes. Instead, they promote supposedly ‘rational’ (i.e. narrowly selfish behaviours) which actively undermine trust The same theories insist that the only valid measure of human benefit is money, thereby excluding from consideration many of the biggest opportunities for improvement. Meanwhile many vested interests do not want to extend the circle of trust to third parties and complete networks because their positions of power depend on their ability to take advantage of the weaknesses of these third parties. That’s another job for Mapping: helping to identify and mount such obstacles.
The potential benefits of doing so are unthinkably huge. They start with a simple negative: the relief that comes from when you stop banging your head against a brick wall. Mistrust breeds wasteful, wealth destroying conflict that tends to feed on itself. Anger and hatred engender anger and hatred. Simply easing or stopping the terrible waste of mistrust would transform prospects for many millions of people. We desperately need to find ways of doing this. Then there are the positive benefits. Understanding the real nature of human wealth – all those dimensions of purpose, ‘politics’ and emotion as well as money and material comfort – means we can start being human again; human in the way we think, and act. What’s more, many of these intangible benefits won’t cost a penny. They’re there for the taking, if only we puts our minds to it.
But there’s more, because trust is also an economic superpower in its own right. In the pages that follow we will show conclusively that material and financial riches are also dependent on trust. In fact, we will argue the case for going one step further. We will say that material and financial riches are a by-product of trust: the visible fruits of invisible, intangible human exchange. Once you understand that sustainable cash flows are a by-product of sustainable trust flows, your understanding of what makes a successful business is transformed.
Separately, each of these three fruits – reducing the waste of conflict, unleashing the potential intrinsic benefits of human exchange, and energising the sustainable creation of material wealth – are massive in their own right. Put them together and they represent a vast new continent of opportunity.
As we said, this book is addressed to entrepreneurs and system innovation revolutionaries. Wherever you happen to be, whatever the change you want to make is, the principles explored in this book apply. The wish to change and the will to change are not the same as being able to change successfully. For that you need to understand your territory. You will need new Maps