Better Business Roundtables: edie completes series with focus on engagement and collaboration

Pictured: Business experts attending edie's first Better Business Roundtable

At edie, we know that the climate crisis is raging. Technologies are evolving. The future of work is upon us and new paradigms of growth are emerging. NOW is the time to reinvent business models, shift corporate cultures, change our understanding of value, and reposition business as a force for positive change.

To help make that change happen, from the top, we have been hosting a series of quarterly roundtable discussions in London, supported by a range of partners.

The last of these discussions took place late last year, with a focus on engagement, inspiration and collaboration. You can see more information about that event here.

With all four roundtables complete, this article rounds up the key takeaways and where you can access more in-depth information via free-to-download summaries.

Roundtable one: Purpose, Culture & Impact

Our inaugural discussion of the series focused on purpose, culture and impact. How can business be a force for good in the world and for ourselves? How can business leaders build a company culture which balances purpose and profit? And how can we have a more positive impact on our workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment?

These questions and more were put to leaders in September 2021, at a roundtable chaired by Ben Kellard, Director of Business Strategy at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). This roundtable was sponsored by Centrica Business Solutions.

Read the resulting takeaways in the summary. Download your copy here.

Roundtable two: Business Models, Systems Change & Sustainable Growth

Our second Better Business Roundtable took the theme of systems change, with 15 UK-based business leaders convening for a discussion on systems change. This roundtable was sponsored by Centrica Business Solutions and it was hosted in March 2022.

With the very concept of sustainable growth being questioned and debates relating to both degrowth and to ‘green growth’ for levelling up becoming more mainstream, participants spoke of the need for a new leadership style to ‘change the very essence of capitalism’.

Read about what that leadership style could look like in the resulting summary. Download your copy here.

Roundtable three: Ambition, Action & Advocacy

In association with Inspired PLC, edie hosted the third Better Business Roundtable in May 2022. Our expert chair for this session was Mike Barry, famed sustainability speaker best-known for his tenure at Marks & Spencer.

Barry asked attendees: With the global transition to net-zero underway and the need for sustainable development widely recognised, what would a truly ambitious corporate approach be? How can ambitions be turned into meaningful action at the necessary pace and scale? And how should businesses engage with policymakers and the general public throughout?

All of these questions and more are explored and answered in the resulting summary. Download your copy here.

Roundtable four: Engagement, Inspiration & Collaboration

Hosted in October 2022, this session was hosted in association with sponsor Centrica Business Solutions. edie’s senior reporter Sarah George acted as session chair.

During this session, leaders asked: How can business leaders use their influential positions to drive positive engagement with key stakeholders around climate action? What decisions can be made to foster a culture of sustainability leadership within business? And how can new partnerships be formed within and between sectors to maximise impact?

All of these questions and more are explored and answered in the summary. Download your copy here.