Oxfam Poverty Footprint

Understanding Business Contribution to Development

A Poverty Footprint Study can lead to a fundamental shift in the way in which a business operates and affects development. For each company that takes part, a study will produce the following results:

1. Greater corporate accountability and transparency about the role of the company in fostering sustainable development and enabling it to provide evidence of its contribution to poverty alleviation.
2. Improvements to business models that result in poverty reduction by enhancing positive effects on society and mitigating negative effects.
3. Joint organizational learning through a research process that involves a range of stakeholders in both the research and the analysis of the findings.
   

“The future of business depends on the sustainable, responsible sourcing of the factors of production. Labor, of course, is one key aspect of this. It is only sensible that businesses are mindful of the livelihoods of those people who live on the land, are involved in the production, processing, and trading of the materials they need. Otherwise the future of business itself is surely unsustainable. Measuring the effects of a company’s operations on poverty and development provides an important place to start. But if “sustainable development” is to become a movement that effectively and efficiently joins business to development the key will be in the interpretation of the data generated, and realizing the uses to which it can be put. In order to have a positive impact, the analysis has to build the “business case for development” based on practical, holistic solutions that positively contribute to the totality of the system concerned – livelihoods, the environment, and commerce.” [Dr Graham Clewer, Director of Ethical and Community Trade, The Body Shop]