Category Archives: Together

We’re all in it together

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Welcome. I’m Mike Tuffrey. I’ve worked in business, government and civil society, so I’m what’s sometimes called a “tri-sector athlete.” This experience has left me with a clear conviction: our biggest challenges won’t be solved by any one sector on its own.

Now working as a non-executive director and adviser, I’m focusing on how these three worlds can work better together. The aim is prosperity, health and well-being for people today and for the generations after us. That matters most in our cities, now that more half the world lives in one.

Read the blog for my thinking, or About Mike for what I’m working on. If you’d like to collaborate, get in touch. I’d be glad to hear from you.

October Monthly Briefing: ESG in an Economic Downturn

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This month we’re taking a timely look at the implications of current economic headwinds on ambitions for responsible and sustainable business.

Timely not least because the UK government is citing the same concerns, as it rows back on the previously committed net zero timetable, and on strategic infrastructure investment. Those of us with long political memories will recall it was exactly a decade ago when another prime minister reportedly ordered aides to “get rid of all the green crap” from energy bills. Plus ça change.

The reality for many today is a squeeze on living standards, sharply higher fuel costs, increased unemployment and reductions in the public services they rely on. Meanwhile higher interest rates don’t just hit householders with mortgages, they slow investment by business and prompt re-examination of growth plans.

Continue reading →

The price of democracy: defending civil society

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Companies should do more to protect civil society, even if that means defending their critics from oppressive governments.

Think of business involvement in politics, and the murky world of backhanders and behind-the-scenes lobbying may spring to mind. However, define the issue as protecting basic freedoms –the sort of freedoms that companies need if they are to prosper in open and competitive markets – and a different perspective emerges.

So it was refreshing to hear a call, as I did last week, for companies to get more involved, not in party politics or the direct business of government but in defending the space for civil society to operate freely. That came during an event we at Corporate Citizenship organised with Danny Sriskandarajah, secretary general of CIVICUS, the global alliance of over 3,600 civil society organisations and activists working to strengthen citizen action and civil society around the world. Continue reading →

The pink pound points the way

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Short-termism in the boardroom doesn’t just damage investors, it hurts us all. Thankfully, the evidence – sometimes from surprising places – shows that doing the right thing does pPink pound sign transparent imageay off.

Here in London, voters are choosing a new mayor as I write. By the time you read this, we’ll know the outcome. During the campaign, the one issue all the candidates have agreed on is the lack of affordable homes – or rather the imbalance between restricted supply and escalating demand which is driving up the price of all forms of housing, whether purchased or rented.

The think-tank New Economics Foundation (where I’ve just joined the board of trustees) used the occasion of the Queen’s 90th birthday to show how the rise in UK house prices have outstripped average earnings twice over during her lifetime. There’s not much point in being 21,839% better off (yes really, in money terms) if you still can’t afford to put a roof over your head. In London, the trends are even more acute. Continue reading →