Business and Democracy

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The Business and Democracy Commission’s Interim report, supported by Jericho, Ipsos, and CIPR, explores the key challenges in the evolving relationship between business and democracy.

It outlines why business and democracy rely on each other, identifies how we got into the confused state we seem to be in and sets out some of the key challenges and opportunities for business along with the potential risks of doing nothing.

If you want to better understand the relationship between business, democracy and politics, join us on Tuesday 12th September, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm (UK time) via Zoom to hear more.

 

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About the Project

 

From the Ukraine to #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and many more cultural and political issues, business can’t duck its relationship with democracy. Society increasingly expects businesses to take a stance and governments want to outsource many of their responsibilities to the corporate world.

It goes deeper though. Against a backdrop of the 2008 crash, the austerity that followed it and now the cost-of-living crisis, populism swirls around.  Democracy itself is being questioned and eroded – this is not good for business. But at the same time new forms of democracy are emerging, as the spirit of the age and new technology informs greater citizens participation.

So, there are three pressures on business:

  • To manage external democratic and political issues
  • To play a part in ensuring we have a healthy democracy fit for the 21st Century
  • And, to reflect internally the demand for greater stakeholder voice and in so doing reap the rewards.

The essential question in all this is – how do we negotiate rather than impose a better future for all?

Jericho works within and across all these spaces, helping clients understand and navigate these fast-flowing currents. We are also looking to establish a Business and Democracy Commission, to get to the heart of what’s happening, why and how business should respond.

We are looking for partner organisations and for the first time ever – we are looking to Crowdsource support from the Jericho community to make it happen. To get involved and support this commission, or for further information, please get in touch.

 


For Further Information, please contact:

Becky Holloway, Partner, Jericho

 

Working in partnership with:

Articles

Join us for the launch of the interim report from our Business and Democracy Commission

By
on 14th August 2023

Like it or not – democracy, politics and business are now seriously linked. The issue is not whether there...

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Help us Crowdfund for a new Business and Democracy Commission

By
on 13th March 2023

A new commission designed to get to the heart of why the ties are currently so strained and how...

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Ahead of the Curves: is Democratic Capitalism in Crisis?

By
on 20th February 2023

This discussion took place in January 2023 as part of the Ahead of the Curves series, in partnership with...

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Is now the time for Business to reconsider its relationship with Democracy?

By
on 8th December 2022

An Interview with Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson In case you missed it, we recently interviewed Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, US Business Editor at...

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Business and Democracy – the need for a fresh approach

By
on 19th July 2022

A new Commission designed to get to the heart of what’s happening, why and how business should respond. The...

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Is now the time for business to reconsider its relationship with Democracy?

By
on 10th June 2022

Business and Democracy have had an ambivalent relationship. If Democracy is seen to be politics, business has taken the...

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Business & Democracy: Reflections on a colloquium held on 18 May 2022

By
on 1st June 2022

Be not too hasty to trust or admire the teachers of virtue. They discourse like angels but they live...

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Business and Democracy – the need for a fresh approach

By
on 1st June 2022

Business and democracy have a chequered history.  Business has both underpinned and undermined democracy. In pre-war Germany some of...

Read more

Further Reading

A selection of interesting pieces from those involved in the project and beyond. Feel free to contribute.

BlackRock offers a vote to retail investors in its biggest ETF

By
on 18th July 2023

“BlackRock will give retail investors in its biggest exchange traded fund the chance to participate in proxy voting in...

Read more

‘We can’t be silent’: how does business know when to get political?

By
on 7th February 2023

“In an increasingly polarised world, businesses are being drawn into debates over topics from abortion rights to immigration. But,...

Read more

Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Corporate Entanglement

By
on 25th January 2023

“In the increasingly politicized environment, leaders face the choice of leaning into politics or having the courage of restraint...

Read more

Some companies’ political donations fuel voter suppression. Shareholders are pushing back

By
on 6th September 2022

Shareholders are pressuring some of the largest American corporations to account for political spending that may be aiding voter...

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Young adults have dramatic loss of faith in UK democracy, survey reveals

By
on 22nd August 2022

Report says sidelining of parliament by Tory government has further eroded trust in political system. You can read the...

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Building Trust to Reinforce Democracies

By
on 25th July 2022

Measuring, understanding and acting to reinforce public trust will be essential for the economic recovery, to address climate change...

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Business leaders need to speak up for democracy

By
on 4th July 2022

Are American business leaders ready to defend democracy? If you look at recent opinion polls, the answer might seem...

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Proxy wars on corporate ‘wokeness’ are actually about something else…

By
on 16th June 2022

In this article Denise Hearn argue sthat concentrated private power and the decline of democratic agency are at the...

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Business Can’t Take Democracy for Granted

By
on 1st June 2022

The fact that millions of Americans see nothing wrong with attempting to overturn the results of an election by force...

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Democracy might be in crisis. But autocracy certainly is

By
on 1st June 2022

“Crisis of democracy” is a cliché of our time. But what about the even more consequential crisis of autocracy?...

Read more

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