INCLUSIVE BUSINESS

1 Instead, he now emphasises what he terms ‘shared-value’ in which not just
shareholders should benefit from business profits, but so should wider society,
both in so-called developed and developing nations. Porter suggests that the
competitiveness of a company and the health of the communities in which it operates
are mutually dependent, and that indeed recognising and capitalising on
these interdependencies between societal, economic and environmental progress
is where the next phase of global and economic growth is to be found.
Inclusive Business is an important chapter in this transformation narrative,
alongside closely related new approaches to innovation, like social innovation,
inclusive innovative, frugal innovation, co-creation, the collaborative economy and
open innovation models more broadly. We will increasingly see over the next five
years or so, the amalgamation and alignment of each of these approaches as part
of European, and indeed global, efforts to address the ‘wicked problems’ we all
face.
A better understanding of Inclusive Business is a big, essential step.