Make Positive Impact Your Winning Business Strategy

Is your business ready to deliver a Positive Impact?


A sustainable business strategy integrates financial value and sustainability to deliver a positive impact as a result of all commercial trading activity. 


Positive Impact Commerce is the first dynamic impact management system that integrates value with the latest international sustainability indices. It helps you build up sustainable practice and rewards the very best with an independently verified positive impact commerce certificate. 


Our ambition as a Foundation is that by 2030 every commercial entity in the world has a positive PIC RATING ®.







Profit

Reimagine strategic purpose and decision making using sustainability credentials to drive revenue and growth


People

Design a diverse workforce and supply chain that offers decent work and equitable conditions for everyone    


Planet

Adapt the value chain for zero carbon operation and become good stewards of natural resources


Society

Drive future innovation and seed tangible economic opportunity for communities beyond the board room


We re-imagined Sustainable Value to create one global standard for every partner within your supply chain

POSITIVE INSIGHTS

by Jacqui Archer 13 January 2021


The Positive Impact Commerce Foundation affirms support of the TERRA CARTA, in doing so we shall:-

 

Commit to supporting and rapidly accelerating the world’s transition towards a sustainable future.

  Recognise the urgency of the global climate, biodiversity and health crises and the stewardship with which we must act.

  Acknowledge that to build a sustainable future, the transition must focus on a robust, positive and parallel impact for Nature, People & Planet.

  Recognize that ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, on land and below water, requires that climate, oceans, desertification and biodiversity be treated as one common system and addressed simultaneously.

  Acknowledge that we need to make health our goal; individual health, community health, economic health and the health of our Natural resources.

  Take into account the value of diversity, recognizing that diversity is a strength that gives resilience to communities, systems and organizations.

  Recognize the importance of ‘local’ – local traditions, languages and cultures along with local products, jobs and sustainability – and how these ‘locals’ connect and support each other in the wider tapestry of regional and global systems.

  Acknowledge that Nature underpins the inherent prosperity, wellbeing and future of all people and the one planet we share. Further, that the restoration of the natural world is of common benefit to all humankind irrespective of borders.

  Acknowledge that the required global trajectory is a sustainable one, where the private sector has acritical role to play. To accelerate along this trajectory, a ‘future of industry’ and ‘future of economy’ approach must be taken.

  Take into account the need to ensure a skilled workforce and a cadre of leaders that are prepared to participate in a fair, inclusive, equitable and just transition towards a sustainable future.

  Recognize that to scale sustainable solutions and investment, cross-border and longer-term ‘mega’ projects need to be explored, underscoring the importance of public, private and philanthropic collaboration.

  Acknowledge the need for net zero commitments to be achieved by 2050 and, where possible, much sooner. Setting more ambitious timelines will emphasize and catalyse immediate action while encouraging continuous innovation and improvement.

  Undertake to collaborate, share knowledge and ideas to propel the world towards sustainability at a faster pace through public, private and philanthropic collaboration.



by Jacqui Archer 7 January 2021
At the CIPS Annual Conference in October 2020, I made a comment that decision makers should go find the sustainability experts they banished to the tree hugging department 10 years ago and put them on the Board. 

I meant it.  Sustainability is big.  When Greta Thunberg asked the world, “why do the grown-ups in charge of the global economy think trees are more valuable when they’re dead”, the public took notice.  When the Economist Intelligence Unit reported in 2019 that nearly $45 trillion of commercial assets under contract management would be at risk of climate impact by 2100, the investor community took notice.

The assumption that the planet’s resources are more valuable once extracted and consumed exposes a fundamental flaw in humanity’s perception of value and our messed-up relationship with the natural resources that sustain us.  If our true intention is to make more sustainable business choices, we must integrate that intention into our business mission and manage it in all exchanges of value. 

In a UK Radio 4 interview Professor Myles Allen, the atmospheric physicist responsible from framing the net zero campaign on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, suggested that the climate emergency would not be solved by government coming in on a “white charger” with a solution.  He complained that the focus was being placed on ordinary individuals and leaving out the institutions who could make the biggest impact.  He commented that if commercial entities already had the inherent ability to engineer innovative products they should, by default, be more accountable for mitigating the negative impact of their products over the life of their use wherever that use or reuse occurs. 

Society is energy dependent and the transition to clean renewable energy is taking too long.  Commercial entities are coming under increasing pressure to adapt their commercial operations at pace.  Reversing deeply embedded business norms will require a fundamental shift in company culture, inclusion of impact risk and opportunity management at all tiers of commercial relationships and a fundamental upgrade to the way commercial activity is procured and governed.  Extra CSR / ESG disclosures and more targeted social gifting is not the answer.  The entire commercial operating model must be enhanced at all levels in the value chain and the effort of all executives accountable for business delivery focused on delivering clear and unambiguous impact outcomes.   

A 2019 global consumer confidence survey  recorded that existing global consumers are somewhere between 60% to 88% more likely to choose the most ecologically sound and sustainable option they can afford.  The Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), headed by Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of England, published their final recommendations in 2017.  They concluded that climate related impact risk in commercial markets is so great that investors are increasingly seeking evidence-based assurance that prospective assets under management are resilient to climate shocks.  Investors will increasingly invest only in companies able to demonstrate impact resilience. 

Michael Harte, writing in the Global Treasurer (Harte, 2020), suggested that whilst great ESG ratings remained good for reputation and impression management, big multinationals are staring to reshape global supply chains and reduce the cost of financing by leveraging their sustainability profile.  He said the emphasis is shifting towards active impact mitigation, sustainable supply chains and creating a positive impact. 

We couldn't agree more. 

Get in touch if you'd like to understand how the Positive Impact Commerce Foundation can help your organisation transform and adapt it's commercial operation to deliver a positive impact and more sustainable value.

contact me at:- jacqui@positiveimpactcommerce.com
by Nicola Greenwood 6 January 2021
Dear Procurement, where is the diversity strategy?
by Jacqui Archer 26 August 2020

Positive Impact Commerce (PIC) has selected Brooklyn Vendor Assurance for its exclusive Supply Chain Sustainability delivery platform.

The next generation dynamic platform enables impact-based assurance activities across all customer supply chains. The PIC System is already aligned to the GRI Reporting requirements and the UN 2030 Vision Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PIC is the most holistic, user-friendly, practical, and research-based Sustainability framework available.
 
Jacqui Archer, Chair of the Positive Impact Commerce Foundation, said: “Using Brooklyn Vendor Assurance as the central digital platform enables PIC members to focus on business value delivery and fold their ESG / CSR activities right into their existing operational workflow. There was no other solution like this that enabled business leaders to deliver their business mission so effectively, comprehensively and sustainably”.  
 
She said the major deciding factor in choosing Brooklyn was “the customer friendly AI-driven onboarding and third-party assessment features. The dynamic automation and holistic functionality will help accelerate supply-chain sustainability programmes end-to-end. This really is the missing link to delivering sustainable value. The Brooklyn solution is full lifecycle, impact focused and modular. That means it can scale and flex with evolving global standards and clients can keep focus on business value delivery. It’s very exciting indeed to see our leading industry research coming to life in this very practical way and we are delighted to be collaborating with Brooklyn.”
 
Jesse Lee, CEO at Brooklyn Vendor Assurance, added: “We are delighted to integrate PIC into our modular Brooklyn solution suite. PIC is uniquely usable and commercial results-focused, cleverly folding in the delivery of ethical Profits as well as inspecting the diversity and opportunity for Workers, the impact of the business operation on the Planet and how clients can drive and deliver social value for the Society impacted by the business. PIC with Brooklyn solves the universal problem we see across many CSR supply chain programs — a “doing good” reporting fanfare disconnected from the business imperative to drive value through supplier contracts, risk, and performance. Brooklyn recovers lost time and cost through the value chain. PIC drives the long-term sustainable value that drives customer satisfaction and business reputation. It’s the perfect combination, effective commercial governance and assurance and constant focus on delivering a positive impact”.
 
Jesse Lee, CEO at Brooklyn Vendor Assurance
About Brooklyn Vendor Assurance – transforming Vendor Management
Brooklyn Vendor Assurance (BrooklynVA) is the first Enterprise SaaS software platform purpose-built for Vendor Managers to maximise business value across their 3rd Party Supplier ecosystem.
Today’s Best-in-Class Procurement functions are expanding beyond pure sourcing to post-contract vendor management, in order to lower costs, increase agility, drive innovation and reduce risk. BrooklynVA is the only integrated platform for doing this effectively at scale, to minimise the 10-15% of contract value leakage, lost annually from suppliers.
 
BrooklynVA surpasses legacy tools by digitising the entire vendor management lifecycle, to better control supplier obligations, performance and risk in one easy-to-use platform. Its AI-powered platform speeds up onboarding, risk-assessing and governing activities. BrooklynVA’s unique best practice policy-driven approach proactively guides vendor management teams with simple workflow to ensure obligations are met, risks mitigated and actions completed, with instant visibility of supplier performance, compliance and risk, across the full 3rd party ecosystem.
 
For further information please contact:
Saqib Rizvi, VP Sales

by Jacqui Archer 25 August 2020

PIC invited to set international standards

We are delighted to be part of a major IACCM initiative to drive international commercial standards in one of the 4 themes of the PIC system - social value.

The collaborative effort is being driven by Tim Cummins, President of the IACCM and PIC is right at the heart of the discussions driving best practice. We are super delighted to annouce that the IACCM is endorsing the PIC system as the most comprehensive set of ideal standards seen to date. We can't wait to do more and contribute to the commercial standards. We'll be sure to encourage all the participants in the working group to apply for their PIC Rating.

 

Contact us to find out more about how we are blazing the trail in setting standards for positive impact commerce. At PIC, we are working with the IACCM, the UN Global Compact team, the World Economic Forum and the Global Reporting Inititiave to ensure the PIC Rating is lean and useful and built from a super-set of the best international thought leadership there is on commerce and sustainable value.  

by Jacqui Archer 24 August 2020

PIC welcomes Nicola Greenwood

PIC is delighted to annouce our collaboration with Greenwood Diversity . Nicola Greenwood, Founder of Greenwood Diversity.

Nicola has been building diverse supply chains internationally for over 20 years and we are over the moon to have her work with the PIC Foundation to help us evolve the standards on full value chain workplace diversity. Welcome Nicola and can't wait to get started.

A dynamic leader, Nicola is focused on changing the diversity and inclusion status quo.

Jacqui Archer, Chair of the PIC Foundation, said of Nicola, “she brings such energy and passion to her work. Her big goal is to create diverse ecosystems that lead to lasting positive change. Her energy is equally matched with such depth of capability, I’m absolutely delighted she is right at the heart of the PIC Foundation”.

Nicola has over 20 years of experience and extensive knowledge in procurement and supply chain. She has a talent for transforming organisations and for effective collaboration across boundaries. Armed with her own unique diversity transformation methodology and a truly impressive track record of developing game changing strategic programmes - she is no stranger to major turnarounds in strategic procurement structures. This experience has included building capabilities that have demonstrably impacted the bottom line of complex and global corporations such as HSBC and others.

Nicola really wants to push commerce further. She said “too many organisations talk about diversity amongst the workforce but it’s usually just collecting employee gender statistics. There is so much more to do, so much opportunity and value lost through lack of ambition for full value chain diversity”. Her vision for a diverse workforce spans the entire value chain, customers ensuring that their entire commercial ecosystem is as diverse as it is possible to be. No fluff, no excuses. We couldn’t agree more.

Nicola is on a Positive Impact mission and we can’t wait to support her turn that vision into a reality.

Contact us to have Nicola help transform your organisation into the best diverse ecosystem it can be and find out more about our diversity and ecosystem support programmes led by Nicola.

by Jacqui Archer 21 August 2020

PIC collaborates with ProVations

We are delighted to announce our collaboration with ProVations.

Søren Mølby Henriksen, the CEO & Founder said "we are so delighted to be awarded a licence to deploy the PIC System with our clients. I am committed to sustainable commerce and the PIC System aligns so well to our own business ethics as responsible business advisors. We are looking forward to taking care of deploying and advising our clients how to use the Positive Impact Commerce solution in a way that is visible and builds stronger Supplier Relationships based on solid value management and sustainable solutions. When you build the trust, the innovation and value then comes".  

 

PIC applauds the intent of ProVations to use the PIC solution to meet the needs of their customers and drive sustainable value in such an innovative way for all their stakeholders. We know that filling out forms and surveys just measures compliance and some organisations need help from experts like us who've walked the transformation road already and help unlock the value that's trapped in outdated practices across the value chain.

 

ProVations operates in close collaboration with multiple global partners and is well known in Europe for deep expertise within procurement, technology, vendor and risk management. It is vital that the PIC solution is deployed by those who understand the sustainability context in the way that ProVations does.

 

We can't wait to evolve our collaboration and award ProVations clients their PIC Ratings.  

by Jacqui Archer 13 January 2021


The Positive Impact Commerce Foundation affirms support of the TERRA CARTA, in doing so we shall:-

 

Commit to supporting and rapidly accelerating the world’s transition towards a sustainable future.

  Recognise the urgency of the global climate, biodiversity and health crises and the stewardship with which we must act.

  Acknowledge that to build a sustainable future, the transition must focus on a robust, positive and parallel impact for Nature, People & Planet.

  Recognize that ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, on land and below water, requires that climate, oceans, desertification and biodiversity be treated as one common system and addressed simultaneously.

  Acknowledge that we need to make health our goal; individual health, community health, economic health and the health of our Natural resources.

  Take into account the value of diversity, recognizing that diversity is a strength that gives resilience to communities, systems and organizations.

  Recognize the importance of ‘local’ – local traditions, languages and cultures along with local products, jobs and sustainability – and how these ‘locals’ connect and support each other in the wider tapestry of regional and global systems.

  Acknowledge that Nature underpins the inherent prosperity, wellbeing and future of all people and the one planet we share. Further, that the restoration of the natural world is of common benefit to all humankind irrespective of borders.

  Acknowledge that the required global trajectory is a sustainable one, where the private sector has acritical role to play. To accelerate along this trajectory, a ‘future of industry’ and ‘future of economy’ approach must be taken.

  Take into account the need to ensure a skilled workforce and a cadre of leaders that are prepared to participate in a fair, inclusive, equitable and just transition towards a sustainable future.

  Recognize that to scale sustainable solutions and investment, cross-border and longer-term ‘mega’ projects need to be explored, underscoring the importance of public, private and philanthropic collaboration.

  Acknowledge the need for net zero commitments to be achieved by 2050 and, where possible, much sooner. Setting more ambitious timelines will emphasize and catalyse immediate action while encouraging continuous innovation and improvement.

  Undertake to collaborate, share knowledge and ideas to propel the world towards sustainability at a faster pace through public, private and philanthropic collaboration.



by Jacqui Archer 7 January 2021
At the CIPS Annual Conference in October 2020, I made a comment that decision makers should go find the sustainability experts they banished to the tree hugging department 10 years ago and put them on the Board. 

I meant it.  Sustainability is big.  When Greta Thunberg asked the world, “why do the grown-ups in charge of the global economy think trees are more valuable when they’re dead”, the public took notice.  When the Economist Intelligence Unit reported in 2019 that nearly $45 trillion of commercial assets under contract management would be at risk of climate impact by 2100, the investor community took notice.

The assumption that the planet’s resources are more valuable once extracted and consumed exposes a fundamental flaw in humanity’s perception of value and our messed-up relationship with the natural resources that sustain us.  If our true intention is to make more sustainable business choices, we must integrate that intention into our business mission and manage it in all exchanges of value. 

In a UK Radio 4 interview Professor Myles Allen, the atmospheric physicist responsible from framing the net zero campaign on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, suggested that the climate emergency would not be solved by government coming in on a “white charger” with a solution.  He complained that the focus was being placed on ordinary individuals and leaving out the institutions who could make the biggest impact.  He commented that if commercial entities already had the inherent ability to engineer innovative products they should, by default, be more accountable for mitigating the negative impact of their products over the life of their use wherever that use or reuse occurs. 

Society is energy dependent and the transition to clean renewable energy is taking too long.  Commercial entities are coming under increasing pressure to adapt their commercial operations at pace.  Reversing deeply embedded business norms will require a fundamental shift in company culture, inclusion of impact risk and opportunity management at all tiers of commercial relationships and a fundamental upgrade to the way commercial activity is procured and governed.  Extra CSR / ESG disclosures and more targeted social gifting is not the answer.  The entire commercial operating model must be enhanced at all levels in the value chain and the effort of all executives accountable for business delivery focused on delivering clear and unambiguous impact outcomes.   

A 2019 global consumer confidence survey  recorded that existing global consumers are somewhere between 60% to 88% more likely to choose the most ecologically sound and sustainable option they can afford.  The Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), headed by Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of England, published their final recommendations in 2017.  They concluded that climate related impact risk in commercial markets is so great that investors are increasingly seeking evidence-based assurance that prospective assets under management are resilient to climate shocks.  Investors will increasingly invest only in companies able to demonstrate impact resilience. 

Michael Harte, writing in the Global Treasurer (Harte, 2020), suggested that whilst great ESG ratings remained good for reputation and impression management, big multinationals are staring to reshape global supply chains and reduce the cost of financing by leveraging their sustainability profile.  He said the emphasis is shifting towards active impact mitigation, sustainable supply chains and creating a positive impact. 

We couldn't agree more. 

Get in touch if you'd like to understand how the Positive Impact Commerce Foundation can help your organisation transform and adapt it's commercial operation to deliver a positive impact and more sustainable value.

contact me at:- jacqui@positiveimpactcommerce.com
by Nicola Greenwood 6 January 2021
Dear Procurement, where is the diversity strategy?
by Jacqui Archer 26 August 2020

Positive Impact Commerce (PIC) has selected Brooklyn Vendor Assurance for its exclusive Supply Chain Sustainability delivery platform.

The next generation dynamic platform enables impact-based assurance activities across all customer supply chains. The PIC System is already aligned to the GRI Reporting requirements and the UN 2030 Vision Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PIC is the most holistic, user-friendly, practical, and research-based Sustainability framework available.
 
Jacqui Archer, Chair of the Positive Impact Commerce Foundation, said: “Using Brooklyn Vendor Assurance as the central digital platform enables PIC members to focus on business value delivery and fold their ESG / CSR activities right into their existing operational workflow. There was no other solution like this that enabled business leaders to deliver their business mission so effectively, comprehensively and sustainably”.  
 
She said the major deciding factor in choosing Brooklyn was “the customer friendly AI-driven onboarding and third-party assessment features. The dynamic automation and holistic functionality will help accelerate supply-chain sustainability programmes end-to-end. This really is the missing link to delivering sustainable value. The Brooklyn solution is full lifecycle, impact focused and modular. That means it can scale and flex with evolving global standards and clients can keep focus on business value delivery. It’s very exciting indeed to see our leading industry research coming to life in this very practical way and we are delighted to be collaborating with Brooklyn.”
 
Jesse Lee, CEO at Brooklyn Vendor Assurance, added: “We are delighted to integrate PIC into our modular Brooklyn solution suite. PIC is uniquely usable and commercial results-focused, cleverly folding in the delivery of ethical Profits as well as inspecting the diversity and opportunity for Workers, the impact of the business operation on the Planet and how clients can drive and deliver social value for the Society impacted by the business. PIC with Brooklyn solves the universal problem we see across many CSR supply chain programs — a “doing good” reporting fanfare disconnected from the business imperative to drive value through supplier contracts, risk, and performance. Brooklyn recovers lost time and cost through the value chain. PIC drives the long-term sustainable value that drives customer satisfaction and business reputation. It’s the perfect combination, effective commercial governance and assurance and constant focus on delivering a positive impact”.
 
Jesse Lee, CEO at Brooklyn Vendor Assurance
About Brooklyn Vendor Assurance – transforming Vendor Management
Brooklyn Vendor Assurance (BrooklynVA) is the first Enterprise SaaS software platform purpose-built for Vendor Managers to maximise business value across their 3rd Party Supplier ecosystem.
Today’s Best-in-Class Procurement functions are expanding beyond pure sourcing to post-contract vendor management, in order to lower costs, increase agility, drive innovation and reduce risk. BrooklynVA is the only integrated platform for doing this effectively at scale, to minimise the 10-15% of contract value leakage, lost annually from suppliers.
 
BrooklynVA surpasses legacy tools by digitising the entire vendor management lifecycle, to better control supplier obligations, performance and risk in one easy-to-use platform. Its AI-powered platform speeds up onboarding, risk-assessing and governing activities. BrooklynVA’s unique best practice policy-driven approach proactively guides vendor management teams with simple workflow to ensure obligations are met, risks mitigated and actions completed, with instant visibility of supplier performance, compliance and risk, across the full 3rd party ecosystem.
 
For further information please contact:
Saqib Rizvi, VP Sales

by Jacqui Archer 25 August 2020

PIC invited to set international standards

We are delighted to be part of a major IACCM initiative to drive international commercial standards in one of the 4 themes of the PIC system - social value.

The collaborative effort is being driven by Tim Cummins, President of the IACCM and PIC is right at the heart of the discussions driving best practice. We are super delighted to annouce that the IACCM is endorsing the PIC system as the most comprehensive set of ideal standards seen to date. We can't wait to do more and contribute to the commercial standards. We'll be sure to encourage all the participants in the working group to apply for their PIC Rating.

 

Contact us to find out more about how we are blazing the trail in setting standards for positive impact commerce. At PIC, we are working with the IACCM, the UN Global Compact team, the World Economic Forum and the Global Reporting Inititiave to ensure the PIC Rating is lean and useful and built from a super-set of the best international thought leadership there is on commerce and sustainable value.  

by Jacqui Archer 24 August 2020

PIC welcomes Nicola Greenwood

PIC is delighted to annouce our collaboration with Greenwood Diversity . Nicola Greenwood, Founder of Greenwood Diversity.

Nicola has been building diverse supply chains internationally for over 20 years and we are over the moon to have her work with the PIC Foundation to help us evolve the standards on full value chain workplace diversity. Welcome Nicola and can't wait to get started.

A dynamic leader, Nicola is focused on changing the diversity and inclusion status quo.

Jacqui Archer, Chair of the PIC Foundation, said of Nicola, “she brings such energy and passion to her work. Her big goal is to create diverse ecosystems that lead to lasting positive change. Her energy is equally matched with such depth of capability, I’m absolutely delighted she is right at the heart of the PIC Foundation”.

Nicola has over 20 years of experience and extensive knowledge in procurement and supply chain. She has a talent for transforming organisations and for effective collaboration across boundaries. Armed with her own unique diversity transformation methodology and a truly impressive track record of developing game changing strategic programmes - she is no stranger to major turnarounds in strategic procurement structures. This experience has included building capabilities that have demonstrably impacted the bottom line of complex and global corporations such as HSBC and others.

Nicola really wants to push commerce further. She said “too many organisations talk about diversity amongst the workforce but it’s usually just collecting employee gender statistics. There is so much more to do, so much opportunity and value lost through lack of ambition for full value chain diversity”. Her vision for a diverse workforce spans the entire value chain, customers ensuring that their entire commercial ecosystem is as diverse as it is possible to be. No fluff, no excuses. We couldn’t agree more.

Nicola is on a Positive Impact mission and we can’t wait to support her turn that vision into a reality.

Contact us to have Nicola help transform your organisation into the best diverse ecosystem it can be and find out more about our diversity and ecosystem support programmes led by Nicola.

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