COMMENT

SPOTLIGHT ON RT HON JUSTINE GREENING

How business as a force for GOOD

WILL HELP US OVERCOME THE COVID OPPORTUNITY GAP

Businesses have already been a real force for good during the coronavirus crisis. Now they can play a real leadership role through the coming challenging months ahead as Britain deals with its aftermath. There will be difficult days ahead, that’s inevitable, but how we respond to the challenges is a choice we can make. The impact of coronavirus on our economy is already, like the impact of coronavirus on children’s education, uneven. Different people and places will face very different impacts. It’s why, through the Social Mobility Pledge, we have looked at how existing social mobility coldspots are being affected by the way coronavirus is hitting jobs and the economy. For some areas it’s a double hit effect. They were already a social mobility cold spot and now coronavirus disproportionately hurts their local economy and makes their challenge even greater. Just as they did in the early part of the coronavirus crisis, Britain’s smartest business leaders must continue to ask themselves what they can do to be part of the national effort helping Britain bounce back from coronavirus. During lockdown, when these companies were asked what they were doing to help, they could talk genuinely and convincingly about the steps they were taking. How can they also be part of the solution to the new challenges of the opportunity gap and social mobility crisis that Britain faces? People want to see businesses again set out how they can help more broadly and how they can continue to show being a force for good. The COVID Opportunity Gap evidence base the Social Mobility Pledge has set out out is aimed at helping businesses understand where the greatest challenges lie and, therefore, where help is needed most. A number of companies – including 10 per cent of the FTSE 100 - have worked with me to build Opportunity Action Plans, which can reflect this analysis to make sure they can show not only what their impact can be through their plans, but that they’ve also built in careful thinking about where that impact can be most valuable. It’s going to be crucial work, and I hope that all companies will put similar plans in place. Certainly, there are plenty of insights to inspire other employers into this within this publication. The right choices by Britain’s business leaders at this pivotal point, could make all the difference to communities and people most in need in the coming months.