Vernon Ellis: Let big business make the world a better place

From the New Statesman lecture by the international chairman of Accenture, given in the Banqueting House, Whitehall

"Global business as a force for good." To many people, this may sound like King Herod writing a manual on childcare. However, I believe that global business has the power to transform society for the better and to liberate human beings, wherever they live. The question is whether and how that power will be used.

The impulse of business to act, organise and think globally is based on irreducible economic logic. A global business can buy and sell in the best markets, produce and distribute in the best locations, and, by creating globally recognised products, enjoy economies of scale and develop a global customer base.

Global business stands accused by some critics of imposing unfair terms of trade on poor countries, under the pretence of liberalisation. They claim that it promotes and exploits a world trading system that discriminates against poor countries by excluding them from rich-country markets while dumping on them the surplus products that the rich countries cannot, or will not, sell to their own consumers. Indeed, there is some truth in these claims – industrialised countries often berate developing nations for not liberalising their markets fast enough, while continuing to protect many of their own markets. This is particularly true in agriculture.

Other critics have focused on the allegedly secret and unaccountable influence of global corporations, which has shifted power from local communities to distant boardrooms thousands of miles away. They accuse them of acting to undermine the will of elected governments – and not only those of small countries, but also those of powerful states. In some countries, global business stands accused of cooperation with repression or complicity in corruption.

Other critics are concerned with the destruction of local environments, and the erosion of distinct national cultures. Still others attack global business for playing developing countries off against each other, to secure better conditions for investment through lower or non-existent environmental or labour standards, taxation and regulation.

The rise of global business may be inexorable, but its consequences are not. They are matters of choice, and global business itself has the power of choice. It can choose to ignore the interests and concerns of others, or it can recognise them and thereby discover new means of creating value and serving its own interests.

Can it seize this opportunity and make the world a better place? There are many challenges to overcome. A commitment to working with wider society must be not just for the good economic times. It needs to continue even when – in fact, especially when – times are tough. The best way to ensure that happens is to make sure that good corporate citizenship is built into all aspects of the business. Even where good practices exist, they are often segmented, so that human resources concentrates on aspects of corporate citizenship that meet employee expectations, and marketing concentrates on those aspects that enhance image and build brand. Yet what is needed is for all parts of a business to exchange ways in which good practice can enhance all of their objectives.

Multinational corporations need to work within these global structures, but in a way that recognises the importance of individual countries and communities. It is interesting that some companies are already taking steps to restore an appropriate balance between global and local. This has been shown by the emerging breed of country managers who do not have profit responsibility, but whose job is to co-ordinate the company's interaction and involvement with the wider community within countries.

I am confident that many in global business will increasingly recognise the importance of understanding and nurturing local markets, and of meeting society's wider expectations.