Claire Fox, Chief Operating Officer at UNICEF, talks about the need for business to help address the critical issues affecting our world
Back in May, AMBA invited Claire Fox, Chief Operating Officer of UNICEF, to address its Global Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, focusing on the global context in which we’re living.
World hunger is on the rise, with pockets of extreme hunger, violent conflict has increased significantly since 2010, and there is damaging climate change.
Fox described the complex landscape within which third-sector organisations are working to help achieve the United Nation’s (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and outlined the role corporations need to play in achieving sustainable change.
She called on Business Schools to help educate students about today’s global context, the UN’s SDGs and its guiding principles, and highlighted the need to consider different ways of modelling value for organisations, emphasising the importance of leadership and of equipping leaders to run organisations with purpose.
I caught up with her after her presentation to find out more about how Business Schools and their students can work together to address the critical issues impacting our world.
Can you tell us more about your role at UNICEF and the work you do?
Our role is about advocating for change on behalf of children, ensuing that children’s voices are heard, and generating income so that we can run programmes around the world that make it a better place for children.
My role is to make sure the organisation is operating in an effective, efficient way, with a proactive culture, comprising employees that feel empowered and engaged in driving the change we want to see.
How real are the threats currently facing the future of society?
The threats are very real. We’ve recently seen a report from the UN talking about the risk of the extinction of a million species. The rate of extinction we’re currently seeing is hundreds of times higher than it has been in the past tens of millions of years and the impact of this on our ecosystem as humans is significant. The path we’re on in terms of climate change is heading towards the extinction of the human race, unless we see fundamental changes to the way in which we live and the way in which organisations operate.
What part can MBAs and Business Schools play in actioning the SDGs?
It’s important that MBAs teach the SDGs. There has been a lot of corporate involvement in developing them and there is a big responsibility on corporate organisations in terms of achieving them. The role of Business Schools is not only to help students understand the SDGs but to understand the change that businesses need to make to enable us to achieve them.
What role does the business education sector have in creating a safe and harmonious world?
There is a significant opportunity to exert influence because Business Schools are educating the leaders of the future and these leaders will be making big challenging decisions around purpose-driven organisations and ways of operating that impact human rights and the environment.
Business Schools have the chance to encourage these leaders to drive significant positive change. But they’re also thought leaders and can work with organisations to devise models to measure return on investment and shared value, so they can influence organisations around the way they operate.
Are Business Schools doing enough to help?
I’ve heard some amazing examples of the work that Business Schools are doing since I’ve been here, and there are fantastic initiatives happening all over the world.
We all need to do more: we need to amplify the things we are doing and find new opportunities to do the things we’re not doing. The Business Schools that are not so forward thinking around this have an opportunity to step into this space and start making a positive contribution as well.
Where Business Schools are less engaged in this agenda, do you think that’s more likely to be down to financial issues or a lack of understanding about to get involved?
I suspect it’s a combination of these. I think it’s more likely that there is a perception that this isn’t what organisations want MBA students to be turned out as. I don’t think that is true. I also think we need to change what businesses want and this is an opportunity to do it.
What are the prevalent issues that businesses need to overcome in order to achieve the goal of sustainability?
There is a significant piece about environmental impact. We see examples of organisations making progress in terms of packaging waste but we need to accelerate this. I’ve spoken about employees moving to plantation areas (cocoa or tea plantations, for example) and bringing families with them, but there isn’t the infrastructure, healthcare or education.
Organisations have a responsibility to think about the way in which they operate within society. You see organisations such as Unilever that choose to provide schooling and healthcare for employees and their families on their cocoa plantations. Not all do this, so there is a piece about organisations understanding their responsibilities and how they effect people and human rights. This is complex but critically important.
Why do you think some businesses are reluctant to integrate the SDGs into their strategies?
The imperative is money, and individuals within organisations are measured, fundamentally, on how much money they make. We need to change this model.
If you take an organisation such as software design company ARM, it has a partnership and ecosystem model and its philosophy is working with other people to create change and they take their ‘fair share’ of that. ‘Fair share’ isn’t a term you hear much in business.
We need to look at the mechanisms that measure success in organisations. This is why organisations don’t make the changes that they should make and [ignore] the negative impact that their way of operating is having.
But profit and purpose are not mutually exclusive. We see examples where farmers working in cocoa fields have significant bouts of malaria, and this impacts production. If the organisations employing them had invested in appropriate healthcare and vaccinations, this wouldn’t have happened. There is a strong economic link if organisations work in a different way.
Is speaking to senior Business School decision makers key for you to get MBA students more involved?
The education sector is so influential in terms of the values and approaches it can instil, in terms of frames of reference and ways of thinking. I’m here because a see a massive opportunity.
What one piece of advice would you give to Business School leaders with a passion for sustainability?
My advice would be to embrace and share that passion. The number of people who came and shared their passion with me today was fantastic. You lead change simply by doing it. Think about the different ways in which you can drive change: how you educate your students, how you operate as an organisation, and how you embrace ethics, values and approaches.
What piece of advice would you give to an MBA with leadership aspirations?
Absolutely go for it. Work out what you are passionate about, work really hard to learn about it, and take the opportunities that you get.
How optimistic are you about the future?
I’m optimistic and terrified. We’ve seen some amazing advances in technology; there’s a technology that can turn carbon dioxide into bricks. The sort of traction we’re seeing in terms of people understanding the imperative and people leading in this field is fantastic. I am optimistic that we’re driving positive change. But I’m terrified because there’s a lot at stake and it’s seismic shifts that we need to make around how we live and operate. That’s scary.
Claire Fox is an inspiring leader with a vision of a world where everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. As Chief Operating Officer at UNICEF UK, she leads transformational change in culture, capability, strategy and process, to enable delivery of change for children around the world.
Fox was previously Chief People Officer at Save the Children International but has spent most of her career at FTSE 100 FMCG giant Unilever, delivering in global, local and regional director roles. She has a master’s degree in management, a post-graduate diploma in HR, and is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. She is also part of the Game Changers Women’s Leadership Network and She author of Work-Life Symbiosis: The Model for Happiness and Balance.
