This report reveals a decline in trust, and how majorities now hold grievances against governments, business and the rich. Historically strong trust in “my employer” is complicated when employees hold grievances.  Argues that business should respond in concert with other actors, investing in local communities, quality information, and job skills.    

While this report more broadly assesses America’s competitiveness, Chapter 3: The Role of Business in Politics Today and Tomorrow, identifies the role of business in political gridlock, and suggests potential solutions. (See pg 28-36)

With his background as a former business executive leading companies such as e-Scholastic, the Proactiv Company and Guthy-Renker, Seth Radwell provides both historical context for the political division in the U.S., and a detailed plan on steps we can take to depolarize society. 

Explores the history, emotion, and power of effective argumentation to promote more constructive debates and mutual learning in America. Shares key principles, including removing the focus on winning, prioritizing relationships and engaged listening, considering context, embracing vulnerability, and creating space for transformation. 

Seeks to advance the rule of law by engaging responsible business to support the building and strengthening of legal frameworks and accountable institutions – serving as a complement to, not substitute for, government action. 

This article is a summary of a conversation hosted by Democratic Innovations at Yale's ISPS.  Led by ISPS Director Alan Gerber and ISPS faculty fellows and political science professors Hélène Landemore and Adam Meirowitz, Democratic Innovations serves as a laboratory to identify and test new ideas for improving the quality of democratic representation and governance. It recaps insihgts from the conversation hosted by Landemore and Theophile Penigaud de Mourgues, a postdoctoral associate with Democratic Innovations, and Jonathan Moskovic, advisor in democratic innovation for the president of the French-speaking Brussels Parliament.

This article examines how current economic and political upheavals reflect an ongoing misalignment between business and economies and acceptable societal outcomes. Encourages re-examination of long-held assumptions. 

Civic Alliance assembled a robust playbook for companies to more representatively support a strong democracy. The playbook includes concepts to support one’s business case, questions to ask oneself in building an action plan, and concrete steps to better engage employees, consumers, and other stakeholders.

An overview of the need for CPR and how the Erb Institute’s Corporate Political Responsibility Taskforce supports companies in aligning their approaches to political influence with their commitments to purpose, values, sustainability and stakeholders, while contributing to rebuilding trust in US civic institutions. 

A comprehensive evaluation of corporations that gave significant amounts of money to politicians in key swing states that supported or introduced legislation aimed at voter suppression.

Suggests that a company’s political activities may have more impact on social and environmental sustainability than operations, and argues that corporate political responsibility requires transparency, accountability, and responsibility.

The Recommendation on Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying and Influence provides concrete guidance for governments in ensuring lobbying and influence activities support effective public decision-making while limiting the risks of undue influence, and it provides a framework to support businesses and other influence actors in conducting their lobbying and influence activities in a responsible manner. 

Summarizes the results of a two-year bipartisan commission studying citizen concerns and how to revitalize democratic participation. Calls for a “fourth founding” of the United States, outlining six imperatives: achieve equal representation, empower voters, ensure political responsiveness, expand civil society, build civic information systems, and nurture a culture of commitment to democracy. 

Patricia McLagan is an author, consultant, and business owner with fifty years’ experience supporting large scale change processes in business and governments globally. From 1983 through 2004, Pat consulted with major South African businesses, government entities, universities, and parastatals, and chaired the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation after returning to the US. This article draws on her personal experience with South African businesses and government entities from 1983 into the 2010s, focusing on what some white South African business leaders did in a time of polarization and potential civil war. 

Advances the argument that American CEOs, seemingly more powerful today than ever, have abrogated the key leadership role they once played in addressing national challenges, with grave consequences for American society. 

In a major refresh of its Vision 2050, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development argues that the decade ahead is critical if we are to achieve “9+ billion people living well within planetary boundaries.” They highlight the need to shift political and economic incentives that push companies into short-term behaviors that undermine societal or environmental systems, and propose a new CPR-driven mindset where firms align all policy influence activities to purpose statements and sustainability goals, partner to generate new policy ideas and help ensure relevant stakeholders are at the table.

The Framework on transformational governance provides guidelines to help companies deepen business values and strategies, policies and operations and internal and external relationships. The Framework applies to corporate functions from government relations and public affairs to legal and compliance and focuses due diligence processes applied to investment risks and opportunities and environmental and social considerations. The Framework helps to better align governments, civil society and businesses towards a common agenda of leaving no one behind.