Can companies save the world? In this episode, Alison Taylor, author of Higher Ground and Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Stern School of Business, shares thought-provoking views.
She brings two decades of experience consulting with multinational companies on sustainability, culture, stakeholder engagement, and political risk. Together, we explore how corporate responsibility has evolved, why reputational risk is not the same as trust, and what needs to change in how we hold businesses accountable. Alison challenges the myth that companies can solve every global issue.
Instead, she urges us to go back to basics and ensure that “do no harm” principles actually translate into reality. Clean up your own house. Be honest and transparent about trade-offs. We also talk about the global disconnect between ESG promises and everyday realities, especially in emerging markets, and the importance of centering voices from those markets in decision-making. This is a conversation for anyone who has ever felt disillusioned by corporate sustainability and still wants to believe change is possible.
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You can also:
- Subscribe on Spotify or Apple.
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- Connect with Alison on LinkedIn and read her full bio.
To go further, here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:
- Higher Ground (book by Alison Taylor)
- NYU Stern School of Business.
- Ethical Systems.
- Transparency International.
- CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project).
- Edelman Trust Barometer.
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment.
- Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).
- “We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite” by Musa al-Gharbi:
