The Business Commission to Tackle Inequality (BCTI), a cross-sector, multi-stakeholder coalition of leaders and their organizations convened by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), today revealed its flagship report, “Tackling inequality: An agenda for business action”.

Tim Strawn, ERM’s Regional CEO for EMEA is one of more than 60 BCTI Commissioners who worked with the organization during the last 18 months to help shape the report, which provides new analysis into the critical role of the private sector in addressing inequality and sets out the reasons why business must now act with urgency.

The BCTI recognizes that the high level and structural nature of inequality in our world today represents a systemic risk that poses an existential threat to our society and economy. Its report explores how inequality is eroding trust in our political and economic systems, fueling civil unrest and polarization, constraining economic growth, and undermining our collective capacity to tackle complex global challenges.

Tim Strawn said: “Over the last few years, we have seen a number of specific examples of inequality negatively impacting society; from the toll of COVID-19 to inflationary pressures and the war in Ukraine, gaps in society continue to widen, with inequality affecting over 70% of the world’s population. Inequality has become an urgent, systemic risk, undermining people’s dignity and creating social and civil unrest.”

The report underlines how tackling inequality helps companies to mitigate a series of compounding operational, reputational, regulatory and financial risks, and sets out 10 actions that companies can take to help close social and economic gaps and deliver enhanced outcomes for people.

As a BCTI partner organization, ERM, will advocate for the implementation of this action agenda, which aligns with our work to help clients to adapt and thrive during the energy, technological and geopolitical transitions by earning social acceptance, respecting human rights and addressing inequality.