Largest single investment into disability business inclusion as the Nippon Foundation invests $5 million into The Valuable 500.
The Nippon Foundation is announced as the Global Impact Partner of The Valuable 500, the largest global network of CEOs committed to disability inclusion – the largest ever single investment into disability business inclusion.
Today a further 54 corporations announce membership of The Valuable 500, bringing the total to date to 415 companies from 35 countries that have pledged action on disability inclusion, including Bupa Global, Burberry, The Coca-Cola Company, Credit Suisse, Nestlé, Prada Group and Siemens AG.
The International Disability Alliance (IDA) joins the World Economic Forum as a high impact partner.
London, 29th January, 6:00 am: Today, The Valuable 500 announces that Japan’s biggest private foundation, The Nippon Foundation, is joining as a Global Impact Partner and investing $5 million into the largest network of global CEOs committed to disability inclusion in business. This is the largest ever single investment into disability business inclusion.
This announcement comes as the International Disability Alliance join the World Economic Forum as The Valuable 500’s new high impact partner. Bringing together a leading philanthropic organisation with the most prestigious global business network and the voice of the global disability community.
Following the announcement Mr Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation said: “It is truly a special day as we officially announce our partnership with The Valuable 500. The Nippon Foundation has been in constant pursuit of supporting persons with disabilities around the world since our establishment in 1962, and we have invested more than $1.3 billion in education and social welfare since then.
“Having spent a major part of my life supporting marginalized people left behind the mainstream of society, I am fully convinced that supporting minority disability groups just by reaching out to public institutions such as governments and the United Nations will not bring about effective social change. Unless the majority of society changes, the world will never change. The Valuable 500 initiative brings disability business inclusion commitment into the global CEO community for the first time not simply based on the concept of social welfare.
“Social participation for persons with disabilities means to be able to work and to become taxpayers. Work promotes talents leading the way to self-confidence, pride and happiness. A new work environment is created when diverse groups of people, with or without disabilities interact freely and take action. The initiative of The Valuable 500 coincides with my conviction. I am very happy that we, The Nippon Foundation can cooperate with The Valuable 500 as its Global Impact Partner. I sincerely hope that we will be able to be a “game-changer“ in order to realize a better world, an inclusive society, together by using this new initiative of The Valuable 500 to its full capacity.”
Vladimir Cuk, Executive Director, International Disability Alliance, also comments: “It is a great pleasure and honor to serve as a strategic partner to The Valuable 500, together with The Nippon Foundation and the World Economic Forum. For the International Disability Alliance inclusion of persons with disabilities in business is one of the key priorities of our work. The world has advanced significantly in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities over the last several years, especially since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, but discrimination in employment and business remains one of the areas where there is still a lot to be done. That is why the innovative partnership with The Valuable 500 and 415 companies is so important and we are excited to shape the future of the business world together.”
The funding allows The Valuable 500 to launch Phase 2 of its global campaign shortly. This is designed to activate the community of 500 CEOs and brands for global change. Phase 2 will focus on 6 pillars, three internally in organisations namely Leadership, Culture and Brand, and three externally, Research, Reporting and Representation. These programmes and services will be developed and delivered in partnership with a number of Iconic CEO partners and companies from among those already signed up. These represent some of the largest brands in the world which will invest in, help create and road test products and services which will then be rolled out across the 500 business community so together we can drive system change to materially improve disability inclusion within business.
The announcement of the investment and partnerships come as a further 54 corporations announce membership, bringing the total to 415 companies that have joined The Valuable 500 to pledge their accountability for improving disability inclusion in their businesses.
The new companies include, AESC, Akbank, Alstom, Axel Springer, Baker Mckenzie, Bayer AG, Bristol Myers Squibb, BUPA Global, Burberry, Canada Post, Close Brothers Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Credit Suisse, DMM.com, DTE Energy, Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc, Expo 2020 Dubai, Fast Retailing, owner of casual apparel brand UNIQLO, Hempel A/S, Intertek, KBZ Bank, Kidzania, Lidl Ireland, Logitech, Maxon Group, Mazars, Mazda Motor Corporation, Michelin, Mintel Group, Micron Technology, Monex Group, Nestlé, News UK, Norsk Rikskringkasting, Old National Bank, OMRON, Onest Mexico, Partner Communications, Prada Group, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Santen, Seiko Holdings Corporation, Serco Group, Shimizu Corporation, Siemens AG, Sompo Group, Sony Life Insurance, Springer Nature, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC Group), Suntory Holdings Limited, United States Steel Corporation and Vontier.
These latest global companies to join the movement are drawn from across the world, including Australia, USA, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Turkey, Germany, United Arab Emirates and UK.
Launched at Davos in January 2019 by Caroline Casey and Paul Polman with the World Economic Forum, The Valuable 500 remains the only global CEO community dedicated to radically transforming the business system across the whole supply chain for the benefit of all those with a disability. In two years, over 400 CEOs have joined this community.
Since the launch, the World Economic Forum serves as an accelerator for The Valuable 500. As a high impact partner, the World Economic Forum supports The Valuable 500 to drive business action, capture and disseminate learnings and leverage leadership for scale.
To join The Valuable 500 a company needs the CEO to table disability inclusion at their board agenda, and make one commitment to change the inclusion agenda. The new sign ups revealed today bring the combined revenue of The Valuable 500’s current members to over $5.4 trillion, encompassing 64 sectors, with over 14.8 million employees and reaching across 35 countries. With the many ongoing conversations, it is anticipated that the membership of The Valuable 500 will be completed by this Spring.
Inclusion of persons with disabilities – referenced in five of the SDGs – and therefore The Valuable 500’s mission – will be integral to meeting the UN’s 2030 agenda in time over the next decade. Currently, 15% of the global population are persons with disabilities. This number increases to 53% when you include the families of persons with disabilities. Businesses cannot afford to exclude such a significant pool of talent, diversity of thought and customers with a spending power of $8 trillion per annum.
“In the two years since the Valuable 500 launched at Davos, over 400 major corporations have committed to improving disability inclusion in the workplace. This remarkable progress highlights that through thoughtful collective action we can drive meaningful change not just in our workplaces but in our economies and societies”, says Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum.
Caroline Casey, Founder of The Valuable 500, commented: “As we approach the second-year anniversary of the creation of The Valuable 500, I am honoured to see so many organisations and global voices step up and take a stand for disability inclusion – however we are not there yet. Millions of people globally are still being forgotten and left out due to a difference. We are thrilled The Nippon Foundation have joined as a key investor, and can ensure our work for global disability inclusion can continue going forwards. We are also delighted to have the World Economic Forum and IDA join as strategic partners, and continue to deliver the message of disability inclusion for all.”
Launched by social entrepreneur and activist Caroline Casey at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in January 2019, The Valuable 500 aims to put disability on the global business leadership agenda.
The Valuable 500 was created by Binc, the organisation founded by Caroline Casey in 2015, with a mission to ignite a historic global movement for a new age of business inclusion – capitalising on Caroline Casey’s 18-year track record of success engaging over 450 organisations. The campaign has won three awards: a Cannes Lion, D&AD, and a BIMA.
Our goal is to persuade 500 multinational companies that have at least 1,000 employees to make a public commitment to advance disability inclusion in their organisation. By engaging the most influential business leaders and brands, we want to create a tipping point within business that unlocks the business, social and economic value of the 1.3 billion people living with disabilities around the world, and the millions of us who will become disabled over time
We believe that if business takes a lead, society and government will follow, truly inclusive businesses can build truly inclusive societies.
About the Nippon Foundation.
The Nippon Foundation, established in 1962, has been involved in activities to support persons with disabilities in Japan and around the world for more than 50 years. In the course of working together with persons with disabilities, they have learned that removing the obstacles that prevent their equal participation paves the way for everyone – with or without a disability – to demonstrate their full potential. Persons with disabilities have often been stereotyped as people who “need to be protected by society,” but that image needs to be swept aside through a paradigm shift toward viewing them as “contributors to society.” For them It is important that they continue to lend a helping hand to people facing severe difficulties and also to carry on the support activities that aim to provide equal opportunities. But, at the same time, The Nippon Foundation wants to contribute to that paradigm shift by offering innovative support that seeks to allow highly talented persons with disabilities to better display their abilities and thereby lead the way in encouraging and inspiring others in society.
About International Disability Alliance.
International Disability Alliance (IDA) is an Alliance of eight global and six regional organisations of persons with disabilities, bringing together over 1,100 organisations of persons with disabilities and their families from over 180 countries. IDA’s vision is a society which values diversity, respects equality and realises the full potential of persons with disabilities in order to build a better world for all. Its mission is to advance the human rights of persons with disabilities as a united voice of organisations of persons with disabilities utilising the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other human rights instruments.
About the World Economic Forum.
World Economic Forum’s New Economy and Society Platform is focused on building prosperous, inclusive and just economies and societies. The platform takes an integrated and holistic approach to diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice, and aims to tackle exclusion, bias and discrimination related to race, gender, ability, sexual orientation and all other forms of human diversity. It produces data, standards and insights, and drives action initiatives, such as the Community of Chief Diversity and
Inclusion Officers, Partnering for Racial Justice in Business, Hardwiring Gender Parity in the Future of Work, Closing the Gender Gap Country Accelerators or the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality.
Whether you represent a company with more than 1000 employees looking to join our waiting list, or your company would like to join the Valuable Directory, we want to hear from you.