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One year after launching the award-winning campaign at Davos, Caroline Casey, founder of The Valuable 500, returned to the World Economic Forum to announce significant support from global leaders.
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240 companies from 42 sectors have joined the movement in the last year, with a combined economic impact of $3.8 trillion worldwide.
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Members span 24 countries, reaching more than 9,863,000 employees.
London, 21st January, 14:00 pm: The World Economic Forum today announced that The Valuable 500 has been named a Tier 3 official project partner, at a press conference on disability inclusion hosted by the World Economic Forum and attended by leading social activists and global business leaders.
The Valuable 500 campaign calls on 500 global business leaders to commit to placing disability inclusion on their business leadership agendas, making a firm and tangible commitment to eradicating disability exclusion in business.
Today’s press conference, chaired by Oliver Cann of the World Economic Forum alongside The Valuable 500 Founder Caroline Casey, former Unilever CEO and The Valuable 500 Chairman Paul Polman, Bloomberg Chairman Peter Grauer, Group President P&G North America Carolyn Tastad, and noted Human Rights Activist Eddie Ndopu, debated disability’s place on the global business agenda.
Unveiled at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in January 2019, the launch of The Valuable 500 campaign was the first time disability was discussed on the main stage of the Meeting with the support of global business leaders.
The campaign is supported by several global business leaders and partners, including Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever and Chairman of The Valuable 500, Virgin Founder Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Media Chief Operating Officer Jeff Dodds, Bloomberg Chairman Peter Grauer, EY Global Chairman & CEO Carmine di Sibio, and strategic partners Omnicom and Virgin Media.
One year on, Caroline Casey today unveiled a new report, The Business Leaders of the Inclusion Revolution, which analyses the progress of the campaign.
Since launching at Davos 2019, more than 2,800 firms around the world have been approached to join The Valuable 500, with 240 making the commitment since Davos 2019 – including Adobe, ARP, BAE Systems, Cummins, Deutsche Bank UK & Ireland region plus India, Eli Lilly and Company, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hilton, IBM, Lenovo, Perrigo, Procter & Gamble, PVH Corp., Specsavers, and Total all announced as members on stage today.
The 240 members span 42 sectors and 24 countries, reaching in excess of 9,863,000 employees – and engaging a global business community generating a combined $3.8 trillion in revenue. 80% of members are located in five countries: the UK, the US, Israel, Japan and India, with few commitments from China, South East Asia & Africa.
Top sectors to have committed are Financial Services, Technology, Media & Comms, Insurance, Recruitment & HR – with the Fashion industry notably lagging in its commitment to disability inclusion.
Caroline Casey, Founder, The Valuable 500, said:
It is fantastic to return to Davos this year with 240 companies making tangible commitments to disability inclusion in the workplace. The last year has been very important for disability inclusion, and it has been great to see such a positive response to the campaign.
However, the fact that we have approached nearly 3000 companies shows that there is still much to be done. Too many business leaders view disability as a financial burden or a matter of compliance rather an opportunity for innovation and creativity, and I believe 2020 will be a key turning point in this narrative.”
Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director New Economy and Society, The World Economic Forum, commented:
The Valuable 500 is one of the most important catalysts for change, helping to build inclusive businesses and, ultimately, inclusive economies and societies.
Speaking at today’s conference, Casey announced Phase 2 of the campaign, with the deadline to join The Valuable 500 campaign now 15th September 2020, coinciding with this year’s UN General Assembly. The campaign hopes to have 500 global business leaders and CEOs signed up to the initiative by this point in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to reduce inequality and create inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities.
On Thursday 23rd January, Casey takes to the Davos stage to moderate The World Economic Forum panel, ‘Closing the disability inclusion gap’ 13:00-13:45, in the Salon, Congress Centre. She is joined by Molly Burke, Motivational Speaker and Youtuber and award-winning activist and United Nations Secretary-General’s Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals Edward Ndopu
Today’s announcement comes a week after the launch of Tortoise’s Responsibility 100 Index, a project to create a ranking of FTSE 100 companies measured by their commitment to social, environmental and ethical objectives. This found that 39 FTSE 100 employers were Disability Confident employers, however only 7 measured disability representation.
BAE Systems is very proud to have become a member of the Valuable 500. Inclusion of all of our people to contribute to the best of their ability is vital to us; our focus on people with disability is a key priority as we seek to ensure that BAE Systems is a diverse and inclusive place to work.
Deutsche Bank is proud to join the Valuable 500 campaign. By taking this important step we are committing to becoming more disability confident, and to continuing to drive and embed inclusion for people of all abilities and with mental health conditions. We will continue to move forward until disability inclusion is impossible to separate from broader business priorities, a natural part of how we conduct business, and where all individuals are respected, and can contribute and grow.
Signing on to The Valuable 500 demonstrates our commitment to disability inclusion beyond the medicines we make. It says we recognize that people with the best talents and skills for our important work sometimes also have disabilities that should never limit their contributions.
As a global business, Lenovo has a critical role and responsibility in the world today that goes beyond our commercial existence and a fundamental belief that in our shared digital future no one should be left behind. Together with the many other global brands and CEOs committed to the Valuable 500 we can play our part in building an inclusive, trustworthy and sustainable digital society and drive a movement where inclusion is an opportunity for innovation – making technology not only smarter but for everyone, everywhere.
At P&G, we value diversity both inside and outside of our company and this includes people of all abilities. Inside our company, we pursue creating an inclusive workplace for all P&G people where everyone can contribute to their full potential. And with our brands and services, we aspire to create superior experiences that are accessible for everyone. By joining The Valuable 500, we are publicly sharing our continued commitment to disability inclusion and making our company, brands and services even more inclusive for people with disabilities.
Inclusion and diversity is at the center of how PVH does business. Joining The Valuable 500 strengthens our commitment to attracting diverse talent, creating an inclusive workplace, and developing innovative products to serve diverse consumers. We look forward to continuing our efforts in championing disability inclusion in the communities where we work and live.
Media contacts.
Sophie Shennan, Seven Hills
Richard Poston, Director of Communications, the Valuable 500.
- Email: [email protected]
Notes to Editors.
About The Valuable 500.
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 Valuable 500: Phase 2.
We have approached over 2,800 leaders across the globe to commit to specific actions
including putting disability performance on their leadership agenda. The deadline to join the Valuable 500 has been extended to 15th September 2020, coinciding with this year’s UN General Assembly, and we will continue to build momentum and work with business leaders to complete the sign-up formalities to reach our goal of 500.
We also will inaugurate Phase II development in 2020: a three-year effort to turn The Valuable 500 into a community of like-minded business peers committed to raising their game on disability by sharing models, lessons learned, and energy. This will include:
- Helping our 500 CEOs boost inclusivity best practice at the leadership level through our Executive Inclusivity Programme.
- Developing a peer-to-peer network of CEOs committed to inclusion.
- Providing research and insight around inclusivity and business disability performance.
- Empowering our CEOs to integrate disability across the entire value chain.
- Continuing to change the global narrative around disability.
About PVH Corp.
PVH is one of the most admired fashion and lifestyle companies in the world. We power brands that drive fashion forward – for good. Our brand portfolio includes the iconic CALVIN KLEIN, TOMMY HILFIGER, Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW, Speedo*, Warner’s, Olga and Geoffrey Beene brands, as well as the digital-centric True&Co. intimates brands. We market a variety of goods under these and other nationally and internationally known owned and licensed brands. PVH has over 38,000 associates operating in over 40 countries and $9.7 billion in annual revenues. That’s the Power of Us. That’s the Power of PVH.
*The Speedo brand is licensed for North America and the Caribbean in perpetuity from Speedo International Limited.
