Description

The idea that Purpose-Driven Organisations are key to a sustainable economy has moved from a fad to something actively pushed by laws (e.g. Loi Pacte) and leading business communities across the world. While doubts around ‘purpose-washing’ have crept in, this has provided the drive for detailed specification and standardisation of what we really mean by purpose. For example, the British Standards Institute published the first National Standard in 2021 outlining an expert consensus view on what purpose is and the governance and management needed to make a ‘purpose intent’ a ‘purpose reality’.  It also outlined how purpose aligns a company fully with a sustainable future, and hence reduces tensions with society and the resources we depend on.  Join us for a presentation and panel discussion which includes two world leading experts on the topic: Dr Victoria Hurth was the technical author for PAS808 and has worked extensively in the field, including supporting global business leaders in their understanding and practice. Vittorio Cerulli spent over 7 years as an Insights & Innovation executive at Unilever, focused on their purpose strategy and now runs a bespoke collective accelerating purpose-driven organisations.

* * *

Dr Victoria Hurth works globally at the intersect of academia and hands-on business to help companies transition to be drivers of long-term wellbeing for all (sustainability). Among other achievements she co-led the 5-year development of the first global ISO standard in Governance of Organizations (ISO 37000:2021), was Technical Author for the first national standard in Purpose-Driven Organisations (PAS 808:2022) and advised the UN on the methodology for SDG 12.6.1 (sustainability reporting). As a Fellow of University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Victoria is engaged in a range of executive and academic leadership programmes. Victoria heads the Sustainability Impact Advisory committee for UnaTerra Venture Capital, a member of SACE’s (Italy’s national export underwriter) Impact Advisory Committee, a regular UNCTAD review panel member for ISAR Honors and was a member of WBCSD’s working group on Governance.  Victoria is currently a Non-Executive Director of the organic standards company Soil Association Certification Ltd. She has over 20 years’ experience in business transformation having previously worked for 3M and Accenture and developing theory as a full time Associate Professor of Sustainable Business and Marketing.

* * *

Vittorio Cerulli

Vittorio Cerulli's work lies at the intersection of business innovation and social change. Vittorio is the founder and director of Purpose House, a collective of sustainability, research and strategy experts who help companies define and activate their sustainable purpose. Noteworthy projects under Vittorio's guidance include the creation of multi-stakeholder purpose strategies and the establishment of routes to market for purpose-led innovations. Alongside Purpose House, Vittorio has served as Challenge Director at Business Fights Poverty, a business-led collaboration network focused on social impact, where he gave companies access to new insights and practical guidance on purpose by publishing intelligence from relevant peers, practitioners, and investors.  Before his role at Purpose House, Vittorio led global insights and innovation teams at Unilever. Within this role, he spearheaded a task force responsible for defining levers and solutions to support the development of sustainable purposes for Unilever's food brands across various countries, including Thailand, Mexico, and the UK. In addition to his professional endeavours, Vittorio has been awarded with the KSG scholarship from the Karl Schlecht Foundation. This prestigious scholarship enables him to conduct academic research in the Department of Corporate Sustainability Management at the University of Nuremberg and the WCGE think tank. Vittorio's research focuses on the transformation of corporate purpose in response to both external and internal influences.