The Business Fights Poverty Institute released Five Bridges to 2045: How Business Can Build a Fairer, More Resilient Future (September 2025).
Human Level’s Take:
The report lays out a vision for business in 2045: economic opportunity for all with decent jobs and resilient livelihoods. This requires decarbonising operations, enabling decent work and helping ensure livelihoods are resilient against disruption. Multinational companies can further invest in local supply chains, upskill workforces and help informal workers gain secure employment.
Instability and uncertainty pose a material risk to business, yet the report points out they can also create an opportunity for companies to invest in social, environmental and institutional infrastructure that leads to systems change. This systems change is what will allow business — and their stakeholders — to weather the storms to come. In particular, companies that lead on this can ensure supply chain security, access to capital, customer loyalty and reputational trust.
Five bridges can help businesses to lead.
First, they can connect social impact to core business function by integrating social impact across all business functions, including finance, legal, HR and procurement. For example, different functions can manage different aspects of social impact, from pay equity to ethical sourcing to reporting and transparency.
Second, they can break internal silos between social and environmental teams and strategies, focusing on advancing a just transition. This could include creating circular and regenerative employment opportunities and reporting jointly on environmental and social progress.
Third, they can evolve governance and incentives for social impact by moving from shareholder dominance to stakeholder governance. For example, they can begin integrated profit and loss reporting, move towards employee ownership, and include sustainability performance in incentives.
Fourth, they can connect decision-makers to those closest to the issues by creating channels for bottom-up communication. Examples include fostering entrepreneurship, supporting collective bargaining rights and worker voice, escalating consumer demands and using AI to increase participation from less-heard stakeholders.
Fifth, they can increase collaboration and partnership, engaging with other sectors, including government and civil society. This could include pre-competitive collaboration with peers and collective business advocacy for stronger regulations and sustainability incentives for business.
