Netguru has been B Corp certified in the end of February 2020. That was when we joined the movement of a global community – an association of almost 4,000 companies today – using business as a force for good. We went through a thorough B Impact Assessment tool, which helped us review and assess our impact on stakeholders, including workers, community, customers, and the environment.   

By now, many of us are aware of how everyday purchases can affect the planet, but what about our choice of bank account? Should we make an effort to choose more sustainable banking options?

Hunger. Disease. Forced migration. Many of us have a solution to these problems at heart. We’re donating our savings to charities, which collectively amounts to billions of dollars a year, and yet the problems don’t seem to go away. Of course these are complex issues, but is it possible that the way many charities approach them is simply ineffective?

Delivery Hero is one of the leading global online food delivery marketplaces. The company is based in Berlin and is active in over 40 markets, operating under dozens of brands including Foodpanda, Foodora, and Talabat. 

Capitalism changed everything. It has changed our lives and the world around us. During the past 100 years, we were able to raise the global GDP by 3000% and improve the living conditions of millions, driving them out of poverty.

The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the urgency of transitioning toward more sustainable solutions across industries on a global scale. Although the conditions for implementing these solutions have been far from ideal this year, there are many examples of businesses and governments doing just that. In some cases, they have even accelerated the process and prioritized going green over other challenges.

In September, Disruption Forum Sustainability brought together leading environmental, economic, and social sustainability experts from around the world.

The “Netguru take on…” is a series explaining how Netguru approaches important subjects that are often overused or misunderstood in the industry such as digital transformation, innovation, or strategy. We break them down to shift the discussion from abstract concepts to tangible actions that influence our everyday work. This article provides our take on sustainability.

Is it possible to create a safe digital space and give a voice to underrepresented minorities in times of misinformation and the lack of privacy? Esra’a Al Shafei, a Bahraini civil rights activist, set out on a mission to make it happen and defend freedom of speech.

We’re excited to announce that on 17th September Netguru is organizing Disruption Forum Sustainability. If you care about sustainability as much as we do, then this free-to-attend event is something you can’t miss.

How many startups or companies established in any African country can you name? I can help you: too few! And it’s not caused by the fact that there are not many entrepreneurs in Africa, actually – on the contrary!

Two of the most pressing issues in the world today are climate change and social inequality. Rising Sun Center for Opportunity, a California-based non-profit, aims to fight both at the same time. They hire and train young people to make households around Northern California more energy-efficient and provide adults from underprivileged backgrounds with free job training and placement in well-paying jobs in the construction industry. I spoke with Wells Brown, Director of Youth Programs at Rising Sun, about how they manage to achieve measurable environmental and social impact at the same time.

World Environment Day is the United Nations day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment. It is the most renowned day for environmental action. Since 1974, it has been celebrated every year on 5th June: engaging governments, businesses, celebrities and citizens to focus their efforts on a pressing environmental issue. The evidence for rapid climate change is compelling. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has clearly stated that scientific evidence for the warming of the climate system is unequivocal.

We spoke with Jack Lewars, Executive Director at One for the World, a movement of people who give one percent of their income to try to end extreme poverty. One for the World work with GiveWell, one of the best charity evaluators in the world, who help identify charities that are highly cost effective in helping people living in extreme poverty – which is defined by the World Bank as people living on less than one-dollar ninety per day.

Netguru obtained the B Corporation™ certificate granted to organizations whose previous business activities have been verified in terms of their positive impact on society and the environment. The company has joined the community of over 3,200 companies in the world that have committed to developing a sustainable economy model. We would like to use it as an invitation for other organizations to join us and drive the global movement of using business as a force for good.

Pure Earth is a New York-based international NGO acting to clean up global toxic pollution. For the past two decades, the non-profit has been solving pollution problems in low- and middle -income countries. During this period, Pure Earth has received three consecutive four-star ratings from Charity Navigator, plus support and guidance from key international institutions, including the United Nations, the European Commission, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Today, through the use of technology, their actions can be even more visible and impactful – all thanks to the Report Pollution app that they’ve built together with Netguru.

The Product Design Sprint (PDS) is a workshop that we have developed after years of experience and many scoping sessions and kick-off meetings with our clients. We based our workshops on Google Design Sprints (which are based on Sprints as defined in the Agile development cycle and use the Design Thinking methodology) to be sure we would use a battle-tested process that had worked for many teams around the world. The key benefit is that several months of work are condensed into a few days that bring tangible results.

Creating inclusive digital products for diverse audiences is not an easy job. To make a product inclusive, you need to think about it from the very beginning of the design process – it is not something you can add at the end of the journey. Fortunately, there are tools, studies, and technologies that help raise awareness and support creating inclusive products. A few thoughts and tips to consider… 

More than ever before, sustainability becomes a serious matter that impacts everyone on the planet. We believe every organization - including our own - should take responsibility. That’s why we decided to introduce R&D for Good, a program leveraging our smart innovation expertise to support non-governmental organizations in their digital journeys.