Welcome to this year's 2021 Ethical Enterprise Conference - The Future is NOW.

The Future is NOW was born from the desire for imminent change and action, mobilising all the knowledge and experience gathered over the years by impact-driven individuals, business owners, academics and leaders to carve our path for change NOW.

There is no need to look into the distant future for social change or environmental issues - we must inspire and motivate individuals and organisations NOW! Collaboration is the key - we have what we need to start building the roadmap into the future today!

I hope you will join me and the many forward thinkers and doers in this space and prepare to be inspired by this year's 2021 Ethical Enterprise Conference speakers and programmes. Be inspired to take action for positive change, encourage collaboration, mobilise people and communities to build your roadmap to The Future Now!

I look forward to seeing you all there!

Welcome to the Ethical Enterprise Conference 2021!

RMIT – its Business and Human Rights Centre (BHRIGHT) and Global Business Innovation Enabling Capability Platform (GBI ECP) – is proud to sponsor this year conference. COVID-19 has exposed all the old Australian socio-economic problems, such as un- and under-employment amongst vulnerable, disadvantaged, or marginalised groups of people (e.g., women and youth at risk, refugees and migrants, people with disabilities, indigenous people). Recovering from the ongoing crisis, however, requires abandoning the COVID-19 ‘going back to normal’ mantra, as the Past ‘normal’ was responsible for all the problems we are facing right now. We must begin to act as if the Future is Now, wherein every enterprise is an ethical one. The recovering role of small- and medium-sized ethical enterprises in this Future must be supported by various forms and foci of both public and private collaboration that aim to address the unmet needs in both urban and rural Australia.

I am looking forward to meeting all of you at the Ethical Enterprise Conference 2021 to collaboratively imagine how this Future is already shaping!

The need for an ethical economy to shape a fairer and more sustainable world has never been greater and more urgent. While billionaires fly to space, COVID-19 has reinforced inequalities, the climate is already changing, and politics and culture wars hold us back from making a better world. The IPCC reports that we need to reduce emissions by at least 3.5% every year, starting right now. All businesses need to become ethical, responsible and sustainable right NOW!

At this year’s Ethical Enterprise Conference, you will hear from and engage with some of the most informative and inspiring impact entrepreneurs, who have been leading the charge to create a fairer and sustainable world.

Join us to find out how to do it right NOW!