BUSINESS and
MEANINGFUL LIVELIHOOD

This West Bengali merchant has a chai shop in the Calcutta market. Whether our businesses are small or large,

good values are the same for everyone. They start with providing what others need.

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ETHICAL BUSINESS PRINCIPLES

Responsible business honors the Earth and our relationships with each other. It provides us with a sense of meaning far beyond personal gain. Responsible business is not about taking but about giving something of value back to the Earth and all its species. Responsible business transforms work into meaningful livelihood. It responds to the question: Do we live to work or do we just work to live? 

Not all of us are fortunate to choose our own destiny, but we don’t have to be astronauts to reach for the stars. Life is precious. Our time here on Earth is limited. How can we enjoy our work and give back to Mother Earth for her infinite generosity? How can we safeguard our planet, nature, and our fellow beings while providing for our loved ones? Our actions are a reflection of our values. Greed and need are worlds apart. It’s a blessing to have work that we love and that provides us with a sense of inner satisfaction, and that allows us to be of service to others. Only then does the term meaningful livelihood truly resonate.

PREREQUISITES

• Having a light footprint on the planet

• Exercising mutual empowerment 

• Creating enlightened businesses

• Respecting Nature

• Creating unique ways of making GOOD proDUCTS

• Taking pride in quality

• Striving for beauty and perfection 

• Generating money for higher purposes

• Working for a higher goal

• Being open and transparent

• Being fully accountable and honest to the business, one’s clients, and consumers

• Experimenting and making mistakes

• Transforming mistakes into learning opportunities

• Being brave and courageous: Just going for it!

• Being fearless in face of difficult challenges 

• Providing consumers with products that are useful and beautiful

• Staying flexible and ahead of the game

• Insisting on a safe and harmonious work environment

• Respecting workers and their lives and their families

• Recycling Materials, where possible

• Empowering people to dream

BUSINESS MARKETING

• A business/ product /message/signature/ communication that resonates strongly with our community values

• Something touching, carefully-crafted, beautiful, and useful 

• A message that has a universal value

• A message that is attuned to a conscious vibration of service to humanity

• A product/message that endures through time

• Is relevant today

• Empowers people to dream 

• Is respectful of nature and human energy

• A product/message that people need or that brings joy into their lives (conscious consumerism)

• An activity that is inspiring

AIMS

• Support local business

• Produce for need not greed

• Respect workers

• Honor Nature