About us
FBN Polaris
Polaris is a community of members who champion Family Business as a Force for Good, providing both thought leadership and sharing insights at events like the Polaris Impact Forum.
Polaris is a global movement of family businesses focused on maximising economic, social and environmental impact.We enable learning, innovation and co-creation - empowering family businesses to shape the future we want for people, communities, the environment and future generations.
FBN Pledge
At our 22nd Global Summit in Singapore in 2011, FBN members affirmed our promise to promote a business model that will sustain present and future generations; a commitment encapsulated in our Pledge for ‘A Sustainable Future’. Download the FBN Pledge via this link.
Polaris - Pathway to Sustainability
Polaris has been developed with the interests and challenges of family business as its core. The model is meant to help your family business assess its current state and find its own True North. It is grounded in systems thinking and prioritises engagement and partnerships. we recognize that a fundamental evolution like this is seldom straightforward or prescriptive, and encourage you to find a path forward that suits the unique needs of both your family and business.
Stages of the Journey
As both the family and the business progress on this journey, engagement will increase and spheres of influence will expand. Most significantly this culture of both will evolve. For additional details, please visit FBN Polaris Community page.
Impact Framework for Family Businesses
To enable members to deliver on the FBN Pledge for a Sustainable Future, we developed Polaris – a comprehensive framework to guide family businesses on their journey. Polaris is named for the North Star, a guiding light that has been used for thousands of years by explorers as its position in the northern sky almost exactly marks the Earth’s geographic north pole. Just as our forefathers depended on this guiding star, family businesses can draw inspiration from the Polaris Framework as we journey to find our True North – a clarity of purpose that uniquely expresses our calling and guides our every decision.
Polaris incorporates a holistic approach to sustainability that has economic, environmental, social and cultural dimensions. True sustainability enables positive change, encompasses environmental stewardship, embraces fiscal responsibility and enriches future generations.
Polaris Impact Assessment – powered by B Lab
To enable FBN members to measure and improve sustainability practices, FBN has developed the Polaris Impact Assessment (PIA). The PIA is a version of B Lab’s Impact Assessment that has been specifically customized for family businesses. The standard version of the B Lab assessment is well-established globally having been taken by over 40,000 companies in over 50 countries to drive sustainability performance and improve their impacts.
Start your Polaris Impact Assessment via this link
Polaris Thought Leadership
View case studies, articles, tools and models in our Polaris Publications developed especially for FBN family businesses who want to create and scale positive impacts in our Library section.