How Peace Can Be Good for Business

“ESGP,” where the “P” stands for “peace,” recognizes the ways conflicts both threaten lives and inflict fallout on economies in the affected regions. Prices rise. Distribution runs into bottlenecks. By contributing to global peace, businesses can create a virtuous cycle that is both good for them and for the societies in which they operate. In other words, saving lives can help lead to a sustainable business environment—and a sustainable business environment can help save lives.

The ESGP concept was introduced at the 2025 Hiroshima Business Forum for Global Peace, where a group of executives and academics released a declaration to raise awareness about the impact of business activities on peace and the role of peace in creating stable economies.

The forum’s definition of peace expands beyond simply doing business in conflict zones, to encompass economic development that addresses environmental issues and other root causes of international conflict. That includes the role of businesses in tourism, culture, sports, and education industries, as well as the media’s role in fostering international dialogue among citizens and nations.

Cynthia Wang, a clinical professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School and executive director of the Dispute Resolution Research Center, led a panel at the forum where executives discussed the importance of ESGP in business development.

Based on examples and insights from the panelists, Wang explains how companies around the world should consider peace when looking to conduct business in destabilized regions.

Understand the risks

First, business leaders should take a step back and be sure they fully understand the various risks of operating in regions facing instability, Wang says. One glaring risk is when companies proceed based on their own assumptions, without taking into account the potentially conflicting interests of different groups.

Clearly, it’s not enough for companies to guess the motivations of the different interest groups in a conflict-prone region. Businesses also need to cross-check their assumptions with the parties involved and take steps to be sure they and stakeholders are on the same page.

At the Hiroshima forum, Wang’s fellow panelist Tomoyuki Kimura provided one example. During his time working for the Asian Development Bank, he was involved in investing in Afghanistan in the early 2000s. Previous projects nearing completion had been physically destroyed by members of the very local communities those efforts were intended to serve.

To prevent this outcome, the ADB ensured that it had a signed, three-way agreement among the government, the contractor, and local community leaders before embarking on further projects in post-war Afghanistan.

“It takes active listening and intellectual humility,” Wang says. “What the situation made them understand was that if you don’t get the buy-in from the local community, there’s a huge risk that whole initiatives can fall apart.”

Engage in perspective-taking

To understand the stakes for all the stakeholders, Wang recommends business leaders start by engaging in perspective-taking.

“Put yourselves in the other parties’ shoes to understand their motivations—and what possible actions you can take,” Wang says. Because what a local community leader wants and what the government wants, for example, may differ dramatically.

And, as Kimura’s Afghanistan example shows, the perspectives that matter and the groups that are affected may go beyond the parties that were at the negotiating table.

“What organizations need to do more these days,” Wang says, “is understand, almost like a flowchart, ‘What are the downstream effects of my deal with you?’”

If business leaders think there’s even a chance that particular individuals or institutions will be affected, then it’s time to start opening communication lines with these various groups, she advises.

If your business is undertaking a global expansion, cross-border communication is key, advised panelist Ryujiro Nemoto, senior vice president of business management at mobile phone operator NTT DOCOMO’s global affiliate. You’ll want to be constantly listening for developments that might affect your future business interactions with second, third, fourth, and even fifth parties.

“The problem often with these types of partnerships that fail is people aren’t looking into the grander picture,” Wang says. “Nemoto is always listening for new things that he didn’t know that would affect future business interactions.”

Practice ESGP without trying to sell it

Should companies that are committed to ESGP play up their interest in promoting peace as they begin to engage stakeholders? Not always, according to Wang.

“You don’t necessarily need to lead with ESGP,” she says.

It depends on the audience.

ESGP resonates with some institutions, Wang explains, but it’s based on how important environmental, social, governance, and peace factors are to their livelihoods.

“I always think of the Maldives,” she says, noting that the tiny island nation is threatened by rising sea levels. “They’re very interested in the environmental component. Why is that the case? Because it is coupled with their interests.”

Of course, other groups may have different priorities. For them, business leaders should frame ESGP more in terms of economic stability and conflict sensitivity.

“ESGP can eventually lead to greater stability that allows for more economic growth,” Wang says.

Panelist Haruna Usui, head of ESG strategy in Japan for AllianceBernstein, noted that trying to navigate through the paradoxes of the energy transition can come at a cost. Acquiring all the commodities required for sustainable energy may also threaten biodiversity in sensitive regions. How do you weigh those competing environmental concerns? And what about the financial implications, or the potential for disputes stemming from threats to food sources for the local populace?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, Wang says. “You need to balance both the long-term and short-term perspective, in terms of both the ESGP aspects and also the economic aspects.”

Get a foot in the door

One effective way organizations can begin to develop trust with stakeholders in developing areas is to shoulder the bulk of the initial financial risk themselves, Wang says. Once the project is rolling and a commitment has been demonstrated, business leaders can then continue planning with government entities and local groups about the next phases of the project plan.

“What you can see is almost like a foot in the door,” Wang explains. “You get a little bit of trust in the front end by risking your own resources, and that can help lead to greater stability that can lead to more trust in the future.”

That’s not to say business leaders should expect having skin in the game to give them the loudest voice. Instead, consider what’s mutually beneficial.

“A better way to get buy-in is to make sure you understand if your desires and interests align with the desires of the other groups,” Wang says. “Ultimately, often they do. We all want stability in the region. We all want to make sure there’s food on the table.”

Take a long view

Businesses can overcome investor reluctance to address ESGP by emphasizing the long-term perspective, backed by narrative, data, and trust.

Vivid storytelling about what would happen over the next five or ten years—both with and in the absence of investment—can help stakeholders understand the stakes of the project. Business leaders can support those narratives with data from past projects coupled with emerging artificial-intelligence tools. On the panel, Kimura noted that new technologies for real-time monitoring of social media, for example, can provide early signs of project support—or unrest.

Still, for businesses looking to put the “P” in “ESGP,” relationships may be paramount. When companies are on the ground in conflict-prone regions, they need the institutional structures in place to be both flexible in responding to setbacks and steadfast in their commitment to seeing the project through hand-in-hand with the local stakeholders.

“These are not one-shot interactions,” Wang says. “There needs to be continued interactions. You don’t need to just meet when there’s something bad happening. You need to meet ahead of time to build that trust to be able to prevent that conflict, and to get to know each other.”