There are moments in business where neutrality stops being a safe or responsible position. Not because the topic is uncomfortable, and not because taking a stance might cost you something. But because staying silent feels like a decision in itself. Over time, I’ve come to believe that this is one of those moments.

Our team has always believed that business is not separate from the world it operates in. It hires people, consumes resources, influences behaviour, and directs money. It does not exist in a vacuum. Whether we like it or not, business amplifies outcomes.

That means when harm exists, choosing not to engage with it is still a choice.

What we believe about business and responsibility

We believe business can and should be a force for good in the world. Not as a slogan or a positioning exercise, but as a lived responsibility that shows up in decisions, systems, and behaviour.

We believe justice, equality, and human rights are not optional values. They are foundational. They don’t change depending on market conditions, political convenience, or who holds power at any given time.

We also believe that culture and impact are inseparable. You cannot claim to care about people externally while tolerating harm internally, and you cannot talk about purpose while refusing to examine the consequences of how your business operates.

Why neutrality doesn’t hold up

There’s a long-standing belief in business that decisions can be “just commercial.” That profit can be separated from consequence, and that responsibility ends at compliance. We don’t agree with that view.

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
— Albert Einstein

Working with leaders and their teams to shape company culture, we say that the standard you walk past, becomes your standard. Because what you tolerate, is what you accept. Ignorance is not bliss.

The same principle applies here.

Every business decision directs money somewhere. It funds supply chains, governments, systems, and behaviours. When those systems cause harm, pretending neutrality only protects the status quo.

When harm is visible and ongoing, choosing not to engage is still a decision. Looking away does not preserve neutrality. It defines your standard. And for us, that standard is not one we are willing to live with, build on, or ask our team to carry.

In those moments, silence isn’t professional or objective. It’s complicit. Sponge’s culture does not look away. Our team does not look away. And the work we take on cannot be separated from the values we are willing to stand behind.

Authenticity is the gate

We don’t work with organisations that want to appear purposeful. We work with organisations willing to examine themselves honestly.

Authenticity matters because purpose without truth causes harm. When businesses adopt the language of impact without doing the work of alignment, they erode trust internally and externally. Teams feel it first. Markets feel it eventually.

Intent matters, but intent alone is not enough. Every business causes some level of harm. The real question is whether that harm is acknowledged, examined, and actively reduced, or justified and ignored.

Where we draw the line

Some misalignments are not negotiable.

We do not work with organisations or leaders who profit from harm to people or the planet, operate unjust or exploitative supply chains without intent to change, or justify, minimise, or deny systemic violence and oppression.

This includes financial or public support for regimes and systems that enable ethnic cleansing, apartheid, or mass civilian harm.

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
— Desmond Tutu

This stance is not about identity or religion. It is about human rights, justice, and the refusal to normalise violence. Being explicit about this matters. Vagueness protects power, not people.

Transformation is welcome. Denial is not

We believe people and organisations can change. We welcome leaders who are willing to examine inherited beliefs, question past decisions, and correct misalignment when it’s identified.

What we do not accept is denial. We do not work with leaders who refuse to acknowledge harm, frame injustice as unavoidable, or prioritise comfort over responsibility.

Growth requires ownership. Integrity requires courage.

Why this sits with me as a founder

As the founder of Sponge, one of my core responsibilities is protection. Not just of the business, but of the people who show up every day to do this work.

My team didn’t sign up to lend their creativity, intelligence, and energy to organisations that compromise their integrity. They didn’t join Sponge to rationalise harm or look the other way when values are tested.

Drawing clear lines means they don’t have to. That’s leadership, not politics.

We don’t just help open doors; we guard them.

Why this matters to the work we do

The work we do goes deep. We help organisations surface truth, redesign culture, and unlock energy. That kind of work requires trust.

Trust collapses when values are performative. Psychological safety collapses when harm is excused. Genius collapses when people don’t feel morally safe inside the systems they’re part of.

This is why we gate access to our work. This is why readiness matters. And this is why we would rather refund and walk away than force alignment where it doesn’t exist.

A clear invitation

This position isn’t designed to convince everyone. It’s written with the intent to be clear.

If you believe business carries responsibility as well as opportunity, if justice and equality are non-negotiable for you, and if you’re willing to examine and correct misalignment when it’s uncomfortable, then we’re likely aligned.

If not, we wish you well, but we’re not the right partner.

Because if we aren’t clearly taking the side of justice, equality, and human rights, we’re not neutral. We’re complicit.