Profit with Purpose

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Comment by Dr marion witton on Friday

The next London City Network meeting on June 11th is on the subject of business and philanthropy -  

Arif Govani, Director of Microsoft HealthVault UK, will lead discussion on the role of business in philanthropy, talking in particular about Microsoft's approach, and the latest developments from HealthVault.  There’ll be plenty of opportunity to discuss these issues with Arif and other Fellows in the informal atmosphere of the Gerard Bar, where a special menu of food and drink (from the RSA’s new caterers Harbour & Jones) will be available for you to buy.

 

Book now: http://londoncitynetworkphilanthropy.eventbrite.com/

 

Comment by Pascale Scheurer on Friday

Are you on LinkedIn? You might like this live discussion in the 'HP Business Answers' group right now, on whether companies that 'go green' are cynical marketers or whether they really care...

http://lnkd.in/Z4dVGu

Comment by Pascale Scheurer on Friday

Good morning, thank you Carlos for this link to the 24 M-prize finalists.

I've just finished reading Philip Auerswald's "The Comg Prosperity" which is a brilliant analysis of how entrepreneurship brings positive change, with excellent economic analysis and many case studies from aroun dthe world. Well worth a resd.

Auerswald is an economist at George Mason University and Fellow of the Kaufmann Foundation. He is running an online summer course on entrepreneurship starting early June. If anyone is interested to know more I'll post the link, the line-up includes Eric Ries (founder of Lean) and Umair Haque (Harvard Business Review and author of "The New Capitalist Manifesto" and "Betterness")

Comment by Carlos Largacha-Martinez on Thursday

Hola 

'Business as a vehicle for social change' is a very salient topic right now. More and more entrepreneurs are having an ethical dilemma, which is great. I just want it to put a link of the finalists of the Harvard Business Review & McKinsey "Long-Term Capitalism" challenge. They are 24 selected among almost 150 worldwide received. I think will help us to have more insight about 'profit with purpose'

Long-Term Capitalism HBR&McKinsey

Saludos,

Carlos

Comment by Ami A G Bloomer on May 16, 2012 at 17:09

Hi, 

I'm really pleased with the discussion generated. 

I think there's a lot to be said for business as a vehicle for social change. Businesses positively impact peoples lives through employment and delivering a product or service of value every day. 

Business tyrant Henry Ford said 'The highest use of capital is not to make more money but to make money do more for the betterment of life.' I am fully in agreement with this approach. 

Are there any interesting examples out there?

Comment by David Floyd on May 9, 2012 at 9:44

Blog post on making the sums add up in the Big Society: http://beanbagsandbullsh1t.com/2012/05/08/making-the-sums-add-up/

Comment by James Scouller on April 29, 2012 at 19:23

Hi Ami, you asked, "How do you counter the view that making a profit and making a difference are mutually exclusive?"  

My answer is that I don't think I would - at least not immediately.  My first response would be to ask the person, what are you assuming that leads you to think they are mutually exclusive?  

You see, I think the other person's assumptions and beliefs have to be surfaced before you have to justify the idea that they are NOT mutually exclusive.  

Hope that helps.

James

Comment by Pascale Scheurer on April 29, 2012 at 11:42

Hi Ami

One answer to your question ("How do you counter view that making a profit and making a difference are mutually exclusive?") would be that there's a difference between 'making profit' and 'profiteering'.

Businesses can make profit at the same time as making a *positive* difference - not just creating value for shareholders, or shareholders and customers, but for wider stakeholders (ie people affected by the business' operations).

Businesses are increasingly being challenged where their business operations, whilst making profits for their shareholders, are creating problems or additional costs (eg pollution) for others.

As the guy from Goldman Sachs said at the BITC 'Responsible Business Convention' in March, "The Board is not delivering value to the Shareholders if the business loses its license to operate". This is a huge and growing business risk.

There are also numerous studies by eg Harvard Business School and FTSE4Good showing that companies engaged in sustainable/responsible practices outperform their peers on the stockmarket.  And it's popular: investment in FTSE4Good companies has grown fourfold in the last decade, exceeding $10Tn in 2011.

Hopefully that all points to the conclusion that making profit and makig a difference are not mutually exclusive, but can be mutually reinforcing.

Cheers, Pascale

Comment by Michael Townsend on April 28, 2012 at 12:29

A great question Ami, and one of the key issues of our time for business.

This is also a question that has been on our minds for some time at Earthshine. We set up a major research project in 2009, with the aim of proving the business case for integrating all dimensions of sustainability, and then spreading awareness of the 'art of the possible', far and wide.

To do this we wanted to explore, in some detail, exemplar case studies from all sectors and all territories around the world. We have found a number of fascinating stories and some great insights. We are seeing a strong correlation, for businesses that integrate sustainability principles, and align their business models with a higher purpose, deliver sustainable growth and high levels of long-term profitability. As well as doing good for people and the planet. Quite simply, the operate with lower levels of business risk, and are actively engaged in doing the right things, and doing them well.

One of the key outputs of the project will be The Rough Guide to Sustainable Business, due out later this year. We are also sharing the learning through regular articles, here's a few links which may be of interest:

Pity the Poor Investor?

For the People!

12 Principles for Sustainable Business

Business Model Amnesty

New Business Models

Please feel free to visit and join our project website and online community at The Sustainable Business Lab. All are welcome. There you can get access to our case studies, blogs, reports, videos, information and a community of people from 18+ nations. Please feel free to join in, and raise a discussion or post a blog on your own thoughts and experiences.

Comment by Ami A G Bloomer on April 26, 2012 at 11:55

How do you counter view that making a profit and making a difference are mutually exclusive?

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