Anglian Water this year changed its articles of association, or constitution, to recognise that its business purpose went beyond profits and benefits for shareholders to include long-term value for customers, communities and “positive outcomes” for the environment and society. The move was the latest in a long line that places company purpose ahead of short-term gains. This week Oxford University professor Colin Mayer took the argument a step further, laying out a set of eight principles to aid companies in their journey to become “purposeful companies”. Written on behalf of the British Academy, the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences, Principles for Purposeful Business sets out a conceptual framework t