Four principles to keep your business’s social purpose goals on track

The pandemic has underlined the need for social purpose. Here’s how to make it part of your short, medium and long-term strategy.

Image: Monster Ztudio/Shutterstock
The role of a business’s social purpose came to the fore in April last year. One of the largest business groups in the US—the Business Roundtable—called for companies to consider the impact they made beyond their balance sheets.
Its 181 chief executives, including Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Apple's Tim Cook and JP Morgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, demanded that companies "support the communities" in which they work, "protect the environment" and treat workers with "dignity and respect", alongside delivering long-term profits for their shareholders.
They had effectively redefined the purpose of a corporation. And then, of course, came Covid-19
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