Business for Purpose Network. Weekly Announcement #40. September 3, 2021

Compiled by Allyson Hewitt, VP Impact. MaRS Discovery District

#ONE – Lessons from Entrepreneurs

We’ll start this week’s announcement with a new World Economic Forum article that enlisted 14 of the WEF’s Technology Pioneers to provide advice for entrepreneurs on turning ideas into successful start-ups. The first two lessons? The importance of starting with purpose and business’ ability to be a force for good. It is uplifting to see these beliefs continue to make their way into the mainstream – hopefully indicative that purpose is not only a trend but a guiding business principle that is here to stay.

#TWO – Upcoming Event: Purposeful Business in Policy, Practice and Business Education.

Please register here for a September 22-24 Purpose Summit and Report Launch of the British Academy’s third and final report of the Future of the Corporation programme. The summit will launch the report on Purposeful Business in Policy, Practice and Business Education, and include a series of discussions on “adapting business education to purpose.” We have highlighted previous reports from the programme and look forward to hearing conclusions on “the role of policy, practice, and business education in firmly embedding purpose in the way business operates.” Registration will provide updates on the full lineup of events as well as recordings if you can’t attend. Thanks to our colleague Coro Strandberg for sharing.?

#THREE – Can Purpose and Profit Co-exist?

New research published in the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance by Fortuna Advisors finds that “‘High Purpose’ companies delivered significant outperformance across a broad range of financial, valuation, and value creation metrics; and that the performance gap expanded materially as both consumers and investors flocked to purpose-led companies during the COVID-19 crisis.” The research, based on consumer perceptions of purpose, showed that “high purpose” companies had “14.1% greater revenue growth, 6.2x turns higher TEV/EBITDA valuation multiple, and 34.7% greater annualized total shareholder return” than those scoring low on purpose. Encouraging data that suggests purpose companies can create value and impact for not only stakeholders, but shareholders as well. Thanks again to Coro for highlighting this publication.

#FOUR – Social Purpose in Business: A Virtual Workshop

Our friends at the Social Purpose Institute are hosting an all-encompassing workshop on Social Purpose October 7, 2021, 10 to 11 AM PST. Please register here for a session that “will equip you for success through a mix of how-to guidance and real-life experience from senior leaders who’ve activated their Social Purpose – and are experiencing the benefits.” Attendees will receive a discount for the SPI’s Propelling Purpose Summit set to take place November 17-18, 2021.

#FIVE – Short Video: Deloitte’s Chief Purpose Officer on Purpose

To wrap up this week’s edition, take a look at this short video interview by Harvard Business Review with Kwasi Mitchell, Deloitte’s Chief Purpose Officer. You may recall our July 30, 2021 Weekly Announcement where we shared an AXIOS article that introduced Kwasi Mitchell and the idea of a Chief Purpose Officer. Tune in to the short watch to hear more on “how to integrate and activate purpose in your own organization.”

quote of the week

“I think for anyone who is in the private sector, they see that there are more and more demands from investors to truly be focused on purpose and be activating substantially across all of their stakeholders rather than their shareholders only.” – Kwasi Mitchell, HBR, August 31, 2021.

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