Business for Purpose Network (B4PN) Weekly Announcement.
Update #20 — April 9, 2021
1.0 UPCOMING EVENT. Save the Date! Propelling Purpose: The Road to the Purposeful Economy. B4PN member The Social Purpose Institute, based at the United Way of the Lower Mainland, will be hosting the first Canadian national conference on the Purpose Economy. November 16 to 18, 2021.
Please block these dates in your calendar. We hope to see everyone interested in creating the Purpose Economy at this inaugural event which is strongly supported by the B4PN.
2.0 INVESTORS. Please take the time to read BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s annual letter to shareholders. Covering everything from “what BlackRock stands for, who we serve and where we are making an impact in the world” to their commitment to DEI, a net-zero world, enabling technology, culture and of course; purpose.
Some quotes that stood out for me:
· “Our purpose, strategy and responsibility to society are all interconnected.”
· “Just as we ask of other companies, we have a long-term strategy aimed at improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at BlackRock.”
· “BlackRock’s strategy for future growth, which our Global Executive Committee carefully reviews with our Board of Directors each year, is aligned with our purpose and centers on helping clients navigate their most complex challenges as the investment landscape and the world change around them.”
· “BlackRock’s commitment to sustainability is embedded across our business because our deeply held investment conviction is that integrating sustainability can help investors build more resilient portfolios and achieve better long-term, risk-adjusted returns.”
Pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy an inside view on the priority areas of focus for an $8.7TR asset manager.
3.0 PODCASTS. Philip Haid, CEO and founder of social impact marketing agency Public Inc is featured on The Decision Lab podcast entitled Corporate impact through profitable purpose: Phillip Haid. ~40 minutes
Phil does a terrific job of discussing the work on Public Inc to help companies achieve Profit and Purpose with tons of great examples of leading companies. Highly recommended and deeply aligned with the work of the B4PN!
4.0 INTERNATIONAL PROGRESS. UK Campaign to Amend the Company Act to require companies to adopt a societal purpose that considers stakeholders and the environment. A group co-chaired by the CEO of Innocent has launched the Better Business Act campaign to change UK law so that all UK companies align the interests of their shareholders with those of wider society and the environment. Their objective is to amend Section 172 of the Companies Act in line with these principles.
So great to see this progress in the UK. Thanks Coro Strandberg for this information.
5.0 DANONE. In the latest edition of Envisage — the Canadian Centre for the Purpose of the Corporation (and B4PN founding member) shares an op ed in La Presse on why people should not take the recent news of the departure of Danone’s CEO, Emmanuel Farber, as a sign that the stakeholder capitalism movement is in trouble. Original article in French.
And speaking of the CCPC, check out the interview on Awarepreneurs Podcast — episode #180. In this hour-long interview Brian talks about his career and the work of the CCPC among many other interesting topics.
Enjoy the reading and enjoy the week-end … on purpose!
Allyson
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What is the Business for Purpose Network? The B4PN is an initiative catalyzed by the JW McConnell Family Foundation and the MaRS Discovery District to help build a movement engaging companies to put purpose at the core of their work.
Past editions of the B4PN Weekly Announcements are available on LinkedIn and on Medium.
Interested in joining this movement? Please contact Allyson Hewitt, VP Impact at MaRS at ahewitt@marsdd.com to indicate your interest in this work, to join the mailing list or to unsubscribe. We’d also love your comments on anything you read here or to promote any relevant articles you would like to share with others.
