Business for Purpose Network (B4PN) Weekly Announcement.
Update #28 — June 4, 2021
1.0 INDIGENOUS RECONCILIATION. The discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children in a Kamloops residential school has led to long overdue nationwide outrage on the impact of residential schools in this country. We must all educate ourselves not only on the history of residential schools (the last one only closed in 1996) but on their ongoing impact on Indigenous peoples in this country so that we can advance collective action towards reconciliation and reparation.
So what can business do? In 2019 Animikii Inc. a Certified B Corp and Certified Aboriginal Business in Victoria, BC wrote this article entitled: 7 Ways to Incorporate Reconciliation into Your Business. Businesses can: hire Indigenous talent; hire and train Indigenous students; diversify your supply chain; conduct Indigenous Cultural Safety Training for staff; consult and relationship build around economic development; celebrate Indigenous People’s Day (new legislation calls for this day to be September 30th); and issue Territory Acknowledgments where appropriate. Please read the full article and consider where your organization can support the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action; honestly, it is the least we can do.
2.0 UK-BASED RESEARCH. The Institute of Directors (IOD) based in the UK has just (June 2, 2021) issued this research that states: 6 in 10 firms believe they should not exist solely to make money. “Businesses are increasingly taking a broader view of their purpose so that they serve the interests of all their stakeholders, rather than a sole focus on maximising shareholder value. This has led to a number of major UK employers committing to defining a social purpose, a trend that has been confirmed in the latest Institute of Directors research.”
Questions they asked include:
· Does your organization have a stated purpose? 62% have a purpose
· To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? ‘Companies should have a stated social purpose to help solve problems for society.’ 48% strongly agree/ agree
· To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? ‘The sole purpose of a company is to make money and generate shareholder profits.’ 62% disagree/ strongly disagree
3.0 NEW REPORT (from UK-based ReGenerate). Helping purpose-driven businesses thrive. This just released (June 2021) report includes a three-point plan to “unlock the power of business to do more good”.
· Provide global leadership on impact measurement to make it easier for companies to report and stakeholders to understand a company’s social and environmental impact.
· Create a clear, obvious legal framework for purpose-driven companies.
· Turbo-charge support for companies that intend to profitably tackle the challenges we face, such as recovering from Covid-19, reaching net zero and levelling up the UK.
In 2009, Tim Draimin, former Executive Director of Social Innovation Generation (SiG National), organized a Study Tour of the UK so that Canada could learn about advancements in social innovation throughout that country. Seems like we need Tim, who recommended this article, to organize another trip to the UK for us to study the Purpose Economy rapidly emerging there — who’s in? When travel restrictions are lifted, of course.
4.0 COMPANIES ON THE PURPOSE JOURNEY. Our colleagues at the Social Purpose Institute (SPI) have just shared this video from AutoSphere.ca where Drew Collier of LGM and Mary Ellen Schaarfsma talk about their work together to help LGM articulate and realize their social purpose. In this short video (13:26 min) they also touch upon the business case for purpose and how language is evolving in this space. Interested in learning more? You can reach the SPI here. Nice work Mary Ellen and Drew.
5.0 B4PN NEW ASSOCIATE. It is my pleasure to (re)introduce our community to Marek Nakonieczny, the B4PN Associate. Marek has an MBA with a focus on Social Enterprise and Social Entrepreneurship from the inaugural cohort of this innovative program at Memorial University in Newfoundland (MUN). Marek also did his B.Eng at MUN with a focus on Mechanical Engineering that led him to spending several years as a Field Engineer with Schlumberger in the US before returning to academia. As an intern at MaRS last summer, he helped develop the B4PN; worked on fund development for our climate related work; and helped develop our Impact Assessment program. Fun facts: Marek is a professional bartender; he worked for the Newfoundland Distillery Company; and he is an ardent Arsenal Football Club fan — no comment on whether or not all three of those are related. Please join me in welcoming Marek to our ecosystem! Contact: mnakonieczny@marsdd.com
Quote of the Week. “It is about fundamentally redefining your company around purpose and learning how to unleash the best people have to offer. It’s about putting purpose and people at the heart of business.”
- Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy. May 13, 2021 HBR. How to Lead in the Stakeholder Era. We featured Mr. Joly in our May14th, 2021 WA but thought his words (and this new HBR article) was worth revisiting — thanks for the submission Coro Strandberg.
Enjoy the reading and enjoy the week-end … on purpose!
Allyson
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.
