Business for Purpose Network (B4PN) Weekly Announcement.

Update #31 — July 2, 2021

1.0 PURPOSE-DRIVEN ECONOMIC RECOVERY. BC has just announced that they have hired Dr. Mariana Mazzucato, head of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College London to advise them on “the future of the economy as BC develops a long-term economic plan that will steer the province through the post-pandemic era.”

Dr. Mazzucato recently spoke at the MaRS Impact Health event in a Fireside Chat on rethinking the capacities and the role of government to solve the biggest challenges of our time. (~24 minutes). Nice to see purpose-driven leaders getting traction in Canada.

2.0 EVENT RECORDING. “Maintaining Long-Term Purpose in a Short Term World” video moderated by Tima Bansal, Executive Director of Network for Business Sustainability and Canada Research Chair in Business Sustainability at Ivey Business School moderates compelling discussion on how to navigate short-term demands for long-term purpose.” Forwarded by Coro Strandberg. (~1 hour)

3.0 RESEARCH. (UK). ReGenerate have just released their research paper “Helping purpose-driven business thrive”, a culmination of a year’s worth of efforts attempting to answer: “What reforms are needed to help support and incentivise businesses and entrepreneurs to play their full part in helping people, especially the most disadvantaged, and the planet to flourish?” The report was put together by a working group of executives from 14 organizations (B Lab UK, Blueprint, Schroders, to name a few), and leveraged interviews from 70 more cross-sectoral stakeholders across the investment, government, established businesses and entrepreneurial communities. The result is three tangible recommendations that will not only help drive recovery post Covid-19, but also support the landscape that will allow purposeful business to thrive.

· Making the Legal Framework fit for Purpose

· Making it Easy to Understand Companies’ Impact

· Supporting and Identifying Purpose-Driven Businesses

4.0 MEDIA. B4PN and several founding members are profiled in these articles. Thanks to Stephen Huddart, Tim Draimin and all those that made this happen. Special shout out to featured B4PN members Brain Gallant (Canadian Centre for the Purpose of the Corporation) and Coro Strandberg (Social Purpose Institute)

4.1 La Presse. Chefs d’entreprise en décalage

“Les critères ESG constituent de bons points de départ, mais la gestion des risques seule ne suffira pas. Allyson Hewitt, coordonnatrice du réseau Business for Purpose Network au MaRS Discovery District, explique que « la clé consiste à définir une mission sociale pour l’entreprise, d’y arrimer les activités ESG et de rallier les gouvernements et les partenaires communautaires autour d’objectifs ambitieux ».”

4.2 iPolitics. Corporate Canada must practice sustainable finance.

“The key is to define a company’s social purpose, align ESG activities around it, and engage with government and community partners around bold goals,” Allyson Hewitt, who coordinates the Business for Purpose Network at Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District, told us.

4.3 Toronto Star. We must alter economy’s trajectory toward an inclusive, equitable and sustainable future now.

5.0 BRAND PURPOSE MARKETING. The Cause Effect. “Brand purpose marketing is a concept that we are seeing more and more of, as consumers continue to expect more from businesses… By actively and publicly pursuing your purpose, you are essentially marketing it.” But here’s the catch. Having a ‘business purpose’ no longer cuts through. A ‘why’ that provides a nice, logical context for your products or services isn’t enough. For your business to stand out, it needs to have a social purpose — a reason for existence beyond the everyday pursuit of profit. Through a Social Purpose, we begin to understand who an organisation is. It’s not just about what they do, it’s about what they stand for… their world view…their identity. It’s through that action, that you effectively market your brand purpose.”

Check out this blog entitled: 3 Great Examples of Brand Purpose Marketing by The Cause Effect. They are based in Sydney, Australia and offers many helpful resources on their website.

Quote of the week: “Having a corporate purpose is incredibly important. It must be lived every day and embedded in hiring. It’s time to get beyond skills and capabilities. It must guide every action in the company.”

- Peter Vanacker, Neste (renewables company based in Finland) as part of the Tomorrow’s Capitalism Forum 2021. Stay tuned for more on this really informative event hosted this week by Volans.

Bonus: Social Purpose Employment Opportunity. The Social Purpose Institute, based at the United Way of Lower Mainland, is seeking an Operations Coordinator. Check out the details for this chance to work with some wonderful people who are really making an impact in driving business as a force for good.

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 Marek Nakonieczny, Associate, B4PN at mnakonieczny@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