One Year Later: Purpose of a Corporation

I was proud to be among the CEOs to sign the Business Roundtable Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation. I signed as a promise of accountability for a future we intend to build together. This is a journey Deloitte has been on for years. We have built our business around a commitment to make an impact that matters for clients, our people, and society.

It was hard to envision then how much the world would change in just one year. The commitment made by some of our nation’s foremost business leaders to serve all of an organization’s stakeholders has become more important than ever. This is our opportunity to show that business can be a force of good by leading the way to a better, stronger, post-pandemic future.

The Business Roundtable’s Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, especially the increased emphasis on commitment to communities, was very well timed. When the two crises of 2020 hit – the Covid-19 pandemic and the social unrest sparked by racial injustice – the Purpose galvanized BRT member companies into action.

At CBRE, we used the Purpose to guide our response to both crises. These actions included an unprecedented fundraising effort in support of Covid-19 relief, holding our first companywide town hall to discuss racial inequality, creating a new Chief Diversity Officer role on our executive leadership team, and rolling out a global policy that amplifies our unequivocal stance against racial misconduct.

On the one-year anniversary of the historic reconsideration of the Business Roundtable’s purpose of a corporation, we’re excited to be part of a broader movement in American business that shares the same principles that have been part of Delta’s culture since our founding 95 years ago – the idea that putting people before profits is, in fact, in the best interests of our planet, our communities, our employees, and our shareholders.

The evidence is crystal clear: if companies put Purpose into practice and generate positive societal impact, then they will also be more likely to accelerate long-term shareholder value creation. Every day at BCG we seek to live our purpose – unlocking the potential of those who advance the world. We do this through our work on critical global challenges—such as COVID-19, climate, racial equity and justice, education and health—and by working to improve ourselves, including on diversity and our climate footprint.

I'm so pleased that the Business Roundtable boldly reframed the essential nature of corporate purpose a year ago, and I’m proud to have joined more than 180 CEOs in stating our commitment.

In recent months, the Business Roundtable’s principles have been highly visible in the responses to the pandemic from USAA and other purpose-driven companies.

When the crisis hit, we invested heavily to ensure our employees had the extra benefits and support they needed to keep themselves and their families safe. And as always, they remained focused on our members’ well-being at a time of great need.

Then we created special pandemic-relief programs to give members financial breathing room while we boosted our philanthropy to provide more help for military families and the communities where we work and live. Taking care of our members, employees and communities during these uncertain times was important.

Living up to the values laid out in Business Roundtable’s Purpose of a Corporation statement is more important and relevant than ever. It establishes that corporations, whose products and actions touch so many people, have both the opportunity and the responsibility to act on behalf of all stakeholders to not only grow earnings but improve lives. Ultimately, that’s where companies’ greatest impact and most enduring legacies will be made.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we knew we needed to be there for the tens of millions of people around the world who count on us for financial security and support – everyone from our employees and customers to our communities and shareholders. Always being there so that people can build a confident future is the very heart of our purpose. It’s how we make a positive impact in the world.

As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the BRT’s Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, Novelis is proud to be on this important journey with our BRT peers, sharing a collective goal to achieve long-term sustainable growth and promote an economy that serves all Americans. As the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, we are dedicated to our own purpose of shaping a sustainable world together, working alongside our customers and other stakeholders in order to make better, safer products, protect precious natural resources and enhance the quality of life in the communities where we live and work.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for American businesses to lead with purpose, leveraging sustainable and inclusive business practices to address the broader needs of all citizens. For all of us at Bristol Myers Squibb, this means listening to our stakeholders’ needs in order to build a better, healthier world.

I am proud to partner with America’s leading companies and our patients, customers, suppliers, communities and workforce as we seek to improve our society and economy.

From our founding, our work at AES has always had a deeper meaning. We joined the Business Roundtable and other like-minded organizations in signing the Purpose of a Corporation in 2019 to demonstrate our belief in having a positive impact on all of our stakeholders.

As the world has faced the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been committed to supporting the many stakeholders we serve during this unprecedented time. That commitment starts with continuing to reliably deliver the energy that powers our customers and surrounding communities while ensuring the safety of our people and their families. Together, we will emerge from this crisis stronger than ever.

As the global leader in animal health, our business purpose is very much a social purpose at Zoetis. We help bring companionship, comfort and nutrition to the world through healthy pets and farm animals. It all starts with investing in colleagues who are valued for the role they play in supporting veterinarians, pet owners and food producers in keeping animals healthy.

Pfizer is proud to be part of an effort that showcases Corporate America’s increasingly important role in society, focus, and resilience in the midst of an unprecedented global health crisis. U.S. companies are driving our economic recovery forward so that we can emerge from this crisis stronger, with equity among all stakeholders, and for the benefit of all Americans. Some of us are doing so while simultaneously advancing science in an effort to help bring an end to the pandemic.

The corporate response to the global pandemic—from protecting and supporting employees, to serving customers and communities, to directly addressing the impact on public health—underscores the critical role companies can play in service to their stakeholders. WBA, through our purpose to help people across the world lead healthier and happier lives, has been called upon as never before to respond to this public health crisis in partnership with our many stakeholders. Pharmacy and pharmacy distribution indeed have served an essential role during this pandemic in providing a critical service always available to customers and patients.

As a signatory and in the spirit of the Business Roundtable’s ‘Purpose of a Corporation’ statement, we continue to be focused on our commitment to caring for people and communities around the world, and creating better communities through health and wellness.

McKinsey was proud last year to join the Business Roundtable's Statement on the Purpose of the Corporation. Like so many others, we believe that corporations can - and must - support and deliver for all of the stakeholders who engage with private enterprise: customers, business partners, shareholders, employees and the community at-large.

For more than 90 years, McKinsey has sought to help create positive, enduring change in the world, by putting clients’ long-term interests first, and cultivating an environment where talent of all backgrounds can thrive and contribute to issues that matter. This commitment has shaped our response to the economic and humanitarian consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effort to promote and deliver racial equity and justice, and the need to act on climate change and the environment.

As a result, we see the principles enshrined in the BRT's statement as even more relevant - and urgent - than they were when crafted twelve months ago.