CECP’s Investing in Society: Focus on Priorities

Dec 12, 2019 8:00 AM ET

Investing in Society is the must-read source offering practical evidence of the corporate sector’s shift toward being increasingly purpose-driven. Developed from CECP’s premier research on, thought leadership for, and strategic engagements with more than 200 of the world’s largest companies, this digital release brings to light the state of Corporate Purpose in an evidence-based way and assesses Corporate Purpose-driven actions under the categories of Priorities, Performance, People, Planet, and Policies.

In the Priorities section, CECP examines how companies are creating and committing to statements of purpose that address more stakeholders. This year, major shifts in stakeholder engagement include:

In 2019, the Business Roundtable released a new Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation signed by more than 180 CEOs committed to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders.

  • Companies take action by updating their purpose statement

Seventy-six percent of companies have changed their corporate purpose statement in the last five years (source: CECP Pulse Survey, Oct. 2019).

  • Stakeholders influence purpose differently across global markets

In 2019, the French National Assembly revised the very definition of corporate purpose to consider social and environmental stakes, that purpose goes beyond profits, and to offer a new corporate form (société à mission).

Corporate leaders turn to Investing in Society as the authoritative source on developments in Corporate Purpose, bolstered by CECP’s insights on the actions that the world’s leading companies are taking to address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, identify and effectively meet stakeholder needs, and build a better world through business.

Read the full Priorities section at https://cecp.co/iis/