Colin Mayer is Co-Chair of the Enacting Purpose Initiative (EPI) and Peter Moores Professor of Management Studies at University of Oxford Saïd Business School; Amelia Miazad is North American Chair of EPI and Founding Director and Senior Research Fellow of the Business in Society Institute at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law; and Rupert Younger is Chair of EPI and Director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation at University of Oxford Saïd Business School. This post is based on their EPI report.
Related research from the Program on Corporate Governance includes The Illusory Promise of Stakeholder Governance and Will Corporations Deliver Value to All Stakeholders?, both by Lucian A. Bebchuk and Roberto Tallarita (discussed on the Forum here); For Whom Corporate Leaders Bargain by Lucian A. Bebchuk, Kobi Kastiel, and Roberto Tallarita (discussed on the Forum here); and Restoration: The Role Stakeholder Governance Must Play in Recreating a Fair and Sustainable American Economy—A Reply to Professor Rock by Leo E. Strine, Jr. (discussed on the Forum here).
Introduction
There is a growing consensus in the global business and investment community that sustainable and inclusive capitalism is vital to society, the environment, and the economy. This paradigm shift is propelling corporate purpose to the top of the agenda for directors and investors.
The first report from the Enacting Purpose Initiative, Enacting Purpose Within the Modern Corporation, A Framework for Boards of Directors, was published in August 2020. This report builds upon that foundation by setting out how directors can work with their investors to leverage corporate purpose to address societal issues and sustain long-term value creation.
This report’s recommendations were informed by extensive dialogue with over 35 board members in the Director Steering Group and over 30 global investors and asset owners and managers in the Investor Steering Group. We remain encouraged by the common ground between investors and directors regarding the value of corporate purpose. This report lays out that common ground in order to produce actionable insights for directors seeking to deepen their collaboration with investors on corporate purpose.