Social Business Movement Growing

Call it what you like — but the movement towards businesses adopting social and environmental goals is growing at a pace we’ve never seen before.

Large multinational firms, co-operatives and small independent companies are demonstrating what is possible using business, its systems, disciplines, and financial sustainability, to achieve blended objectives.

This is in part spurred by a younger generation of leaders who refuse to see a disconnect between making a difference and the self-interest of their business, and are actively pursuing both.

Traditional businesses are also realizing that corporate social responsibility is generating little business value and are looking to engage their staff and stakeholders in more meaningful ways that also boost the bottom line.

Several other developments offer similar encouragement towards a new type of commerce.

In two U.S. states, legislation is making it possible for companies to become registered corporations while pursuing a purpose larger than profit, with six other states considering similar bills.

Business news and financial information providers are also seeing the need to provide people with data that transcends monetary focus. Corporate Knights reports that Thomson Reuters has acquired ASSET4 to integrate environmental, social and governance data into its mainstream financial analysis and Bloomberg now provides similar data for more than 3,000 companies.

The advance of social businesses and its recognition by information providers holds the potential to influence even more businesses on the utility of integrating commercial and social objectives, further building the movement.

While the debate continues on the definitions and boundaries of social business, what remains clear is its necessity and continued progress.