Re-Imagining Business As Usual

by Benjamin Zehr

Business, as it exists today, is broken. Less the fault of Business itself and more the result of a mode of thought that excludes all non-monetary considerations from the cold calculus of ‘economic development’, the impact of our consumption driven civilization is beginning to make itself felt worldwide. From the poor management of waste and the pollution of local waterways, to large scale environmental catastrophes, structural injustices and the uncertainty of climate change, the blatant disregard of both our social and natural environment has had a lasting effect on humanity.

In the post-war era, growth has trumped development, GDP has maintained primacy over the HDI, and the term ‘business-friendly’ has become muscle memory for politicians seeking both votes and foreign confidence. While free-market activity in its most basic form is hardly evil, the modern religion of Business and its unflinching lack of concern for long term consequences — hidden under the guise of ‘maximizing shareholder value’ — is a dangerous paradigm to say the least. In the face the an inequitable economic system and the environmental challenges it has inadvertently espoused, it may seem absurd to suggest that Business itself may be the solution to a number of these issues, but I am here to argue just that.

Perhaps some of the most hopeful signs of the private sector’s potential have been the so-called ‘social enterprises’ and ‘B-Corporations’ that have emerged over the past two decades. Companies like Patagonia, Warby Parker, Seventh Generation, and Tesla Motors have shown the world that socially and environmentally conscious companies can have viable business models. Perhaps one of the most iconic brands to first do this, TOMS Shoes set a precedent by connecting Western consumers directly with issues of the Global South, symbolically donating a pair of shoes to a child for each pair it sold. Other lifestyle brands like Warby Parker and Harry’s soon jumped on the train of visibly tying sales to their CSR activities. On the other hand, Patagonia has taken a more active approach, coming up with its now-famous marketing campaign stressing the importance of buying as few of their products as possible because of their adverse impact on the environment. Meanwhile, Tesla Motors is building a net-zero impact factory in the desert and has made all of its patents openly available to the public in order to facilitate more rapid uptake of a sustainable, electric system of transportation. This more holistic business phenomenon is not limited to small American companies either — global financial and consulting firms such as Acumen Fund and Dalberg focus on impact and social value creation in each of their projects, while the world’s largest dairy cooperative, Amul, has led a nutrition revolution and provided small Indian farmers with a lucrative source of income by increasing the country’s production of milk dramatically since independence.

Either by embracing the idea of sustainability from a holistic perspective or taking small steps to create value for their various stakeholders, companies worldwide are changing their minds about their place in society. Even as the air and water of coastal China suffer from its industrial model of growth, policymakers and entrepreneurs in Accra, New Delhi, Brasilia, and Dhaka discuss ways their economies can grow without causing the same level of damage to public health and the natural environment. In Paris this month, movers and shakers from the vast majority of the world’s sovereign states come together to collectively combat one of humanity’s biggest challenges together. In seats of government, conference rooms, town halls, community centers, and kitchens, commitments are being made each day to think beyond arbitrary political or cultural boundaries and to embrace globally minded, collective solutions.

Given the much-touted efficiency, speed, and ubiquity of the market in a world that continues to shrink, I would argue that perhaps the most compelling means of creating a lasting shift in the way society thinks about sustainability is social entrepreneurship. Going further, I would argue that companies need not completely reorganize themselves as ‘social businesses’ to participate in this shift — at a conceptual level, the simple internalization of social and environmental costs could be the single most impactful economic move of this century. Granted, this is far easier said than done, and with the entrenched nature of Business in the shortsighted world of today’s stock markets and boardrooms, this change will likely be slow and arduous at best. In the interim however, the reorientation of business thinking around creating social value rather than solely economic value is, for now, an independent decision — a decision that rests in the hands of the current leaders of global business, as well as in the hands of our generation.

Despite claims that Millennials are the most narcissistic, entitled generation in history, I like to believe that, at the very least, we are also the most sensitive to the deeply interwoven nature of our world today. We stand on the precipice of a new paradigm of global governance and socially oriented business that has the potential to utterly change the world in which we live. By marrying the hope of idealism with the grit of pragmatism, embracing a new paradigm of Social Business, and leading by example, the next generation of entrepreneurs, legislators, non-profit leaders, and professionals will hold the collective keys to our future. Whether we choose to embrace transformative change is up to us but, in forfeiting the opportunity, only we can be held responsible.