Bosses and Activists Agree: Businesses Need to Focus on People’s Well-Being, Not Only Profits

An annual conference in London, England last month brought together business leaders and activists, urging companies to think beyond profit and highlighting the importance of social responsibility.

“The purpose of a company is to profitably solve the problems of people on the planet,” explains Lynn Forester de Rothschild, founder of the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism, a charity encouraging economic and social inclusion. “As consumers, we can create a race for the top for companies that have proven themselves on gender equality and the sustainable development goals.”

The conference, organized by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, encouraged companies to tackle inequalities – such as the gender pay gap or disability stigmas – as part of a global push towards what is called “well-being economies”.