From Profit to Purpose: Architecting the Purpose Economy was commissioned by Cutter Consortium, an Arthur D. Little community. From Profit to Purpose: Architecting the Purpose Economy is one of a series of papers within “Scaffolding Purpose: An Infrastructure for Humanity”, the consortium’s Fall 2024 issue.
From Profit to Purpose: Architecting the Purpose Economy starts from the premise that the single-minded drive for profits in modern shareholder capitalism exacts a heavy toll on society. From Profit to Purpose: Architecting the Purpose Economy goes on to state that accelerating climate change, mounting biodiversity loss, widening inequality, and eroding public trust are among the most damaging consequences of this economic paradigm. Its focus on profit as the primary purpose of business is a threat to human and planetary well-being.
From Profit to Purpose: Architecting the Purpose Economy argues that this can be reversed. The economy can be rebuilt to foster long-term well-being for people and the planet. And fortunately, this transformation is under way.
The rest of the paper provides an overview of the germination, launch and growth of the Canadian Purpose Economy Project and the Canadian Purpose Economy. It shows how interventions in the market economy can foster a stepwise approach to reversing the profit first logic model.
From Profit to Purpose: Architecting the Purpose Economy addresses the following points:
- What is the Purpose Economy and How Did it Start?
- Social Purpose Businesses is a Global Movement
- How to Create an Enabling Environment to Activate the Purpose Economy
This paper is written in part to encourage other countries to replicate this Canadian model and accelerate the growth of the global purpose economy.
