By Coro Strandberg, Chair and Co-Founder, Canadian Purpose Economy Project and Fiona Famulak, Former CEO, BC Chamber of Commerce
Social purpose is becoming a practical way to clarify direction, energize culture, and build a stronger value proposition in a noisy and competitive market.
A quiet shift is underway in how businesses understand their role in society.
Across boardrooms and shop floors, among manufacturers, retailers, and service providers alike, a new conversation is taking hold—one that asks not only how a business succeeds, but why it exists in the first place. This is the essence of social purpose in business: the reason a company exists beyond profit, and the difference it seeks to make in the world.
For years, this idea gained traction in theory and in headlines. But something different happened in British Columbia this past year: it began to take root at scale.
The BC Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Canadian Purpose Economy Project (CPEP) and supported by Coast Capital, launched an education initiative to help businesses learn about, define, and embed a social purpose. Co-developed and delivered by Mary Ellen Schaafsma—founder of Purpose Pathways Consulting and a CPEP Ambassador—the series began as a single webinar and grew into a movement, drawing over 700 participants and counting from across the province and beyond.
As the first initiative of its kind in Canada, the series provided an unprecedented opportunity for businesses to explore social purpose in a practical, accessible way.
And with it came a new window into how—and why—businesses are stepping into a purpose-led future.
Why Purpose Now?
