Influential economistMilton Friedman famously said, "There is one and only one responsibility of business: to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits."
But in a world recovering from COVID-19, grappling with war, climate change, ecological destruction and human rights, profit alone cannot be the sole objective of companies.
COVID-19强调社会不平等现象
刚从全球经济衰退的破坏性影响中脱颖而出，大流行加剧了已经深深的不平等现象，并使数百万人陷入了贫困。妇女，贫穷，老年人，残疾人，土著人民和移民等弱势群体受到最严重的打击，在获得食品，医疗保健和住房方面的不安全感越来越不安全。
同时，富人变得更加富裕，世界上最富有的人的价值与整个贫困人口一样多 - 等于某些人3.6 billionpeople.
面对大流行期间健康，贫困和孤立危机的直接危机，许多政府加紧起来发挥更大的作用，要么是遏制过度市场行为的监管机构（例如，不负责任的贷款促成了2008年经济衰退），要么是金融的提供者在锁定期间对财务需要的人提供帮助。
Indeed, the response to COVID-19 has been a playbook for business purpose and private-public collaboration, from companies helping out in the community to state participation in vaccine development and roll-out.
The response to COVID-19 has been a playbook for business purpose and private-public collaboration.
But there’s a growing feeling amongst consumers, investors and employees that this cannot be a temporary response and that private business must continue to play a bigger role in building a fairer society — one that looks beyond just making money.
而且，在数字时代，公司无法忍受24/7的审查，因此无法躲避职责。例如，在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的几分钟内，有关公司与俄罗斯联系的详细信息在社交媒体上发布。随着战争的进行，一位耶鲁大学教授甚至发布了list of major companies继续在俄罗斯运作，给他们施加压力。
Across the entire environmental, social and governance (ESG) spectrum, corporations are being exposed for carbon footprint, pollution, waste, lack of diversity and modern human slavery.
Employing ESG reporting for forging a new 'social contract'
确定这里的业务不是新的辩论，但是目的问题近年来更为重要。
Three centuries ago, philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau described the notion of a"social contract"— an agreement by the people on the rules and laws by which they are governed, for the good of all society.
最近，为了应对数字革命和“零工经济”的不确定的工作条件，学术米奇·沙菲克（Minouche Shafik）提出了一个new social contractbetween business, government and workers.
她认为，迫切需要提供更大的工作保障，以帮助适应经济冲击和自动化，并更加公平地征税资本和人们。
This follows acclaimed works on inequality by the likes of Thomas Piketty, eschewing economic liberalism andurging greater collaboration between companies and nations，使用贸易工会和渐进税的工具，设定了受强烈监管管辖的可持续和公平发展的“更高目标”。
这些想法不是反对利润的论点，而是关于如何赚取利润，以更好地解决不平等和不安全感，更均匀地共享经济增长并保护后代的地球。
Measuring social impact through ESG reporting
ESG reporting is an idea that’s gathering pace, as companies start to disclose the non-financial impact of their activities and demonstrate that they are earning profit in a more purposeful way.
Firstly, it provides evidence of the commitment to ESG targets and values, by documenting carbon footprint, energy efficiency, pollution, human rights and diversity and inclusion, within the organization and across the supply chain.
ESG reporting requirements are quickly shifting from voluntary to mandatory, with companies under pressure to show how they’re improving people’s lives, tackling inequality, paying a living wage and contributing to the environment — as well as documenting how they’re mitigating negative outcomes.
其次，它确保了利益相关者，管理层了解暴露于气候变化，企业行为差和稀缺资源的效率低下的风险，并正在努力使业务更具弹性。尤其是资产管理人员越来越需要证明可持续业务战略的证据，并且在做出投资决策时正在使用ESG指标。
通过将这些“外部性”与传统指标相结合，例如原材料，劳动力，正在进行的工作和销售收入，公司可以对其带来的价值进行更现实的计算。
第三，它认识到投入和产出的真实成本，例如碳排放，污染，用水，森林砍伐，生物多样性损害，对工人的待遇不良和对社区的干扰，并将其建立在“三重底线”中的“三重底线”，人和人员，人和星球。
通过将这些“外部性”与原材料，劳动力，进步和销售收入等传统指标相结合，公司可以对其带来的价值进行更现实的计算。
保持可持续不仅意味着要考虑额外的费用；它也可以解锁隐藏值。采用循环商业模型，该模型可以保留自然资源（包括水），减少浪费，实现更大的可重复性和回收利用，并有助于生物多样性。
Other ways to create value for society include creating jobs, improving citizens’ lives, generating tax and contributing to infrastructure, health and education — all of which can be expressed in financial terms.
政府和商业的共同目的
Unlike the private sector, governments have typically measured their effectiveness in terms of wider population outcomes such as health, education, housing, employment and poverty. As companies look beyond financial profits and take a societal view of their purpose, the goals of government and business should align more closely.
Of course, companies continue to be driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and fuelled by private capital. However, the growing focus on purpose — along with increased state regulation over working conditions, sustainability and societal impact — could bring governments and enterprises together with a shared goal to produce a better, more equal, greener society.
The sheer size and reach of the world’s largest companies give them immense power to be a force for positive change.
Given the enormity of the climate change challenge, and the need to reduce inequality and hold back the rising tide of social unrest, such a "social contract" — enabled by ESG reporting — may ultimately herald a new era of capitalism that is kinder to people and the planet, while still generating prosperity.
