“A set of profound societal challenges threatens to upend the long-term operating context for many global businesses,” warn the business leaders. “CEOs need to be thinking about these, even as they currently shy from the public stage”
debate about the societal role of business is currently generating far more heat than light. Angry attacks on environmental, social and governance activities by companies have been mounting from both those on the left and right-wingers .s who once happily pronounced publicly on big societal issues, sometimes even usefully, are now more hesitant to do so, for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.
Governments are struggling to respond to these issues. But the response of the private sector, for all the well-meaninginitiatives, is also inadequate. Voluntary action to reduce carbon emissions, for example, is patchy. Many firms’ global supply chains remain largely unrestructured. Big tech’s attempts to curb the societal ill-effects of new technologies are flimsy. Western multinationals profess support for democracy but have done little to bolster public trust in democratic institutions.
Third, recognising their limitations, companies should look to support and mobilise more powerful coalitions, with governments at the core, to help tackle the critical issues. The rationale should be protecting the long-term foundations of the business, not signalling virtue. It is true that themovement has already spawned an array of voluntary “multi-stakeholder initiatives”. However, many of these are loosely defined and lack government enforcement. Their impact has been mixed.
Deeper thinking is needed on geopolitical divisions, too. It would probably lead companies to step up their efforts to make supply chains more resilient. While careful not to overstep their legitimate role,s would also engage more with governments as bridge-builders to reduce the risk of international conflict.
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