Last week Business Roundtable, a lobbying group composed of the nation’s leading CEOs, including Apple’s Tim Cook and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, announced a decision to change the definition of the “purpose of a corporation” from solely making money for its shareholders to having a commitment that its actions benefit all stakeholders, including its shareholders, of course, but also including its employees, communities, and the environment.
The Business Roundtable’s decision was huge news, however, the change isn’t legally binding, which means right now it’s just really good PR, Fast Company reports.
There’s already another group of thousands of companies doing what the Business Roundtable announced last week it would work toward. The B Corporation movement is committed to delivering value to all stakeholders, not just their shareholders, and have gotten legislation passed that allows them to be legally certified as such.
The B Corporation is now imploring Business Roundtable companies to join its movement and get certified by them, which, would mean that the Business Roundtable’s new “purpose of a corporation” definition would need to be made legally binding. Read the full story.
