There is no compromise necessary when it comes to delivering strong business performance and creating social impact. Research by BCG and others, as well as our experience working with clients across industries, has shown that private sector companies can advance progress on critical social issues while also improving competitive strength. This is the power—and the promise—of socially transformative business.
The real question is how companies can turn that promise into a reality. In our work with clients, we find that the most successful companies identify where their purpose, strategy, and material business needs align and overlap with the ability to address a critical social need.
This alignment can occur across the business value chain. Some companies find that new products and services can benefit society—for example, increasing health equity or financial access—while also helping their business thrive. Other businesses find new talent pools in disadvantaged populations, providing economic opportunities and improving outcomes for those communities—and in doing so, they see increases in employee retention and productivity.
Others create inclusive supply chains, reducing their business risk and enhancing their reputation while helping ensure global human rights and improving the lives of communities in need. These are socially transformative businesses—companies with strategic social-impact initiatives that are built on a solid business case and executed at scale.
We spoke with several BCG experts about how companies can seize the opportunity to become socially transformative. They showcased success stories involving nearly all aspects of the corporate business model, including the customers served, the markets in which a company operates, and the way the supply chain is managed.
Certainly, the details of the social impact delivered, and the competitive advantage gained, vary by industry and company. Yet these examples all underscore the same truth: a powerful business case has emerged for strategic social impact.
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Partner & Associate Director, Socially Transformative Business
Singapore
Partner
Milan
