Companies – Profit or Social Good

Only their financial growth.  Nigeria

Unfortunately, concern for profit maximization will be the dominant theme on a macro level. United States

We have seen with the recent layoffs what a lot corporations value, and that is profit.  United States

Behemoth companies will prevail. Always follow the money. Canada

The corporations, especially conglomerate, will be more powerful in the future, becoming a true new pillar of power mapping, together with government. They will harvest more resources, hence financial goals will remain their primary focus. China

A company will always put profit before environmental aspirations. Most organisations only initiate action when attention is brought to their shortcomings, they are not as devoted to carbon neutral as they are their bottom line. United Kingdom

There is an increase in ESG actions by part of the society, but investors will continue to favor short term economical results. Brazil

Growth is driving countries and organizations. I can’t see how that will be reversed. There will be some organizations more towards social impact but insignificant. Singapore

Sadly, despite much talk, corporations will continue to pursue financial goals and return to shareholders.  The examples of a Patagonia or B Corp are too far and few between. United States

I think it depends on the industry you look at. Shareholders remain key to many corporates and industries but there also is a growing number of b-corps. Netherlands

(Social impact) …only as far as it impacts the competitive and financial sustainability of the company. Regulatory fines and reputational risk are lagging controls to make sure social impact is on the agenda and active, but I cannot see the latter superseding the former for a For Profit enterprise. Netherlands

Companies were beginning to shift towards social responsibility, values and goals such as sustainability – but since the pandemic, it feels like they have retreated more into finance-focus again; this is evidence by the restoring boom of oil and gas, banking and so on, parallel to the decline of hospitality, high street retail, etc. United Kingdom

The underlying tenets of capitalism would first have to change before social goals dominate. Canada

They will focus on the financial goals, for high personal benefit never for social impact ” Capitalist World”. Rwanda

The concept of Monetization is the dominant paradigm where everything that matters is converted into money. Social impact goals struggle converting to $$. So bad they don’t even show up on the Income, Balance Sheet, Cashflow statement. You need a separate ESG report which politicians (eg. US Republicans) attack. Canada

It’s a long way With economic uncertainty financial goals will be primary while posturing would continue on SDG. India

I foresee marginal improvements to comply with regulations & social expectations. But if capitalism as a system stays in place as is, financial goals will always come first. France

Capitalism is the worst form of economics devised by man – except for all the other ones. The market forces in capitalism push profit over most other things and this closely aligns with the personal values present in many humans.  We think of ourselves first. Taken in moderation, this can be just fine.  Taken to extreme selfishness, you get runaway capitalism and corruption, which is very difficult to reverse.  In other communistic or socialistic systems, the initial and purported values are much less selfish, but the corruptive pressures of leadership can be even greater, leading to worse situations. The self-preservation of the leadership takes precedence over any collective value to be shared by the masses.  In general, capitalism will keep progressing, but along with it, there may be cases of excess greed that relegate efforts for broader positive social impact to the back burner. United States

Social impact has been is and will be lip service. It’s hard to play real ball in emotionless entities that organizations are. There will of course be a few outliers. Canada

Clearly: finance is still the biggest focus. Of course, as always, there will be a lot of greenwashing. Netherlands

Will claim social impact but it will be mere greenwashing.  India

Hard to generalise but most large corporations don’t show any signs of placing greater importance on social impact except for greenwashing in their marketing material. Belgium

Social impact is still a marketing stunt. Majority of organizations promise a lot, but hardly accomplish as such.  Making a difference is subordinate to making profit. Netherlands

This can be seen already: The organization will do as much as they can to be CONSIDERED as socially responsible, because otherwise they could lose their good reputation. But most of such activities will be ostensible only and their primary goals will remain purely financial. Czech Republic

For profit businesses will think about social impact for as much it optimizes profit. If not needed then social impact will be an afterthought (like we see the trend today of less DEI, less WFH despite all the positive vibes when it was needed to keep personnel on board). United States

I see this as a mix – the companies of today pushing for social impact are generally operating against thinly veiled financial goals rebranded as social impact. Maybe I’m just cynical, but I don’t see this changing, particularly in a post-truth environment. United States

There will be some authentic social impact initiatives and a lot of “social impact washing”. Ireland

There is a chance that ideas of kickstarter companies, those that harness masses for an outcome may come into play but on the whole companies will be driven by profit.  Social achievements will be tied towards branding and possibly reputation for the attraction of better resources (more favourable government trust) but in the whole investors will still require returns and therefore profit is increased.  Australia

It is still going to be about profit, but it will increasingly be difficult for profiteers to hide. Organisations working for social impact will become known for doing things better. United Kingdom

With the rise of social media accountability, with all its warts and drawbacks, firms are more in the public eye than ever before.  So if not altruistically, then pragmatically, firms will mind their social impact. Canada

It seems to be shifting to social impact. Not so much because of their desire,  but hiring good people is tough in a tight market when the best employees seem to be leaning to companies that have social / sustainability impacts. United States

They will gradually give more attention to their social responsibility – a movement that is ongoing for about 20 years and accelerating – but 20 years (1 generation) is insufficient to achieve the shift.  Belgium

I do think this will shift because people ultimately decide who they work for and people seem to be making better choices towards ethical companies.  United Kingdom

(By 2043)… social impact will be high on the agenda of all organizations. Hong Kong

I’d be shocked if there was a sea change, but there may be some pressure to focus on social impact. Canada

Survival depends on it. We are living in multiple crises, the trend will continue. The learning curve might appear slow from a short time perspective but in fact, as a society, we are changing fast from a long-term perspective.     We are in the middle of a learning process where the trend and social acceptance are already building up in the direction of social impact.     The rise in awareness and human-planetary consciousness also supports that. Germany

Companies Will be forced to share their profits and take care of their employees and their communities in order to survive. Sweden

I see this as a necessity as more social problems occur. Canada

Doing good is becoming a corporate mantra. As a result corporations would get involved with social impact courses. Nigeria

As more and more companies are focusing on sustainability, their financial goals are bound to go hand-in-hand with the social impact they come with. It would be interesting to see when and how the companies will realize this! India

With people becoming more and more aware, I believe the focus will shift to being environmentally conscious first. India

The companies that go long term and social will be the long-term survivors of the economy. Netherlands

Social impact will grow. Ultimately money drives, but people will be changing their habits towards organizations that have a positive social impact. Switzerland

We are already seeing the importance being attached to ESG. This will continue. Organizations will react to shareholder pressures. India

Organisations are attempting to tick the box on social impacts and climate change but their underlying ethos has to be financial gain for their investors or board.  Some companies are growing so quickly they are not financially viable so a tight line to traverse. Australia

In the end a company is there to make money. Without money there are no salaries etc. Having said that, some companies will shift more to value-based but in the end with the current system the world has, there must be money to pay salaries, build new products etc. Austria

Financial performance sustains the organization, but cannot be at the expense of society – holding industries accountable for their own waste streams will happen whether through government regulation, consumer activism, or some combination of the two. The weighting will still favor finances to ensure businesses remain going concerns, but social impact will occupy nearly equal footing. United States

They will retain a balance. They will especially focus on promoting association with social impact. India

I think certain groups will heavily focus on finances and look after themselves while other groups will see the benefit of social health and well being. South Africa

I think it will be a 60-40 financial-social ratio. Nigeria

There is already conscious effort towards achieving a balance so maybe in 20 yrs we might get to see a larger shift towards Social. United Kingdom

Luckily social impact has a direct impact on financial goals! Australia

The companies will still focus on finance, but with the growing impact of society on organizations, the organizations will be more responsible. Netherlands

Great question. I lean towards profit motives, but I hope consumers vote with their wallets- forcing companies to respond. United States

I think we’ll see a slow shift towards social impact but it will occur when consumers demand it, I am following my 21 year-old daughter’s lead in this. United States

Organisations will probably be last to adopt real social goals – only after customers insist on it. Australia

In as much as organizations will be focused to achieving their financial goals, there will be an increased focus on social impacts because people are becoming more inclined to brands that they perceive to have their interest at heart. Nigeria

The consumer will force those that haven’t understood it. Denmark

We are seeing many organisations large and small putting importance on social and environmental impact and there is a pressure from society to show this. Australia

Social impact will increase due to social pressure of new generations. Brazil

Newer generations are purported to be more concerned about the importance of values and purpose than previous generations. i suspect this was always there but not visible or acted on – ease of moving jobs perhaps enabled by remote work (in many but not all occupations) can lead to ease of moving if the current employer does not live up to their promise. United Kingdom

Younger consumers will increasingly vote with their wallets forcing companies to be more socially inclined. United States

Based on current trends, the younger generations’ preference for purpose-driven brands suggests that social goals will become imperative to achieve financial goals.  South Africa

I put my faith in the next generations. Germany

I think to meet the aspirations of new generations there will be a shift to social value but still the main focus of organisations will be to enable them to survive and grow. However we may well look to make a profit that is comfortable but doesn’t look to over maximise profit. United Kingdom

Young people will soon want to work only at organizations that also want to make a social impact. Working only for money no longer provides appreciation. Enriching shareholders while staff earn too little is no longer acceptable. Companies will become communities that want to achieve a higher goal together and where everyone is valued and rewarded fairly. Netherlands

I feel a growing, socially mindful demographic will demand more from organisations. Governments might respond to this by making more demands of businesses to support socially responsible activities. Netherlands

With the increasing pressure of public opinion and the clear need to collectively act against climate change, social and financial goals will have to be fully balanced. Auditing abilities on the matter will have reached maturity and, beyond shareholders, unbiased panels of citizens will get to vote for or against the annual reports/resolutions of major companies, at least for a proportion of the decision weight. United Arab Emirates

By 2043 corporate “performance” based primarily on extraction, carbon producing practices will have been transitioned to a “green” based valuation – and produce financial results based on a “green” bottom line, that is taken into account the cost of doing business, including to some degree externalities.  This will drive companies to invest in clean energy transition, and more local, rather than global models of production.  There will be new limits on the financialization of the economy as well.  Each financial transaction will now include a transaction price (like credit card transactions, but much smaller), driving up the cost of those transaction dampening the speculative hyper trading and passing on the transaction cost to government and social society. United States

organizations will be forced to show their social license to operate. India

Social impact will always be secondary unless mandated by law. India

I see a possible trend for companies to work more on their overall impact (social, environmental…). But this will take time and strong mindset shift from financial community. France

Governments are failing and businesses will have to step up. United Kingdom

Mixed, narrow self interest is still a  big driver, until financial drivers are changed. No more shareholder value.  United Kingdom

Impact investing, sustainability, the concept of business as a force for good are changing the way business will impact stakeholders, as opposed to a narrow focus on shareholder value creation. India

Balancing financial goals with social responsibility is a strong trend in Scandinavia now (as opposed to just a few years ago) I hope it will continue to grow. Denmark

I think social impact will be increasingly important as the impacts of climate change become more pronounced and harder to deny.  United States