Well-earned contentment: Why ethics plus profits equals true prosperity
At HSBC Private Banking we believe personal prosperity is about more than pure profit. Defining your deeper ambitions and purpose, then weaving them into every aspect of your life can be rewarding in every sense of the word.
In August 2019, the influential US Business Roundtable published a landmark document. Signed by the CEOs of big-name companies representing 30 per cent of US market capitalisation, the “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” committed the signatories to leading their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers and communities) and moving away from the concept of shareholder primacy. With signatories including the CEOs of Apple and Walmart, the Statement defines a more holistic approach to improve society and focus on long-term value as essential to success1.
A sense of purpose
Companies like Microsoft, which has just been voted most ethical company in a US survey2, have long understood the importance of purpose as a driver of long-term success in business. The firm has become a global giant by applying an entrepreneurial mindset to a real-world need: making computers both easier to use and less expensive to own.
Today, with everyone from Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink talking about purpose, the concept has gone mainstream. As Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma succinctly puts it: “If you want to be big, solve big problems”.
However, it isn’t only global corporations that can benefit from such an approach. As an individual, a purpose-driven mindset can be the perfect route to both personal fulfilment and personal wealth. At this level, Ma’s comment could translate as “if you want to be truly prosperous, focus on the big issue – defining and pursuing your purpose in life”. Some concrete examples will help demonstrate what we mean by this.
A structured approach: bringing sustainability to traditional industries and companies
In a corporate world that increasingly recognises the value of purpose, following a more traditional career path doesn’t preclude pursuing social or environmental impact.
Julia Bensily is a director at Singapore-based Prime Structures Engineering, a rising star in Asia’s construction industry. The firm specialises in building envelopes – those elements of the outer shell of a building that keep the interior dry, light, at a comfortable temperature and protected from external noise. Prime Structures’ projects include the landmark Marina Bay Sands Skypark and Changi Airport Terminal 3, both in Singapore, as well as Tawau Stadium in Malaysia, the Ministry of Finance building in Brunei3 and numerous other projects across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and the Philippines.
Julia brings her ethical concerns to her role by encouraging the company’s focus on creating buildings that work with, rather than against, the environment, whether through maximising light and heat efficiency or in the sustainability of the building materials themselves.
“We started looking into how we could manufacture bricks in a different manner", says Julia. The result is an eco-friendly brick that is made out of rice husks as well as flay ash (the by-product of burning coal). "In the next 30 years I hope that the buildings we build are able not just to shield us from the external elements, but also help contribute in the renewal of it as well”.
We want to inspire our clients to make positive change in the world by taking a holistic approach to personal prosperity.
In August 2019, the influential US Business Roundtable published a landmark document. Signed by the CEOs of big-name companies representing 30 per cent of US market capitalisation, the “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” committed the signatories to leading their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers and communities) and moving away from the concept of shareholder primacy. With signatories including the CEOs of Apple and Walmart, the Statement defines a more holistic approach to improve society and focus on long-term value as essential to success1.
A sense of purpose
Companies like Microsoft, which has just been voted most ethical company in a US survey2, have long understood the importance of purpose as a driver of long-term success in business. The firm has become a global giant by applying an entrepreneurial mindset to a real-world need: making computers both easier to use and less expensive to own.
Today, with everyone from Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink talking about purpose, the concept has gone mainstream. As Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma succinctly puts it: “If you want to be big, solve big problems”.
However, it isn’t only global corporations that can benefit from such an approach. As an individual, a purpose-driven mindset can be the perfect route to both personal fulfilment and personal wealth. At this level, Ma’s comment could translate as “if you want to be truly prosperous, focus on the big issue – defining and pursuing your purpose in life”. Some concrete examples will help demonstrate what we mean by this.
A structured approach: bringing sustainability to traditional industries and companies
In a corporate world that increasingly recognises the value of purpose, following a more traditional career path doesn’t preclude pursuing social or environmental impact.
Julia Bensily is a director at Singapore-based Prime Structures Engineering, a rising star in Asia’s construction industry. The firm specialises in building envelopes – those elements of the outer shell of a building that keep the interior dry, light, at a comfortable temperature and protected from external noise. Prime Structures’ projects include the landmark Marina Bay Sands Skypark and Changi Airport Terminal 3, both in Singapore, as well as Tawau Stadium in Malaysia, the Ministry of Finance building in Brunei3 and numerous other projects across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and the Philippines.
Julia brings her ethical concerns to her role by encouraging the company’s focus on creating buildings that work with, rather than against, the environment, whether through maximising light and heat efficiency or in the sustainability of the building materials themselves.
“We started looking into how we could manufacture bricks in a different manner", says Julia. The result is an eco-friendly brick that is made out of rice husks as well as flay ash (the by-product of burning coal). "In the next 30 years I hope that the buildings we build are able not just to shield us from the external elements, but also help contribute in the renewal of it as well”.
Sourcing the future: supply chain transparency
Hong Kong-based merchandising-sourcing organisation William E. Connor & Associates Ltd, who has featured on the Ethisphere Institutes’ World Most Ethical Companies ranking for eight years running, holds integrity and complete transparency as a core value.
The business attributes its success to the high standards it applies to its supply chain, which are intended to prevent bribery and corruption. The company recently announced a partnership with Ethisphere and Omega Compliance to launch a new initiative that will promote ethics and integrity across Asia Pacific. The collaboration will host roundtable discussions and workshops into 2020. They will also capture key trends and best practices from leading companies across APAC that will be shared with the business community.
Rooted in ethics: building a business around sustainability
Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of JUST Inc, embodies the attitude of a new breed of entrepreneurs who see no conflict between seeking to make the world a better place and working with global corporations in pursuit of the solution.
JUST specialises in researching and producing plant-based alternatives to traditional foods, including mayonnaise made from Canadian yellow peas and cookie dough made from sorghum. The company’s motivations are as much about developing less resource-heavy sources of food as about animal welfare.
Feeding the world’s growing population is a major challenge: the food sector currently accounts for around 22 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions4, as well as being a major demand on land use. JUST’s products are directly aimed at addressing this issue. For example, the company claims their JUST Egg product uses 98 per cent less water, has a 93 per cent smaller carbon footprint and uses 86 per cent less land than conventional animal sources5.
“I think the biggest mistake people make is that the big companies don't care,” says Josh. "We work with the biggest food manufacturers in the world because they want to grow more and they also want to solve problems.”
JUST’s latest project belies the vegan mindset by collaborating with Wagyu beef producer Toriyama to develop cultured beef from their prized cows6. The ethics of cultured meat may be up for debate, but the potential benefit to the planet is clear, as is the democratising effect of cheap, laboratory-grown beef, which offers the rich umami taste and exquisite marbling of prime Wagyu.
A profitable portfolio: combining more and less profitable projects
Harper Reed is the data wizard widely credited with helping secure President Obama's re-election as CTO of his 2012 presidential campaign. He’s also a serial tech entrepreneur, a former Senior Director at PayPal, a board member of Keeper (a leading password manager application), a Trustee of Cornell College and a Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab, as well as being on the advisory board of the Royal United Services Institute (a defense and security think tank)7. In his spare time Harper likes to write on social issues in the tech field such as diversity and personal privacy.
Like Josh, Harper is passionate about facing down global challenges, in his case by embracing technology, data usage and fresh business models.
"We typically think about disruption as a marketing term, but I think we're actually amidst some major disruption, whether it's migrant populations or deskilling and destabilisation of different workforces. That’s going to cause us a great deal of pain unless we come together and solve some of these problems,” he says.
While Josh, Harper and Julia have taken very different paths to success, they share one thing in common – a sense of purpose that is woven into their lives. Whether you want to make your own values the focus of a business venture, invest in sustainable companies, share your knowledge and experience as a board member or trustee, or simply make your company a better place to work, focusing on purpose will be incredibly rewarding.
We want to inspire our clients to make positive change in the world by taking a holistic approach to personal prosperity. To find out more about new ideas and new opportunities, speak to your Relationship Manager, who can guide you through the ways in which we can help.
1https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redefines-the-purpose-of-a-corporation-to-promote-an-economy-that-serves-all-americans↩
2https://justcapital.com/rankings/↩
3www.primestructures.com.sg↩
4Source: undp.org↩
5Source: ju.st↩
6https://medium.com/eatjust/a-new-tradition-721e5039de4↩
7harperreed.com↩