On the anniversary of Milton Friedman’s prophetic—and now contentious—statement that the sole social responsibility of a business is to produce a profit, we spoke with one of the foremost champions of the B Corp movement. 

B Corps, of course, are businesses built to drive returns for the “triple bottom line” by balancing

purpose and profit. To talk about the movement, the future of purpose-driven business, and how things have changed since the Friedman days, we welcome Chris Marquis, PhD, a professor at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and expert on the B Corp movement. 

Be sure to pick up a copy of his newly-released book, Better Business: How the B Corp Movement is Remaking Capitalism.

Listen for Marquis insights on:

• Why and how the B Corp movement started, and how it has evolved—today encompassing 3,522 companies representing 150 industries, across 74 countries
• Why pursuing the triple bottom line is better for business, and how companies large and small, global and local, are focusing or refocusing operations, culture, and innovation on it
• How business, capitalism, and stakeholder relationships have changed since Friedman’s statement, and what the future holds for companies that commit to serve all stakeholders—not just shareholders

Links & Notes

• About Chris Marquis
• Certified B Corporations
• Marquis’ Published Research
• Book: Better Business

• (00:00) - Welcome to Purpose 360