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‘Now is the time for Purpose – Putting Purpose at the Heart of Scottish Business’

Scotland CAN B’s statement on the recommendations outlined in the Business Purpose Commission for Scotland final report

28 June 2022

Over the past 6 months a joint commission between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) has been undertaken “to make recommendations for how Scotland can become known at home and globally for nurturing purposeful businesses which make a positive impact on economic prosperity, social wellbeing, and environmental sustainability.” The Commission’s final report, published today, marks a significant and exciting step forward in Scotland’s progress towards building a nationwide culture of business as a force for good.

Scotland CAN B was delighted to be invited to give evidence and cooperate alongside many other key stakeholders as part of the Commission’s process, and is hopeful that dialogues already underway with the Scottish Government, the Enterprise Agencies, and other business intermediaries across Scotland will continue so that together we can establish the proportionate wrap-around infrastructure to support the implementation of a number of the impactful and potentially transformative recommendations outlined in the Commission’s final report into action.

A summary of Scotland CAN B’s highlights and reflections on the Commission’s report findings: 

  • Scotland CAN B celebrates the Business Purpose Commission’s bold vision that “by 2030, all businesses in Scotland will have become purposeful businesses which profit from finding solutions for people and planet” and the alignment of these ambitions with CAN B’s own Theory of Change. 

  • Scotland CAN B welcomes the Commission’s identification of the Impact Journey methodology as an established, consistent, and rigorous framework to support businesses to measure, manage, and improve their impact performance.

  • Scotland CAN B is delighted to see the Commission recommend that local government and regional networks build on the recently launched Everyone’s Edinburgh Business for Good programme (established by CAN B in collaboration with Edinburgh City Council, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Edinburgh Napier Business School, and others), and looks forward to working with partners to expand CAN B’s place-based work into other cities and regions across Scotland.

  • Scotland CAN B echoes the Commission’s recommendation for the evolution of the Scottish Business Pledge from a one-off commitment, into a journey of ongoing impact improvement and accountability, and would warmly welcome the opportunity to work with the Scottish Government to support the implementation of this reform.

  • Scotland CAN B applauds the Commission’s strong recommendation and call for the UK Government to amend company law and change section 172 of the Companies Act in line with the proposed legislation by the Better Business Act coalition, which would legally oblige every company in the UK to align their interests with those of all their stakeholders and ensure that businesses become accountable for their social and environmental impact. 

In conclusion, Scotland CAN B is heartened and encouraged to see the clear intention outlined within the Business Purpose Commission’s report to streamline, build on, invest in, and scale existing work to date towards mainstream adoption of a culture of business purpose in Scotland. The report is a thorough and wide-reaching analysis into the work required to nuture business purpose in Scotland, and will serve as a valuable resource for many years to come. Its publishing comes at a powerful time when there is a unique window for Scotland to provide leadership in this space, and it supports Scotland CAN B in continuing and deepened in its commitment to playing a leading role in accelerating Scotland’s transition to a purposeful business nation and leveraging the powerful role of Scotland’s businesses in creating a fairer, greener wellbeing economy for Scotland.