From purpose to impact

Rowena Morris:

Hi everyone and welcome to this episode of our business in focus podcast. I am Rowena Morris, a director at PwC and I am your host for this episode. In my time hosting this podcast over the past year, I've heard so many stories from a huge range of business leaders, and it's really brought home to me just how many businesses are doing extraordinary things to help their people and society through the pandemic. In many ways, we are seeing business at its best, telling me stories have never seemed more important. Today, we are going to be discussing some of the inspiring ways that businesses have navigated recent challenges. I am delighted to be joined in our virtual studio today by James Rutter, Chief Creative Officer at Cook. Cook is a manufacturer and retailer of frozen ready meals and their founding statement is, ‘to cook using the same ingredients and techniques you would at home, so everything looks and tastes homemade.’ Hi there, James, how are you doing today?

James Rutter:

Hi Rowena, yeah, I am good, bit tired to be honest, be one of those periods, so I'm feeling a bit discombobulated.

Rowena:

Also, great to have Carl joined today. Carl Sizer, who is a member of our management board here at PwC and also our head of regions. How about you, Carl, how are you feeling?

Carl Sizer:

I’m great, thank you very much, Rowena. I'll try not to be discombobulated and try and keep us on track and giving some good insights.

Rowena:

I like that, we'll get a good balance between the two of you. James will kick off with you if that's all right, your website references that Cook’s purpose is all about nourishing relationships, how does that influence the way that you do business?

James:

For us, it's just recognising that all of businesses at the end of the day is a bunch of people coming together to do something collectively that they couldn't do on their own. This idea that it's all about people. That's all we are, we're a bunch of people. Then, if you take that as given, is how can you really bring those people together, the relationships between those people, and the customers they serve, and make those as positive, as good as beneficial as you can. What can you do? We tend to think of it in three different buckets, and we have this idea of nourishing works, so how can we really make sure that work has dignity and purpose. We are an interesting business in some respects and vertically integrated. That means we make food ourselves, big kitchens, we've got our own logistics of trucks around the country, we own our own shops on high streets, then we also have all the central function executing.

We've got this incredible cross section of people, 1500 to 2000 people, small by PwC standards, but big by some others. When we think about those people, how can every single person feel that they get nourished through their work, how can they have work with dignity and purpose, whether that's going to be in our kitchens, in a pot wash, or whether that's going to be on the shop floor, or whether that's going to be the central functions. What does nourishing work look like for people, really important to us. Then this idea around how can we nourish communities. The customers we interact, with the places where we are, how can the presence of Cook be a positive thing for that community, how can people really celebrate if Cook turns out with a new shop, how can we show that that is a good thing at that place and the people in that place. The third thing is obviously around nourishing planet. Everything we do has an impact on nature, and on the planet we are in. How can we try and minimise the negative as much as possible, maximise the positive. It just runs through everything we do, it sits right at the heart of our business strategy just on one page, right at the heart of it, you've got nourishing relationships with work, community and planet, and that just runs through every single thing we do, how can we make sure all our activities can be drawn back to that driving purpose.

Rowena:

I like that, I like the way that you described how it buckets up into those three things of work, communities and planet. How did you find that having that purpose has helped you to navigate the challenges that we've all experienced over the past year?

James:

I have this saying that, brands or businesses don't have purpose, people do. What that means is that you have to give people the opportunity to really witness their impact. How am I really in my role putting that purpose into action and into practice. Obviously, in the last year, there were these incredible challenges that everybody was facing and we wanted to make sure that both people felt safe, and in that sense, nourishing work, they really felt they were in a good place, but also we gave them the sense that they were doing something valuable for others as well. Right at the start of the pandemic, so back in March, I remember we sat in a team meeting, and there was a sense that look, it just had the announcement that elderly or vulnerable people should self-isolate. The people are going to be scared, people are going to be feeling lonely, isolated, vulnerable. We create this amazing product, this food that is made of love and care, that encapsulates one person or group of people looking out for somebody else. Let's just say to all our customers, if you come into a Cook shop and you happen to be looking out for a neighbour or a family member, just let us know and we'll give you a free meal, you can take that off and give it to them. That seemed like a nice thing, our shop teams loved it. Customers when they came in, we're literally overcome with that very small act. Again, it's just people being seen, being noticed.

Then obviously, as lockdowns closed in on all of us, that just wasn't going to happen, people coming through our shops were slowing to a trickle. That became this idea that we called the kindness fund, just the sense of actually how can we connect with local volunteers, local charities, local groups to get food to people, who really need it through the pandemic. That just grew in terms of each of our shops working with a few charities close to them, and it’s all just volunteers, people come into the store to get meals to people in need. We start off with this kind of target and let's try and get 100,000 meals out to people, and we ended up at the end of March with that, and catered 200,000 meals out to people, be it NHS, people working hospitals, be it isolated vulnerable, be it care homes, be it nurseries, whatever it was, how can we get our food, this nourishing meal that stands and for represents so much in terms of people looking out for each other, how can we get that into people's hands when they really need it. So, that was really the big focus for us.

Rowena:

That's an amazing story and something I imagine so many people at Cook are really proud of, like 200,000 meals delivered. Carl, I want to turn to you now, because you work with clients of all sizes. and we've heard so many different stories, just like James’ there. Could you share some of your favourite stories of businesses perhaps that have used their purpose to help their people and society navigate the pandemic too?

Carl:

Yeah, it's remarkable, isn't it really, when you think about what organisations have done through the last 12 to 18 months, that they've pivoted in part to save their own businesses, but also unarguably more important, they’ve pivoted to do the right thing from a purpose perspective. We've seen some amazing stories. One of the things we did middle of last year or so, we wanted to really celebrate some of those businesses that really did operate at their best and we worked together with the CBI, with Federated Hermes, with Regenerate, and and the School for Social Entrepreneurs, to really celebrate business at its best. We've had some absolutely phenomenal stories that have come through there, that we're celebrating online.

Just a few that I'll pull out, that is one of my favourites, is an organisation called Madlug. They are a firm that makes luggage, but their purpose is actually to provide luggage to children, and to children that are in the care system. For every bit of luggage that is acquired, they then provide another piece of luggage or a rucksack, something similar, to a child that's in care for school or for their personal belongings. There was a great situation during the year where IKEA got hold of that, saw that, and actually they bought 17,000 pieces of luggage for their employees, which then resulted in 17,000 bits of luggage and backpacks going off to children in care, a fabulous story.

We have another one, which was an organisation called LJ Myers, and that was a story we released during Deaf Awareness Week. An organisation that worked with Addenbrooke's Hospital and developed the clear face mask, which clearly is so important for those people that need to lip read which we know has been a challenge with people wearing masks during this pandemic.

Then just to bring it back to cookery, the other story that I loved was an organisation called Life Kitchen. They're a cookery school, and actually they were set up originally by two cooks. They lost their parents unfortunately to cancer, and they aim to develop recipes that help people who lost their sense of taste and smell. Now, that as we know is a well-known side effect of chemotherapy, but also a well-known side effect of COVID, and actually something I experienced myself when I had COVID earlier in the year. It is a funny experience, but they pivoted their business fabulously to actually set up socially distanced classes, and online experiences to really delve into some of the science around that, and help those who suffered, and still suffer from that loss. They delivered thousands of lessons through Zoom during the pandemic and they are really popular and really making a difference. So, some fabulous stories that people pivoting into different directions, because of the environment that they found themselves in.

Rowena:

I'll share the link to some of those at the end of this episode too, but I wanted to pick up on that point, Carl, that you make around the pandemic has made businesses think really differently about their purpose in some cases. For me reflecting on PwC, PwC’s purpose has become our guiding light through the challenges in the past year. Do you think that this renewed focus on purpose and societal responsibility will stick around long term? Maybe if that comes Carl first and then to James.

Carl:

Yeah, so there is no doubt for me that purpose really has come to the fore during this. I would say together with that values have really come to the fore as well for organisations. One of the benefits that we've seen is where organisations have a really good strong set of values, those have really helped them develop really well as they've gone into the pandemic and done remote working, because those values have meant that even though in a remote environment, when you are away from others, you are actually still doing the right thing at all times. This is going to be something that really is going to hold true, not just the values, but purpose. We've seen a massive acceleration in focus around ESG and not just the E that we've talked about, but also on social purpose. I really do think this is going to stay, it is something that enables people to have a guiding light, as you say Rowena. For us the trust and solving important problems, that is fundamental to us and will really hold us through as we move forward out of the pandemic, and then to whatever the new normal becomes.

James:

I am having a little bit of inner battle with the word purpose, because I always feel like it's we've reached peak purpose, if you know what I mean. It's almost become a bit trite, but that's not in any way shape or form to undermine its value, but I almost think that the conversation, or the focus should be moving from, ‘don't tell me your purpose, show me your impact.’ That sense in which, it’s got to get beyond words, it's got to become something meaningful, it's got to be something visible, it's got to be something you measure, is really important as we move forward. On the one hand, that's what the pandemic enabled some businesses to do, that perhaps they were struggling with before. Suddenly there was an opportunity to show what their impact could be, not just to speak to these words that might be in some nice purpose statement.

But I think in terms of where we are going to head, I genuinely believe that we are approaching, if not on, a tipping point in terms of how the role of business in society is perceived. Now, Cook, we are a certified B Corp and we have been since 2013. For those of you who don't know what a B Corp is, so it's a global movement, there's now 3700 companies globally who is certified as B Corps with by far the most robust, independent assessment of all round corporate responsibility and ethics, that we have come across. It's a really robust rubber stamp for a business that not only has purpose, but delivers impact. When we became a B Corp, 2013, we were literally I think the fourth or fifth company in the UK at that time, who had certified. As I come forward to now today, there are 500 businesses in the UK, and at that point we were by far the biggest. Now there is some much bigger than Cook, and globally there are some really big companies. Some obvious ones Patagonia; like Natura the Brazilian cosmetics group that owns the Body Shop; in the UK, Innocent, the Guardian Newspaper group. These are big businesses. That growth and B Corp certification tells me something, tells me that there really is this swell of businesses that can deliver not just a nice purpose statement, but meaningful impact, and be profitable at the same time. Again, lots of those businesses are the real leaders in their field. You just start to see that when companies can represent not only amazing business performance, but real impact, real ethical robustness as well, then it becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy that purpose, impact, responsibility will become more important in business, because it will start to be much more than a badge of success. The badge that gets you the best employees, the badge that customers look for on the shelf when they are looking for a partner. It's a hugely exciting time, the next five years could genuinely transform how business works.

Carl:

Just to build on your point there, James, actually around purpose and it becoming potentially a little trite. I completely understand what you're saying, and actually the move here is more one towards, what is the outcome, what is the thing that actually comes off the back of what the organisation has set out to do? Ultimately, we will be measured by our outcomes, what it is we actually deliver, we won't be measured by what we say. It all has to be down on the proof is in the pudding, and actually delivering on results as to things we want to do. I completely agree with you, actually. A purpose statement is a lovely guiding light, but actually it's the shift to actual outcomes that is going to really make the difference.

Rowena:

Yeah, I completely agree with that, and it feels like we've talked a lot there about the role of business in driving positive change. I am interested, maybe Carl, if you could cover off how you think businesses work together with the government to create a better future for everyone, what should people be thinking about from that perspective?

Carl:

We can't expect government to do everything on their own. We can't expect business to do everything on their own, we can't expect any organisation to do on their own, we actually have to come together as a partnership.

One of the things we've been looking at, in many locations actually across the UK, is how you can build the right ecosystem of business, local government, and academia, how can they come together to build the right outcomes in totality for society. That could be anything from skills development, social mobility, to job creation, and therefore economic growth. It's all of those components that come together to build an ecosystem to generate that the economic growth is going to make a difference. One of the things, we have talked about recently, which is exactly that coming together, an example which is in Northern Ireland, where we've worked very closely with the local government and Invest Northern Ireland, where we are working with Queen's University. That's to generate and build greater number of employees that service a certain area of the market around technology, but that then will flood into the broader economy as well. That's a great example of where, if you get to that ecosystem working right, you can do wondrous things for economic growth, in what can otherwise be a slight challenge though in terms of where they grow and develop. That for me is the ecosystem that we can create, can really make a difference.

James:

I thought I had nothing to say whatsoever about this, but suddenly a thought popped into my head, I do, because there is a campaign going on at the minute called the Better Business Act. About 600 companies signed up, and this is about changing out, and again, I am reading this from my note, section 172 of the UK Companies Act. Basically, changing that simple bit of law to make it that any company in the UK is not just responsible for maximising profit, which is what is true today, but is also responsible for the impact of their business on both the communities where they operate, and the environment. It's basically a very simple law change, that would mean every business, big or small, has to take responsibility for their impact on the world. If you are talking about, what can we do in terms of government and business working together, we can simply change a little bit of regulation and make companies take explicit responsibility not just for their bottom lines, but also for the impact they have on society more broadly.

Carl:

We will see to exactly your point around section 172, and some of the requirements that directors need to put out there in financial statements. We will see quite a shift over the coming years, probably even shorter than that actually, as to what people are talking about in terms of social purpose, social responsibility, because it has become, as I said earlier that acceleration. People do want to talk about what they are doing in society and actually I am seeing when talking to my clients, that the conversations around ESG, and all components of ESG, not just environment, but actually how they want to talk about what they are doing differently in their communities. They are really wanting to talk about those things because actually the investor base is positioning people in different places as well. Not only are they wanting to do the right thing in that community, it plays to a need to do it anyway because investors are expecting that, customers are expecting that. Actually, there's a congruence here in everyone wanting to head in the right direction, and we need to just make sure that all of the different components around government legislation, around business desire, all go in the same way, so that actually we do get to those positive outcomes that we were talking about.

Rowena:

Carl, we touched on this, just before recording, where we were talking about how life is starting to look a little bit more normal here in the UK, but it's clear there's still challenges ahead for businesses, so interested from both of you, what advice would you give to help leaders navigate this landscape with confidence?

Carl:

Happy to kick that off Rowena. We are starting to get a bit closer to normal. I suspect there will be some more bumps in the road, as they have been very recently around that. I am managing to get back into the office a bit more now and I must say I am feeling a real difference and a buzz off the back of that, just interacting with people in that physical way again. But most importantly through this, what we've learned is being authentic, being open, being honest about how you're feeling and accepting the fact that sometimes we all have ups and downs in the environment we are in, is one of the massive challenges but it's actually the thing that has connected people. We've broken different walls and barriers down. As leaders in business, this is a chance for us to reset slightly to open up more to our people, to our customers, and just be more authentic in what we do. We've learned the importance of really looking after our teams, really looking after our people, and that's another piece that will sustain. We need to make sure that sustains, we need to hold ourselves to account for that, but that comes down to the underpinning of wanting to do the right thing by our people, by our clients, by our communities, whatever it might be, but that as a core value, we will sustain as long as we hold that true through the coming months and years as we come out the other side, and face whatever consequences come through. Those will be strong and enduring values that will make a difference.

James:

Yeah, I agree with Carl to be perfectly honest, and going right back to where we began a little bit. All a business is, is a bunch of people. I would say, from what I have seen and experienced, the businesses that have navigated the past 12 to 14 months best have been the ones that actually had great cultures, great relationships with their people, were already really looking after their people. The world is going to get no more certain, it's not like uncertainty is going to disappear with, touchwood, the end of the COVID pandemic. The uncertainty is going to hit you from all sides. You've just got to be in a position of really being able to trust the people you work with. Really, it's just like an echo chamber. There's all kinds of ways we can all do that in terms of authenticity, in terms of genuine caring for people looking at other people, but then you just, for a moment, pause and think about that, all we are doing, is working with a bunch of other people to achieve something together. How can we make sure that people we are with are going to really be supportive of us in our time of need, and us equally of them in their time of need, and whether that's collective or individual, if we can all genuinely look out for each other a bit more, we will have much better businesses, much better communities, and a much better society as a result.

Rowena:

That's an excellent summary, thank you James and thank you Carl so much for joining for that fascinating conversation. That's it for another episode of Business in Focus. Thanks everyone for listening. If you have an inspiring story to share, whether you're a business, social enterprise, employee, or customer, we would love to hear from you. If you fill out our quick and simple form at pwc.co.uk/business-at-its-best, it will be great to hear from you. Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to keep up to date with future episodes. Thanks everyone and stay safe.

Participants

• Rowena Morris
• James Rutter
  
• Carl Sizer