In this module we'll take a deeper dive to explore how for-profit businesses create positive social and environmental impact. So, in the first module I focused on purpose driven leadership. Leadership guided by a personal sense of purpose, why you exist, the difference you want to make in the world, the overarching goal that fills you with determination and commitment. We're going to shift focus in this module to focus less on leaders and more on businesses. And we'll take a look at how exactly do businesses create positive and social impact. And this will lead us naturally to the final two modules of this course. In the next module I'll focus on impact measurement, how businesses and other organizations can evaluate the extent to which they actually create the impact, the positive outputs, outcomes, and impact they hope to make. So that will be the next module. And then in the final module, you'll hear about impact investing, investing in companies that create positive social and environmental impact and make a profit. And I'm delighted that my colleague Professor Chris Gates is going to teach the last module on impact investing. In this module, I'm excited that I'm going to be joined by my colleague Nick Ashburn. Nick is the Senior Director of Impact Investing within the Wharton Social Impact Initiative. And Nick and I will be talking about a number of specific companies and how they drive social impact. The question how do businesses drive impact may raise some questions in your mind. For those who price clarity and like precise definitions, I'm one of those people, a key question may be, ''Well what exactly do you mean by impact, and specifically social impact?'' For those who maybe have a healthy respect for traditional business, a question may come to mind that is, ''Well, wait a minute. Don't all businesses drive social impact? Are you denying the positive social impact of traditional business?'' And then, I suppose, there's a third question for those who are more skeptical about business and that may be, ''Wait a minute. Non-profits have a positive social impact. Governments might too, but business, what are you talking about?'' So, let me offer answers to those three questions before we dig into how exactly businesses create impact. So, what do I mean by impact, specifically social impact? In the first module I highlighted three ways in which businesses create social and environmental impact. So first, they may reduce environmental challenges and threats. Second, they meet individuals basic needs, they may help overcome poverty, they may meet individuals basic needs for food, for safety, for shelter. And third, they may ensure fair and equal opportunity for education, employment, personal growth, learning, and so on. And it turns out that these three broad goals align really well with the UN, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. So, that kind of reinforces the importance of these goals. The UN provides 17 sustainable development goals. Goals that, if we can achieve these goals by 2030, we'll end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. So these are goals like no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, and so on. To me that's social impact. So, social impact is about reducing environmental threats, meeting basic human needs, ensuring equal opportunity, and working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. All right, so that was my first question that I thought might come to your mind, what's impact. A second question for those of you who know a lot about traditional business, have a lot of respect for traditional business, may be, ''Wait a minute. Don't all businesses have social impact? Are you denying the positive social impact of traditional business?'' And the answer to that is, yes, no question. Businesses, traditional profit maximizing businesses, play a vital role in society and they do have a positive impact. They create work, they create products and services, they innovate, they employ people. Absolutely, they have tremendous impact. So, that I take as a given. It's also the case that many traditional businesses do harm too. They may fail to pay a living wage, they may discriminate in hiring and promotion, they may pollute, and they may have work environments or products that are not safe. So absolutely, I recognize, and I think everyone at Wharton would recognize the positive impact of traditional for-profit profit maximizing businesses, while recognizing that these businesses may also have some harmful effects. So what about the flip side? Why am I focusing on the social impact of business? Why are we not highlighting non-profits and governments as well? Does business really have a strong social impact? This may be a question for those of you who are more skeptical about business. And here I would say there's no question that governments and non-profits play a vital role in tackling the world's greatest challenges. But government resources, non-profit resources are really strapped and we need business to step in and play a role. And increasingly, that's what we expect of business. There's an evolving sense that businesses can play a role, and must play a role in solving social issues. Philanthropy can't play that role alone. Government cannot play that role alone. So, that's what we'll be focusing on in this course. What does it actually look like when companies create positive impact and how did they do so?
