As the first initiative of the Impact Partnership between The Hong Kong Management Association (HKMA) and Social Ventures Hong Kong (SVhk) to promote “Business with Purpose”, 15 CEOs and business leaders signed a pledge to commit to furthering purpose in action, in the hopes of inspiring others to follow suit.

Riding on the global movement made well-known by the Business Roundtable statement in 2019, the “Business with Purpose” pledge aspires to pioneer a local action-based partnership platform that blends business and societal goals towards a better collective future. The HKMA and SVhk’s commitment to incubate the platform was reinforced by findings from our inaugural “Business with Purpose” survey launched in March 2021, where over 150 business leaders were engaged and 84% of whom expressed interest in developing their organizations as a purpose-driven business. The survey also shed light on a strong demand within our business community for brainstorming and learning opportunities to overcome perceived challenges to living out purpose in business in Hong Kong. The survey will be conducted on a yearly basis so as to track and trace the development of “Business with Purpose” in Hong Kong.

The HKMA and SVhk are honoured to be joined by 15 pioneering companies in our pledge, including ABC Pathways Group, Bupa (Asia) Limited, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, Green Monday Group, HKBN Group, Hung Fook Tong Holdings Limited, INNOTIER, KPMG, LH GROUP, McDonald’s Hong Kong, Sino Group, Sunshine Laundry Group, Swire Properties Limited, TAL Apparel Limited, and Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited. Together, these businesses declare their commitment to recognize and embed P.U.R.P.O.S.E into their core business strategies, with each of the seven letters representing:

• Purpose in action: prioritize purpose in business strategy through an action-based approach;
• Universal employee development: foster a culture of inclusion, wellbeing, innovation and co-creation in the workplace;
• Responsible investing: support ESG-aligned investments, and community ventures for collective impact;
• Planet-friendly practices: develop eco-friendly workplace and infrastructures, as well as solutions to combat climate change;
• Operational impact & accountability: reinforce corporate governance, supported by impact evaluations and a shared value approach;
• Supply chain sustainability: build collective actions and partners, with the view to adopt an integrated lifecycle model; and
• Ethical consumption: facilitate a conscious consumption movement, and promote sustainable living for the next generation

Mr Helmuth Hennig, Chairman of the HKMA, said: “The era ahead of us will no longer be about choosing between purpose and profit. Instead, in order to be profitable, one must first go purposeful.”

Mr Francis Ngai, Founder and CEO of SVhk, added that “Purpose is the new Profit – it would be the ultimate reason why consumers love your brand, suppliers choose to work with you; why employees feel motivated to go the extra mile, and investors eager to support you instead of someone else with the same good prospect.”

The “Business with Purpose” pledge marked the start of a collective purpose journey for all participating organizations and the wider business community. Following the Pledge Signing ceremony, three sharing sessions were co-hosted by HKMA and SVhk as a unique forum for executives from each founding signatory company to share their perspectives on purpose from the lens of ESG, sustainable living, and people empowerment. A series of follow-on “Business with Purpose” initiatives were also announced by HKMA and SVhk in line with the platform’s “4As” approach, including a series of sustainability and ESG-related training and monthly curated seminar series on purpose business under the Academy pillar, incorporation of “Business with Purpose” to the judging criterion of HKMA’s business awards and turning the Hong Kong Sustainability Award into an annual award under the Award pillar, one-on-one social innovation lab impact consultation sessions under the Advisory pillar, and the expansion of the “Business with Purpose” network to all interested parties as part of the Advocacy pillar. All business and social leaders were also encouraged to stay tuned to new developments under three key themes including Youth, ESG, and Inclusive Employment, and support actions curated by the platform’s extended network to co-elevate the purpose movement to greater heights in the months to come.

About The Hong Kong Management Association
The Hong Kong Management Association (HKMA) was established in 1960. As a non profit making professional organization, its vision is to be the leading professional organization advancing management excellence in Hong Kong and the Region. To nurture human capital through management education and training at all levels, the Association offers over 2,000 training programmes and activities to more than 50,000 participants annually. A diverse range of programmes are provided including Bachelor, Master and Doctoral degrees offered in partnership with prestigious universities worldwide; Diploma programmes; Certificate courses; Distance Learning courses; seminars and workshops; as well as short courses for business executives and professionals. To promote best practices in management, the Association organizes eight annual business awards, which have become the highlights of the business community. The Association also provides around 13,000 members with a platform for the exchange of ideas, networking and personal development.

About Social Ventures Hong Kong
Social Ventures Hong Kong (SVhk) is an Impact Purpose Organisation committed to re-imagining a purpose-driven city. SVhk drives innovative social change for Hong Kong’s urban social challenges through pioneering impact ventures, cultivating a movement of good and orchestrating impact capital. Since its founding in 2007, SVhk has invented and incubated more than 40 social innovation projects including Light Be (empowerment housing), Green Monday (plant-based movement), and HATCH (co-working factory). SVhk is also committed to mainstreaming impact value creation through its “Business 2.0” platform and has advised a number of notable Hong Kong businesses including Airport Authority Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific, Urban Renewal Authority, Bupa Hong Kong, Hong Kong Broadband Network and Garage Society.

Jointly issued by The Hong Kong Management Association and Social Ventures Hong Kong on Monday, 26 April 2021.