The new 'Decade of Purpose'

“The past decade was the decade of convenience. The coming decade will be the decade of purpose. The companies that will be formed will have purpose at their core and some of them might make it their business." Stephane Kurgan, Index ventures.

In the last decade, we saw the rise of convenience driven companies like Amazon, Uber and Airbnb. They all share a common goal: make a product that is easier, faster and cheaper than what existed before. However, the next decade will be about purpose. How does your company go beyond profit, so that it delivers value at a societal and environmental level?

This is crucial to attracting the next generation of consumers and employees.

The next generation buy purpose

A McKinsey study characterised Gen Z (born between 1995 - 2010) as 'True Gen.' They care about environmental and social issues, and use their consumption as an expression of their own identity. A 2017 study of Gen Z behaviour from ConeComm also found that '89% would rather buy from a company supporting social and environmental issues over one that does not.'

Even die-hard capitalists have started to recognise this shift in behaviour. Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase recently announced that companies should put social responsibility above profit - a massive shift from the pure profit driven approach that existed before. Doing 'good' is no longer on the fringes of company decisions, it is starting to become embedded within everyday strategy. This is crucial to ensuring the long term growth of revenues.

The next generation need purpose in their work

Talent is the lifeblood of a company and is important in the overall success of the business. However, 64% of people now consider a company’s environmental impact when deciding where to work. More environmental and purpose driven companies are attracting the best of the next generation.

It's not just about attracting the right talent, but also retaining it. 83% of the current workforce would be more loyal to a company that helps them contribute to social and environmental issues. The Society for Human Resource Management found that the average cost of hiring a new employee is just over $4,000 and takes over 40 days to fill a position. This means that it can become an expensive issue if people are leaving due to your environmental and social policies.

Transitioning to a purpose driven company

We're excited about helping companies transition to the decade of purpose. We've launched products that are tailor made for your business and help you embed purpose into your business.

Our easy to use tool allows your company to understand your company's environmental impact and invest in projects that reduce it. With the Dodo dashboard you can track your emissions over time, and publish your company's efforts to become a more mission driven organisation.

If you're interested in getting started, get in touch with us at hello@dodo.eco!