Following on from the success of The Great AI Debate in June, we’re back with another highly topical and thought provoking subject, which promises to generate more robust conversation and lively debate. Once again, we’ve assembled a hand-picked panel of experts from a wide variety of industries, backgrounds and diverse views, this time to answer the question, ‘Is it possible for businesses to prioritise both purpose and profit?’

Background to the Great Purpose Versus Profit Debate
In the past year or so there’s been a widening of the conversation about social inequality and ethics, driven in part by the huge media interest in the impact of Generative AI, and concerns about its destructive impact on jobs, security and discrimination. Business values like equality and sustainability matter. Not just to your customers and partners but also to your current and future employees, and increasingly, businesses are being asked questions about their role in society as a whole. But alongside this, the pressure to drive profits through efficiencies or innovation remains constant. So is it possible for businesses to prioritise both profit and purpose? And if so, how?

Issues for discussion and debate with our panel of experts:

• What does business purpose mean and why is it important?
• Exploring the evolving consumer mindshift and the implications on businesses
• What are the different regulations that will enforce change on businesses
• Future-proofing your organisation against regulatory and consumer shifts - does it have to be a short-term hit for long-term gain?
• How does corporate purpose actually enable profit? How can purpose actually create competitive advantage?
• How do you integrate your purpose into your business and transformation strategy?
• Are organisations with a strong corporate purpose better at innovation and transformation?
• What is the role of disruptive tools and technologies in helping enable purpose and profit?
• How might different business values compete or conflict with each other? How do you decide which to prioritise?
• What are the challenges with tracking and measuring impact?