CEOs say they value more than money

The leaders of top corporations in the United States say they are shifting away from a “shareholder first” mentality. The Business Roundtable on Monday released a statement signed by 181 CEOs from companies such as Amazon, Apple, American Airlines, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Ford, Goldman-Sachs, IBM, NASDAQ, and Walmart. It highlights the corporations’ responsibility toward customers, employees, suppliers, and local communities rather than just investors.

What is the Business Roundtable? The association of CEOs has released various statements on the “principles of corporate governance” since 1978. Up until now, all of them have said a corporation’s primary responsibility is to generate value for its shareholders. The statement is not binding on the signatories, whose companies together employ more than 15 million people with a collective $7 trillion in annual revenue.

Dig deeper: Read Russ Pulliam’s report for WORLD Magazine on a Christian business owner who chose to pursue more than profits. From our archives, WORLD editor in chief Marvin Olasky explores some of the downsides of corporations trying to influence social values.