What did you leave in your inbox at your last job?
Our client logged into his ex-employee’s inbox to recover a file. What he found exposed a bullying manager, an unowned domain, and a marketing stack he no longer controlled.
It’s no longer just about whether your business makes money.
It’s about how you make it — and what’s left in your wake.
The traditional approach to profit has long been defined by what lands on the bottom line. Revenue in, costs out. Efficiency above all else. Shareholders served first.
But in recent years, a shift has taken hold. One that goes beyond greenwashing and corporate platitudes. One that’s quietly redefining what makes a business successful, resilient, and investable.
That shift? The understanding that purpose and profit aren’t at odds — they’re intertwined. And that people and planet aren’t soft metrics — they’re strategic ones.
Consumers aren’t who they used to be. Nor are employees. Nor are investors.
A generation ago, a brand could weather controversy or questionable ethics with little more than a brief public apology and a polished annual report. Most people didn’t have access to alternatives — or information. If you didn’t like what a brand stood for, you could complain over lunch. Maybe write a letter. But your options were limited.
Today? The internet has democratised both awareness and choice. And consumers — especially younger ones — are using it.
We’ve seen what happens when businesses underestimate the shift.
Volkswagen’s 2015 emissions scandal wiped out more than $30 billion USD in fines, vehicle recalls, and legal costs — and left a deep reputational scar that still hasn’t fully healed.
Nautilus Minerals, a Canadian deep-sea mining company, promised innovation but ignored growing backlash about environmental harm and local community impacts. It ultimately collapsed in 2019, a cautionary tale of tech ambition without social licence.
Enviva, once a darling of the renewable energy sector, was brought down by allegations of greenwashing, lack of transparency, and flawed accounting. The company declared bankruptcy in 2024.
And of course, there’s Tesla — a brand that still ticks the environmental box, but whose alignment with its CEO’s increasingly controversial persona has alienated buyers, shaken investor confidence, and wiped more than $250 billion USD off its value this year alone. (You can read our full breakdown of the Tesla story here.)
The lesson is clear: neglect people and place long enough, and the profit will follow — just not the way you hoped.
On the other side of the ledger are companies leaning into the triple bottom line — and reaping the rewards.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Brands consistently outperformed the rest of its portfolio, growing 69% faster than non-sustainable counterparts.
Patagonia has famously embedded purpose into its operating model — and in doing so, built one of the most loyal customer bases in retail. Their ‘Don’t Buy This Jacket’ campaign didn’t hurt profits. It elevated them. In 2022, founder Yvon Chouinard gave away the company to a trust to fight climate change — and sales still surged.
These companies didn’t tack on purpose as a marketing gimmick. They built it in. And that’s the difference.
This isn’t just a consumer movement. It’s a capital one.
In PwC’s 2021 Global Investor Survey:
79% said ESG risks and opportunities are an important factor in decision-making
49% said they’d divest from companies that didn’t act on ESG issues
The writing is not just on the wall — it’s in the prospectus.
When we talk about Profit on Purpose, we’re not talking about giving up performance. We’re talking about future-proofing it. About building models that are resilient, reputationally protected, and strategically agile.
Profit on Purpose is:
Knowing that how you treat people will affect whether they stay, advocate, or sabotage your brand
Recognising that your environmental impact isn’t a compliance issue — it’s a value driver (or destroyer)
Understanding that the market no longer separates what you do from who you are
It’s not about pushing beliefs. It’s about reading the room — and realising the room has changed.
If you’re still thinking about people and planet as ‘nice to haves’, you’re missing the point. These are risk mitigators. Growth enablers. Culture shapers.
They’re the signals your customers, investors, and future team members are watching — and your competitors are responding to.
You don’t have to abandon ambition. You just have to align it.
Because profit matters.
But how you make it?
That’s what lasts.
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