I’ve always believed that businesses are a core part of society. They are made up of people who live and work in our communities, so in that sense, they are society. I also believe that, just as with individuals, business has a responsibility to do the right thing, and to try to make society better. 

Trust in business is at an all-time low. A number of recent scandals have led people to question in whose interest businesses are really operating. Are they interested only in delivering for shareholders in the short or long term, or do they have a wider role to play, and should they be thinking more long term? Can business be profitable and responsible?

Those questions, and others, were posed yesterday at an event organised by Sky – the latest in the CBI’s Great Business Debate series. I was joined on the panel by Lady Barbara Judge, Chair of the Institute of Directors, Mark Price, Managing Director of Waitrose, Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the RSA and Paul Drechsler CBE, President of the CBI. If you missed it, you can watch a clip here. 

It was a lively debate. In his opening remarks, Paul emphasised the important role that profit can play in creating opportunities for companies to invest for the benefit of society. Lady Barbara Judge noted the changing expectations of consumers over the last 30 years, and how businesses must adapt to cope. Matthew Taylor focused on the concerns the public have about the way businesses operate, and Mark Price contrasted that with the John Lewis Partnership model, with its emphasis on the relationship between employee engagement, responsible business and profit.

As the debate progressed, some clear themes began to emerge. The first was trust. The panel felt that in order to regain the public’s trust, business has to be more open and transparent, and it’s the job of business leaders to make that change. As Lady Barbara Judge noted: “Whatever ethical and moral responsibility a company has, it starts at the top.”

We then began to explore the link between profit and responsibility and here, the panel was united. If a business does the right thing, if it engages its employees, and looks after its customers, profits increase. As I see it, there is no contradiction here. Mark Price agreed, saying: “‘If you find a way of including people in society and business, the results of your business will be much stronger, and society will be much stronger.”

The conversation then gravitated towards values, and more specifically, the importance that today’s generation places on company values. When younger people come to interview at Sky, one of the first questions they ask us is about our values as an organisation. That really matters to them. Paul summed it up: “This generation will not work for companies that do not share their values.”

So what do we value? We believe in creating good and enjoyable careers for our employees, in using our talents to create great products our customers love, and in putting ‘a brick in the wall’ - doing the right thing, and making our mark on society. I look forward to participating in this debate as it evolves.