Never has the need been greater to add meaning to capitalism beyond just optimising shareholder value. The global financial crisis and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) are shifting thinking from the Milton Friedman type of capitalism to showing "a positive contribution to society", to quote Larry Fink, perhaps the most important institutional investor today.

Professor Michael Porter of Harvard Business School aims to redefine capitalism through widening business's competitive strategy to benefit staff, communities, the environment and wider society in an integrated way. Examples include the way Walmart has optimised its value chain to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and Coca-Cola has cut water consumption...

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