Why BIG Acts Matter

We know that we don’t have a Planet B.  Even if Elon Musk and SpaceX can get us there.  So, from where we sit, we believe the world urgently needs more courageous business leaders who voluntarily raise their hands and commit to doing BIG things.  And we are not the only ones with this belief.  Increasingly, employees and consumers demand business to use its powerful energy for good.  But even more important, the Earth and its billions of different species need it. 

And while too many organizations believe it is not their job to contribute to solving big social and environmental challenges, we believe that those companies will get left behind.  A company’s role is what its consumers and employees expect it to be.  After all, people are not just buying a product or saying “yes” to a job offer – people are buying the promises and commitments that an organization has made and continues to make.  Increasingly, the expectations of consumers and employees for companies are getting higher and higher.

64% of adults believe Americans’ low trust in the federal government makes it harder to solve national problems (Pew Research Center, survey of US Adults conducted Nov 27-Dec 10, 2018), and trust has been declining over the last 20 years.  Trust is even lower with younger and nonwhite individuals.

Given this lack of trust, people are looking to other, non-government institutions to help solve critical problems.

The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer identified that:*

• 92% of employees believe it is important that their CEO speaks out on 1+ issues including jobs for the future, diversity, and/ or climate change

• 74% of consumers agree that business “CEOs should take the lead on change rather than waiting” on government, a 9% increase since 2018

*Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 fieldwork was conducted between October 19 and November 18, 2019