Last August, the Business Roundtable made a big, splashy announcement: Nearly 200 of its member CEOs, led by JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, would reverse their harmful, decades-long position that “corporations exist principally to serve shareholders.” The new “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” said they would now serve all stakeholders, including workers, consumers, and the communities in which they operate. But one year later, their actions show this was just an empty publicity stunt.
Even during a devastating pandemic and economic collapse, the Business Roundtable has been lobbying for the narrow, short-term interests of CEOs. Enough with the press releases. The Roundtable must fully commit to the principles they set out in the 2019 “Statement,” act on them, and publicly report on their progress in the coming year. Congress must also pass my Accountable Capitalism Act to force these giant corporations to fundamentally reform the way they do business.
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Read the full article on the Fast Company website, here.