Shared Value Initiative

Shared value is a concept described by Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School and Mark Kramer, co-founder of FSG, in their 2011 Harvard Business Review article, “Creating Shared Value.” They define shared value as “policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates. Shared value creation focuses on identifying and expanding the connections between societal and economic progress.”

We believe shared value is one of the most powerful practices companies can leverage to fulfill their purpose aspirations because it uses the core business to drive societal change. It can also be one of the most authentic because it relies on core business practices and know-how.

If private sector resources can be more effectively leveraged to simultaneously improve societal and business needs, the impact on our social and environmental challenges and opportunities could be significant and positively change the lives of many people on this planet.