Rewriting the rulebook

Founded in 1896, Roche is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Its purpose is 'doing now what patients need next' – urgently delivering medical solutions to transform patients' lives.

André believes businesses need a purpose before they can start doing good. "Irrespective of whether or not it's a family business, every business needs a purpose," he said. "And it needs to pursue this purpose in a way that respects all stakeholders, not just shareholders."

Roche's purpose defines everything André does in the business: "As a family owner I define my duty as helping the business serve its purpose. It's not to increase the dividend nor to give me access to the company. It's to help the business execute its mission."

André feels that, currently, the biggest barriers to becoming a sustainable business involve metrics – measuring the wrong things in the wrong ways.

"We need to change how we measure impact. We measure profit. But profit is just a concept and a system we've invented to define success. If we only measure money, we're only capturing a fraction of human activity. We're missing all the unpaid positive work we do, like running clubs and caring for our children. These activities are the essence of our social fabric. But no one's measuring them."

Right now, solutions seem to be in short supply: "Currently, there are around 160 different standards for measuring impact. Companies don't know which to follow and how to satisfy them. They're clamoring for a metrics system they can implement today."

Roche has decided to measure and report on different forms of capital. So alongside its financial capital, the company also accounts for its environmental and social capital. For André, it's all about moving away from just equating success with profit.

"To create a long-term stable society, we're going to have to address issues in ways that go far beyond supporting causes. Businesses have an opportunity to restore the environmental damage of the last 150 years. But it will require some heavy lifting."

André recommends that family businesses look beyond philanthropy to ensure their businesses are 100% sustainable: "The problems of humanity's impact on the planet are much bigger than philanthropy can ever address by itself," he said. "It's more about how the business makes money than how it spends it."

While challenges remain on measuring and accounting for impact, André is positive for the future: "We need to use science and new technologies for the benefit of the many – and not just to provide profits for the few. If we really want a better world, we're going to have to use all the new tools at our disposal."