By Kanji Usui
Recently, I was invited to attend the one-year anniversary event of a cross-industry networking group, so I decided to participate.
Among approximately 30 attendees, I exchanged business cards with 11 people. What surprised me was that 5 of those business owners were engaged in, or had some connection to, social contribution-based business initiatives!
To be honest, I had a strong impression that such efforts were primarily associated with "large corporate CSR programs," and I assumed they were still relatively rare among small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan.
However, especially among younger business leaders, it seems that addressing social issues may be becoming a "standard" approach. That was the sense I got from the experience.
Perhaps an era where "profitability" and "contribution to society" coexist has already begun.