Mishcon Purpose Framework

Purpose and Mission

The first step is to assess the purpose and mission of your organisation, which determines its goals, values and strategy. Do you have a purpose statement? If so, how does it fit with your current ESG goals?

As an example, our firm's purpose is "to enable our clients and our people to shape the world's possibilities". This vision underpins our governance as well as driving culture and practice.

What is the purpose of your business? What does it mean to your stakeholders? A strong purpose statement that embedded in business strategy can create significant value by attracting new customers/clients, reducing costs and staying ahead of regulatory trends.

Values and Culture

Once you have defined the purpose of your organisation, it's time to look at aligning your values and culture. Do they reflect and support the purpose that you have defined in step 1?

Shared values and culture characterise the attitudes, standards and belief of an organisation and its members. Values reflect what a company stand for, and so must reflect its ultimate purpose.

Stakeholder Engagement

Next, it's time to assess the role of stakeholders in your purpose strategy and to involve them in its development.

Stakeholder engagement helps better assess context, risks and opportunities. More critically, it reduces potential gaps between stakeholders' expectations and management's goals and strategy, identifying and reducing the risk of potential liabilities.

Vision and Value Creation Goals

Your vision and value creation goals should align with your purpose. They should be SMART (specific, measurable, relevant and time-bound) and provide a framework from which to measure success.

Business performance is increasingly measured by not only financial capital, but also intangible, natural and social capital. To bolster and invest in these new forms of capital, businesses must consider their impact on society and the environment and create prosperity in all dimensions.

Inventory of Capitals and Audit

Successfully managing a business requires managing all assets and liabilities. Today, this includes intangible assets, which in many cases may not be reflected in internal reports and in the annual accounts.

Are there any intangible assets or liabilities that are not included in your inventory of capitals and audit? To what extent could these assets and liabilities impact your ability to create value and raise capital in the short and long term?

Governance, Compliance and Corporate Reporting

A company's governance provides the framework for achieving its purpose, value creation goals and vision. It also ensures effective management and compliance with regulatory and legal obligations. If a company is to build long-term value, its governance must embed ESG into its agenda.

What is the degree of quality of your governance from an ESG perspective, and how do you report this to your stakeholders?

ESG Strategy Review

To embed sustainable purpose, ESG has to be part of your core business strategy and an integral pillar of the company's value proposition to clients and society.

You need to consider your current ESG profile. Is your business ESG ready? Are you aware of what is means to your business? What changes need should you make to use ESG as a value creation tool? How are you going to manage transitional risks?

Connectivity and Outcomes

Connectivity reflects the material interactions between social, environmental and financial capital. Applying this stage of the Mishon Purpose Framework will assist you in understanding the opportunities and trade-offs associated with your ESG strategy, and how best to manage them.