Wars raging, inflation rates rising, food prices soaring, supply chains disrupted, and catastrophic climate overwhelming the environment—these are some of the challenges that people across the world deal with every day. Because of natural disasters occasioned by climate change, 12,5 million young girls will drop out of school by 2025. And already some 783 million people are suffering from hunger.

Governments alone cannot solve these problems—existential problems at the global and personal levels. There has to be collaboration between governments and private actors. For example, if government agencies did not successfully collaborate with private vaccine companies in quickly developing Covid-19 vaccines, humankind today would still be grappling with the pandemic. When private companies step up to their social responsibilities, great things happen for humankind.

Thus, the session of “More Than Just Profits: The Impact We Want from the Private Sector” explores the questions of why, and how the private sector can play a bigger role in addressing the complex and vital challenges of our time.