The Rise Of Canada’s Purpose Economy: An Interview With Coro Strandberg

Coro Strandberg, President of Strandberg Consulting and the chair of the Canadian Purpose Economy Project

In an era where Canadian businesses are embracing Purpose and sustainability at an unprecedented pace, Coro Strandberg stands as a visionary figure pushing for massively transformational change.

As the President of Strandberg Consulting and the chair of the Canadian Purpose Economy Project (CPEP), Strandberg has been at the forefront of integrating social and environmental goals into the corporate world for over three decades. In our recent conversation, Strandberg shared insights into her journey, the concept of a Purpose Economy, and the steps needed to make social purpose the norm in Canadian businesses.

Strandberg's journey began in the late 1980s with Vancity Credit Union, where she helped to pioneer a transformative approach. “As a director and chair of Vancity Credit Union, we pioneered integrating social and environmental goals into our governance, corporate strategy, incentives, and reporting – we called it “Corporate Social Role,” she recalled. In 2000, she transitioned from Vancity to her consulting practice to champion business and finance as a force for good. 

By 2015, she saw an emerging need among her clients to evolve beyond sustainability initiatives and fully embed social purpose as a company’s core identity. Around the same time, United Way BC approached Strandberg, seeking guidance on developing a value proposition for corporate donors who wanted to drive greater impact. This partnership led to the creation of the Social Purpose Institute, which has helped over 50 companies discover, define, and deepen their social purpose.

From this work emerged the Canadian Purpose Economy Project, a national initiative Strandberg chairs, aimed at mainstreaming social purpose in Canadian businesses. ”Today, through Strandberg Consulting, I help businesses scale their social impact, advise boards on governing purpose and sustainability performance, and develop tools and resources to grow the purpose and sustainability fields. Alongside my CPEP colleagues I lead efforts to create a thriving Purpose Economy in Canada,” she explained.

Defining a Purpose Economy

When asked about the Purpose Economy, Strandberg presented a bold vision: “If a company can have a social purpose, why not the economy?” Inspired by the 2021 Canadian Social Purpose Summit, CPEP defines a Purpose Economy as one "powered by the pursuit of long-term well-being for all in which business and regulatory and financial systems foster an equitable, flourishing, resilient future." 

By 2030, CPEP envisions 25% of Canadian businesses adopting, disclosing, and authentically, embedding a social purpose across their operations and relationships, and collaborating with others to achieve it. This percentage represents what Strandberg called a “tipping point,” where the majority mindset can shift from profit-first to purpose-first.

“We know this is an audacious idea, but the current focus on shareholder purpose is merely a social construct that business, regulatory, and financial systems are currently organized to deliver, “ Strandberg explained. “This profit-first idea became entrenched over the last 50 years, and we are on a journey to re-center the economy around human outcomes with social purpose businesses leading the way.”

The Path Forward: Eleven Levers of Change

In its recent report, CPEP outlined a structured approach to creating an enabling environment where purpose becomes the default in business. The Canadian Purpose Economy Project’s “Eleven Levers of Change” framework is the backbone of this approach.

Canadian Purpose Economy Project Ten Levers of Change to Accelerate Social Purpose in Business

A top lever is corporate boards. To fulfill their fiduciary responsibility, directors should know why their organizations exist and ensure the company’s purpose is advanced through its strategy. To drive best practices in purpose governance, CPEP partnered with five governance education organizations to educate their members, clients, and alumni using its Purpose Governance Guidelines.

A second and another crucial lever is the need for consistent disclosures. Currently, there are no global guidelines on how to disclose progress on purpose, putting companies at risk of purpose-washing where they claim a purpose but fail to implement it. “ To address this, we published Purpose Disclosure Guidance and are supporting several first-movers who are using it to inform their reporting,” Strandberg highlighted. 

Investors are another key lever. CPEP has developed purpose-investing due diligence questions for investors to assess whether a company’s social purpose is part of its core strategy. “Many investors do not know the purpose of the companies they are financing and helping grow. We are closing this gap by partnering with first-mover investors to adopt our purpose-investing due diligence questions. These questions assess whether a company has a purpose, if it is governed by the board, and whether it is included in corporate strategy and management incentives,” she further explained.

A fourth lever is associations, through which CPEP aims to scale social purpose businesses by educating their members. For example, CPEP partnered with the BC Chamber of Commerce to launch a free social-purpose business webinar series that is open to any business seeking to define and implement its purpose. “Additionally, we are mobilizing CEOs of social purpose companies to adopt our Call to Purpose, and publishing and curating how-to guides and resources to help businesses integrate their purpose in everything they do and drive impact," she added, furthering CPEP’s vision to make social purpose the new standard in Canadian business.

Overcoming Barriers

Strandberg acknowledged that shifting to a Purpose Economy faces significant hurdles with the most prominent being a lack of awareness and entrenched profit-first mindsets. “This primarily results from educational systems prioritizing profit-first models in core curricula across undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education which then become perpetuated in financial and regulatory systems. Our research with Corporate Knights reveals that only two business schools globally teach it in their required MBA courses,” she said. To address this, CPEP launched the Social Purpose Business Schools Project, advocating for the inclusion of purpose-based concepts in business education fundamentals. 

Additionally, purpose governance and implementation remain a challenge for many organizations, which can lead to superficial adoption rather than authentic transformation. This is why CPEP focuses on purpose governance, disclosures and know-how.

Combatting purpose-washing is another critical focus, as Strandberg warns that inconsistent or insincere purpose claims could damage trust. “We aim to prevent the proliferation of standards and approaches as seen with sustainability,” she explained. As the authority for authentic purpose implementation in Canada, CPEP is working to establish a genuine, effective, and impactful framework for purpose activation.

A Vision for the Future

Looking forward, Strandberg and CPEP envision a Canada where purpose-driven businesses become a collective force for good, solving social and environmental problems at scale. “We see these social purpose businesses collaborating within their ecosystems to realize their purpose, engaging stakeholders around it, encouraging adjacent businesses to adopt social purpose as well. As many social purpose businesses seek to transform their industries, entire sectors could become purpose-driven, creating a massive, collective force for good,” she said. This transformation, she hopes, will extend to governments becoming allies of the Purpose Economy movement, driving social purpose through their macroeconomic strategies, procurement, legislation, and business support programs.

Ultimately, Strandberg believes the Purpose Economy has the power to inspire businesses around the globe, “We hope Canadian businesses can learn from businesses around the world, and that our efforts inspire others. If businesses and their industries mobilize to help society overcome its challenges, we can realize a sustainable future for humanity.”

Through the Canadian Purpose Economy Project and her ongoing work, Strandberg is helping Canada’s business sector redefine success, proving that purpose and profit can be mutually reinforcing. If this vision takes hold, a brighter, more inclusive future for Canadians—and potentially global—business lies just over the horizon.