The short-term vs long-term dilemma for business

The main building blocks of any economy is enterprise. A key part of moving towards a more sustainable, long-term vision of economic activity is over-coming the short-term pressures business has to adhere to today. How can businesses show that long-term value creation (both financially and more broadly) will work best in the long run?

We asked Jonathon Porritt about how businesses can think long-term whilst they are beholden to short-term pressures of profit maximisation for shareholders.

He emphasises the fact that many businesses, including Unilever, are making the case for a more long-term approach which over time will be more beneficial. Porritt suggests that this approach is better for everyone except a tiny minority of “obscenely wealthy people” who have a large amount of economic power.

In your experience, is there any evidence that the sustainable approach described by Jonathon Porritt is becoming more widely shared, or does profit maximisation at all costs still hold sway?