Business Insider: One year ago the CEOs of some of America's largest businesses promised to do more than just hunt for profits. The pandemic gave them a chance to live up to that promise.

Health care professionals test for COVID-19 at the ProHEALTH testing site in Jericho, New York. Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty

Mike Froman, Opinion Contributor 

One year ago, the Business Roundtable issued a statement on the purpose of a corporation. The group, which is composed of CEOs from some of America's largest companies, laid out five sets of key stakeholders, including shareholders, but also employees, suppliers, customers and communities, which corporations were to serve. 

The statement was met with acclaim and a sign that corporations' view of capitalism was evolving. But there was also a good degree of skepticism as to whether the letter would actually lead to a significant shift in how corporations operate.

Now a year later, it is fair to look back and ask: Did it make a difference?

Putting the new commitment to the test

Between the health and economic crisis of COVID-19 and a period of racial reckoning in the United States, corporations have been challenged to put these words into actions.

Over the last year, it's also become clearer than ever that we cannot truly separate shareholder interests from other stakeholder interests. Purpose and profit, when placed side by side, act as partners which empower each other. 

Our businesses thrive when the world thrives and fail when a system fails too many. We don't 'do well' for one set of stakeholders and ''do good' for another – we do well by doing good. The choice is less between shareholders and other stakeholders. It is more between actions that create value in the short-term and those that deliver over the long-term.

In times of crisis, there is always a risk that companies put aside their broader, longer-term efforts deemed as non-essential, to focus instead on short-term recovery and resilience. But in the current crisis ‚— coming as it has in the midst of a larger debate about stakeholder capitalism — several corporations have in fact risen to the challenge and turned weighty words into impactful deeds. 

Stepping up in times of crisis

And these companies have done so frequently through unconventional partnerships – connecting with businesses in other sectors, governments, international organizations and nonprofits. 

For example, in his recent Barron's commentary, Peter Sands, the former CEO of Standard Chartered and now CEO of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, made a call to action, stating 'we must seize this opportunity to bridge the chasm between the worlds of health and finance'.

We agree. At Mastercard, we partnered with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome to create a COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator that has since mobilized more than $300 million to expedite the discovery, development, manufacture and distribution of treatments and diagnostics in response to this pandemic.

In addition, we have helped more than one hundred governments digitize and deliver more efficiently vital services for millions of people across their communities, including critical disbursements of emergency support for individuals and small businesses.

For example, we've worked with the LA Mayor's Fund and Accelerator for America to raise and distribute $35 million in emergency funds in Los Angeles and are now taking that program to communities across the United States. This is part of our larger financial inclusion effort to bring 1 billion individuals globally into the digital economy.

New partners

Traditionally, governments and businesses have approached partnerships with each other with skepticism and caution. Slow progress has often caused frustration on both sides, and goals have not always been aligned. But in the face of the current common threat, we've seen enhanced collaboration with renewed energy and speed. 

It is clearly in the interests of both governments and businesses to jointly address the current health and economic crisis, to reboot the economy and to address systemic racism as quickly as possible. But the significance of getting this right is about far more than quick fixes. If we build on this experience to create greater trust and construct new models of collaboration, then there's a real chance we can marshal the necessary effort to address many of the social and economic challenges the country faces.

There are certain roles only governments can play. But neither governments nor, for that matter, philanthropies – as critically important as both are – have all of the tools and capacity they need to address the major social and economic challenges the country currently confronts.

The question is whether, in partnership with the public and civic sector, the private sector can mobilize its innovation, technology, expertise and resources to have positive social impact. This engagement must be substantive and integral to a company's operations and core goals, not an afterthought or extracurricular activity. That's when we will begin to see real results.

We have seen much healthy discussion about the role of business in society over the last few years. Companies worldwide are being tested and many may well face a reckoning when this pandemic subsides – by shareholders, employees, customers and the communities they serve – for what they did or did not do to address the health, economic and social crises we now face. 

Indeed, in a recent survey by Just Capital more than 80% of respondents said they would remember which companies "did the right thing by their workers" and three-quarters of those polled said they would remember the businesses that took missteps during the pandemic "long after it is over."

So, yes, the BRT's statement was an important inflection point. It pushed CEOs to examine their values at a critical moment for society and our economy. 

We're all part of an interconnected system and once we see that, our responsibility becomes very clear. We have to help those in need today, and ensure the world emerges from this pandemic a stronger, more resilient place. Our driving force is inclusive and sustainable growth—because doing the right things for society will lead to the right outcomes for business as well.

Now is the time to crowd together, synch up on strategies, reach across sectors, industries and organizations, forge partnerships and share experience and expertise. We need to set higher standards, hold each other accountable and drive forward partnerships to ensure we do not allow this crisis to go to waste.

Froman is Vice Chairman of Mastercard and Former US Trade Representative

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).

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