What does it mean for a business to do good? Is it enough to create jobs, donate to communities, or support social causes? Or should we examine something more fundamental: how a business earns, whom it serves, and what its success makes possible for others?
These questions were at the heart of the Business as a Force for Good (BFG) Summit 2026, held on October 9 at Makati Shangri-La. The discussions challenged a familiar assumption that profitability and social impact belong to separate agendas. More importantly, they invited business leaders to consider whether their purpose is reflected not only in their stated values, but also in their everyday decisions.
One idea offered by Ramon R. del Rosario Jr. provides a useful starting point: identify an unmet societal need, then build a sustainable business to address it. This two-step approach presents social challenges not simply as problems for philanthropy to solve, but as opportunities for enterprises to create lasting value. Yet recognizing a need is only the beginning. The harder task is building a business that can respond to it effectively, responsibly, and over time.
This distinction matters because good intentions alone cannot sustain meaningful impact. An enterprise may have a compelling mission, but without sound financial management and operational discipline, its ability to serve people remains fragile. Conversely, a profitable business may still fall short of being a force for good if its growth does little to address the needs of the communities around it. Purpose and performance must therefore reinforce one another.
The summit’s conversations about impact investing brought this challenge into sharper focus. If underserved communities represent significant unmet needs, why does so little capital reach enterprises working to address them? Expanding shared prosperity requires more than individual companies with admirable missions. It also calls for an ecosystem in which investors, businesses, civil society, and government can work together to direct resources toward meaningful and sustainable outcomes. Trust and collaboration are not peripheral concerns; they help determine which ideas receive the opportunity to grow.
But even a well-funded enterprise must ask a deeper question: what kind of progress are we pursuing, and for whom?
The discussion on Pamamahalang Pilipino offered a distinctly Filipino perspective through concepts such as kapwa, the recognition of shared personhood, and loob, the inner values that shape our choices. (READ: [Good Business] Kaloob and kapwa: Agrabah Ventures on co-creating a bountiful tomorrow)
These ideas challenge organizations to look beyond employees as units of productivity or communities as markets to be served. They encourage leaders to recognize the people behind business outcomes and consider whether their decisions contribute to a more dignified and humane life.
This perspective also changes how success is understood. Growth can be measured in revenue, expansion, and market share, but its wider significance lies in the opportunities it creates. Can employees build secure futures for their families? Can smaller suppliers participate in the value chain?
Can more Filipinos access education, livelihoods, and the resources they need to thrive? These questions bring social impact closer to the core of business strategy.
The launch of Ventures for a More Humane World: A Handbook for Social Entrepreneurs in the Philippines, by Dr. Raymund Habaradas and Professor Ian Benedict Mia, reinforced the importance of equipping enterprises to turn their intentions into practice. Social entrepreneurship requires more than compassion; it needs knowledge, viable business models, and a supportive network that allows solutions to endure and grow.
Ultimately, rethinking enterprise does not mean treating profit as the enemy of social progress. Profit can sustain an organization, fund innovation, and extend its reach. The question is whether these capabilities serve a purpose beyond accumulation alone. When businesses take responsibility for the effects of their decisions, success becomes more than an internal achievement: it becomes a means of creating opportunities for others.
The challenge is not simply to declare that business should be a force for good. It is to make that commitment visible in how capital is invested, people are treated, and growth is pursued.
For every business leader, the question remains: “What need can our business meet, and how can our success help others thrive?” – Rappler.com
Madriella L. Mendoza is the Communications/Business Development Officer of the PHINMA–DLSU Center for Business and Society. She works on communications, public relations, business development, and initiatives that advance the Center’s mission of promoting business as a force for good. She may be reached at madriella.mendoza@dlsu.edu.ph.