On February 20, 2024, our founder presented a lunch causerie at the Belgian Corporate Finance Association (BCFA) in the offices of Re-Solvus in Antwerp (Belgium). In less than an hour he showed how and why impact fights with profit — and how to conceive a company so that impact boosts profit.
“When impact is envisioned at the level of the executive committee, impact and profit cannot live in harmony,” opens Jan Lagast. “Impact should be defined at the highest level of the organisation, way above the board of directors and the strategy committee. When the intent to create impact is embedded in the bylaws of the company as the long-term goal, then and only then, will it be helping to boost the return on investment.”
Even for very small companies, we advice to install an ‘Impact Board’ that guards the long-term impact. “Such a board does not have to represent a huge cost – if it gathers once a year together with the strategy board and the CEO, a very low investment generates a huge impact for the company,” knows Jan Lagast. “Impact is a magnet to attract the right people, and to become known in a broad circle of potential stakeholders. And, that pays off.”
“The only thing a company needs to do next, is to determine its strategy in line with the main long-term impact intent. And, to ensure the management team is very ‘Lean’ in the realisation of that strategy,” explains Jan. “Then, impact will boost profit. And the ESG scoring will automatically improve, without a constant financial balancing act.”
To the Linkedin page of BCFA …
