The recent announcement of Pfizer about the vaccine having the success rate of 90 per cent right after the announcement of Moderna , with 95 per cent effectiveness. Basically, both served as the positive news for the pharmaceutical industry to mask the rough year. Though there are arguments regarding the prematurity of the thinking that the things will soon become normal, there are announcements that have caused these.
2020 has been the year of unpredictability. Workers and businesses are adapting fast to the changes around them. There is a surge in the consumer behaviors and most importantly the expectations have been altered, with this , the standards which the businesses have set for themselves cannot be reversed. The year bought movements like the importance of Black lives, the protests regarding the global climatic changes, and the widespread scrutiny of politicians, businesses and celebrities and their mind games along with the Covid crisis.
The stake holder value truly has eclipsed the shareholder value and this is one of the fact that the business world has to reckon this year. The value led decisions of the consumers are rapidly increasing about the purchases they are making. Businesses are being held to a higher standard, externally and internally. Employees want to be satisfied of who they work for, and the companies aren’t afraid to hold their employers to account. This is a rise in the whistleblower culture. Accompanying it will be a new expectation to maintain the transparency, from supply to delivery chains. Some brands are being ignored due to the hidden decision making and irresponsive public relations.
And it is important to know that this demand for accountability will not lessen because of a vaccine. The reckoning has affected in business decisions made this year. Many of the big brands are re-evaluating themselves to clarify the position they stand for. Many other brands have had to face racial stereotype issues and their business have been reviewed constantly to know how or what their values and products brought about a change to the changing cultural native.
This shift incorporates viewpoints on global issues, with many of them unified. Sustainability finds itself at the top of the schedule. Brands like Unilever are leading the charge by setting marks of net-zero emission by 2039 and promising to invest €1bn in green projects. Even the auto industry, not usually allied with sustainability, also is getting involved. Bentley has dedicated itself to becoming carbon-neutral by 2030, and Ford is targeting to do the same by 2050.
Holding all of these pledges collected is one main purpose. If the business does not show a clear persistence in 2020, then it needs revaluation. None of the year has been such a guiding light to steering these random twists and turns. Brand purpose is the road map, a stake in the ground from which all other deeds can be built. The companies have been collaborating to create this awareness with the size and scale to stitch the real change, in order to hold the Governments to account, treat people better and take a strong stand on these vital issues.
The companies must start to embrace the change and continue in this new path of accountability as the progress of vaccines is getting higher and things are returning to be normal.
