About us
A Blueprint for Better Business is an independent charity that inspires business to be a force for good in the AI age and guides leaders to build a more human future.
For over a decade we have worked with senior business leaders to stimulate and energise a different way of thinking and behaving in business. We believe businesses across all sectors and sizes can be a force for good. To maximise our impact we work primarily with senior people in large companies.
We also convene forums and events, and work with investors and influencers from wider society, including NGOs, academics, business schools, coaches and advisors, to help create the environment for purpose-led business to thrive.
Our work started following the financial crisis in 2008, when we convened groups of senior business leaders and others from wider society to explore the role of business in society and what a new blueprint might be that would allow a culture in business to flourish that better serves us all.
Our work has developed in three phases:
The evolution of our work
Across business, politics and the media, we have seen a significant backlash against the language of purpose, ESG and sustainability. Some companies have quietly shelved commitments. Some leaders have gone silent. The ‘battle of ideas’ over the role of business in society is back in full force.
And yet — the need has never been greater. Employees still want meaningful work. Investors still seek resilient, trustworthy companies. Society still needs business to help solve the biggest challenges we face. And as AI reshapes every aspect of work and commerce, questions about what kind of future we want to build feel more urgent and more consequential than ever.
The moment we are in
This is the context in which Blueprint has been working. We have sharpened our focus, evolved our strategy, and leaned into the one area where we feel most distinctively placed to contribute: helping businesses navigate artificial intelligence as a force for good – not just a productivity tool, but a technology that could either deepen human dignity and shared prosperity, or undermine them.
Over the past year, the organisations and leaders we work with have told us the same things, in different ways. The pressures to focus on short-term commercial metrics have intensified. The language of purpose and sustainability has become politically charged. Some companies are using ‘fiduciary duty’ to justify retreating from commitments to people and planet. And yet below the surface, something else is happening too. Research from HBR, Forbes and Bain points to what practitioners are calling ‘purpose hushing’ – many companies still committed to broader goals, believing this makes them more resilient and adaptable in a changing world, but staying silent for fear of attracting criticism.
The AI inflection point
Into this already complex landscape has come an increasingly powerful and rapidly evolving technology. AI is being adopted at extraordinary speed, with most corporate conversations focused on cost savings, automation and competitive advantage. The deeper questions about the kind of economy and society we want AI to help build are going largely unasked. Although public sentiment recognises the enormous potential of this technology to create better futures, it is becoming increasingly anxious about the potential for unintended harm across multiple dimensions including the nature of work, economic and social inequality, our sense of privacy and autonomy, the impact on the environment. AI is likely to profoundly transform our world, and we all deserve a voice in how that transformation unfolds.
We believe this is exactly the space Blueprint exists to occupy. As a trusted, independent charity with deep relationships across business, academia, investment and civil society, we can convene the conversations that others cannot, supporting business leaders to ask the questions, listen to perspectives and think deeply about the kind of future AI might help us create.
We engage at 3 levels
Organisational
Helping individual organisations navigate the implications of AI for their own business, governance and decision-making
Systemic
Helping sectors, government, finance, business and other institutions think through how the wider economy and society navigate AI-related transition.
Existential
Engaging with broader questions about humanity, consciousness and the long-term implications of AI.
Frequently asked questions
If you’re new to Blueprint, or new to thinking about AI and purpose, these are the questions we hear most often.
AI is the defining test of purpose for business right now. The leaders who get this right will be those who ground their AI decisions in something deeper than efficiency — a genuine commitment to human dignity and the common good. Blueprint provides a framework and community to help leaders navigate that challenge.
It starts with asking a different question. Instead of ‘how do we deploy AI to reduce costs?’, a human-centred approach asks ‘how do we deploy AI in a way that enhances the dignity and capability of our people, and creates value for society?’ Our Framework for Human-Centred AI gives leaders a structured way to have these discussions.
Most AI ethics frameworks are built around risk — what could go wrong, how to avoid liability, how to comply with regulation. We start from a different place: the innate dignity of every person and the pursuit of the common good. That leads to different questions, and often better answers.
We are an independent charity that works primarily with senior leaders of large UK businesses who want to navigate the AI age without losing their soul. We also work with coaches, consultants, advisors, and educators who support purpose-minded organisations, and with policymakers and investors who want to shape a better environment for human-centred AI.
The Framework for Human-Centred AI is a practical guide we’ve developed to help business leaders ask better questions about AI deployment. It’s grounded in the principles of human dignity and the common good — not just risk checklists or compliance requirements. It’s free to access from our resources section.
Yes — our Framework for Human-Centred AI, our knowledgebase, and our thought leadership are all free and open to anyone. We also host a Purpose in Practice Community for practitioners in business who want deeper peer connections and the opportunity to learn and experiment together in a safe space and a network for coaches and consultants who want to help business to be a force for good – both are free to join.
There are several ways. You can explore our free Framework for Human-Centred AI and knowledgebase. You can join the Purpose in Practice Community of Coaches and Consultants network for peer connection and events. You can sign up to our newsletter for the latest thinking. Or if you’d like to support our work as a donor, you can give at any level.
Our thinking and approach
The thinking and approach that underpins our work is informed by wisdom traditions and philosophy. The original Framework and Principles on which we draw on in our Framework for Human-Centred AI were tested and refined through working groups with representatives from a wide range of businesses, NGOs, investors, academics, different faiths and other groups who work with business.
Explore more
Download our original Principles & Framework
Our Principles set out a call to action whilst our Framework provides a route map to behavioural change
Explore our Knowledgebase
This section in our Knowledgebase explores the thinking behind our work and how that informs our approach in more detail.
Blueprint's Framework for human-centred AI
Blueprint’s Framework for Human-Centred AI helps organisations ask better questions — not just about risk and compliance, but about purpose, people, and the kind of organisation you want to become.
“ we must breathe to live but breathing is not the purpose of life. The purpose of a corporation is to produce goods and services to meet economic and social needs, to create satisfying and rewarding employment, to earn returns for its shareholders and other investors, and to make a positive contribution to the social and physical environment in which it operates ”
Annual Accounts:
- Blueprint Trust – Final Accounts 2026
- Blueprint Trust – Final Accounts 2025
- Blueprint Trust – Final Accounts 2024
- Blueprint Trust – Final Accounts 2023
- Blueprint Trust – Final Accounts 2022
- Blueprint Trust – Final Accounts 2021
- Blueprint Trust – Final Accounts 2020
- Blueprint Trust – Final Accounts 2019
- Blueprint Trust – Final Accounts 2018
- Blueprint Trust – Final Accounts 2017
- Blueprint Trust – Final account 2016
- Blueprint Trust – Final accounts 2015
Impact Reports
- Blueprint Trust – Impact report – year ended 30 April 2026
- Blueprint Trust – Impact report – year ended 30 April 2025
- Blueprint Trust – Impact report – year ended 30 April 2024
- Blueprint Trust – Impact report – year ended 30 April 2023
- Blueprint Trust – Impact report – year ended 30 April 2022
- Blueprint Trust – Learning Evaluation – 2021
- Blueprint Trust – Impact report – year ended 30 April 2020
- Blueprint trust – Impact report – year ended 30 April 2019
- Blueprint Trust – Impact report – year ended 30 April 2018
- Blueprint Trust – Impact report – year ended 30 April 2017