About us

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.