Atomico has developed Conscious Scaling, a framework for dialogue between founders and investors/the board focused on identifying and mitigating long-term risks associated with a business model or technology’s impact on society, the environment, and all stakeholders. We believe that companies that fail to successfully mitigate these risks will not realise their full potential.
Customers are demanding that companies think about social and environmental impacts — a third of global consumers are now buying from brands that are doing social or environmental good. 71% of European consumers consider living an ethical or sustainable lifestyle to be important in creating a feeling of wellbeing.
Talent — the most important ingredient of successful tech companies — is also asking companies to be more thoughtful. 28% of tech workers in the UK have seen decisions made about technology that they felt could have negative consequences for people or society. 18% left their jobs as a result.
Other studies and statistics show that consideration of social and environmental factors equal better performance. It’s clear that profit and purpose are not mutually exclusive, they’re mutually reinforcing.
We believe we can help accelerate meaningful change and progress in our industry by making the tools that we use available to the entire community. We have open-sourced a Conscious Scaling framework here.
We hope this is a step in the right direction to make future technology companies stronger and better for society; we believe that companies which are more mindful of long-term risks today will be more successful tomorrow.