What is PAS 808 and why does it matter?

It’s November 2023. I’m sitting in a teepee in Cornwall, perched on a little wooden stool with rain hammering on the roof. It might sound like the setting for a spiritual journey, but actually I’m here for Anthropy, a three-day conference held in Cornwall’s Eden Project, and I am in a deep dive session into the British Standard Institute’s new standard - PAS 808. It gives guidance to organisations on what purpose is, how a purpose-driven organisation (PDO) approaches decisions, and how it acts in the interests of people and the planet. The deluge of rain provides the perfect backdrop to an incredible introduction to this guide on the role businesses must play in protecting people and the planet. 

Fast forward to today, and Clarasys is holding BSI’s celebration and global fact-finding event on this standard. And we're very excited to be part of the next phase of work, the development of ISO 37011. The event unites organisations and is designed to build a shared understanding of purpose, how to make it real, and stop purpose-washing.

The future of business according to PAS 808

PAS 808 states that in the not-too-distant future, the most successful businesses will be those that have aligned their business models and value propositions with solving the needs of people and the planet and ensuring their long-term wellbeing.

These businesses will leverage their unique resources and capabilities to identify unmet needs and create new value for themselves and for the world. They will have focus; it will be clear why these organisations exist, the value they create for the world, and how this allows them to be profitable and commercially viable businesses that face the planet’s problems head-on.

These businesses will also ensure they protect and enhance the health of the systems around them. To do this, they will mitigate and design out negative impacts, eliminating carbon emissions, maintaining healthy supply chains, and safeguarding people. This is important because purpose isn’t about creating positive impact in one place while ignoring negative impacts elsewhere, particularly over the long-term. 

Finally, businesses will carry out all of this with thought and care. They will look after their people, live by their values, make decisions based on the best available evidence, and collaborate with their systems. They’ll consider the impact of decisions and create conditions to innovate boldly while protecting what needs to be protected in the process. 

What does PAS 808 do?

PAS 808 sets out what a purpose is, how a PDO approaches decisions, and how it acts. This helps companies establish how aligned they are with worldviews, principles, and behaviours shared by PDOs. It helps them identify what they can do to be better aligned and how ambitious they want to be.

It can be used to embed purpose into strategy, business models, operating models, and cultures. Lastly, it can be used to provide a basis for aligning purpose and decision-making within the organisation.

It’s an incredibly useful guidance document which I wholeheartedly champion. But if you’re still not convinced, here are a few more reasons to dive in. 

Why PAS 808? 

• PAS 808 has taken on the challenge of trying to articulate and set out a definition of something that is historically nebulous, providing much-needed clarity.  It's the single point we have found that provides a clear and meaningful articulation of the what and why of purpose, and it has the power to instigate and frame more meaningful conversations.
• This is not a measurement tool - it’s not possible to ‘comply’ with PAS 808. This is great because it means it can set out the intangible shared beliefs, behaviours, and principles of purpose-driven organisations that are critical but not measurable. 
• It provides the foundation for the measurable. PAS808 sets organisations up for success in regulation and accreditations such as B-Corp, as it will prompt the key questions and discussions that allow organisations to deliver activity and decisions that will meet the needs of regulation. With emerging legislation becoming more onerous and raising the minimum threshold for sustainability, only true PDOs will be able to retain a competitive advantage as the playing field becomes levelled. Hence PAS808 could be the guide to facilitate this.

Six ways PAS 808 has transformed our approach at Clarasys

1. It has helped us to develop a shared understanding of what it means to be purpose-led. We used the standard to create an intro to PDOs that can be shared easily with stakeholders.
   
   
2. The shared language and understanding supported by PAS 808 allows people to create their own relationship with the concept of a PDO and what it means for them as individuals.
3. It has helped us assess how closely Clarasys aligns with being a PDO, naturally prompting discussions about our next steps. This process has sparked internal conversations centred on the underlying beliefs the business has that shape our company culture. PAS 808 provides a framework for us to reflect on how well our values align with one of our goals of promoting the long-term wellbeing of people and the planet. If they don’t align, we need to explore the reasons why. We have used it to facilitate numerous meaningful conversations on this topic.

4. We use the definition of purpose to help organisations identify their optimal contribution to long-term wellbeing of people and the planet. It sets purpose in the context of what we can materially do and how we can create value for the world with our ideas, through a viable business model.

5. We use PAS 808’s definition of purpose, and shared worldviews, principles, and behaviours to carry out a maturity assessment to help us understand where interventions and deeper dives will be most helpful

6. We have been facilitating the Purpose in Practice Community, where we’ve used PAS808 language and definitions to help facilitate conversations, with a specific focus on ‘What does strategy look like for an organisation with purpose intent?’ From the findings, we have compiled a toolkit for developing purpose-led strategy.

7. PAS 808 is relevant to all of our work. It prompts better questions and discussions with clients in more technical projects such as a change management delivery or a target operating model project. It allows us to support organisations to have the discussion and consider how this impacts their foundational building blocks of the organisation.

Conclusion

As organisations contemplate their role in the future of our world, the complexities we will have to navigate, and anticipate the scrutiny they might face, PAS 808 offers a blueprint for the future. By aligning with it, organisations can redefine their strategies, business models, and decision-making processes to create meaningful, long-term value for people and the planet, and continue to exist as a thriving, relevant organisation. 

If you are keen to join the movement towards a more sustainable, responsible, and impactful business landscape and would like to discuss how we can help your company embed purpose at the core of your organisation, contact us.