This is an interesting development: BlackRock, the world’s largest investor, is preparing to tell companies in its portfolio, “Contribute to Society, or Risk Losing Our Support:”

Laurence D. Fink, founder and chief executive of the investment firm BlackRock, is going to inform business leaders that their companies need to do more than make profits — they need to contribute to society as well if they want to receive the support of BlackRock….

“Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose,” he wrote in a draft of the letter that was shared with me. “To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society.”

As the article notes, this is the latest example of investors trying to get companies to take their social responsibilities more seriously.