Economy of Communion — people before riches

John and Julie Mundell, owners of an Economy
 of Communion business.

For more than 25 years John and Julie Mundell have worked for the protection of the environment. But the business they created to pursue that goal has a special character, being part of the network called the Economy of Communion.

First, we will get a glimpse of their business activity, then we will examine that special character, their role in creating a business that is not just a money-grubbing operation, but an environment for building their employees and contributing to their community by sharing the profits of their work.

In the northern US state of Indiana,  Indianapolis is a  city that has thrived because of its industries, which, however, have also had a negative environmental impact. It's in this context that the Mundells have pioneered environmental recovery so that their company is now active all over the United States and overseas as well.

John and Julie had long been involved in nature and began talking about starting a business that would do things differently so that the community would benefit as well as the owners. Their business, Mundell & Associates, is an earth and environmental consulting company specializing in site investigation and remediation, risk assessment, geophysics, water resource use and more.

John Mundell says of his business's specialty:

We assist our clients in cleaning up the earth, such as with hazardous waste, primarily through the groundwater. We have had a role in cleaning up Indianapolis in this way. 

Twenty years ago we started with an environmental project just north of the Indianapolis canal where we found contaminated groundwater from old chemicals that were spilled by industry. So part of our work is a cleanup project using something called air stripping, taking the chemicals out of the water. [...] We've got very clean water now that we are absolutely convinced is safe. That's good for people, good for wildlife, and it helps create this atmosphere around this canal that is one of beauty and safety.

Really the story of Mundell & Associates is all about revitalizing Indianapolis and taking land and refurbishing it, making it useful again and cleaning it up so that the next generation can use the land.

John displays the fire in his belly over protecting the gift of nature:

Things are really bad to be honest with you, and it's a serious thing that not everyone's paying attention, and so to find that vocation to live out — this idea of a united world, that we're all connected, that what I do does matter. Part of the problem that we're trying to solve is this disconnectedness, and so the striving for unity and building bridges between cultures and people who don't have and people who do have is, in my view, the solution to the whole thing.

Julie Mundell adds some context to operating a business that is oriented to a broader vision than just ensuring the principals get richer by minimizing the salaries of employees and multiplying their own incomes:

I would say making these choices added a richness and a fullness to our lives. There's things that you give up in order to dedicate your life to this kind of thing and we don't have regrets. We see where we could have done this, we could have done that, but you make choices and you find that there's good in all of them. But we really feel good about the way we've lived.

John and Julie Mundell have had their own children in mind in seeking to restore and protect nature and the gift of natural resources, but their vision also extends to the welfare of communities. This concept is at the heart of what is called the Economy of Communion, which aims to put into effect the rich vein of Catholic social teaching.

John describes the Economy of Communion

The Mundells' business expresses its "Social Mission" this way:

Mundell & Associates began its operations in 1995 as part of a worldwide economic initiative now known as The Economy of Communion. The Economy of Communion  promotes a commitment by business owners to operate their businesses both for profit and for the benefit of society. This innovative proposal was launched in 1991 by an Italian woman named Chiara Lubich, leader of a worldwide organization called the Focolare Movement.

Those who participate are concerned about the negative effects of the “culture of having” that dominates society and sometimes inadvertently marginalizes people. To promote a “culture of giving” which creates an all-inclusive, healthier, happier society, both profits and needs are shared within the EOC in an atmosphere of mutual support and trust.

The people who benefit from the profits of the businesses (i.e., those who are in need), assume an active role. Receiving takes on the same value as giving. The need is a contribution that is offered in full dignity and fraternity.

In 2014 alone the EOC’s ‘culture of giving’ provided help for about 2,000 families in need, despite tough economic conditions faced in many countries throughout the world.

Additionally, the formation of young entrepreneurs is supported through various initiatives and summer schools around the globe where participants learn about and develop business projects that bring about this new way of economic action.

Today, over 850 businesses in 60 countries participate in the Economy of Communion.

The Economy of Communion is a new paradigm for business practice. It aims to marry rational behaviour in running and protecting the interest of a business with recognition of the obligation to share the social resources generated by the business activity. The sharing is with the community through respecting the needs of the natural environment and, likewise, the needs of the human environment.

Se-Hak Chun, of Seoul National University of Science and Technology, writes in a research paper:

The  Economy  of  Communion  [focuses on]  advocating  and practising  equality  and  redistribution  (Gold,  2003).  The  EoC shares profits to eradicate poverty and reduce social exclusion. In  this  regard,  the  EoC  is  a  new  market  economy  philosophy  between Marxism and Capitalism,. [It] is grounded in a profound respect  for  the  individual  dignity  of  the  human  person  (Linard, 2003). The EoC promotes a commitment of owners (shareholders) to  operate  their  businesses  both  for  profit  and  for  the  benefit  of society (Grochmal, 2016). 

In a market economy, the firm’s goal is known as a profit maximization in an efficient way. Thus, an economic agent acts to pursue personal self-interest. However, the EoC firms [aim] to redistribute wealth according to concept of fairness (Zamagni, 2014). The EoC firms put stress on the relationship between economics and civil or social life.

The core principles guiding this fresh paradigm are  generativity,  reciprocity and gratuitousness — with the ethos of solidarity expressed at every level of commercial activity (Gold, 2004). This can be illustrated by the fact that:

EoC businesses voluntarily allocate their profits in three parts: one part for direct aid to the poor, one part for educational programs to disseminate the culture of giving, and one part to finance investment and further develop the company (Crivelli and Gui, 2014). So, only one-third of the profits would be reinvested in the business in order to develop and create new jobs (Bruni and Uel-men, 2006; Bouckaert and Zsolnai 2012). 

That might be regarded as a business-killer right there. Certainly Se-Hak Chun, without offering any comparison to typical businesses, expresses doubts about the sustainability of EoC businesses if they retain just one-third of the profit for business use.

But, in fact, conventional wisdom concurs with the EoC guideline. For example, one bank gives this advice:

The question is: how much do you reinvest? The answer is different for every business owner. Traditionally, experts recommend that you invest at least 20% to 30% of your profits back into your company. But that percentage may change depending on multiple factors, including your timeline, goals for growth and your personal financial needs.

The "needs" of the EoC business's owners (investors) are sacrificed, as Julie Mundell stated above, an example of the generous mindset necessary for such an undertaking, where redistribution of wealth is elevated above private appropriation. We have to remember that the right to private wealth, private property is not absolute, but always secondary to the needs of the community. 

In all, the Economy of Communion offers a ray of hope for all those who wish to humanize economic activity through use of rational, but at the same time, altruistic business practices, with profit redistribution, too, not just toward employees but toward the wider community as well. In addition, the EoC aims to rid society of its predicament where work is a new form of slavery and is the source of historically outrageous inequality. These areas of the modern market economy are desperate for relief.

Ω See another video featuring John Mundell, this time focusing on his application of the EoC principles to his own business. Go here.

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