Here in the United States, the power to form corporations comes from the state constitutions. The applicable clauses typically require protection of the public interest, or note the power to revoke the charter based on misuse or abuse. This explicit or implicit public obligation is apart from the fiduciary obligation of the corporation's directors and officers. Over time, the presumption has come to exist that the single-minded pursuit of corporate profit is enough to satisfy that obligation, by providing goods, services, and jobs. Now that there is greater awareness of the external costs generated by some corporate activity, this assumption can and should be revisited. The constitutional power to raise the bar on corporate behavior already exists, it's simply dormant in most jurisdictions.