What is "shared value" and why it matters
The CSV concept, which Porter and Kramer introduced in the Harvard Business Review in January 2011, responded to the legitimacy crisis of capitalism following the 2008 financial collapse. Their diagnosis was clear: businesses prosper at the expense of society, focusing on short-term profit and ignoring resource depletion, supply chain fragility, or the health of the communities in which they operate.
The solution, according to them, was not more philanthropy or CSR reports, but a change in the very core of business — creating economic value in a way that simultaneously solves societal problems. In other words: growing the overall pie, not just redistributing its slices.
Agentic AI as the engine of shared value
While in 2011 the main examples of CSV were mobile banking in developing countries or nutritional supplements for undernourished communities, in 2026 the situation is radically changing. Agentic AI — systems that can autonomously analyze a situation, plan steps, and execute them with minimal human oversight — is itself becoming a new product category that elevates CSV to a higher level.
How does this work in practice? Agentic AI systems today:
- Personalize education in regions with teacher shortages — using data on student progress to create individualized learning plans at near-zero marginal cost.
- Diagnose diseases remotely — autonomous agents integrate data from wearables, lab results, and medical history and recommend next steps in real time.
- Optimize supply chains with regard not only to price, but also to carbon footprint, water resources, and social conditions at the point of production.
The key advantage is the simultaneous reduction of costs and negative externalities. Agentic AI can reroute autonomous vehicles in real time based on weather predictions, adjust the energy consumption of robotic manufacturing according to the current price of renewable electricity, or plan the conversion of waste to energy precisely according to factory demand. Emissions, water consumption, and costs decline simultaneously — this is not a compromise, but a synergy.
Circular economy powered by AI
The second pillar of the transformation is full circularity driven by artificial intelligence. While until recently the circular economy was more of an ideal than a practical reality, agentic AI is changing the rules of the game. Material passports — digital records of the origin, composition, and life cycle of every product tracked by AI — enable the automatic redirection of components into recycling and remanufacturing loops.
In the European Union, this trend is accelerated by the Ecodesign Regulation and the upcoming digital product passport, which will be mandatory for most products from 2027. Czech manufacturing companies, particularly in the automotive and electronics industries, are already preparing for this change — agentic AI systems are helping them map material flows, identify recycling bottlenecks, and simulate circular supply chain scenarios.
From carbon footprint to carbon asset
A separate chapter is carbon conversion technologies (CCU — Carbon Capture and Utilization). While just a decade ago CO₂ capture was perceived primarily as a cost, today agentic AI controls chemical processors that convert carbon dioxide into ethylene, synthetic fuels, or building materials. An environmental obligation becomes a production raw material.
In the Czech context, projects like CO₂ as a raw material for the chemical industry, on which research teams from UCT Prague are working in cooperation with industrial partners, are worth noting. Agentic AI in these processes optimizes reaction conditions in real time, thereby increasing conversion efficiency and reducing energy intensity.
The European path: regulation as a catalyst, not a brake
The European Union plays a specific role in this story. The EU AI Act, which came into full effect in 2026, and the Green Deal create a regulatory framework that — contrary to criticism that it stifles innovation — can actively accelerate CSV. Requirements for AI system transparency, sustainability reporting (CSRD), and circular product design set clear rules of the game.
Companies that deploy agentic AI not only for profit maximization but also for achieving environmental and social goals gain a competitive advantage in the European environment: easier access to green financing, lower compliance costs, and a stronger position in the supply chains of large buyers who themselves report ESG metrics.
What this means for Czech companies
The Czech Republic, as an industrial economy with a high share of the manufacturing sector in GDP, faces a fundamental choice. Agentic AI and the circular approach do not represent a threat, but an opportunity for modernization. Czech companies that today invest in autonomous AI systems for production optimization, predictive maintenance, and material efficiency are building the foundations for a CSV model in which:
- Manufacturing energy intensity declines thanks to AI-driven consumption planning.
- Waste turns into raw materials through AI-monitored material flows.
- Employees shift from routine work to higher-value activities that require creativity and judgment.
An example is the Czech National Bank (ČNB), which recently launched its own AI infrastructure for financial market supervision — a demonstration of how public institutions use AI to create shared value in the form of a safer financial system.
The new capitalism: profit as a consequence, not a goal
The CSV concept in the era of agentic AI is not about companies ceasing to earn money. Quite the opposite. It is about profit ceasing to be the sole goal and becoming a consequence of solving real societal needs. When you ask agentic AI: "Can this product serve an overlooked community while also generating revenue?" — and the answer is yes — old dichotomies between business and society disappear.
As Shailesh Haribhakti, author of the books Sustainable Abundance and History of the Future, writes in his analysis for Free Press Journal: "The invisible hand of the market is now augmented by intelligent agents, regenerative loops, and an abundance of clean energy." Companies that embrace shared value as the core of their strategy will be the driving force of the next wave of innovation and growth. And the limit is no longer technology — it is only imagination.
What is the difference between CSR and Creating Shared Value (CSV)?
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) is typically separate from the core business — it involves philanthropy, volunteering, or standalone "green" projects. CSV, by contrast, means that social and environmental benefits are directly embedded into the core of the business. It is not about how to distribute the profit created, but about how to solve societal problems while creating that profit.
Are Czech companies ready for the rise of agentic AI for the circular economy?
Czech companies, especially in the automotive and manufacturing sectors, are already taking initial steps. The key catalyst is European legislation — the Ecodesign Regulation and the upcoming digital product passport — which creates a clear timeline for transitioning to circular models. Agentic AI systems are a key tool for managing this transformation efficiently and without losing competitiveness.
Is there a risk that agentic AI will replace jobs before creating new ones?
The concern is legitimate, but early deployment practice points more toward a transformation of job roles rather than mass layoffs. Agentic AI takes over routine, repetitive tasks — from logistics planning to production line monitoring. People shift to activities requiring creativity, strategic thinking, and interpersonal communication. The CSV model also assumes that investment in employee retraining is part of shared value.
