Society increasingly expects large companies to broaden their corporate purpose beyond profit maximization, and play a greater role in addressing the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). This article poses the research question: What is the relationship between corporate purpose and the SDGs?, and develops a model to explain this relationship drawing upon semistructured interviews with managers of Fortune Global 500 companies in Japan. The findings suggest two perspectives of corporate purpose, goal‐based and duty‐based, influence the relationship. Two‐thirds of the companies implemented both perspectives and integrated the SDGs at multiple levels in their organizations whereas one‐third only implemented duty‐based purpose and integrated the SDGs at the operational level. The paper contributes to theorizing the relationship between corporate purpose and corporate engagement with the SDGs drawing upon empirical evidence. The model provides guidance to managers on how to use the purpose to help drive their contributions to the SDGs.