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Louisa reflects on shifts in gender imbalance in the construction industry, and shares how her career transition from engineering into HR has enabled her to drive culture transformation, providing practical examples on values-led leadership such as ‘mood mountains'. Louisa explores the future of work, highlighting HR's role in leading digital change and creating inclusive, trust-based workplaces, advocating for offices as collaborative destinations. With a call to action for HR to ‘be the challenge' in business, Louisa urges HR leaders to ask bold questions and embrace cognitive diversity to unlock progress. Cecilia echoes the message, encouraging listeners to step into their influence and lead change with purpose. References: None Thank you to How HR Leaders Change the World - Live! 2025 - brought to you by Uplifting People for sponsoring this episode This episode is brought to you by HR's boldest moment yet - How HR Leaders Change the World Live. Today's HR leaders are navigating extraordinary demands, balancing short-term business performance with shaping long-term, purpose-driven strategy. Yet despite holding the key to sustainable commercial success, HR is often undervalued, under-supported, and expected to play it safe. That's exactly why we created How HR Leaders Change the World - Live! - an extraordinary event bringing together pioneering HR leaders who believe our profession can be a transformative force for both business growth and social good. This year's event is the boldest yet, featuring candid, strategic conversations and powerful insights from global CHROs. You'll leave with actionable takeaways and a renewed sense of the power of your role, with 100% of profits donated to support vulnerable children - meaning your impact starts before you even walk through the door. Early bird tickets are now available, saving you £100 if you book before 30th July. With only 50 discounted tickets on offer, once they're gone, they're gone. Take a look at the agenda and our first speaker announcements, including keynote Bob Geldof KBE. Don't miss out - secure your place today and join fellow HR change makers to enhance your influence and impact. We can't wait to see you there!
In this landmark 200th episode we bring together five inspiring CHROs to share actionable insights on navigating the future of work. Each leader responds to listener questions with practical strategies that highlight HR's vital role in driving transformation with empathy, agility, and human-centred leadership: · Dannii Portsmouth of PepsiCo EMEA explores how HR can harness AI by fostering emotional intelligence, ethical judgement, and curiosity; · Elaine Grell at Ogilvy EMEA shares creative ways to embed AI across the business through inclusive learning and playful experimentation; · Elly Tomlins at EasyJet discusses the importance of purpose-driven, honest communication to balance transformation with cost efficiency; · Loren Shuster at The LEGO Group reveals how leadership is evolving beyond hierarchy into collaborative, cross-functional approaches supported by AI-powered personalised development platforms; and · Natalia Wallenberg at Ahold Delhaize, offers four key principles for building future-ready leaders. Listen to hear these and her practical 2-2-2 framework that builds business resilience and agility. Together, these insights illuminate a powerful vision for HR's role - not just as a driver of change, but as a beacon of hope and human connection, inspiring purpose-led leadership in a world of constant transformation. Thank you to everyone that sent in a question, and thanks to you for listening – we're delighted to celebrate this 200th episode and the power of #HRChangemakers! References: None Sponsored by How HR Leaders Change the World - Live! 2025 This episode is brought to you by HR's boldest moment yet - How HR Leaders Change the World Live! Today's HR leaders are navigating extraordinary demands, balancing short-term business performance with shaping long-term, purpose-driven strategy. Yet despite holding the key to sustainable commercial success, HR is often undervalued, under-supported, and expected to play it safe. That's exactly why we created How HR Leaders Change the World - Live! - an extraordinary event bringing together pioneering HR leaders who believe our profession can be a transformative force for both business growth and social good. This year's event is the boldest yet, featuring candid, strategic conversations and powerful insights from global CHROs. You'll leave with actionable takeaways and a renewed sense of the power of your role, with 100% of profits donated to support vulnerable children - meaning your impact starts before you even walk through the door. Early bird tickets are for a limited time only, saving you £100 if you book before 31st July. Take a look at the agenda and see our first CHRO speaker announcements, plus our legendary keynote - Bob Geldof KBE! Don't miss out – click here to secure your place today and join fellow #HRChangemakers enhancing their influence and impact. We can't wait to see you there!
Lisa describes her career journey from corporate communications to leading an integrated, purpose-driven strategy and highlights the value of uniting people and communications to turn purpose from words into measurable change. Sharing why Aldermore chooses to call its annual ESG report a “Report to Society,” Lisa describes her personal passion for social mobility, shaped by her own journey from a call centre to the C-suite, and offers practical examples and insights into Aldermore's work on social mobility. Lisa summarises her vision for HR's role in the AI-enabled future, emphasising the roles of empathy and curiosity, and argues that truly human-centred leadership is essential to guide organisations through change, and deliver positive impact for colleagues, customers, and society. References: None Thank you to Kin&Co for sponsoring this episode What makes an organisation thrive in today's complex world? It's not just about strategy or financial results - it's about culture. This episode is sponsored by Kin&Co, a certified B Corp and female-owned consultancy on a mission to make work better for 10 million people by 2030. Kin&Co believe that the most impactful organisations will cultivate thriving, human-centred cultures where people are motivated by purpose, resilience, and empowered to perform at their best. Drawing on cutting-edge behavioural science and an inclusive approach, Kin&Co help global organisations transform their cultures, sparking lasting behaviour change that drives measurable impact on strategy, people, and performance. Their new model for organisational change is shaped by deep experience in culture transformation. If you're intrigued, Kin&Co invites you to explore your own organisational culture with their free Thriving Cultures Diagnostic - a simple, insightful tool backed by behavioural science and inspired by nature. It provides a clear snapshot of your current culture and suggests practical actions to drive better behaviours, strategic shifts, and stronger organisational performance. To learn more and take the diagnostic, click here: Kin&Co
Severine describes herself as an HR professional “by passion and by design”, sharing her impact in enabling consistent transformation - from accelerating talent planning for a workforce that's 80% Millennial and Gen Z, to evolving culture and embracing AI through innovative learning strategies. Severine summarises Sportradar's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging programme, for 4,000 employees across 80+ nationalities with a balance of global goals and local action, and is candid about industry challenges such as gender representation in both sport and technology. Asked for one wish, an action for all HR leaders, Severine calls on practitioners to help people be the best version of themselves, believing that enabling individuals to act from a place of abundance and balance can transform organisations and society step by step. References: Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams – Matthew Walker Thank you to Kin&Co for sponsoring this episode What makes an organisation thrive in today's complex world? It's not just about strategy or financial results - it's about culture. This episode is sponsored by Kin&Co, a certified B Corp and female-owned consultancy on a mission to make work better for 10 million people by 2030. Kin&Co believe that the most impactful organisations will cultivate thriving, human-centred cultures where people are motivated by purpose, resilience, and empowered to perform at their best. Drawing on cutting-edge behavioural science and an inclusive approach, Kin&Co help global organisations transform their cultures, sparking lasting behaviour change that drives measurable impact on strategy, people, and performance. Their new model for organisational change is shaped by deep experience in culture transformation. If you're intrigued, Kin&Co invites you to explore your own organisational culture with their free Thriving Cultures Diagnostic - a simple, insightful tool backed by behavioural science and inspired by nature. It provides a clear snapshot of your current culture and suggests practical actions to drive better behaviours, strategic shifts, and stronger organisational performance. To learn more and take the diagnostic, click here: Kin&Co
Corporate sustainability is currently facing a significant setback due to recent shifts in the geopolitical landscape. But how should businesses best respond, and how can they gather the courage to keep going working towards becoming more sustainable?This week on the FranklySpeaking podcast, Richard Howitt was joined by author and speaker Andrew Winston, who has published multiple books on sustainability and was named as the third most influential management thinker in the world by Thinkers50. Together they dived into the debate on whether or not the acronym ESG should be dropped in favour of another term, and discussed what's the most important thing to watch out for when it comes to AI from a sustainability perspective. You'll also hear more about:Why Andrew believes the business case for sustainability isn't the be all and end all - sometimes sustainability costs more, but so what?How business leaders can come together to fight climate change even in the face of political backlash Andrew's personal struggle with depression and the difficulty of being able to champion sustainability in the midst of a very challenging geopolitical context Listen in and follow us on Linkedin!
The 2024 Provocateurs series featured nine inspiring thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and business authors who challenged us to re-think conventional approaches to leadership and management. Neri Karra Sillaman shared her remarkable story from refugee to building a multi-million-dollar sustainable fashion brand; Marcus Collins explored the hidden power of cultural influence in consumer behaviour; Lisa McKnight revealed how she transformed Barbie into a cultural phenomenon and billion-dollar success; and Andrew Winston redefined the role of business to create a thriving “net positive world”. One of the key highlights of the 2024 series was recording live at New York Climate Week with Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, who delivered an emotional and unequivocal call to action to address the “moral vacuum” in global leadership. We must cultivate leaders, he says, who are equipped to embrace restorative, reparative, and regenerative practices and lead with purpose.We also learnt leadership lessons from Amy Chang on becoming an AI entrepreneur; Jeff Wetzler on leveraging the wisdom of the people around you; Dane Jensen on harnessing the positive power of pressure; and Atif Rafiq on driving innovation and digital transformation in traditional, legacy companies.In this episode, Steve Goldbach, Geoff Tuff, and Kulleni Gebreyes of Deloitte, join Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove of Thinkers50, to reflect on their key takeaways and thought-provoking insights from Provocateurs 2024.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.
Recorded Live at Climate Week, New YorkPaul Polman is a business leader, campaigner, and co-author (with Andrew Winston) of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive By Giving More Than They Take, a Financial Times Business Book of the Year. Together with Andrew, Paul is ranked #3 on the Thinkers50 Ranking. As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), Paul demonstrated that business can profit through purpose, delivering shareholder returns of 290% while the company consistently ranked 1st in the world for sustainability. Today he works across a range of organisations to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which he helped develop. In New York for the 2024 Climate Week, Paul sat down with Thinkers50 co-founder, Des Dearlove, and Steve Goldbach, head of Deloitte's Sustainability Practice in the US, to discuss how business can be a force for good, what it means to be ‘net positive,' and how to develop the next generation of leaders. He identified a fundamental moral vacuum in our current approach to global challenges and emphasised that addressing this void requires more than systemic reforms – it demands a profound transformation in how we think and lead. A new leadership mindset is called for, he argues; one that focuses on restorative, reparative, and regenerative practices and places cooperation above competition.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.
The Courage to be Net PositiveAndrew Winston is one of the most widely read writers and thinkers on sustainable business. His books on sustainability strategy include Green to Gold, The Big Pivot, and most recently, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, which he co-authored with Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever.Andrew and Paul are ranked #3 in the Thinkers50 Ranking of top management thinkers and Net Positive featured on the Thinkers50 Best New Management Booklist in 2022.In this Provocateurs podcast, Andrew joins Thinkers50 co-founder, Des Dearlove, and Kulleni Gebreyes, Deloitte US Consulting Life Sciences and Healthcare Industry Leader and US Chief Equity Officer. They address how leaders can stand up for their social and environmental values and overcome resistance from within and without their organisation.How can a business become ‘net positive' – one that thrives and profits by solving the world's problems, not creating them? How do you align purpose and profit? Why are companies often expected to prove immediate ROI for sustainability initiatives and not others? Find out more about the prevalence of ‘green hushing,' the positive impact of collective courage, and how younger millennials are driving change in corporate behaviour.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.
For Sci-Fi buffs, a future infused with AI may evoke unsettling images of HAL from Stanley Kubrick’s film, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” In truth, the evolving technology of artificial intelligence may well be taking over, but not quite how the filmmakers envisioned it. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with Andrew Winston, a … Continue reading Andrew Winston: AI and the Climate → This article and podcast Andrew Winston: AI and the Climate appeared first on Sea Change Radio.
ESG – environmental, social and governance – is considered by some to be a buzzword or a “woke” issue, while others see it as a business imperative. As a result, some companies are “greenhushing,” opting to stay quiet about their sustainability goals. In this episode, Andrew Winston, a leading expert on sustainability and corporate strategy, talks about the anti-ESG movement and the important role that CPAs can play in ESG reporting. Resources:ESG Knowledge Hub – https://njcpa.org/hub/esgWebinar: The CPA's Role in ESG Reporting (Feb. 28 or March 7) – https://njcpa.org/plusMore about Andrew Winston - https://andrewwinston.com/
On the Future in Sound podcast, one of our favourite questions to ask is ‘what book or idea has most shaped the way you think?' We heard from leading experts in sustainability including: Alex Edmans, Gillian Tett, Andrew Winston, Siko, Saadia Madsbjerg, Lisa Kimmel, Elsa Palanza, Harlin Singh Urofsky, Jason Mitchell, Nicola Ranger, Sam Cryer, Sophie Robinson-Tillett, Alex Robart and many more! Curious to hear their recommendations? Good news – you can listen to the full list of book recommendations and analytical approaches here.Click here for the episode web page.For more insights straight to your inbox subscribe to the Future in Sight newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.Brought to you by Re:Co, a market intelligence company helping clients achieve resilient competitive advantage in the long term.Produced by Chris AttawayArtwork by Harriet RichardsonMusic by Cody Martin
How can you become a net positive leader?Right now, the COP28 Climate Summit is taking place in Dubai, where the most important discussions around climate change are in full swing. My hope is that some of these conversations are spilling over into boardrooms because the stark reality is that we need to do more.The encouraging fact is that your business holds untapped potential to actively contribute to the solution. However, it necessitates a shift in perspective from every leader, not just the progressive ones—a realisation that courageous companies are Net Positive and thrive by giving more than they take.Today's guest is Andrew Winston, a globally recognised expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving the world. His views on sustainable business strategy have been sought after by many of the world's leading companies. He was selected for the Thinkers50 list of the top management thinkers globally, and he has appeared in major media such as Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Time, BusinessWeek, New York Times, and CNBC.Andrew's latest book, "Net Positive" written in collaboration with one of the world's most prominent purpose-driven CEOs, Paul Polman, is the topic of today's conversation. In short, the book challenges fifty years of corporate dogma, stating that businesses can no longer focus solely on short-term profits or ignore humanity's biggest challenges.Net Positive lays out the principles and practices of next-generation companies that deliver the scale of change and transformation the world desperately needs—and today, that is exactly what we will be exploring. https://andrewwinston.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For 20 år siden traf Andrew Winston en beslutning om at bruge sin erfaring fra erhvervslivet på at gøre planeten til et bedre sted. I dag er han en af verdens førende eksperter inden for krydsfeltet mellem bæredygtighed og forretning og har senest forfattet bogen "Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More than They Take" sammen med tidligere CEO for Unilever Paul Polman. Christian Jensby taler med ham om at skabe virksomheder, der løser verdens problemer frem for at forårsage dem.Medvirkende:· Andrew Winston, forfatter, foredragsholder og ekspert i krydsfeltet mellem bæredygtighed og forretning· Christian Jensby, vært og CEO for Deloitte Danmark
Andrew Winston is one of the most widely read writers on sustainable business in the world, with regular columns inHarvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. His latest book, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More than They Take (co-authored with renowned CEO Paul Polman), is one of Financial Times' Best Business Books of the Year. Andrew's views on strategy have been sought after by many of the world's leading companies, including 3M, DuPont, HP, J&J, Unilever and has appeared in major media such as Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Time, BusinessWeek, New York Times, and CNBC. In this episode, Andrew discusses the need for business leaders to have courage in expressing their values, the need for increased ambition in the sustainability arena and much more.Click here for the episode web page.For more insights straight to your inbox subscribe to the Future in Sight newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.Brought to you by Re:Co, a market intelligence company helping clients achieve resilient competitive advantage in the long term.Produced by Chris AttawayArtwork by Harriet RichardsonMusic by Cody Martin
Daniel Esty is the Hillhouse Professor at Yale University's Environment, Law, and Management Schools. He also serves as director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, co-director of the Yale Initiative on Sustainable Finance, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, which he founded in 2007. Professor Esty is the author or editor of 14 books and 150+ articles on environmental protection, regulatory reform, energy policy, and sustainability and their connections to corporate strategy, competitiveness, trade, and economic success. Prior to his academic career, he earned his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and his B.A. in Economics from Harvard University. He was also a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. Check out the Climate Finance Podcast Website for more information. Topics discussed: Harvard Undergrad Thesis with Dr. Richard Caves: Exploring the Relationship between Economic Power and Political Influence. Yale Law School: Learning about Environmental Issues and International Trade. International Environmental Pro-Bono Cases at Arnold & Porter that Shaped Daniel Esty's Career Trajectory. Joining the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as Special Assistant to William Reilley in 1989 to Negotiating the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. Rio 1992 Earth Summit: “Success Versus Real Success.” Publishing his first book: Greening the GATT: Trade, Environment, and the Future (1994), with support from the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Council on Foreign Relations. Early Research Publications with Michael Porter: Industrial Ecology and Competitiveness: Strategic Implications for the firm (1998). National Environmental Performance: An Empirical Analysis of Policy Results and Determinants (2005). Establishing the Environmental Performance Index in 2002 and maintaining the EPI for over two decades. “Green to Gold” Book Publications (2006-11): Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage with Andrew Winston (2006). The Green to Gold Business Playbook: How to Implement Sustainability Practices for Bottom-Line Results in Every Business Function with P.J. Simmons (2011). Daniel Esty's Accomplishments as the Commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (2011-14). Regulatory Transformation at CT DEEP. Formulating and Launching the United States First-ever Green Bank. Success of the Green Bank: Mobilized $1 billion in Clean Energy Investments by 2015, and the Green Bank Concept spread around the U.S. and the World. Recent Book Publications: A Better Planet: 40 Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future (2019) Special Essay: From Red Lights to Green Lights. Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting with Todd Cort (2020) Special Essays: Creating Next-Generation and Investment-Grade Corporate Sustainability Metrics. Advanced Introduction to U.S. Environmental Law with Donald Elliot (2021) Ongoing Work at the World Trade Organization with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (WTO Director-General). Co-founding The Remaking the Global Trading System for a Sustainable Future Project (Greening Global Trade). Daniel Esty's Advice to Listeners: Commitment to Ideas and Action. Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The interview took place on 29th August 2023.
This week we're learning from Andrew Winston, one of the most widely read writers on sustainable business, and a globally-recognised expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving people and the planet. Andrew's journey into the realm of sustainability was a winding one. His formal education in economics and his subsequent tenure as a consultant instilled in him the strategic approach he would later need. However, it was the dot-com crash that turned the tide and urged him to follow a new path. He yearned for something more meaningful, leading him to pursue a degree in environmental management. He didn't anticipate that his first book, written like a consultant and not an environmentalist, would become a bestseller and lay the foundation for his work in helping companies understand the role of business in society. He passionately believes that profits and sustainability are not mutually exclusive and that the majority of a company's value lies in its intangible aspects, such as brand value and customer loyalty. In this episode, Andrew emphasises the need to think beyond traditional business models and consider the broader societal and environmental impacts of operations. He also discusses the B Corp certification and Benefit Corporations, encouraging small to medium-sized enterprises to explore these avenues for demonstrating their commitment to environmental and social responsibility. Andrew also addresses the perception of sustainability practices in Asian companies and dispels myths surrounding China's efforts in renewable energy. Download and listen to learn more. On today's podcast: Green to Gold and the two-by-two matrixWhat makes leaders care about sustainabilityThe politicisation of social and environmental issuesMultinationals and sustainabilityThe value of the B Corp Certification Follow Andrew Winston:WebsiteLinkedInNet Positive The Pig PivotGreen To GoldGreen Recovery Book recommendations:The Ministry for the FutureThe Inner Game of Tennis Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review
Life is full of paradoxes. How can we each express our individuality while also being a team player? How do we balance work and life? How can we improve diversity while promoting opportunities for all? How can we manage the core business while innovating for the future?For many of us, these competing and interwoven demands are a source of conflict. Since our brains love to make either-or choices, we choose one option over the other. We deal with the uncertainty by asserting certainty.There's a better way.In Both/And Thinking, Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis help readers cope with multiple, knotted tensions at the same time. Drawing from more than twenty years of pioneering research, they provide tools and lessons for transforming these tensions into opportunities for innovation and personal growth.Filled with practical advice and fascinating stories—including firsthand tales from IBM, LEGO, and Unilever, as well as from startups, nonprofits, and even an inn at one of the four corners of the world—Both/And Thinking will change the way you approach your most vexing problems. ***The Burleson Box is brought to you by Mastry:The Mastry App leverages HypnoBreathwork®, a cutting edge method using breathwork to clear energetic patterns, hypnosis to reprogram subconscious beliefs, and visioning to fire new neural pathways for sustainable behavior change. This unique formula accelerates trance-induced states to heal unprocessed emotions from the root and take intuitive action to get into alignment.Mastry is an experience to create connection and live your purpose. Download the app, try a free 7 day tray and join the mailing list at Mastryapp.com***Resources Mentioned in the Episode with Wendy Smith:Both And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest ProblemsBoth And Thinking Book WebsiteParadox Mindset InventorySmith, W. Dynamic decision making: a model of senior leaders managing strategic paradoxes. Academy of Management Journal 2014, Vol. 57, No.6, 1592-1623.Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston ***Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, exclusive study guides, special edition books each quarter, powerpoint and keynote presentations and two tickets to Dustin Burleson's Annual Leadership Retreat.http://www.theburlesonbox.com/sign-up Stay Up to Date: Sign up for The Burleson Report, our weekly newsletter that is delivered each Sunday with timeless insight for life and private practice. Sign up here:http://www.theburlesonreport.com Follow Dustin Burleson, DDS, MBA at:http://www.burlesonseminars.com
Andrew Winston is one of the most widely read and respected writers on sustainability. The author of four books and hundreds of articles, his work has been published in many outlets including the Harvard Business Review and the MIT Sloan Management Review. In 2021 Andrew was named a top 50 management thinker in the Thinkers50 list. Andrew's latest book is, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take. It was co-authored with Paul Polman, the legendary ex-CEO of Unilever. This book is a must-read. In this episode we discuss: ● What Net Positive means and why it's crucial for business ● How ESG got tied up in American Politics ● The difference between ESG and Sustainability Key Takeaways: ● There's a big difference between the ambition of 1) minimizing the damage your company causes to humans and the planet, versus 2) becoming neutral, and causing no harm, versus 3) making the world better through your operations. Where we set our ambition anchors our thinking (in psychology this is referred to as the anchoring effect). In business, we create company ambitions to anchor the entire organization and orient employees in the same direction. The ambition you set will determine how inspired your organization is to reach it, the types of innovation they develop to attain it, and ultimately your ambition will influence how far you go. Take a look inside your organization. Where have you set your ambitions? What are you anchored against? ● ESG and Sustainability are not the same things. They were created for different reasons. ESG, at its most fundamental level, was created to assess the risk of investments, mainly by understanding how the future of a business could be affected by environmental and social issues. It includes an additional lens on whether a company has good governance in place to manage those risks. Sustainability, on the other hand, looks at how a company impacts the world and society, not limited to the lens of business risk. ● As humans, we have a cognitive bias toward hiring people similar to ourselves. We also know from sound research that diversity makes the strongest teams. How can we help overcome our cognitive bias in hiring? Next time, before you start interviewing to fill vacant spots on your team take a moment to do this visualization. Close your eyes and imagine your workforce filled with clones of you. Honestly assess: what you would be good at and what are your known weaknesses and blind spots. Then mentally scan each of your current team members to determine which of your strengths are reinforced, and which of your weaknesses are compensated by them. Now you know what you and your team already bring to the table, and more importantly, what's missing that a new hire could offer. Knowing this will help intentionally shift your focus from the common “culture fit” question, which is often a disguised way of asking “is this person like me and do I want to be friends with them”, to instead asking “is this person adding to our Super Hero Marvel Team, bringing what none of us have to the team?” References: ● Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn ● Andrew's website ● Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take by Andrew Winston and Paul Polman ● Paul Polman's website ● “ESG Is Going to Have a Rocky 2023. Sustainability Will Be Just Fine.”, MIT Sloan Management Review, February 7th, 2023 ● “2022: A Tumultuous Year in ESG and Sustainability”, Harvard Business Review, December 21st, 2022 ● Learn more about Edelman's research and reports on trust here. ● You can read BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's most recent letter to investors here. Connect & Share: If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading them! If this episode resonated with you, I ask you to send it to a friend. Help bring even more visibility to these leaders that are using business as a force for good! Subscribe to the Purpose and Profit newsletter to make sure you don't miss future episodes. This podcast is for you, the listener. I'd love to hear what resonated with you, or if you have a suggestion on who would be a great guest for this show. Please send me a note at info@KathyVarol.com.
A successful business solves the world's problems, not causes it. They give more to their community than they take. Andrew Winston is a globally recognized expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving people and our planet. He is one of the most widely read writers on sustainable businesses in the world with regular columns Harvard Business Review and the MIT Sloan Management Review. His latest book, 'Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take,' coauthored with the renowned CEO Paul Polman, was recognized as one of Financial Times Best Business Books of the Year. His first book, 'Green to Gold,' which he coauthored with Daniel Esty, has reached more than 100,000 people in seven languages. And his book, 'The Big Pivot,' was selected as one of the best business books by Strategy and Business magazine. He shares his inspiration, motivation, and research behind the importance of being a net positive business. Learn more about his work and influence on The Colony Group's Net Positive Pledge in this episode.
Andrew Winston is one of the world's most widely read writers and leading thinkers on sustainable business. His books on sustainability strategy, including Green to Gold and The Big Pivot, have sold more than 150,000 copies in seven languages. Winston has also written cover stories for Harvard Business Review and published hundreds of articles in HBR, MIT Sloan Management Review, and other top publications. He was recently selected for the Thinkers50 Radar 2020, a list of 30 thinkers to watch out for in the coming year. His views on strategy have been sought after by many of the world's leading companies, including 3M, DuPont, HP, Ingersoll Rand, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, Marriott, PepsiCo, PwC, and Unilever. Andrew has spent much of his career helping business leaders understand how to put sustainability at the forefront of their strategy—which will inevitably affect all industries and companies. In this podcast he shares with us: Why this seemingly impossible ideas of not net zero but net positive is actually feasibleHow the pandemic actually accelerated both interest and willingness to accept the transition to greener global initiatives Why now is a good time to invest in ESG/sustainability initiatives The role of business in society, and why has it changed over time How any company can make a leap or move to adopting sustainable practices—taking UPS as an example, and how all industries will inevitably be affected _________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Highlight from today's episode00:45—Introducing Andrew + The topic of today's episode2:05—If you really know me, you know that...3:26—What is your definition of strategy?4:48—What got you interested in strategy, and particularly in ESG and sustainability strategy?6:03—Why do companies care about sustainability now where they didn't as much in the past?7:59—Why is ESG and sustainability a smart place to invest right now?11:00—Do you think there is a fundamental mindset shift happening in leadership?13:34—Could you tell us about how UPS adopted sustainable practices in a surprising, yet effective way?15:10—Could you talk about the future of various industries, using agriculture as an example?17:44—Where should strategists start with net positive practices?20:00—How can people follow you and keep learning from you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: https://andrewwinston.com/Newest Book, Net Positive: https://netpositive.world/book/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwinston/Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewwinston
Andrew Winston is one of the world's most widely read writers and leading thinkers on sustainable business. His books on sustainability strategy, including Green to Gold and The Big Pivot, have sold more than 150,000 copies in seven languages. Winston has also written cover stories for Harvard Business Review and published hundreds of articles in HBR, MIT Sloan Management Review, and other top publications. He was recently selected for the Thinkers50 Radar 2020, a list of 30 thinkers to watch out for in the coming year. His views on strategy have been sought after by many of the world's leading companies, including 3M, DuPont, HP, Ingersoll Rand, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, Marriott, PepsiCo, PwC, and Unilever. Andrew has spent much of his career helping business leaders understand how to put sustainability at the forefront of their strategy—which will inevitably affect all industries and companies. In this podcast he shares with us: Why this seemingly impossible ideas of not net zero but net positive is actually feasibleHow the pandemic actually accelerated both interest and willingness to accept the transition to greener global initiatives Why now is a good time to invest in ESG/sustainability initiatives The role of business in society, and why has it changed over time How any company can make a leap or move to adopting sustainable practices—taking UPS as an example, and how all industries will inevitably be affected _________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Highlight from today's episode00:45—Introducing Andrew + The topic of today's episode2:05—If you really know me, you know that...3:26—What is your definition of strategy?4:48—What got you interested in strategy, and particularly in ESG and sustainability strategy?6:03—Why do companies care about sustainability now where they didn't as much in the past?7:59—Why is ESG and sustainability a smart place to invest right now?11:00—Do you think there is a fundamental mindset shift happening in leadership?13:34—Could you tell us about how UPS adopted sustainable practices in a surprising, yet effective way?15:10—Could you talk about the future of various industries, using agriculture as an example?17:44—Where should strategists start with net positive practices?20:00—How can people follow you and keep learning from you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: https://andrewwinston.com/Newest Book, Net Positive: https://netpositive.world/book/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwinston/Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewwinston
En esta oportunidad comparto mis opiniones acerca del libro “NetPositive: How courageous Companies Thrive by Giving Moren Than They Take” “Cómo las empresas valientes prosperan dando más de lo que reciben”. Los autores de este libro son Paul Polman ex CEO de Unilever y Andrew Winston, uno de los más reconocidos lideres en sustainable business. El concepto Net Positive define a un negocio que mejora el bienestar de todas las personas a las que impacta y en todas las escalas: cada producto, cada operación, cada región, país, y para cada parte interesada, incluidos empleados, proveedores, comunidades, clientes e incluso las generaciones futuras y obviamente, el planeta mismo. Pensar en una visión a largo plazo y continuar enfocado y trabajando de cerca con las comunidades son unos de los puntos planteados en este buen libro. Disclaimer: No tengo ninguna relación comercial, profesional, ni amical con los autores de este libro. No recibo ningún tipo de compensación, ni sponsor por producir este episodio. Para más información acerca de este libro visita: Visita:
En esta oportunidad comparto mis opiniones acerca del libro “NetPositive: How courageous Companies Thrive by Giving Moren Than They Take” “Cómo las empresas valientes prosperan dando más de lo que reciben”. Los autores de este libro son Paul Polman ex CEO de Unilever y Andrew Winston, uno de los más reconocidos lideres en sustainable business. El concepto Net Positive define a un negocio que mejora el bienestar de todas las personas a las que impacta y en todas las escalas: cada producto, cada operación, cada región, país, y para cada parte interesada, incluidos empleados, proveedores, comunidades, clientes e incluso las generaciones futuras y obviamente, el planeta mismo. Pensar en una visión a largo plazo y continuar enfocado y trabajando de cerca con las comunidades son unos de los puntos planteados en este buen libro. Disclaimer: No tengo ninguna relación comercial, profesional, ni amical con los autores de este libro. No recibo ningún tipo de compensación, ni sponsor por producir este episodio. Para más información acerca de este libro visita: Visita:
It's easy to look at a daunting challenge - something so big that you know you can't possibly finish the job - and then do nothing. It's easy to just not start at it, somewhere. But our guest today, Andrew Winston, did the opposite. When experience started telling him how important it was that we make a fundamental, global change in how business is done on our planet, he committed to a life of fighting for all our shared futures. He is truly living up to the moniker of “change-maker” and we are honored to share his insights. BOOK: Net Positive by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston Unilever Take over of Unilever GlobeScan The narrative of the world we are living in The stakeholders The better way of doing business It is how we lead more people having enough and everybody having enough The challenge on businesses during the pandemic Medtronic People coming together making things than they've ever made One of the amazing things that came out of pandemic for business was how fast we discovered we could move when there is no choice We could move faster than we realized Millennials as the young new force Generational shift Sustainability Purpose of business J&J Mining companies Level of thinking that is Net Positive Is the world better off because I'm in it? PODCAST: 10,000 Volunteers Fighting the Waste Created by Fast Fashion with Jessica Schreiber Systemic design problem Greta Thunberg - Gen Z leader on environmental movement TESLA It has to all come together, its not just on us Level of business sustainability It is about taking in longer view of cost and benefits Are you improving the well being of everybody that you impact? Breaking boundaries Growth Decoupling “The rich must live simply, so the poor can simply live.” - Gandhi How to build connection and meaning and not just stuff. “Anything we can't do forever is by definition unsustainable.” Technology moves AI chatbot The Ray Anderson Story We were taught the economy is everything Paul Hawken BOOK: The Ecology of Commerce I wish people knew the box and the circle We can tell a different story Jane Godall They need courage to stand up from bullies We can end dire poverty Website: ANDREWWINSTON Website; Net Positive
Bridgette McAdoo leads the Global Sustainability practice at Genesys. She is responsible for sustainability as a management approach that holistically optimizes our economic, social, and environmental impact. In her role leading sustainability at Genesys, Bridgette drives our stakeholder engagement, education, and the evolution of the sustainable strategy and programs across Genesys. She also leverages sustainability metrics to track our non-financial performance and deliver integrated reports to our stakeholders Bridgette has over 20 years of experience in sustainability leadership roles across multiple sectors, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), where she most recently led corporate strategy and engagement for WWF's Freshwater and Food goals, Global Director of Sustainability for KFC, where she headed all sustainability issues for the brand, internally within Yum! Brands and externally with various sustainability stakeholders, and operations roles that were part of NASA's Space Shuttle and Mars Rover programs. She holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and an MBA in Strategy from the Drucker School of Management. Bridgette Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: Creating the foundation of sustainability at Genesys Advice for finding and hiring good sustainability talent Quantifying product use emissions Strategies to align sustainability with work from home Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionals Bridgette's Final Five Questions Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? Don't underestimate the power of two words: value and differentiation. Value, because one, it's usually not a group that has P&L responsibility, but you need to show that you can drive pipeline, help with attrition and retention. You have to show all the value that sustainability brings to the business so that it's a value proposition, not just a buzzword. Differentiation is how do you use it to set you apart from your competitors? Use it as a way to help put the company in a different lens than it usually would, and show that value. Show all the intangible values of sustainability, not just the tangible ones, all the qualifiable values, not just the quantifiable ones. That will help you to really get it elevated versus it sitting in the middle of the organizations as some people struggle with. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? I'm excited that I'm starting to see a lot of emphasis on intersectionality. For so long I felt that people felt like they could only talk about one pillar at a time. It's either an environmental conversation or a diversity conversation or a governance conversation. But those should be integrated. There should be an integrated, holistic approach to how we look at sustainability, because when those things are looked at in tandem, when we integrate it, we get the real wins. I'm glad to see that even organizations are starting to restructure to be that way and not silo out the work. When that happens I just feel like the work is really not as impactful as it should be. What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read? Because of all the time reading all these white papers and case studies, I like to read things that are way more inspiring and motivating and so far away from sustainability. However, I just started reading Net Positive by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston. I'm enjoying that book. It highlights the way we look at traditional CSR or philanthropy or impact, however your organization refers to it, is just not adequate for where we are today. That we, as leaders in this space, really need to rethink about how we drive the business differently and how we can be the change that we want to see. Another book that has been extremely impactful is Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi. It talks about and it details how racist ideas were created, spread and deeply rooted in society. It's thought-provoking and intense, but it's a fantastic read. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? I have a few different distribution lists that I'm on like GreebBiz Weekly. I get a lot of things where I can see a lot of articles. Our marketing team also does a fantastic job of scouring the industry or all the latest sustainability news to make sure that we can have a pulse on what's happening. So that's been extremely useful for me as having that inside outlook and then getting it from different shareholders or key stakeholders across sustainability when I get to see different articles. The climate pledge also being a part of that; you get to see what's happening across different signatories. It's always good to be able to benchmark and look how you're trending against all the different other companies that have the same commitments. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Genesys? You can always go to our website and you can visit genesys.com/sustainability to learn more about our sustainability initiatives, read our latest report, and stay up to date on our progress.
In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from Old Greenwich, Connecticut by Andrew Winston of Winston Eco-Strategies. It contains conversation highlights recorded in October at an exclusive C-Suite member event. Email us about future opportunities for yourself or a colleague to join us for peer-to-peer learning events like this one. Andrew is a globally-recognized expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving the world. Named to Thinkers50 list of the top management thinkers in the world, he is the author of the bestsellers Green to Gold, The Big Pivot, and most recently, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More than They Take (co-authored with renowned CEO Paul Polman). Net Positive was one of the Financial Times' Best Business Books of the Year. Andrew received degrees in economics, business, and environmental management from Princeton, Columbia, and Yale. Andrew Winston and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss: ⚖️ Making the moral case for practical business climate solutions that lead to a thriving world,
In occasione del World Business Forum di Milano, organizzato da WOBI (World of Business Ideas), tenutosi l'8 e 9 novembre 2022, abbiamo intervistato Andrew Winston, autore del libro “Net Positive”. Sul palco del forum il consulente di policy green ha affrontato l'argomento delle politiche di sostenibilità all'interno delle aziende. Nonostante la crisi energetica che sta attraversando l'Europa, Winston è convinto che le imprese dovrebbero continuare ad investire in tecnologie sostenibili.
Time is running out for our planet. We are taking more than we are giving. CSR targets don't go far enough. And societal inequality is on the rise. It requires a rethink of how we do business, how we lead organisations, how we measure impact.Who better to set out the manifesto for change than Paul Polman, the former CEO of Unilever and co founder of Imagine One. He's done what he's advocated; turned a global company into a force for good whilst still delivering exceptional shareholder value. He's now become an advocate, catalyst, ambassador, writing a book called ‘Net Positive: with Andrew Winston. It sets our how businesses should and can give back more to the world than they take, and why it matters.We talk about:What Net Positive means and why it's a better concept that Net Zero.What stops CEOs from taking the necessary action.What it takes to learn and unlearn new leadership and business practices.Whether it's possible to develop a new mindset of systemic leadership if you've been a short-term, mercenary leader.The three characteristics of CEOs he would look for.Critical moments in a CEO's tenure that can make or break their contribution to addressing these systemic issues.His own personal habits that help him do extraordinary work.About Paul:Paul works to accelerate action by business to achieve the UN Global Goals, which he helped develop. As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), he demonstrated that a long-term, multi-stakeholder model goes hand-in-hand with excellent financial performance, and has been described by the Financial Times as "a standout CEO of the past decade." Paul's new book, “Net Positive”, is a call to arms to courageous business leaders, setting out how to build net positive companies which profit by fixing the world's problems rather than creating them. He Chairs IMAGINE and Saïd Business School, and is Vice-Chair of the UN Global Compact as well as B Team Leader. Paul is Honorary Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce, which he led for two years.Visit the website at https://netpositive.world/#join and learn the way to join the movement. Follow co-authors Paul Polman on Twitter and LinkedIn and keep up with the Net Positive movement. Order your copy of Net Positive at your favourite retailer at https://netpositive.world/#order-window. My resources:Sign up to my newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for stimuli, ideas, guidance and tips on how to lead your team, organisation or self more effectively, delivered straight to your inbox: If you're not subscribed already do subscribe to my youtube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation. Take the Extraordinary Essentials test (https://bit.ly/3EhSKY5) to identify your strengths and development areas. For more details about me: ★Services (https://bit.ly/373jctk) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals. ★About me (https://bit.ly/3LFsfiO) - my background, experience and philosophy. ★Examples of my writing (https://bit.ly/3O7jkc7). ★Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP) ★Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI).My equipment:★ Shure SM7B Vocal Dynamic Microphone: https://amzn.to/3AB9Xfz★ Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen USB Audio Interface : https://amzn.to/3AFeA8u★ 2M XLR Cable: https://amzn.to/3GGxkbf★ Logitech Brio Stream webcam. https://amzn.to/3EsWt6C★ Elgato Key Light: https://amzn.to/3Xhiqyh★ Elgato Light Strip: https://amzn.to/3gyZF8P★ Riverside.fm for recording podcasts. bit.ly/3AE
Clare Doyle has served as Masonite's Senior Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer since August 2021. Previously, Clare held the roles of Senior Vice President and General Manager – UK Business from 2018 to 2021, and Senior Vice President, Business Leader – Components from 2016 to 2018. Prior to joining Masonite, Clare was with Elementis plc from 2010 to 2016 most recently as Vice President of Marketing. Prior to joining Elementis plc, she spent 11 years with Rohm and Haas Company in various roles in Corporate Development, Electronic Materials and in Architectural and Functional Coatings. Clare Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: Her tips from her transition into a sustainability role The roots of sustainability at Masonite Masonite's plans for setting targets regarding emissions Collaboration on sustainability both up and down the supply chain Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionals Clare's Final Five Questions Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? I would tell them to focus, focus, focus on developing your leadership skills. What the world needs from us right now is absolutely leadership. Focus on developing your leadership skills each and every day because that is what I see as being in really, really short supply in the sustainability world. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? I'm really excited about the innovation that's coming, the emerging innovation. We are in a climate crisis right now, and times of crisis can be the catalyst that we need for great innovation. There's so many things where the answer is just not there yet, but I have to believe. I'm so optimistic that in this time of crisis we are going to see great innovation that's going to allow us to make the world a better place. What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read? I'd almost rather tell you what I'm reading now versus what has made the great impact. Only because every time I read something new, it puts what I did read in a better light, a new light; maybe puts together more understanding. I'm currently working my way through Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva, which I highly recommend to everybody. Earlier this year I had read Net Positive by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston. Every time I read another book, it really does add some strength or new insights to what I read before. So I wouldn't say that there was any one thing, it's just one of those current things I'm working on. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? The network. The community of sustainability professionals who are out there, the community of corporate social responsibility people who are out there. It's just those dialogues and being able to reach out to everybody is just so powerful. Just keep working on your network, keep talking to people. There are so many people who are so willing to share their knowledge, their experiences. It just adds so much. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Masonite? They can read our sustainability report at masonite.com/esg, and I'm on LinkedIn.
In today's episode we meet the authors of “Net Positive: how courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take” – the best selling book that Financial Times named as one of the best business books of the year. Andrew Winston and Paul Polman teamed up to to write the book that has at its core the argument that the companies of the future will profit by fixing the world's problems, not creating them. Paul Polman is the ex-Unilever CEO who increased his shareholders' returns by 300% while ensuring the company ranked #1 in the world for sustainability for eleven years running. Teaming up with Andrew Winston, one of the world's most authoritative voices on corporate sustainability, they show business leaders how to take on humanity's greatest and most urgent challenges—climate change and inequality—and build a thriving business as a result. Paul Polman works to accelerate action by business to achieve the UN Global Goals, which he helped develop and has been described by the Financial Times as “a stand out CEO of the past decade”. Andrew Winston is a globally-recognized expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving the world. Named to Thinkers50 list of the top management thinkers in the world, he is a best selling author and received degrees in economics, business, and environmental management from Princeton, Columbia, and Yale. Andrew recently wrote in the Sloan Review how ESG — which stands for environmental, social, and governance — has become the dominant term. Within the narrow world of the sustainability expert community, the battle royale is raging about sustainability versus ESG and the implications of shifting semantics.
Andrew Winston, the co-author of the book “Net Positive”, talks about the challenges that lay ahead and the limited time we have to contribute to the world's problems. A net positive company improves the well-being of everyone they impact and the lives of everyone it touches, from customers and suppliers to employees and communities, greatly increasing long-term shareholder returns in the process, taking ownership of all the social and environmental impacts its business model creates. This in turn provides opportunities for innovation, savings, and builds a more humane, connected, and purpose-driven culture. He talks about the important connection of building trust with the external world so you can get to the kinds of partnerships and collaborations that we need to solve really big problems, without that trust built up, it's going to be nearly impossible, as one cannot have a very functional partnership unless there's some level of trust. This is no utopian fantasy. Courageous leaders are already making it real and the stakes couldn't be higher. With bold vision and compelling stories, he sets out the principles and practices that will deliver the scale of change and transformation the world so desperately needs.
This week on City Talks, presented by Ford Motor Company, CEO of the Shared-Use Mobility Center Benjie De La Peña joins our host Andrew Winston to discuss the ways in which new, shared-mobility options differ from more traditional means of transportation. The SUMC connects public and private sectors, conducts research, and provides expertise to municipalities to extend the benefits of shared mobility to everyone. In their conversation, Andrew and Benjie speak about the expansion of EV technologies and how cities can better prioritize their public transportation spending. The pair touch on infrastructure, as well as how the smartphone has been the biggest driver of the shared-mobility movement. Also, hear about the ways traditional transportation, like buses and trains, are integrating with newer options, and how new tech adapts to work alongside existing infrastructure. Hit play and enjoy this episode of City Talks, brought to you by Ford.Follow UsTwitter @FordFacebook @FordInstagram @FordPresented by Ford Motor Companywww.ford.com
In this episode we discuss everything about the ‘S' in ESG. From uncovering human rights abuses in supply chains to ensuring AI driven algorithms aren't driving inequality, major companies need to be more aware of the 'S' in ESG than ever. Host Whitney Fitzsimmons speaks to Dr Meg Brodie, Partner KPMG Banarra, Hanno Blankenstein, Co-Founder & CEO of Unleash Live and Andrew Winston, Author 'Net Positive: How courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take'.
On this week's episode of City Talks, presented by Ford Motor Company, our host Andrew Winston sits down with the Senior Vice President of Business Development, Sales and Government Relations for Starship Technologies, Ryan Tuohy. Starship is a company working on something truly out of this world. They specialize in building self-driving delivery robots! In this exciting episode, Andrew and Ryan discuss the intricacies and predictions for autonomous delivery and what the future looks like in an AI driven landscape. Not to mention, they provide some insight into how delivery technologies are changing. Learn about how our cities should go about preparing for paradigm shifts in mobility jobs in the future and how they are improving assisted delivery for the elderly. Self-driving robots are quickly becoming the future of delivery and transportation, and this discussion will help provide a better understanding of this space. We hope you enjoy this exciting episode of City Talks, brought to you by the Ford Motor Company! Follow UsTwitter @FordFacebook @fordInstagram @fordPresented by Ford Motor Companywww.ford.com
On this week's episode of City Talks, presented by Ford Motor Company, our host Andrew Winston is joined by Independent Climate, Technology and Transportation Advisor, Andrew Salzberg. Andrew is a lecturer at MIT, and advises for Populus, Climateview, Open North, and Transit, some of the best data technologists in the industry. Today the duo are diving into a fascinating conversation about sustainability and decarbonization initiatives. Learn first hand about the current state of sustainability for mobility in our cities and why the electrification of transportation is so important to meet sustainability goals in our communities. Hear about the importance behind dramatically improving the environmental sustainability of our urban transportation systems and what the future holds with these exciting advancements. We hope you enjoy this exciting peek into the world of decarbonization on this episode of City Talks, presented by the Ford Motor Company! Follow UsTwitter @FordFacebook @FordInstagram @FordPresented by Ford Motor Companywww.ford.com
Hello again, friends. Thank you for joining me for the second week of my Wealth and Poverty class. In today's class, we begin to explore why such inequalities have soared since the late 1970s and early 1980s. The questions we'll focus on today are: How did the market for financial capital contribute to inequalities of income and wealth? Did the accepted purpose of the American corporation change over the last fifty years, and, if so, when and how? More generally, for whom should the corporation exist? Is there such a thing as “corporate social responsibility?” You'll find recommended readings below the video. Just click on the links. Ready? Here we go. Please double-click the video box below. Thanks again for joining me! (And as always, let me know what you think in the comments below.) Click here for the Class 2 slides.Looking for another session? Click the link for: Class 1, Class 3, Class 4, Class 5, Class 6, Class 7, Class 8, Class 9, Class 10, Class 11, Class 12, Class 13, Class 14.P.S. If you're enjoying this course and think your friends, family, colleagues, or social media networks would find it interesting and helpful as well, please share!Select Readings:* Bethany McLean, “Too Big to Fail, COVID-19 Edition: How Private Equity Is Winning the Coronavirus Crisis,” Vanity Fair, April 9, 2020* Andrew Winston, “Is the Business Roundtable Statement Just Empty Rhetoric?” Harvard Business Review, August 30, 2019* Neil Irwin, “To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider the Janitors at Two Top Companies, Then and Now,” The New York Times, Sept. 3, 2017If you'd like to help support our efforts, please consider a paid or gift subscription. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe
This week on City Talks, brought to you by Ford Motor Company, Andrew Winston is joined by architect, strategic planner, Principal and Director of the Mobility Lab at Gensler, Dylan Jones. Gensler's Mobility Lab focuses on how mobility transformations are shaping the city of the future. Today's episode is all about access and equity in mobility. They talk about what is meant by Dylan's idea of the “20-Minute City,” how cities can better think about civil design in order to better serve communities, what the “third lane” can be, and the interconnected relationship between equality and access. Listen as they explore “mobility deserts” and the impact that they can have on those who need transportation the most. Plus, hear what cities are planning and implementing today that are making mobility and transportation options more accessible and more equitable for people living in cities who need them. At the end of the conversation, Dylan also gives us his vision for what a “city of the future” might look like 20 years from now. We hope you enjoy this inspiring and fascinating look at equity, access, and mobility on this episode of City Talks, presented by the Ford Motor Company! Follow UsTwitter @FordFacebook @fordInstagram @fordPresented by Ford Motor Companywww.ford.com
This week on City Talks, brought to you by Ford Motor Company, Author of Net Positive, Adviser to Multinationals and our host Andrew Winston talks with Dr. Regina Clewlow, CEO and Founder of Populus, a data platform helping cities to manage the future of mobility. Dr. Clewlow received her PhD in transportation systems from MIT, holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, as well as a Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell. She's also served as a Transportation Researcher at Stanford, UC Berkeley and UC Davis. This episode is all about transportation policy. It is about the data and the collection methods that help aid and inform policy creation in our country. Together Andrew and Dr. Clewlow discuss the story behind starting Populus and a few of the ways unstudied and unregulated scooters, cars, and bikes can present problems for city planners. Learn firsthand about Mobility Data Specification and its value for validating policy and how cities are building digital infrastructure to aid with mobility and mobility side effects like congestion or curbside pickup. Data collection in cities is changing how communities build, grow, and expand. Populus has been working with the United States Department of Transportation and using micromobility data to improve safety in transportation for everyone. In this episode, you will gain some insight into the newest and most effective methods for data collection and how this data is then being used to derive and enforce policies to make mobility more accessible and effective for everyone within a community. It is through data collection that policymakers are able to glean a real understanding of what is affecting a population's mobility within the community. So get ready and come join us for a fun and informative episode of City Talks, presented by the Ford Motor Company!Follow UsTwitter @FordFacebook @fordInstagram @fordPresented by Ford Motor Companywww.ford.com
This week, a conversation with business expert and best-selling author, Andrew Winston, about his new book, “Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.
This week, a conversation with business expert and best-selling author, Andrew Winston, about his new book, “Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.
Welcome back to City Talks, brought to you by Ford Motor Company. Our cities' curbs are evolving. Whether picking up or dropping off, these limited spaces, through new technologies, are experiencing greater demand than ever before. On today's episode, Andrew Winston is joined by Haley Peckett, Head of Curbside Management for DC's Department of Transportation. They discuss the logistical problems that arise from poorly optimized curbside pickup, some of the new legislation and regulations being used to organize curbs, the impact of automated and smart-parking technologies, CDS or Curb Data Specification and the ways in which data about city curbs are being wrangled, plus much more! More and more every day, utilities and ride-hailing services, buses, and delivery become more commonplace. Hear how DC DoT is partnering with curbFlow and implementing a new PUDO (pick-up drop-off) program. How are our cities making the most of new technologies and staying prepared for coming regulations to help get the most out of these highly utilized facets of our roads? Listen now to find out! Follow UsTwitter @FordFacebook @fordInstagram @fordPresented by Ford Motor Companywww.ford.com
In their seminal book 'Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take' former Unilever CEO Paul Polman and sustainable business guru Andrew Winston explode fifty years of corporate dogma. Theyreveal, for the first time, key lessons from Unilever and other pioneeringcompanies around the world about how you can profit by fixing the world'sproblems instead of creating them. To thrive today and tomorrow, they argue,companies must become “net positive”—giving more to the world than they take.This episode features Paul Polman interviewed by former CEO and co-founder of Seventh Generation, and CEO of the American Sustainable Business Network, Jeffrey Hollender in dialog on what net positive really means, and what businesses are being called to do in these times.
Runaway climate change and rampant inequality are ravaging the world and costing a fortune. Who will help lead us to a better future? Business.These massive dual challenges—and other profound shifts, such as pandemics, resource pressures, and shrinking biodiversity—threaten our very existence. Other mega trends, such as the push for a clean economy and the unprecedented focus on diversity and inclusion, offer exciting new opportunities to heal the world, and prosper by doing so. Government cannot do this alone. Business must step up.Sustainable business guru, Andrew Winston will explore:How addressing these challenges presents the greatest economic opportunity of our time;The repercussions of businesses not taking action on social issues;How leaders must rethink what business is, how it grows and profits, what its purpose is, and how it drives change in the world.This is no utopian fantasy. Courageous leaders are already making it real—and the stakes couldn't be higher. With bold vision and compelling stories, Net Positive sets out the principles and practices that will deliver the scale of change and transformation the world so desperately needs.
Andrew Winston is a globally-recognized expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving the world. His views on strategy have been sought after by many of the world's leading companies, including 3M, DuPont, J&J, Kimberly-Clark, Marriott, PepsiCo, and Unilever. Andrew is the author of the bestsellers Green to Gold and The Big Pivot. His latest book, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More than They Take is a finalist for the Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.
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Paul, thank you for talking with us today. The audience of this podcast is people who are interested in being involved, in building back better, and dealing with some of the big global challenges that we're now facing. In a sentence, why should they read your book?Paul Polman (PP): Well, in a simple sentence will be one question: is the world better off because your company is in it or not? This is probably the most important question to ask. What the book is trying to do is to create a movement that really describes how successful companies can profit -- not from creating the world's problems, but from actually solving the world's problems. So we describe officially in the book Net Positive as: a business that improves the well being for everyone it impacts, and at all scales -- be it product, operations, regions, countries -- and obviously caters to the multiple stakeholders. World Overshoot Day this year was July 29, which is the day that we use up more resources than the world can replenish. In other words, every day after that, we're stealing from future generations. So it's not anymore enough to be linear or to be circular. But more and more companies have to think about what can they do to have a positive impact on society. If they really can't answer that, then why should society keep these companies around? So the book talks about two things, personal transformation, because it starts with leaders, you cannot have systems changes without leader changes. So leadership transformation, and then systems transformation. And it takes you, with very simple steps, through what you need to do to get your own company in shape, to play a key role in your own value chain in your industry associations, and ultimately, in the broader society that you play in. And, the book doesn't shy away from some of the tougher choices, such as how you deal with tax, with corruption, with trade associations, with money in politics, with human rights. It's written for everybody, small and big companies, others who want to play a role in changing society for the better. So we think it broadly resonates. And, if I may, the characteristics perhaps would be good to talk about of a net positive company. That basically boils down to companies that take responsibility and ownership for all impacts and consequences in the world. Intended or not. Many only look at scope one and two under their control. But you have to take responsibility for your total handprint. You cannot outsource your value chain and also expect to outsource your responsibilities. That simply doesn't work anymore. It's companies that operate for the long term benefit of business and society, that try to create a positive return for all stakeholders. They see shareholder value as a result of what they do, not as a goal in itself. And last but not least, they partner to form these broader systemic changes that society needs.MB: So we're in a very interesting moment where in some ways, business appears to be at least talking the talk on being a more positive force in society. You know, you've had the Business Roundtable decision, that you note, to sort of abandon the Milton Friedman view of the world and to sort of focus on more stakeholder capitalism. And you've had lots of companies saying they're committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. And more companies generally stepping into some of the political issues around elections in America, or issues like transgender rights, and yet there's also tremendous skepticism. You take a book like Anand Giridharadas' Winners Take All, which really regards all of this as a giant charade by capitalism. How do you view this data? Because in the book you do acknowledge that, even at Unilever, with some of the things, that you didn't feel you went far enough with, but you were one of the leaders there. Are we getting there? Is this real? Is it just greenwashing? Rainbow washing? What is it?PP: I've read Anand's book Winners Take All and frankly, that's a book heavy on the analysis and light on the solutions. This book is really more practical and offers solutions to move it forward. It's very clear that governments are not functioning the way we have designed them, that multilateralism is not really delivering what we expect from it. The multilateral institutions that were designed in, basically, 1944 with Bretton Woods are not adapted to the current changes. And the bigger issues are more global -- climate change, cybersecurity, pandemics, financial markets -- and we're just not getting to it. And what I think what you see is a few things, [such as firstly] technology always developing faster than people realize. So it's easier to change things. Now take green energy [as an example], the International Energy Agency was expecting solar and wind in 2014, to be five cents per kilowatt hour in 2050. We have achieved that in 2020 already. So technology is advancing. And the other thing that is happening is the issues are creeping up on us faster than we realized, especially on climate, we're getting closer to a negative feedback loop. And business sees that pressure. You see the weather disasters -- we literally have the world on fire -- disruptions in the food supply chain, and the logistics, and many other things. And in fact, COVID has been a rude awakening that you cannot have healthy people on an unhealthy planet. Just in Europe and the U.S. alone, we've spent $16 trillion on stabilizing and saving lives and livelihoods. The economy itself has probably lost $25 or $26 trillion dollars, according to the IMF. So people are starting to realize that the cost of not acting is becoming much higher than the cost of acting. And that's why you see this high level of dissatisfaction with the young people, with employees, with your customers, with people in your value chain. And good companies understand that, they understand that they have to be part of the solution, not the problem. They're internalizing sustainability, they put it at the center of their business, they become more purpose driven businesses. And what you see is that businesses that operate increasingly under these longer-term, multi-stakeholder principles at the core are actually also better performing. That bifurcation has been even stronger during COVID. That's one of the reasons why you see ESG funds taking off, green bonds taking off, the investor community getting actively interested in it, standard setters moving forward. Some of the responsible governments, like Europe, are embedding it in legislation, like the Green Deal or the taxonomy, so it's definitely moving. But as usual, as these things are becoming more topical, thousands of flowers bloom -- for example, we have over 600 standard setting bodies. And it's time to make some bouquets.And yes, if there are no clear standards, then companies will interpret things differently. And some people might call that greenwashing. And there's undoubtedly some of that going on. But broadly, it is clear that we're moving in the right direction, but [just] not fast enough, and not at the scale that we need. We now have about 20% of the companies, for example, that have commitments to be net zero by 2050. But what about 2030? Because we cannot wait that long. What about beyond scope one and two, and including scope three, four or five? And that still is unsettling for many.MB: Because in the book, you talk about how these goals ought to be. You use the acronym SMART, which is measurable and realistic. I think a lot of the netzero pledges have been made without the companies that are making the pledges really having much of a sense of how they're going to get there. And so you feel like it's more of an ambition that may be far enough into the future that the company's current leadership need not own it and there's no pathway. Is that a problem?PP: Well, I think increasingly, for some industries, it is difficult. If you're in the fossil fuel industry where investments are being made by your predecessor or your predecessor's predecessor, and it takes 30 years before you get a return on drilling a well, etc., it's difficult to change very quickly. And some of the heavy industry, which happens to also be heavy emitters, might not have all the answers yet. How do you totally decarbonize airlines, or shipping, or steel, or aluminum and some of the other things? And the fossil industry itself needs careful reflection. But what is clear is that, increasingly, companies understand that it actually can be done, and it is within reach. Companies from Salesforce to Microsoft to Unilever, or to Pepsi and others [like] Walmart are making commitments that not only green their supply chains well before [they are expected to] -- Amazon itself, 2039 -- and they have clear plans and pathways to get there. But they're actually going beyond that, they're looking at restorative commitments, they're looking at integrating biodiversity and planetary health into their thinking. And what we find is that companies that proactively work this are often better run, their leaders are more in tune with societal needs, they come out with better products, have more engaged employees, better relationships in the value chain, and increasingly, that is linked to better returns. You can now measure the negative environmental impacts of companies. And even within the same industries, there are some companies who take mitigating their environmental impacts more seriously than other companies within those industries. And what we clearly find is that accounting for these externalities about a quarter of these companies would not be profitable. But even within the industries, the ones that are less productive, also have lower valuations. So I think the market is starting to factor it in. And, looking very much at the leading companies that position themselves well for the future, and starting to reward those. So it is moving. But again, as I mentioned before, these issues are creeping up on us quicker than we thought. We're getting close to the situation that the Amazon are becoming negative emitters, that the Borealis melting releases methane that is up to 100 times more potent in the short term, and we don't have that luxury to wait. So what you need is to get critical mass behind this transformation, which is a big transformation, we all realize that. And that critical mass can only come from working together with civil society, with governments, obviously, and with the private sector, to drive these broader system changes.MB: You open the book with this example of [when] you were quite far along in your time at Unilever, and the the CEO of Heinz comes along and makes this hostile takeover bid offer to you. And it seems like this is a battle between the old style capitalism and the new style capitalism. In this case, you were able to persuade shareholders to back you in this new model against the old model. Do you feel like that marked a decisive turning point in the attitude of big shareholders towards how big companies should be managed -- that they seemed to be saying: now we will support this net positive type of leadership?PP: Well, it certainly raised awareness. I was happy that it happened during my eighth year of tenure in Unilever. We had produced very good returns for our shareholders. We also had worked very hard on changing our shareholder base, which was more loyal and had benefited from this value creation. So it came at a good moment in that sense. But it points out the dichotomy that there is in two legal systems. One that is focused on a few millionaires and billionaires, and financial manipulation, high leveraging up, cutting costs, frankly, something that anybody can do. And one that is more working for the billions of people invested in longer term value creation. And Unilever has certainly done that. Since the Kraft/Heinz attempted takeover bid, their share price has lost about 60%. They've had lawsuits, they've had change management three times, [while] Unilever share price has continued to grow. And I think this longer-term value creation model is also a better model over time for the shareholders, and you don't have to wait too long for that. So that game, I think that was being played there is increasingly being called out as not being constructive for society. And I broadly think that the longer-term shareholders understand that there's just so much money that we've put in the global economy, that a big part of that is chasing short-term returns at every cost. And there are some people that think their own greed is more important than the future lives of their children. So you always have to deal with these challenges, but in order to avoid that over time, and to move it in the right direction, we indeed need to be sure that the regulatory frameworks and the moral standards that we put behind it, the obligations that we demand from companies as they operate in society, that they also fulfill the needs of society and get a real license to operate. It hurts to see a company like that at the bottom of a human rights index. And it gives me pride to see Unilever at the top. And if we can square that multi-stakeholder focus, in our case there was a 300% shareholder return over 10 years, then I think that is a much better thing for society. I've always said, I'm a proud billionaire, because we've focused on improving the lives of billions of people. And that's a good way not only to live your life, but if you can also show that it is good for your shareholders, I think you square it, and give people more confidence that this should be the direction we should be pushing for.MB: I wanted to focus on the last two or three chapters of the book where I think you really push into some of the very cutting edge developments that need to happen if a business is to really achieve its full potential in improving the state of the world. One is this whole issue of how you in the industry can partner with your competitors to actually, overall raise standards across the industry. And one example you give us is the fashion industry, which, obviously, increasingly, people are scrutinizing for the fast fashion, and in particular for its lack of sustainability. What have you learned about making a cross-industry partnership successful? What are the conditions that can make that a really positive thing?PP: There's a whole chapter in the book which is called “One Plus One is 11” that deals with these broader partnerships. It's very clear that CEOs alone are held to very high standards and often higher standards than they actually can fulfill themselves. No CEO can move the whole market to regenerative agriculture, or solve the issues of plastics in the ocean, or even get to green energy, if a broader system around you doesn't pull in that same direction. And that's difficult for CEOs then to move things forward. Also, sometimes they feel that if they do it, and competitors don't, they might be at a disadvantage, because obviously there are other forces at play. So one of the reasons I created Imagine as a social enterprise is to bring a critical mass of CEOs together across the value chain, to look at some of these issues. Sometimes they are value chain issues, sometimes time availability, or knowledge issues. And together, they become more courageous. And if you have 20% to 30% of the market represented, civil society wants to join, NGOs want to be part of it, governments start to listen, and you can drive the broader system changes.An example is fashion indeed, where we have 80 companies now in the fashion industry, together under the fashion practice. It's a very destructive industry. But together, they have decided to move to regenerative cotton. Together, they are now buying green energy to get to the Paris Agreement and stay below 1.5 degrees. Together, they're learning on how to integrate, with the help of Conservation International and others, biodiversity targets into their business models. So things that they could not do alone. And I believe that, increasingly, when it concerns the future of humanity, we shouldn't compete about that. But leave enough space in other areas to obviously compete. Now many of the CEOs get that. We get an enormous demand. We're working also with the food companies, where we have 30 companies. We are starting now as private equity, with tourism and travel. So I think the needs are there. And creating these neutral platforms as we've done at Imagine is one way of addressing that. But increasingly, you see these broader partnerships emerge, with partnerships for the greater good. And what most of these CEOs find is, whilst you cannot solve all these issues in one minute, and you have to space it out over a period of time (that we, to some extent still have), that a lot of things can be done, that are also immediately beneficial to the top and bottom line of your company. And not only from a risk mitigation point of view, but also from an opportunity point of view. And that makes these partnerships so powerful. The challenge is to get that translated into working together with governments to change the frameworks. Because right now, be it the carbon transmission and decarbonizing our global economy, or changing the food chain to make it more in line with the planetary boundaries, currently, many countries have frameworks in place that actually push you in a different direction. And that's difficult, ultimately, to achieve your objectives if you can't change those.MB: But you have another chapter looking really at multi-stakeholder partnerships. It seems like we've been talking about how you get government, business, and the civil society organizations, NGOs, to work together for a long time. What have we figured out about what makes for a successful multi-stakeholder partnership? Because a lot of them haven't succeeded.PP: Successful partnerships -- many partnerships obviously don't work out -- there are numbers floating around that 75% of partnerships might fail. But ultimately, if the aligned objectives are there, you have the same purpose, you're very clear on what each partner brings to the party, you work with transparency that creates that trust, you have clear accountability mechanisms, everybody clearly understands what his or her contributions are, then these partnerships can work very well. Unilever built a tea plantation in Rwanda, where we needed the government from Rwanda, and where we needed organizations like Dfid, the U.K. development aid, and where we actually got high net worth individuals, like Ian Wood from the Wood Foundation, that were willing to help and protect the smallholder farmers. And we could create a value chain that was good for all of its stakeholders, and delivered the quality tea that also was feeding our brands. By the way, interestingly, [speaking of] the brands, people want to know if these products are sourced sustainably and where they come from. So building these whole models with these broader partnerships are very important. When we went into Ethiopia, we first worked with the government with our brands like bar soaps or toothpastes, or [we worked] with the health workers, they have about 30,000 health workers there, to teach people the benefits of hand washing, or tooth brushing, that are far more preventative solutions than waiting for the problem to occur. And only when we created that credibility over the longer term, we [were then able to] make these brands available into society on a broader level. And these are the broader partnerships that work for us.It's interesting in the book, we talked about $3.5 billion being [spent] in lobbying in the U.S. alone -- I wonder how much money goes to self-interest? Well, one company says A and the other company pays money to say B; where politicians are in the pockets of some of these big spenders, we see, increasingly, that that's not the type of democracy that ultimately builds the value. And I think you see the enormous price we pay for that. Ceres, which is a company that is very capably led by Mindy Lubber, is pulling the financial market to a higher level of responsibility. It was looking at all this government spending and lobbying etc., and it actually found out that 40% of the companies in the U.S. were not actively even engaging with governments, or moving things forward in the right level, on let's say on climate change, when they know it's a big issue. So the book is talking about: how do you create these partnerships? Why would you do that? What benefit do you get out of that by being a participant? And frankly, the employees and the companies expect the CEOs now to increasingly participate. About 76% of the employees expect this. And it's interesting, because CEOs broadly think they do. But when you ask their employees, there's a big gap between what the employees think and what the CEO themselves think. MB: And as you say, one of the things we're seeing now is employees becoming more vocal -- in social media and elsewhere, at meetings, and so forth -- and holding their bosses to account. And we're almost out of time, and I've got two more questions. One, is really, I love your last chapter where you go, what the next frontier of… PP: Engaging the ElephantsMB: Yeah, the elephants. And obviously, one of the elephants that you acknowledge right up front is companies trying to avoid paying taxes, and you really argue against that. Another is this lobbying issue, you want to basically end, and political donations, you want to get rid of those. And then you talk about corruption. Are you starting to see company leadership and shareholders really want to get into these, to address these elephants in the room, or do you feel like there is still a long way to go?PP: On some issues more than others, obviously. But you mentioned a few. I don't want to respond to all of them, but take tax for example -- one quarter of the Fortune 500 companies paid zero tax in 2018. 10% of GDP is in offshore accounts. 500 or 600 billion of taxes are lost as a result of that. At Unilever I put my tax principles on my website. We got out of these constructions that were purely organized for tax reasons, and the company did fine. We hire people that get free education, we would use the road systems, we need social safety nets around people. When you get things like COVID, I think it's quite normal that you pay tax as well. So it's hard to square over time that society will give you bonus points on being a purpose driven company, if you don't find a way to contribute your fair share there either.And it's the same thing with some of the other areas that we talked about. If you look at the shareholder propositions right now, the shareholder resolutions, they are actually demanding more and more transparency.Take in the U.S. the issue of money and politics. If you will have taken 2009, well before this January 6 event of storming the Capitol, in 2019, there were over 50 political spending proposals on the ballots of shareholder meetings, non-court accepted; if you look now, to date, already in 2021, there are over 40 on the proposals, and you're already running at a significantly high level of support. MB: For disclosing what the donations are and who to.PP: What the donations are and for what they are. So you see, actually, the shareholders are demanding more. Now more CEOs are getting fired for ESG related reasons, then for performance related reasons. You see shareholders demanding, like in the famous Exxon case, that they are more aggressive on mitigating climate change. We saw it with Shell and some other companies [too]. So if you don't embrace these elephants proactively, and have a strategy around that, which is what we're really talking about in the book, then I think you will be exposed. You mentioned in every company there is an activist; every company I think has a Greta Thunberg inside of them. And if they see, increasingly, these companies, on the one side, saying we want to do this and making these public statements, but then, for example, financing trade associations, like the American Petroleum Association, or some of the others actively advocating the opposite, then you lose credibility, you undermine your culture, and ultimately, the fabric of your company, and that gets reflected in your success, and share price. So it is important that you discuss these issues, it is important that you take positions on them, and it is important that you do that in a holistic way. And not do it in a CSR way, where you pick a few topics that you think suit you well, but then go horribly wrong in the other areas. That's why this book talks about net positive in a more holistic way. And which makes it such a powerful book, actually.MB: I wanted to end with asking for some career advice for our listeners. You mentioned every company having a Greta Thunberg maybe lurking within it, but the book really, I think, raises more clearly than any other book I've read, this notion that you can be a net positive leader. If you're someone who is committed to public service, you can actually go into a company and see that as a way of living a life of public service, which is an idea that 25 years ago would have seen laughable or even 10 years ago, but now seems to be a choice that many people are wrestling with. If I want to give, if I want to be part of the effort to build back better, should I go into business? Or should I go into government? Or should I go into a nonprofit? Or what? How would you advise someone trying to wrestle with that kind of calculation as to where they should focus their energies and their life, if they really want to have the biggest positive net positive impact in their career?PP: Well, I ended up in business, by a little bit of serendipity. I wanted to be a priest first, then a doctor, and none of that really worked out. So I ended up being in business. But I discovered that, business being 60% of the global GDP, 65% or 90% of the job creation and the financial flow that you cannot solve any of these famous Sustainable Development Goals, bar a few if you don't have business actively in there. So you need business, but for the same reason, you also need government, and you need civil society. It's really what the book ultimately talks about is this partnership that needs to be formed between all of them. And my advice to anybody listening and looking for a job is: find out what the world needs, what you're passionate about, and what you're good at. And if you can work on that intersection of what the world needs, your passion, and what you're good at, then you're going to have a very fulfilling and and very gratifying life.Mark Twain said there are two moments in life that are the most important: the first one is when you were born, and the second one is when you figured out why you were born. If you can operate on that intersection, it is giving you a meaningful life that I think most people aspire to. So it's not one or the other, it's really finding yourself and realizing, above all, that we are lucky. Most of the people listening here have been educated, they didn't have to deal with the issues of food security, or stunting, or open defecation. But that, unfortunately, is only 5% of the world population that you belong to, and have that freedom to some extent. And then it is important, I believe, to put yourself to the service of the other 95%, who still have not been so fortunate.MB: If I asked you to build on that, if I asked you to take a 100 mile up view of the world, I suppose you would say that for someone wanting to have a positive impact for good, there's never been greater opportunity to do that through business than now perhaps. But if you looked at each of business, civil society, and governments, and you looked at their human capital, where are people with a service orientation, most needed? Is it business? Is it government? Or is it civil society at the moment?PP: Well, I think frankly, we have a leadership deficit everywhere. It's clear that the MBA programs, which have given us the leaders for business, are a version of Milton Friedman on steroids, and are in desperate need to be reinvented. In politics it has become, for different reasons, increasingly more short-term oriented. Many of the NGOs have also been called out. Whilst they play a very crucial role, many of them are mono issue end result focused, and are not willing to walk the journey, or walk in partnership. So I think the biggest deficit is not in one or the other institutions. The biggest deficit ultimately, is the leadership. And that's why this book starts with a very famous question: do you care? And that's why we believe and what makes it so powerful, is that you need a personal transformation before you get a systems transformation.MB: Well, thank you. I think that's a great note to end on. I would like to thank both you, Paul Polman, and Andrew Winston for writing this book Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take. It is an incredibly positive and practical book that anyone who is thinking about if they should live out their public service through business, will find very useful and very inspiring. So thank you very much for talking about the book with Books Driving Change, Paul, thank you.PP: Thank you, Matthew enjoyed it.We hope you are as inspired by these podcasts as we are. If you are, please subscribehere, or wherever you get your podcasts (Amazon Music, Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher), and please rate us and write a review so others can find their inspiration. This transcript has been lightly edited for context and clarity.
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Changing Facebook user name (limited to every 60 days), USB enclosures for external drives (support either HD or SSD), reducing background data usage (only allow apps to download with WiFi), files backup vs disk image, resetting Windows PIN (requires linkage to MS account), surgical masks vs CoronaVirus (not really effective), Profiles in IT (Katherine Johnson, pioneering NASA mathematian), Memory Lane (Zip Drive remembered, Happy 25th), Jif vs GIF (National Peanut Butter Day), FCC fines carriers for sharing location data (finally), Product of the Week (MS ElectionGuard, innovation voting software), and nine megatrends that will shape the world in 2030 (predictions from futurist Andrew Winston). This show originally aired on Saturday, February 29, 2020, at 9:00 AM EST on WFED (1500 AM).
Andrew Winston (@andrewwinston) is the founder of Winston Eco-Strategies, author of The Big Pivot and Green Recovery, and coauthored Green to Gold, the best-selling guide to what works — and what doesn't — when companies go green. [spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=19456572" width="100%" height="80px" theme="light" playlist="false" playlist-continuous="false" autoplay="false" live-autoplay="false" chapters-image="true" episode-image-position="right" hide-logo="true" hide-likes="false" hide-comments="false" hide-sharing="false" hide-download="true"]