The man the FT called “The standout CEO of the past decade” shares insights for becoming ‘net positive’.
How do you define a ‘net positive’ business?
Looking ahead, one thing is certain: Taking steps to mitigate the damage will be cheaper than dealing with the consequences of not acting. This is a journey that every business must join, led by a clear North Star: To align with our fellow human beings and the planet earth.
Is net positive the same as ‘net zero’?
Are big corporations moving in the right direction?
Recent examples of net positive actions abound. Microsoft has made a commitment to pay back its carbon emissions going all the way back to 1975; Walmart has made a commitment to restore 50 million acres of land and one million square miles of oceans to enable regenerative agriculture; and in the fashion industry, 70 CEOs are collectively moving to regenerative cotton and internalizing biodiversity. I could go on.
Many alumni of the Rotman School work in financial services and consulting. Can these industries become net positive?
If you work in financial services, you can join the Net Zero Alliance of Asset Owners, which is committed to decarbonized portfolios. You can ask the right questions at shareholder meetings — questions about corruption, labour standards and carbon plans, for instance. And you can play a big role in standard setting. Senior people in these industries are often in a position to influence governments and others to move to broader frameworks. The good news is that some of the big consulting firms, like the Boston Consulting Group, are starting to make these commitments.
Can you talk a bit about the role of partnerships in achieving net positivity?
The easy efficiencies can be achieved quickly — and they remain critical — but leaders will soon discover how many things they cannot do alone. Transformative change requires broad partnerships. The key challenges we face — to make our economies work for everyone, not just a few; to decarbonize the world; to live in harmony with nature and protect biodiversity — these are monumental challenges. Leaders have to demonstrate that they’re open to working with others, not just commanding from behind a desk.
Revolutions in big data processing, GPS modelling, drone-based aerial photography and many more can help solve our big problems.
Nowhere is the need for collaboration more urgent than in battling climate change. All large companies are now working to cut their direct and indirect (from the electric grid) carbon emissions — which is classified as Scope 1 and Scope 2 by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. But the real breakthroughs will come from assuming responsibility for — and teaming up to tackle — supplier and customer emissions, which are referred to as Scope 3. In most industries, Scope 3 makes up the large majority of value chain emissions.
How should leaders go about forming these partnerships and alliances?
You write that in this quest, “technology is mostly on our side.” Tell us what you mean by that.
Renewables are now, on average, cheaper to build than all other forms of electricity.
It’s not just clean technology making transformative change: Revolutions in big data, GPS modelling, drone based aerial photography, robotics, computer vision, AI and many more are powering the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These new tools can help solve our big problems. In our food system, ‘precision agriculture’ is greatly reducing waste as seeds, water, fertilizer and pesticides are placed exactly where they’re needed; modern Deere tractors have become rolling AI-driven computers; and companies such as Schneider Electric are offering advanced building management systems that can slash energy waste. The technologies and know-how to build smarter homes, grids, cities and food and transportation systems are at our fingertips. And access to technology — specifically mobile — is proving to reduce inequality and extreme poverty.
However, technology also has a dark side: The information bubbles that social media creates are breeding hate, misinformation and the opposite of the solidarity we need to tackle our shared challenges. The big tech companies should take a broader view of their impacts on the world and take responsibility for them. That type of ownership is a core attribute of net positive businesses.
For leaders who want their companies to be net positive, what is the first step?
My advice is, familiarize yourself with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and figure out what they mean for your business and the environment you operate in. Then, link these ideas to your organization’s purpose and take steps to bring that purpose to life. And always remember the net positive mantra: is the world better off because your company is in it?
Paul Polman is the co-author of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive By Giving More Than They Take (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021) and Co-Founder and Chair of Imagine, a B-Corp promoting the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development goals. He is also Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce and Vice Chair of the UN Global Compact. As Unilever’s CEO for ten years, he demonstrated that a long-term, multi-stakeholder model goes hand-in hand with excellent financial performance. The Financial Times named him “The standout CEO of the past decade.”
This article was published for the Rotman Management Magazine.
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