Paul Polman
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Business, campaigning, younger me nearly a priest. 'Net Positive: how courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take' #3 Thinkers50
Greater London, England, United Kingdom
1M followers
232 connections
About
The best advice I was ever given is you either make the dust, or you’ll eat it. Be bold, and don’t waste time on things you don’t believe in. I’ve never felt more motivated to help put business in service of humanity. I want to prove that the most successful companies are what I (and my exceptional co-author Andrew Winston) call “net positive” in our upcoming book. Net Positive means you thrive by giving more to the world than you take. Put another way, you can profit by helping fix the world’s problems – including runaway climate change, rampant inequality and diminishing biodiversity – rather than by creating them.
This is what we aimed for at Unilever, which I ran for a decade. With a tremendous team, we embraced a longer-term, purpose-driven approach that put the business in service of all our stakeholders: employees, customers, suppliers, the communities we touched, plus the planet and next generation. Our investors benefitted massively as a result, as we created one of the best consumer goods companies in the world, delivering ten years of top and bottom line growth.
The truth is I’ve lost all patience with incremental CSR. Just doing slightly better or being “less bad” won’t cut it anymore. In fact, it’s actively damaging if it curbs higher ambition. I had the privilege of serving on the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel that developed the 2030 Global Goals, and our only hope of heading off our greatest planetary and societal challenges – whether health, jobs, poverty, climate, nature – is if business moves at speed and scale. Governments can’t do this alone, whole industries need to shift fast – finance, food, fashion and more. Otherwise we’re all toast.
Fortunately, more and more CEOs get it. Through the fantastic organisations I am involved in I see first-hand the growing number of top execs stepping up to their responsibility as societal leaders, and the even bigger number of next-Gen leaders holding them to account. Will business change fast enough? I honestly don’t know, but we have to try. Time to make the dust.
Courses by Paul
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Building Net Positive Companies: Driving Sustainability in Your Business1h 2m
Building Net Positive Companies: Driving Sustainability in Your Business
By: Andrew Winston
Articles by Paul
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Geneva’s Plastics Treaty Talks Will Decide More Than Plastic’s Future
Geneva’s Plastics Treaty Talks Will Decide More Than Plastic’s Future
In Geneva, the clock is ticking. Countries are halfway through a decisive second week of talks to secure a legally…
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Sicker Planet, Sicker People: Environmental breakdown is eroding the foundations of human health
Sicker Planet, Sicker People: Environmental breakdown is eroding the foundations of human health
For decades, we’ve been told “we need to save the planet”. But the truth is, the planet will be fine.
107 Comments -
Andrew Kassoy: A moral architect of business for good
Andrew Kassoy: A moral architect of business for good
Last week we lost a dear friend and one of the true architects of a better kind of capitalism— Andrew Kassoy Andrew…
6 Comments -
We’re Winning on the Fundamentals, But Still Losing the Plot – Is bad storytelling the most overlooked transition risk?
We’re Winning on the Fundamentals, But Still Losing the Plot – Is bad storytelling the most overlooked transition risk?
These days, it’s easy to feel despair. Polarisation dominates the headlines.
144 Comments -
Breaking the Deadlock: A New Path for Multilateral Diplomacy Is Long Overdue
Breaking the Deadlock: A New Path for Multilateral Diplomacy Is Long Overdue
Talks to secure a Global Plastics Treaty broke down in Busan earlier this month as divisions over proposed caps on…
41 Comments -
Time to Seal the Deal: The World Must Deliver a Strong Plastics Treaty in Busan
Time to Seal the Deal: The World Must Deliver a Strong Plastics Treaty in Busan
Countries from around the world gather this week in Busan, South Korea, in a bid to finalise negotiations on a binding…
29 Comments -
At the UN Climate Summit, Will Multilateralism Be Trumped by Nationalism?
At the UN Climate Summit, Will Multilateralism Be Trumped by Nationalism?
As negotiators from 198 nations settle into fractious talks at this week’s UN climate summit, the pressing issues –…
36 Comments -
Azerbaijan is Using COP29 to Clean Up Its Image
Azerbaijan is Using COP29 to Clean Up Its Image
Azerbaijan’s bid to market COP29 as the “COP of Peace” is just the latest in a series of image-laundering efforts by…
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My call to leaders at COP16: We are unravelling the fabric of life itself
My call to leaders at COP16: We are unravelling the fabric of life itself
Yesterday I returned from COP16, the UN's global biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia. In Cali, the world’s…
85 Comments -
The Backlash Didn't Kill Green Investing
The Backlash Didn't Kill Green Investing
In fact, it's booming Ever since Wall Street veteran Larry Fink’s face began showing up on the sides of trucks across…
33 Comments
Activity
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On behalf of IMAGINE and my Co-Founder Valerie Keller, we are delighted to welcome and celebrate the newest cohort of IMAGINE Leaders. In a moment…
On behalf of IMAGINE and my Co-Founder Valerie Keller, we are delighted to welcome and celebrate the newest cohort of IMAGINE Leaders. In a moment…
Shared by Paul Polman
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Interesting to see the debate on quarterly reporting resurface. When I announced we would end it on my first day at Unilever, it was not to save…
Interesting to see the debate on quarterly reporting resurface. When I announced we would end it on my first day at Unilever, it was not to save…
Shared by Paul Polman
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Consumers International appoints Doconomy to Inaugural Global Digital Finance Advisory Council This prestigious appointment underscores to me our…
Consumers International appoints Doconomy to Inaugural Global Digital Finance Advisory Council This prestigious appointment underscores to me our…
Liked by Paul Polman
Experience
More activity by Paul
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Waiting for a Miracle? 😧😧😧 Agriculture around the world is suffering and it is only the beginning. In the Cocoa Supply Chain, but not only, very…
Waiting for a Miracle? 😧😧😧 Agriculture around the world is suffering and it is only the beginning. In the Cocoa Supply Chain, but not only, very…
Liked by Paul Polman
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Last week I had the privilege of meeting Pope Leo XIV during the inauguration of Borgo Laudato Si, the papal property in Castel Gandolfo dedicated to…
Last week I had the privilege of meeting Pope Leo XIV during the inauguration of Borgo Laudato Si, the papal property in Castel Gandolfo dedicated to…
Shared by Paul Polman
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In 2015, world leaders promised to halve food waste by 2030. At the time, around one-third of global food production was being lost. Today, the…
In 2015, world leaders promised to halve food waste by 2030. At the time, around one-third of global food production was being lost. Today, the…
Shared by Paul Polman
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Would you want to be an employee in any of these companies ? Are these the values that made you join them ? What is more important to you in life ?…
Would you want to be an employee in any of these companies ? Are these the values that made you join them ? What is more important to you in life ?…
Shared by Paul Polman
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Well done Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa. Inclusive societies are simply more innovative and resilient societies. The private sector wins with…
Well done Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa. Inclusive societies are simply more innovative and resilient societies. The private sector wins with…
Shared by Paul Polman
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