Net Zero Is Not Enough
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Weekend reading: Give and take |
| Many companies are promoting their sustainability goals, particularly their plans to reach net-zero carbon emissions. But Paul Polman, the former C.E.O. of Unilever who became a standard-bearer for corporate social responsibility, is unimpressed. In fact, he argues that having “zero” as a goal reveals a fundamental flaw. |
| Polman’s new book with the sustainable business expert Andrew Winston, “Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take,” argues that it’s profitable to do business with the goal of making the world better. Polman spoke to DealBook about how to do it. The interview has been edited and condensed. |
| What’s the problem with net zero? |
| Net zero is not enough. Many companies plan to reduce their emissions or are relying on future carbon capture technologies to ensure they take back as much as they put out, but balancing carbon isn’t enough anymore because collectively — globally — we’re showing increased emissions despite reduction commitments. That means we are going to have to do more than reach zero. |
| Can companies make the world better? |
| We’ve already overshot a lot of nature’s boundaries, so it’s not enough to just try to be less bad. Infinite growth on a finite planet isn’t sustainable. We won’t be able to do business at all if this continues. We’re arguing in the book that companies that take ownership of difficult social and environmental justice issues will do very well in the future. |
| How would a company start down this path? |
| You need to think about your purpose. Why are you here? You won’t last long if the world is not better off with you in it, and not attacking issues costs infinitely more in the long term. Now companies have to think about how to drive changes in habits instead of depleting resources and driving more consumption. Producing more stuff doesn’t work. |
| What does it mean to be “net positive”? |
| It means not just being “green” or less bad by minimizing harms, and not just operating sustainably, which means having a neutral effect on the planet. Net positive is restorative, reparative and regenerative. |