Over a decade ago Public Benefit Corporations and the B Corporation Certification process emerged, reframing the purpose of business beyond profits to operate for the benefit of society and the environment. Referred to as the “triple bottom line” or the 3 P's: People, Planet, and Profits, these structures hold businesses accountable for the impact of their operations. Organizations such as Patagonia that were founded with broad purpose and mission-driven start-ups eagerly got on board. Two years ago, The Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs from America’s leading companies redefined the purpose of a corporation to benefit all stakeholders, not solely shareholders. While these shifts began to move us in the right direction, it hasn’t been enough.
Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, and Andrew Winston, sustainable business expert, offer up Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take in which they call for The Net Positive Manifesto. They note that “Society's expectations of business have changed more in the past two years than the previous 20.” Climate events, the murder of George Floyd and other racist atrocities, the sexual abuse and harassment highlighted by #MeToo, and the attack on our Capitol and our voting system catalyzed this. Polman and Winston see this as “the greatest economic opportunity of our time.”
The Net Positive Manifesto: is the world better off because your company is in it?
The Net Positive Manifesto offers practices business can adopt to give more to the world than they take. It’s a process, and the road is long and challenging. Well-intended efforts are beset with unintended consequences. Planet Money’s Emission Impossible podcast on carbon credits, and one recent headline: The Cotton Tote Crisis (how did an environmental solution become part of the problem?), are just two examples.
Net positive purpose
First, Polman and Winston say, have a net positive purpose. “When you know why your business exists and when that purpose reflects your values, becoming net positive is a natural step — even an inevitable one.” Polman was CEO of Unilever when it launched The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan with a mission “To Make Sustainable Living Commonplace.” This drove organizational shifts toward reducing environmental impact and improving people’s lives, and, importantly, not to the detriment of their brands. “A net positive company can help solve a social problem and see brand and sales benefits. The two goals are not at odds.”
Serve stakeholders, then shareholders
“A net positive company rewards investors, but as a result of running a business that serves others, not as a primary goal,” the authors urge. Serving customers, suppliers, communities, governments, employees, contractors, and society first will reap long-term profits. This shift “can create tension with traditional short-term shareholders,” and disrupt short-term profits. Transparency with investors and skillful implementation can lessen the impact.
Take ownership of all company impacts
Know and take responsibility for the negative impacts of the business, take action to address them, and be transparent. Every aspect of a business must be examined to understand the societal and environmental consequences of how products and services are sourced, made, sold, and delivered, as well as the impact of government policy influence efforts. The authors point out that no one company is responsible for climate change, human rights abuses, or the news and social media role in the attack on our election and capital riots, but each must be accountable and transparent.
Embrace partnerships and work with your critics
Industry organizations working together can supercharge problem solving. Even something so basic as standardizing the size of shipping pallets results in packing trucks with 50% more stuff, an innovation from The Consumer Goods Forum — 400 companies that collaborate on food waste, human rights abuses in supply chains, sustainable packaging and deforestation.
Welcoming in and working with industry critics can create important alliances. Polman and Winston point out that “. . . pressure groups closely follow technical issues, such as alternatives to plastics, and often have deep knowledge.”
Change systems with net positive advocacy
Net positive advocacy requires the ”. . . three legs of the societal stool — the for-profit sector, civil society (such as consumers, nonprofits, and other advocacy groups), and government. . .” to come together to make large systems change. Instead of corporations lobbying for or against regulations to their advantage, this model has “businesses approach governments openly and transparently . . . [to] solve larger problems for the benefit of all.”
Net positive us?
The net positive manifesto translates to all of us. We can personalize the elements and have a personal net positive purpose tied to our values, serve others, own and address the impact of our actions, partner with and invite critics to help us do better, and work to effect change on a system level.
Being conscious of the impacts of how we live our daily lives is key: Where did that thing we use come from? How was it made? Who made it? How were they treated? How did it get here? Do we even need it? Does the way we live or act, or the system we take as a given, contribute unwittingly to perpetuating inequality?
...to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sunday Morning: 165