Is the World Better Off with Your Business in it? with Paul Polman
- S1E2
- 36:36
- November 15th 2022
What does it actually mean to build a people and planet-friendly company?
In this episode, Danielle and Louisa speak to Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever from 2009 to 2019 and Co-Author of “Net Positive: how courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take.” Paul Polman works to accelerate action by business to achieve the UN Global Goals, which he helped develop. He has been described by the Financial Times as “a stand-out CEO of the past decade”.
In this conversation they discuss:
- What it means to be a net positive business
- Specific steps leaders and companies can take to become more people and planet friendly
- The business case for net positivity
Links & Resources:
- Net Positive: how courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take.
- Race to Zero Campaign
- First Mover Coalition
- International Sustainability Standards Board
- Imagine
Thank you to our partners:
New Hope Network
New Hope Network is a media, events and business intelligence company, covering natural products trends, industry insights and marketplace data that educate the industry about key issues, like regenerative agriculture, sustainability, responsible sourcing and more. Visit newhope.com
FoodShot Global
FoodShot leverages resources from investors around the world to provide non-dilutive, equity, and post-investment capacities to innovators. Find out more at foodshot.org.
New Food Order is brought to you by AgFunder and Food+Tech Connect. Visit agfunder.com and foodtechconnect.com to find out more.
And a huge thank you to everyone who helped us bring this podcast to life:
Production: Cofruition, Anna de Wolff Evans, Pamela Rothenberg
Audio Editing: Mercy Barno
Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera
Art: Lola Nankin & Rekai E. Campbell
Project Management: Patrick Carter
New Food Order
New Food Order is a podcast exploring the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture from AgFunder and Food+Tech Connect.
Through nuanced conversation and debate, its hosts Danielle Gould and Louisa Burwood-Taylor are embarking on a learning and unlearning journey to unearth how we might design business and finance to have maximum positive impact for people and our planet.
Join us as we speak with leading farmers, entrepreneurs, executives, investors, and other stewards on key topics like:
- Will plant-based, lab-grown meat, and regenerative agriculture save the world?
- Is carbon neutral enough?
- What are the most people and planet friendly business and finance models?
- How might we best honor and learn from indigenous communities?
- What are the unintended consequences of new innovation, and how might we avoid them?
Danielle Gould is an entrepreneur and activist. She is the Founder and CEO of Food Tech Connect, the first community for food innovation as well as the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Alpha Food Labs, a consultancy where she works with some of the world’s largest companies to create products and innovation strategies that are better for people and our planet. She hopes that ultimately, her work helps unite and catalyze a movement of earth guardians.
A journalist and editor, Louisa is the head of media & research for AgFunder and chief editor of its news site AFN, focused on the foodtech and agtech industry. With 10 years of agriculture reporting behind her, Louisa started her career in other financial markets working for publications like the Financial Times, Euromoney and Private Equity International, where she launched the first-ever publication dedicated to agriculture investment.