LEGEND
PAUL
POLMAN
If ever there was a businessman who practices what he preaches , it ’ s Paul Polman , former CEO of Unilever and one of the loudest sustainability voices in the corporate world
Anyone worth their sustainability salt knows the impact Paul Polman made at Unilever . CEO of the consumer goods giant for a decade ( 2009- 2019 ) and the first outsider to lead the Dutch-Anglo company since its founding in 1929 , Polman developed an ambitious plan , to separate the company ’ s growth from its overall environmental footprint , and to increase its positive social impact . It was a risk , but one that ultimately paid off . Unilever ’ s pioneering and nowfamed 10-year Sustainable Living Plan not only helped the company reach 1.3bn people through its health and hygiene programmes , but also delivered consistent top and bottom-line growth , both positioning Unilever as a sustainability leader and demonstrating that a longterm , multi-stakeholder model can exist alongside excellent financial performance . In fact , under Polman ’ s decade-long leadership , Unilever was one of the best performing companies in its sector .
This delivery of – and commitment to – long-term , sustainable capitalism isn ’ t something Polman left at Unilever ’ s door , however .
13
The number of honorary degrees Polman has under his oh-so-green belt
Polman not only pulled off Unilever ’ s pioneering plan , proving ‘ corporate can be clean ’ to the wider business world , but he played a significant role in developing the UN ’ s Sustainable Development Goals , and established the Business and Sustainable Development Commission , whose flagship report mapped the economic prize for firms that align with the goals .
And such significant ‘ responsible business ’ achievements have resulted in a significant number of awards , not least France ’ s prestigious Chevalier de la Legion d ’ Honneur for his role in the historic 2015 Paris Agreement , a British Knighthood , and 13 honorary degrees .
Since his retirement from Unilever in 2019 , Polman has dedicated himself to advocating the Goals he helped develop with the co-founding of Imagine – a social venture that aims at galvanising industry leaders around the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals .
So , when he ’ s not working with organisations to help them realise business as a force for good or rallying business leaders into purposeful action , he ’ s actively mentoring young leaders and putting his money where his mouth is , both as an active philanthropist and a charity founder ( Kilimanjaro Blind Trust ).
And with the pandemic having “ put us back probably 20-30 years on the sustainable development goals ” as Polman recently told CNBC , with whom he co-founded the ESG Council in April , Polman is even more fired up in convincing business leaders to accelerate their corporate responsibility efforts . Kudos to that .
24 June 2021