The Climate Business podcast: The ROI on sustainable Business – Lewis Patterson (edited excerpts).
Listen to the full episode here.
Vincent
“This is a tough year to do a conference, Lewis. You're still confident you're going to do it?”
Lewis
“You're absolutely right. It's a tough year. The global geopolitics don't lend themselves to pursuing anything really relating to purpose, if you look at it from the surface. But no, it's the right time to do it. More so than ever, which is one of the reasons we've stuck to our guns and pursued this. One of the key objectives of the conference is to counter those challenges, be it from the political side or brands seemingly pulling back from targets or the pressure on ESG."
Vincent
“You've got such an impressive lineup of speakers. Tell us some of the highlights there.”
Lewis
"I'm really grateful for those that have stepped up. It shows that that fundamental drive and the importance people are placing on purpose is still there. That hasn't changed. We've got the day split into two major focus areas. Day one is all about surfacing the values of purpose-driven work. We've got Shamubeel Eaqub talking about the economist's perspective. And then we've got Brianne West, the founder of Ethique. There are few stories that would shine a better light on what value purpose brings than Brianne's story.
"We've also got a range of brands that include the likes of Zespri, Blunt and Ikea. We're hosting it in Rotorua, so we've got two incredible purpose-driven brands there, Canopy Tours and Wai Ariki. We've also got Dole Asia, so we’re bringing in an international flavour as well. The speakers are not just sustainable leaders. We’re trying to achieve a mix throughout the different businesses to bring that perspective.”
Vincent
“There is such a strong emphasis at the moment on getting some growth going again. To what extent is being purpose-led and being people-focused a luxury?”
Lewis
“I think that is changing and it can't be seen as a luxury. It is a fundamental requirement that businesses now are driven by purpose. There are very clear case studies where the lens of sustainability does deliver financial savings. Regulations are coming and businesses, your customers overseas are requiring you to show transparency and provide them with solutions. You can get more from your staff if they buy into that value proposition that you're putting forward. So there is tangible financial benefits for being purpose driven, and you can't afford not to be.”
Vincent
“I wonder whether it is as simple as a communication exercise, perhaps even changing the language, so that we don't fall into the trap of labels?”
Lewis
“I think you make a very good point. And that's why even in this conference, we've put ‘purpose’ in there. ‘Purpose’ possibly is not the right word, because what we are talking about is just the business case. It's a return on investment of any business case. The fundamentals are just economics. They haven't changed. It was always about economics. It still is now.”
Vincent
“I always thought that was the benefit of the stakeholder language around running business. The idea that beyond your direct employees and beyond your shareholders, there is a community of interest that has to benefit all for you to flourish. We operate in a network, don't we?"
Lewis
Yes, it's so true, but that is the hardest. It is one of the bigger barriers in terms of putting a systematic lens or a systems lens across change. We want to take great brands to the globe. But actually, you don't succeed unless you're collaborating with other brands, with other supply chain and value chain partners. It just doesn't work. Sometimes systematic change only happens when you have got all those people in the room and you're planning that change together. So there's still a step that needs to be taken, and I think in many cases, where we look beyond our own brand lens and collaborate much more widely.”
Vincent
“Have you seen examples of that kind of stakeholder purpose-led philosophy working at its best?”
Lewis
“One example would be TerraCycle in the US. I met the CEO a number of times up there. He was saying to solve the problem around circularity, there has to be money in the collection and handling of waste. Fundamentally from that proposition, he had to collaborate because he was offering a service. He built a story around it and he put the business case to the brands, which showed them where the value was. Another one closer to home is Mutu. Ben has brought the construction industry together. He's showing them how they can save money by better utilisation of resource, and also save the environment, because it's having less impact through waste. It's a really good case study, absolutely tied around collaboration."
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