Episode 10: Ep 10 – Conversation with Andrew Winston (Co-Author, Net Positive)

In this episode, Venkata and Jaideep ask some pertinent questions to Andrew about his latest book, Net Positive, that he co-authored with former Unilever CEO Paul Polman. Andrew explains the core thesis of his new book Net Positive and about Unilever’s sustainability journey. He then gives his take on the Private equity ownership of Kraft Heinz and their attempted takeover of Unilever and how eventually that takeover failed. We then hear Andrew’s take on Danone’s CEO Emmanuel Faber getting ousted and on short-term vs long-term views at companies regarding investment and sustainability. The interview then goes towards the growth vs consumption dilemma, big companies’ climate goals, and his views on greenwashing. The discussion then takes a turn towards why leadership, culture, and values matter in a company towards achieving Net Positive status. Building partnerships is identified as key to achieving climate goals.  Guest BioAndrew Winston is a globally-recognized expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving the world. He is one of the most widely read writers on sustainable business in the world, with regular columns in Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. Andrew’s latest book, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More than They Take (co-authored with renowned CEO Paul Polman), is one of Financial Times’ Best Business Books of the Year. Andrew was selected for Thinkers50 list of the top management thinkers in the world. Key moments timestamps[00:40]- Andrew’s sustainability journey[02:46]- On the core thesis of his new book Net Positive[04:55]- On Unilever’s sustainability journey[07:26]- On Kraft Heinz and the attempted takeover of Unilever[10:51]- Andrew’s take on Danone’s CEO Emmanuel Faber getting ousted[12:53]- On short-term vs long-term views at companies regarding investment and sustainability[16:22]- On growth vs consumption dilemma[20:05]- On big companies’ climate goals and views on greenwashing[23:41]- On why leadership matters for companies in achieving climate goals[25:49]- The role of culture and values in a company towards achieving Net Positive[28:50]- The elephants in the room to tackle for achieving a Net positive future [31:15]- Building partnerships to achieve climate goals[33:51]- If businesses are ready to tackle climate goals on their own Check out the full episode transcription at: https://https://morewithlesspodcast.com/           Quotes“Once we call something “sustainability”, it gets this extra burden of proving it this quarter or we’re not gonna do it, ‘cos it must be anti-business. It’s just this assumption that it’s anti-business which we’re breaking down. I think I’ve been trying to break this down for 20 years, but I think it’s finally happening. There’s a broader view of the benefit of all this.”  – Andrew Winston  “Part of this neoliberal model is we should not only maximize profits by selling things at the highest margin we can, we should squeeze government taxation down to nearly nothing, so we deliver the most to shareholders. But what does that do in the long run? …… So that disconnect is a huge problem and I think transparency is part of the solution and those disconnects are being called out increasingly by NGOs and by employees.” – Andrew Winston   About UsVenkata Gandikota is a frugal innovation and impact investing evangelist and Prof Jaideep Prabhu is a Professor of Marketing at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School and co-author of an award-winning book on frugal innovation. If you have questions or feedback on this episode or our series, reach out to us. Twitter: https://twitter.com/morewithlesspodLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/more-with-less-podcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/morewithlesspodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_hymDe_ez7RbRko0PLsFkwWebsite: https://morewithlesspodcast.com