Yesterday I listened to a very insightful podcast by Mallen Baker where he interviewed the outgoing CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman. Polman’s understated but undeniable passion for Sustainability rang out from his words like a bell. Contrast that with a cri de coeur I received after last week’s Green Academy webinar from someone who can’t get anyone to take ownership of Sustainability in their organisation.

It is 10 years since I started writing The Green Executive which argued that leadership was the difference between the best in Sustainability and the rest. And when I said leadership, I suppose I really meant ownership. Anyone can proclaim their commitment and many do, but actively demonstrating that commitment day in day out, transforming a major organisation is the thing that will make a real difference to the future.

Polman did just that. My only regret is that he took the reins at Unilever slightly too late for a Green Executive case study…

Photo: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, creative commons CC BY-SA 4.0