-
The entire model of capitalism
-
and the economic model that you and I
-
did business in
-
and in fact that didn't do business in
-
was built around what probably Milton Friedman
-
put more succinctly.
-
And Adam Smith of course
-
the father of modern economics actually said
-
many many years ago the invisible hand
-
which is if you continue to operate
-
in your own self interest
-
you will do the best good for society.
-
Now, capitalism has done a lot of good things.
-
And I've talked about a lot of good
things that have happened
-
But equally
-
it has not been able to meet up
-
with some of the challenges that we've seen
-
in society.
-
The model that at least I was brought up in
-
and a lot of prospering businesses were brought up in
-
was one which talked about
-
what I call the "3 G's" of growth.
-
Growth that is consistent,
-
quarter and quarter.
-
Growth that is competitive,
-
better than the other person,
-
And growth that is profitable,
-
so you continue to make
-
more and more share hold of value.
-
And I'm afraid this is not going to be good enough.
-
And we have to move from this 3G model
-
to a model of what I call
-
the fourth 'G' --
-
the 'G' of growth that is responsible.
-
And it is this that has to become
-
a very important part
-
of creating value.
-
Of not just creating economic value
-
but creating social value.
-
And companies that will thrive are those
-
that will actually embrace the fourth 'G'.
-
And the model of 4G is quite simple.
-
Companies cannot afford to be just innocent bystanders
-
in whats happening around in society.
-
They have to begin to play their role
-
in terms of serving the communities
-
which actually sustain them.
-
And we have to move to a model
-
of an "and, and" model which is
-
how do we make money and do good?
-
How do we make sure we have a great business
-
but we also have a great environment around us?
-
And that model
-
is all about doing well and doing good.
-
But the question is
-
easier said than done.
-
But how do we actually get that done?
-
And I do believe
-
Not Synced
that the answer to that is going to be an issue.
-
Not Synced
It is going to be to redefine
-
Not Synced
the new business models
-
Not Synced
which understand that the only license to operate
-
Not Synced
is to combine these things.
-
Not Synced
And for that you need businesses
-
Not Synced
that can actually define their role in society
-
Not Synced
in terms of a much larger purpose
-
Not Synced
than the products and brands that they sell.
-
Not Synced
And companies that actually define and do not
-
Not Synced
Things that are non-negotiable
-
Not Synced
when the times are good, bad, ugly,
-
Not Synced
doesn't matter —
-
Not Synced
there are things that you stand for.
-
Not Synced
Values and purpose are going to be the two
-
Not Synced
drivers of software that is going to create
-
Not Synced
the companies of tomorrow.
-
Not Synced
And I'm going to now shift
-
Not Synced
to talking a little bit about my own experiences.
-
Not Synced
I joined the Unilever in 1976
-
Not Synced
as a management training in India.
-
Not Synced
And on my first day of work
-
Not Synced
I walked in and my boss tells me,
-
Not Synced
"Do you know why you're here?"
-
Not Synced
I said, "I'm here to sell a lot of soap."
-
Not Synced
And he said, "No, you're here to change lives.
-
Not Synced
You're here to change lives."
-
Not Synced
You know, I thought it was rather facetious.
-
Not Synced
We had a company that sells soap and soup ...
-
Not Synced
what are we doing about changing lives?
-
Not Synced
And it's then I realized
-
Not Synced
that simple acts
-
Not Synced
like selling a bar of soap
-
Not Synced
can save more lives
-
Not Synced
than pharmaceutical companies.
-
Not Synced
I don't know how many of you know
-
Not Synced
that 5 million children don't reach the age of 5
-
Not Synced
because of simple infections that can be prevented
-
Not Synced
by an act of washing their hands with soap.
-
Not Synced
We run the largest hand washing program in the world.
-
Not Synced
We are running a program on hygiene and health
-
Not Synced
that now touches half a billion people.
-
Not Synced
It's not about selling soap,
-
Not Synced
there is a larger purpose out there.
-
Not Synced
And brands indeed can be
-
Not Synced
at the forefront of social change.
-
Not Synced
And the reason for that is
-
Not Synced
when 2 billion people use your brands
-
Not Synced
that's the amplifier.
-
Not Synced
Small actions can make a big difference.
-
Not Synced
Take another example,
-
Not Synced
I was walking around in one of our villages in India.
-
Not Synced
Not all of you who have done this will realize
-
Not Synced
that this is no walk in the park.
-
Not Synced
And we had this lady
-
Not Synced
who is one of our small distributors
-
Not Synced
beautiful, very, very modest her home
-
Not Synced
and she was out there
-
Not Synced
dressed nicely
-
Not Synced
her husband in the back, her mother-in-law behind
-
Not Synced
and her sister-in-law behind her.
-
Not Synced
The social order was changing
-
Not Synced
because this lady
-
Not Synced
is part of our project "iShakti"
-
Not Synced
that is actually teaching women
-
Not Synced
how to do small business
-
Not Synced
and how to carry the message
-
Not Synced
of nutrition and hygiene.
-
Not Synced
We have 60 thousand of such woman
-
Not Synced
now in India.
-
Not Synced
It's not about selling soap,
-
Not Synced
it's about making sure
-
Not Synced
that in the process of doing so
-
Not Synced
you can change people's lives.
-
Not Synced
Small actions, big difference.
-
Not Synced
Our R and D folks
-
Not Synced
are not only working to give us some fantastic detergents,
-
Not Synced
but they're working to make sure we use less water.
-
Not Synced
A product that we've just launched recently,
-
Not Synced
one-rinse product that allows you to save water
-
Not Synced
every time you wash your clothes.
-
Not Synced
And if we can convert all our users to using this,
-
Not Synced
that's 500 billion liters of water.
-
Not Synced
By the way thats equivalent to one month of water
-
Not Synced
for a whole huge continent.
-
Not Synced
So just think about it --
-
Not Synced
there are small actions that can make a big difference.
-
Not Synced
And I can go on and on.
-
Not Synced
Our food chain,
-
Not Synced
our brilliant products and I'm sorry
-
Not Synced
I'm giving you a word from the sponsors
-
Not Synced
(unclear), Helman and all those wonderful products
-
Not Synced
we are committed to making sure that
-
Not Synced
all our agricultural raw materials
-
Not Synced
are sourced from sustainable sources.
-
Not Synced
100 percent sustainable sources.
-
Not Synced
We were the first
-
Not Synced
to say we are going to buy all of our palm oil
-
Not Synced
from sustainable sources.
-
Not Synced
I don't know how many of you know that palm oil
-
Not Synced
and not buying it from sustainable sources
-
Not Synced
can create deforestation that is responsible
-
Not Synced
for 20 percent of the greenhouse gasses in the world.
-
Not Synced
We were the first to embrace that
-
Not Synced
and it's all because we market soap and soup.
-
Not Synced
And the point I'm making here
-
Not Synced
is that companies like yours, companies like mine
-
Not Synced
have to define a purpose
-
Not Synced
which embraces responsibility
-
Not Synced
and understands that we have to play our part
-
Not Synced
in the communities in which we operate.
-
Not Synced
We introduced something called
-
Not Synced
The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan which said,
-
Not Synced
our purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace
-
Not Synced
and we are gong to change the lives of 1 billion people
-
Not Synced
over 2020.
-
Not Synced
Now the question here is,
-
Not Synced
where do we go from here?
-
Not Synced
And the answer to that is very simple.
-
Not Synced
We're not going to change the world alone.
-
Not Synced
There are plenty of you and plenty of us
-
Not Synced
who understand this
-
Not Synced
the question is
-
Not Synced
we need partnerships, we need coalitions
-
Not Synced
and importantly, we need that leadership
-
Not Synced
that will allow us to take this from here
-
Not Synced
and to be the change
-
Not Synced
that we want to see around us.
-
Not Synced
Thank you very much.
-
Not Synced
(Applause)