Press Release

Unilever CEO challenges youth leaders to remake capitalism

Pittsburgh, PA – October 19, 2012 – Unilever CEO Paul Polman this afternoon addressed 1,300 young leaders from 182 countries during the third annual One Young World Summit, challenging them to remake capitalism. The three-day summit brings together delegates focused on creating lasting and positive global change.

Published 12 years ago | About a 3 minute read

Polman called on the audience to start businesses that create opportunities for others to get involved and that drive positive social change—and not to rely on government or international consensus to solve issues like climate change – harnessing their youth and leveraging movements for good that are happening already.

“A 21st Century form of business [is] where the everyday consumer is helping to shape the social contract—moving from a value-based transaction to a values-based partnership,” he said.

The challenge is one that Unilever itself is undertaking. In 2010, the company pledged to decouple business growth from its environmental impact and launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, an ambitious blueprint for a new business model underpinned by a set of around 50 goals aimed at halving the company’s environmental impact, sourcing 100 percent of its agricultural raw materials sustainably, and helping one billion people improve their health and well-being.

“We want to show that it is possible to do well and do good on a mass scale. We want to show that big doesn’t have to be bad and that it’s not only small that’s beautiful,” Polman said to the assembled audience at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Polman is a second-year counsellor to the young delegates—part of an esteemed group providing inspiration and assistance, including: musician Bob Geldof, KBE; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus; former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan; Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey; musician Joss Stone; model and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova; and campaigner Jamie Oliver.

One Young World Summit

Download a full copy of Polman’s speech ( 103KB ) .

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