Business as a force for good doesn’t have to be a grand gesture; it can present itself in small and subtle ways,” says Ilian Mihov, Dean of INSEAD. Here are seven ways businesses and leaders can do their part and make a difference to the world we live in.

1. Ways
Businesses
can be a
Force for Good
7

2. Around 50% of the
planet's wild forests are gone.
By 2030, we will only have 10% left.

3. Since 2016, half of all coral in the
Great Barrier Reef has died due to
global warming.

4. billion tons of waste
is dumped every year.

5. Using business as a
force for good
doesn’t always have
to be a grand gesture;
it can present itself
in small and subtle
ways.
Ilian Mihov,
Dean of INSEAD
“
“

6. How can businesses
be a force for good?

7. Leaders need to
walk the talk
#1

8. Leaders must not only exemplify core values in their
personal behaviour but also ensure that the company
always walks the talk.

9. Walking the talk means
taking a leap beyond
current industry protocol.
Unilever set a great
example by becoming the
first company of its kind
to embrace sustainable
palm oil.

10. It’s very simple: do
the right thing. It’s
how you (leaders) act.
If your people are
empowered and have
the right values,
they will act.
- Jim Hagemann Snab,
Chairman of Siemens
”
“

11. Help raise public
awareness on
sustainability through
partnerships
#2

12. Despite the advantages of Biogas,
a lack of awareness and negative public
preconceptions threaten its acceptance.

13. The ISABEL project
invested €1.3 million to
promote biogas as a
sustainable energy source
by encouraging children
to act as local
ambassadors for their
own community biogas
projects.

14. As a result,
Europe’s renewable
energy consumption of
biogas increased from
6% in 2005 to
15% in 2014.

15. Pick a UN
sustainability goal and
embed it into the
business strategy
#3

16. Studies show that customers
are willing to pay a premium
for products with
environmental
benefits.

17. Unilever found that
its Lifebuoy products,
which teach children
to wash their hands
to reduce infant
mortality, grow twice
as fast as other
products.

18. Becoming a sustainable brand
requires organisations to put
processes in place at every
level of the organisation,
ensuring they all work in
harmony to achieve the
sustainable goals.
Martin Roll,
INSEAD MBA alumnus ‘99D,
Business & Brand Strategist
”
“

19. Dream big:
Circular
Economy
#4

20. Today, business models are mostly linear.
Companies take resources and make products;
customers then use and dispose of them.
At the end of the conveyor belt is a growing pile of waste.

21. Procter & Gamble, a leader in circular economy,
has reassessed their manufacturing lines,
announcing that by 2020 all of their manufacturing
sites would send zero production waste to landfill.

22. Companies need to have a clear idea of the whole supply
chain before they make the changes necessary to achieve the
circular economy.
- LukVanWassenhove,
Professor of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD
”
”
“

23. Tap into employees’
core competencies to
build a successful social
impact programme
#5

24. A study was conducted in a
management consultancy
firm that initiated a
voluntary social impact
programme:
Participating consultants
used their skillset to help
organisations in new
settings like rural parts of
low-income Asian or Africa.

25. Not only did participants
take a 25% to 50%
temporary pay cut in order
to run the programme, they
were also 32% more likely
to stay with the company.

26. Employees regarded participation as an
investment in their own future; one that allows them to
simultaneously pursue a business career and engage
closely with societal issues.

27. Look into the needs
of the world and
unlock new growth
opportunities
#6

28. With supply exceeding demand in most
industries, we need to shift from competing to
creating to unlock new growth opportunities.

29. What is good for business can be good for society.
Like microfinance to lift people out of poverty or
Sesame Street to provide fun and free early childhood
education for all children regardless of economic means.

30. Those who open new
frontiers of opportunity,
growth and jobs are the
true forces for good
at the most primal
business level.
-W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne,
Co-directors of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy
Institute.
”
“

31. Every little
effort counts
#7

32. Even the font used in this
Slideshare can save the
amount of ink printers use.
A B C

33. Ryman Eco is an environmentally
sustainable typeface. It uses an average
of 33% less ink than standard fonts.

34. “Alone we can do so little,
together we can do so much.”
Helen Keller (1880 –1968), American author, political activist, and lecturer;
first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree.

35. Join the
INSEAD MBA
to lead
positive
change

37. insead.edu/mba
fb.com/INSEAD
@INSEAD & @INSEADKnowledge
linkedin.com/INSEAD
youtube.com/INSEAD
google.com/+INSEAD

38. Sources
Slide 2
http://www.theworldcounts.com/counters/degradation_and_destruction_of_ecosystems/
why_is_deforestation_a_problem
Slide 3
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/since-2016-half-the-coral-in-the-great-barrier-reef-
has-perished/558302/
Slide 4
http://www.theworldcounts.com/counters/shocking_environmental_facts_and_statistics/world_waste_facts
Slide 7
https://knowledge.insead.edu/responsibility/doing-good-is-a-source-of-growth-4311#YgA1xjI7cvDPa4Xq.
99

39. Sources
Slide 11
https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/bringing-fresh-air-to-biogas-5496
Slide 14
https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/bringing-fresh-air-to-biogas-5496
Slide 15
https://knowledge.insead.edu/responsibility/business-can-tackle-climate-change-4580
https://knowledge.insead.edu/responsibility/customer-orientation-drives-environmental-innovation-4994
Slide 19
https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/overcoming-obstacles-to-a-sustainable-economy-4952

40. Sources
Slide 21
https://us.pg.com/sustainability/environmental-sustainability/focused-on/waste
Slide 23
https://knowledge.insead.edu/responsibility/corporate-social-impact-initiatives-make-employees-more-
loyal-4229#OXq8H9jkbD3yeIZq.99
Slide 27
https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/business-as-a-force-for-good-a-blue-ocean-
perspective-8431
Slide 33
https://rymaneco.co.uk/about.html