Many business leaders want to do better – their employees, customers and children increasingly demand it – but they don’t always know how, and they cannot do it alone. I co-wrote Net Positive: how courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take to help with the “how”. In my time at Unilever we delivered 290% returns for our investors, while consistently ranking first in the world for sustainability. We didn’t get everything right, but we learnt lessons that we help other companies put into practice, including through SYSTEMIQ, a fast-growing systems change company. We also work to empower and improve competence on Boards and, through the IMAGINE CEO Circle, to connect proven, vanguard CEOs with current and future business leaders, so they can share their experiences and networks. I co-chair the United Nations Global Compact on behalf of the Secretary General, which helps over 21,000 organisations from around the world adopt and implement the Sustainable Development Goals.

Collaboration is key. As a general rule, 25-30% of the leaders in any sector can drive a tipping point. By coming together, businesses can share risk, spread costs and find their collective courage, in order to tackle problems no company can fix alone. Through ambitious partnerships we can overhaul industry standards and embolden our governments to do more. We work with CEO-led collectives in some of the most strategically important sectors for tackling climate change and inequality, including in Food, Travel & Tourism, Energy and through The Fashion Pact. SYSTEMIQ (where I sit on the Board) helps support this work, connecting business to government and civil society, and helping accelerate the changes the world needs.