♪ francine: it is ranked as one of the top companies, its products are used by two billion people every day. in over five years, paul polman has had a positive impact on the environment. in an exclusive interview, i speak with him about sustainability, cop 21 and what it takes to be a good leader. thank you so much for speaking to bloomberg. there is a lot of talk about spend ability. paul: i'm very confident that we

have an agreement, we have 169 targets. in this decade, we have seen a few forces coming together. we see disaster hitting our planets, with scarce resources. we see poverty and migration issues in europe. all these problems are what is being addressed. poverty in aeviate sustainable and equitable way. no business has a case of enduring poverty. if the society does not function, it is very difficult for us to function as well. francine: are you confident businesses will translate into something concrete? paul: if you go back to the real reason for this, i'm sure there are exceptions but us to solve

the problems that are out there in society. the problems are food security, access to water, climate change. although there are challenges, they are enormous opportunities to invest behind. technology allows us to do that. funding ultimately has to come from business. business is about 60% of global gdp. 80% of the financial flow. 90% of the job creation these days. so if business does not get involved, i do not think we will even achieve these objectives. responsible business people increasingly realize not only from a moral point of view that this is good for business. if you look at our business, you would type of the issues of climate change for example you would probably see high volatility and supply. you might not have supply as it moves around the world, that your business model is being put at risk. you can see enormous parts of the world where people are not participating. in these parts of the world you cannot sell your products.

businesses increasingly see that it makes sense to be part of the solution. francine: they do see it, the problem is that it is often long term. when you have shareholders, you have pressure. and capitalism needs to be inclusive. but, again, is there a certain momentum that you think businesses need now? paul polman: often shareholder pressure is confused with the short term. i think we should put these two apart. there was a short-term pressure which certainly isn't healthy. the average length of a company's life is 18 years. a lot of companies run on quarterly profits or guidance that they give, and it sometimes results in this functional decisions. -- this functional decisions. if you want to solve food insecurity, climate change, access to water, then obviously it requires long-term goal. this longer-term is in the

interest of shareholders. provided you are a long-term shareholder. we make long-term decisions that are in our factories. they are in our i.t. systems we . have investments in people. we have an investment in humanity and our planet. increasingly, businesses see good reasons to do that. the technology is there. the financing opportunities are there. actually, the alternatives of not doing it is starting to cost businesses more. when you have parts of the world -- let's take the drugs in sao paulo not long ago, their water reserves are only one third what they should be. this is not a very good situation. the hydro dams do not give good electricity. people do not have water. when they do not have water they don't take the showers, they don't wash their hair, their electricity stops a few times during the day, if you have ice

-- businesses see the cost of these failures earlier than anyone else. the solution to avoid this is a enormous business opportunities. the people who go to bed hungry are an opportunity to grow the market for food. we have an enormous opportunity to provide nutrition for these people. these are really business opportunities. francine: in paris, do you think this year we will get an agreement? paul: you will get an agreement in paris. the gallery is a lot of workers -- the framework was put in place. we had good discussions for financial development. in fact, we should not forget the deadline is the first of october. when these countries can put in their individual contributions. or what they call i can d.c.. -- indc. we currently already have 58 countries that have submitted, and of these 58 countries, that is 70% of the carbon emissions. where would it big companies -- countries like the -- brazil

and india, there is some encouraging noise coming from there. i was in brazil three weeks ago. i was in india a few months ago, so we are waiting for that. what you see in the submissions that are being done, that we can get to 30% or 40% of what i believe is needed. there has never been an agreement globally. let alone an agreement for 34%. frankly, that is more than anybody would've thought. francine: you would be happy with 30% or 40%? paul: no, that is a starting point. the agreement in paris is for a commitment like the g7. zero emissions by the end of the century which i think is too late but at least there is a point that it's important for business. once we have a clear agreement investments accelerate this to a carbon free society will go faster. francine: why are you confident we will have agreement? this is taken a seven years.

paul: this is a 21, 21 stands for something. suddenly, we have realized it is time to move. we never thought the effects as much as we are seeing them now. francine: coming up, we continue the conversation on sustainability. i challenge the ceo of unilever over consumer choices responsible purchasing power, , and the bottom line. paul: it is our duty as ceos in this world to set an example and be sure we are not doing something that. we are driven by the needs of these consumers. francine: we will be back in a humanist with more of the exclusive conversation with paul coleman. -- polman. ♪

♪ francine: in 2015, unilever was awarded the top ranking prize

in the sustainable leaders survey for the fifth consecutive year. paul polman speaks exclusively about how this has shaped the business. for example, your customers want a company that is more sustainable. i have always been told that some of your rivals say that everybody would love a shampoo that does good, but when it comes to choosing the shampoo that gives you healthy hair or does good, we always choose the one that gives us glossy hair. paul: i would not disagree with that sentence, but is not the right comparison. obviously, you need to provide a product that performs, you need it at a cost that is affordable. that is the job of any company. once you have done that, consumers differentiate. would you want to buy from the company that has child labor and its value chain? -- in its value chain? would you want to buy from a company that does not have

sustainable practices? would you want to buy from a company that benefits the transparency of the internet are able to separate. we see that in our own company. the expectations also go up. this is a moving thing. we have moved from 10% sustainable sourcing and our agricultural materials to 55% or 60%. it is a tremendous improvement, we've done this five times in last five years. francine: why? paul: because we have put a new business model in place. we put our emphasis in it. we saw the importance of being closer to the value chain. we will ensure a more equal value chain. we have made changes in our business model, but, even though you have done five times more in the last five years than the previous 100 years, the consumer expectations go up again.

it's find you are at 60% -- it's find you have better wages in your value chain, or better conditions, but are these conditions good enough? it is a continuous moving playing field. francine: and this is because of social media and the fact that people share more information? is there an age group that is more obvious in -- militant in these sustainability goals? paul: if you look at the absence of government, the world has become so interdependent, it is very difficult for government to work under a system. some institutions were designed , good institutions at the time when 80% of the world was in europe and u.s. now that the world is much of -- more global we have seen a , shift to the south and east. these institutions have not yet really adjusted. that's why we have such a challenge for global government. it is a challenge for all of us. it is not really to bring the politicians for that. what you really see is that businessmen have to step up and the risk of the political

process. what you see a citizens in this world, but wealth might be concentrated in a few people. which is not good. 70% of the citizens of this world have access to a mobile phone. over half of them have access to the internet. 50% of the phones are smart phones. increasingly, they realize they are connected. there are enormous movements happening that action drive -- actually drive change. there are many examples of that. the group that really drives at -- it are the millennial. if you now ask them, very few actually want work for a big corporate because of an issue of trust or transparency. the same they would say about government. so people will not be able to attract the talent that they don't make a responsible business model. millennials also say it is fine. we have a certain level of well-being, but what i'm looking for is more meaning. a little bit more purpose. they tend to look and seek out companies that have that purpose. so putting that business model

in place, we are the most looked up company after linkedin or google. we get one million people applying to us every year. then, we look at the people who come in in the engagement scores we get. we see that it is driven by a positive business model. so tracking and energizing the right people are key ingredient for long-term success. then having more goals out there that you share with the society in transparency. what is your water footprint? what is your carbon footprint? that not only makes you more accountable because of that transparency, it also gives more information to the financial markets in which case there is a lower risk for them. and probably a lower cost of capital, which results in a higher return as well. francine: not many people understand that. when you talk about purpose,

this is come from you because you've always been passionate pointit? was a turning where you thought this has to be done for myself and my business? paul: i always felt that we are not here for ourselves. the role of business is to serve society. that is how lord weaver started. in victoria britain, one out of two babies did not make it past the age of one because of issues of hygiene. these shoes have moved to sub-saharan africa and india. the business that addresses these basic issues of society which is the sustainable agenda. i think that it is our duty as ceos of this world to set an example and be sure that we are driven just by shareholders, but that we are driven by the needs of consumers. and if we cater to them very well, business will perform. francine: you must be disappointed that not more ceos think like you?

paul: you should not sit here and get frustrated by the attitudes of others or the speed with which things move. you should just continue to focus on bringing the right people together, creating did -- tipping point, and moving these barriers. sometimes, you think why can we move faster? why aren't more people doing this? who am i to judge? the better thing to show is that we can have a business model where we do well, but also do good for the shareholders. and all the other stakeholders. the more we do that, the more we see other people enroll. the role of the ceo has changed over the last two years. one of the reasons that you see short tenure of ceos, which is now 4.5 years for the fortune companies, is really because a lot of the ceos are not equipped for the challenges of today's world. francine: which are what? paul: more complex, faster moving. issues of water, energy, food.

you squeeze a balloon on one site and it pops on the other side. the issue of needing to work in partnership is not something that comes so easy to everybody. you need to navigate the field of government and civil society, having a longer-term view when there are lots of pressures on you that would point you to the shorter-term. some people have more capability to move these boundaries and overcome that than others. you to help each other. we have a lot of initiatives. francine: next, we continue the conversation with paul polman, the ceo of unilever, about leadership and key values. paul: to me, a leader is not just because we happen to have this job. i think a leader is not necessarily someone -- a leader is somebody who leads from the back like a shepherd with the sheep. francine: more on the interview, next. ♪

♪ francine: welcome back to "leaders" with me, francine lacqua. unilever is one of the top companies in the world. this is the final part of my conversation with paul holman, we discuss leadership. paul: leaders are not relegated to a level of the company. or title. for example, the medical community that went to west africa to risk their lives to fight people look those are real , leaders. i work a lot with the blind and deaf, people who put themselves 24 hours for the availability of people with disabilities. those are real leaders. the teachers and school and the

nurses these people who are real , leaders that positively impact others, are undervalued strangely enough. so, to me a leader is not just because we happen to have a job. i also think that a leader is not necessarily somebody who leads from the front. a good leader probably leads more from the back than the front, like a shepherd does with his sheet. ultimately, i hope they say that they do not like me, but i would hope that i could say that there is respect because ultimately, i think the jobs that we do these are very challenging jobs. it also means some of the decisions are involved in our decisions that are not that easy. they have pluses and minuses. otherwise, they would not arrive at you. you tend to not make friends. if you try to make friends, you will not do your job very well. if you want a friend, get a dog. in these jobs you have to be often making tough decisions. that is why it is so important to be purpose driven. that is probably the only beacon

that you can have. your own true north to help you navigate the increasingly more volatile environment. francine: how must you think about the world? about making the world a better place? do you remember at what age you started thinking about that? paul: it was how i grew up. hardrents had worked very because things were deprived from them. they had six children and wanted to get a better future. they were tremendously involved in community activities. they met in boy scouts. we continued all of that. i have always felt that the purpose is to help each other. i wanted to be a priest or doctor. life sometimes goes in a different direction. i ended up in business but i find that in a company like this i can make a positive influence, and sometimes even more than anything else. so, it is all about leadership.

at the end of the day, it is all about positively influencing others. if you can do that, wherever you are, you are a leader. francine: what do you look for in the managers that you're bring up? empathy, respect deco how you choose? -- how do you choose? paul: well, there are a number of values that you have. at any level leadership there is a certain level of intelligence you need. think you want people in this world that have a high level of awareness with issues that are going on. not only a high level of awareness, but to be able to engage themselves. ultimately, that is what counts. do that with a high level of humanity and humility. i think those will make the better leaders. these are leaders that need to have some new skills like systemic thinking, how do you put this complexity together?

tailor it to simplicity and drive into action. leaders that can work in partnership and understand it's not about them is about the common good. leaders that maybe take a longer-term view and our purpose driven. i think there are many of them. as i've said many times, we are short of leaders and trees in the world. the more we can create, the better will be. francine: how do you create? these are things you don't learn in a textbook. paul: you can identify people. for example, we have a lot of social entrepreneurs that we attach to our business model. they bring in a fresh way of thinking. we created the unilever young social entrepreneur award. we have 800 or 900 people applying every year. get a lot of strength from the. in any the projects that we do we want to work with a partnership. we do not really do anymore projects alone. be it the social compliance in

your value chain or working with , your partners to get a sustainable sourcing, we really try to put these partnerships in place. with the dutch development agency, organizations like unicef, it keeps us honest, because this is a moving thing. we do not have all the answers. we certainly cannot do it alone. we have to be sure that in the approach of creating value across the total value chain and being sure that everybody's included, they have equitable and sustainable wealth we want to create, is that everybody is protected. and i can only be done if everybody works in partnership. francine: is there another ceo or a big influence in your life that you admire? paul: there are many people that you admire. the answer you normally get s look at gandhi or nelson mandela or rosa parks.

these are people driven by a strong sense of purpose. if a person like rosa parks can change the face of racial segregation in the u.s., then any individual and their own circle can make a difference. what you have to do is encourage it. we have a lot of efforts in place. we work with these foundations. people were there. it changes the conventional career path. we bring in examples from other companies. there are many others that have shown that, and that gives us courage. alternately, what gives us courage to do what we do, and it should be true for everybody is that we realize why we do this. ultimately we do this because we actually belong to a very small percentage of the population. i estimate it to be about 2% that was educated, has comfortable jobs that can do , what they want, work in places where they want. they do not have to about their family. that is not true for the other 98%.

i always believed that it is our duty to put ourselves to the service of the other 98%. the moment in life that you really become a leader, wherever you are in the world, whatever function or job is when you discover that it is not about yourself. francine: do you think capitalism as a whole in three years will be more inclusive? paul: i hope so. when you have seen is there is nothing wrong with capitalism. it is just a word. this year, we have a unique opportunity. in fact, with the sustainable developing goals to alleviate poverty. with these climate change negotiations in paris to never have to deal anymore with the issue of climate change, if we decide to do so. actually we have the tools to do , it in the next 50 years. we don't to send anybody to mars. how can we drive the morality. inclusive capitalism is moral capitalism more than anything else. it is not about laws, rules or regulations.

in fact, they probably in most cases do more harm than good. it is about us all rising to a challenge that is bigger than each of us individually. francine: paul polman, thank you so much. paul: thank you. francine: thank you. ♪