Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take
Paul Polman and Andrew Winston
Harvard Business Review Press (October 2021)

“That time is now.”

In Net Positive, Paul Polman and Andrew Winston explain how courageous companies outperform their competitors by “giving more than they take,” not only from their customers but also from all other stakeholders. They wrote this book in order to explain how all companies —  whatever their size and nature may be — can help to reduce negative environmental impacts to zero and then (at that “crossing point”) keep going wherever else they can have the greatest positive impact.

These are the core principles of a Net Positive company:

1. Ownership of all environmental impacts and consequences, intended or not
2. Operating for the long-term benefit of business and society
3. Creating positive returns for all stakeholders
4. Driving shareholder value as a result, not a goal
5. Partnering to drive systemic changes

Polman and Winston explain how and why leaders of Net Positive companies “develop a deep understanding of and take responsibility for how the business affects the world from operations to value chains, and from communities to the planet.” These leaders can also broaden the business in a number of ways (e.g. value chain, time, shareholders, money, independence) “while delivering profits [begin italics] and [end italics] transformative change beyond its own direct, short-term interest. A better company creates well-being for people and planet.”

It is no coincidence that the companies annually ranked among those most highly admired and best to work for are also annually ranked among those most profitable, with the greatest cap value in their industry segment.

Which challenges will leaders of a Net Positive company probably face in years to come?  Polman and Winston suggest that these will be among them:

o Be even more responsible for broader impacts (do more good)
o Challenge consumption and growth
o Rethink the measures and structures of success (such as GDP)
o Improve the social contract
o Bend the curve on capitalism and overhaul finance
o Defend democracy and science, two critical pillars of society

On behalf of Alvin Toffler, I would like to add other challenges suggested in a prediction Toffler made in Future Shock 37 years ago: “The illiterate of the 21st century,” Toffler wrote, “will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”

I view the book as Polman and Winston’s call to action to develop what I view as an enterprise architecture, one that proceeds through several separate but related stages: identify areas in which negative environmental impact does the most damage; measure the nature and extent of that damage; formulate strategies and tactics to minimize (if not eliminate) it; ensure that none resumes; and meanwhile maximize positive environmental impact in years to come.

Paul Polman and Andrew Winston provide a conclusion for this brief commentary when they cite remarks by Kenya’s Wangari Maathai, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for her life’s work: “In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now.”

Yes, it is.