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Leading
systems transformation - “It’s better to make the
dust, than eat the dust.”
Business leader and
campaigner Paul Polman discusses his role as a
Global Ambassador to the UN Climate Change
High-Level Champions, the transformation of food
systems to benefit nature ecosystems, and his
hopes for the upcoming COP.
What does the Race to
Zero mean to you?
“The Race to Zero is a
unique initiative that works to galvanise
non-state actors to help lead a stepchange in
decarbonising the economy. As we enter COP 28,
this role is vitally important to give the
politicians and negotiators the confidence to act
boldly at the negotiations.
We know that the
geopolitical situation is extremely difficult
right now. And yet the urgent imperative for
decarbonisation remains. The consequences of not
acting will be significantly greater in every part
of the world than any of the shorter-term issues
that we currently face.
It’s clear that
optimising the current system, which candidly
isn’t designed to function in the current context,
will not give us the desired results. That’s why
we’re falling short. The Race to Zero is about
building a movement of non-state actors to step up
and drive systems transformation.
In my role, I focus on
the implementation of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), with the emphasis on climate and
inequality. The book Net Positive, which I recently
co-authored, provides a blueprint for business
leaders to support this agenda, to tap into the
ingenuity and reach of the private sector, and to
encourage capital to flow where it counts
most.
Why is the food system
critical to the climate and nature
crises?
Global food companies
have an enormous role to play in changing our food
system, to mitigate climate change and protect
nature.
Our food system is
broken, and the mission to fix it is critical, as
it goes to the very heart of the SDGs - dealing
with poverty, climate change, inequality, resource
scarcity, deforestation, oceans - the list goes
on. Our current global food and agriculture
systems account for about one third of GHG
emissions, 70% of freshwater use, and 80% of
biodiversity loss. Food is at the heart of
everything. And since food generates nearly a
third of global emissions, this presents an
opportunity, because it’s also one third of the
solution.
We have overshot our
planetary boundaries to the extent that frankly
being ‘net zero’ isn’t enough any more. It is
certainly possible for companies to profit by
improving the state of the world, rather than
making it worse, by being ‘nature positive’ and
‘health positive’ and so on.
The consequences of the
current system are enormous. 900 million people
around the world are food insecure and rising.
Three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.
Two billion people are overweight or obese,
leading to enormous healthcare costs.
I cannot overstate the
need for finance to transform our food system.
Although food accounts for 30% of the solution, it
only attracts 4-5% of global investment; this is
clearly insufficient for the scale of the risk and
the opportunity at hand.
If we can turn this
around and make it a sustainable, regenerative
system, the social and environmental benefits
would amount to around $10 trillion annually.
There’s an enormous opportunity for business to
lead this change.
The Call to Action for Transforming
Food Systems for People, Nature, and
Climate
leads with
supporting frontline food systems actors to adapt
and build resilience. Why is this
important?
The first and most
important priority should be for food businesses
to help the front-line players of the system,
especially the farmers - who are probably the most
stressed in this value chain - to build resilience
to climate risk. That cannot be done unless
companies support their suppliers' in shifting to
regenerative agriculture, ensuring that new models
are economically viable, and by incentivising
regeneratively grown, healthy food.
Business can play an
incredible role in implementing new business
models based on sustainable regenerative
practices. Redirecting finance is key to ensuring
that the cost of the transition doesn’t fall to
farmers. We will fail if we bankrupt our primary
food providers.
Regenerative
agriculture practices firstly deal with restoring
our biodiversity, restoring soil health - ensuring
that landscapes remain a carbon sink, not a carbon
emitting source. This also demands that we tackle
unsustainable practices of animal husbandry,
methane emissions and many others.
The first step for food
companies is to align their business models with
1.5 C. This places a climate lens over the
value chain that prompts the right strategic
questions: “Is deforestation taking place?” “Are
we degrading land?” “What’s our methane emissions
exposure?” “How much food is wasted?” “Are we
using green energy fully?” And so on…
We need to ensure that
food is available, accessible and affordable for
everyone. Companies also have a responsibility to
protect the most climate-vulnerable people, who
are also the guardians of our most precious
ecosystems - the Indigenous Peoples.
To realise these
opportunities, I want to encourage all food
businesses to sign up to - and endorse the
Champions’ Food Systems Call to Action to Protect
People, Nature and Climate - and to submit a
statement of action by 29th Nov - if not soon
after.
What are your hopes for
the upcoming COP?
Firstly, we must
understand that delivering the Paris Agreement,
the Global biodiversity Framework and 1.5 C is not
a target, it’s a limit for the planet. The Global
Stocktake will show that we’re well off track,
despite some tremendous efforts going in from many
businesses and governments, and other
participants. However, as long as we stay on this
linear, extractive production model, which is only
measured by GDP, we’ll continue to create issues
faster than solutions.
We are on track in many
areas, we've seen major acceleration in investment
in green energy, with solar and wind providing the
cheapest power of energy in most places in the
world - renewables are forecast to provide 40% of
electricity by 2030. And electric vehicles are
forecast to reach two thirds of car sales by 2030.
So the direction of travel is clear, we just need
to accelerate.
To pick up the pace we
need all of society, as governments are
side-tracked by geopolitical issues and short-term
political gains. If they don’t hear from us, the
non-State actors, that systems change is
possible, that some businesses are already doing
it, and that it’s the only viable route to long
term profits for business and a prosperous
society, then they will be less ambitious. We must
get this message across loudly and clearly from
all stakeholders in society
This COP we need real
ambition, no backsliding - the Loss & Damage
Fund, the $100bn Green Climate Fund - these are
all necessary for leaders to show populations that
they live up to their commitments. Additionally,
we also need very simple focus areas that everyone
can understand. For example, we need to transform
our energy systems - tripling renewables and
doubling energy efficiency. We need to transform
our relationship with nature, with business
playing a leading role.
And of course, we need
to transform financial systems. It’s a scandal how
many parts of the world, especially the developing
world, where 80% of the population reside, are
treated, with a lack of access to finance, or
basic healthcare, such as vaccines. The $100
billion GCF is a meagre amount when you consider
that Europe and the US combined spent $60 trillion
on recovering from the pandemic. And currently,
conflicts and wars are eating up 10-12% of global
GDP, while the core issue of climate change is not
being addressed.
The ambitions are high;
if we fall short at the COP, there will be a
public outcry beyond the magnitude that we’re
seeing right now, with politicians losing the
confidence of their electorates and trust in
business declining more than increasing.
And finally we need to
ensure that the COP is well represented by people
that are most affected by the climate crisis,
including Indigenous Peoples and young people, who
must not only have a voice in these negotiations,
but also a seat at the table. Expectations
are high on negotiators and politicians, for the
benefit of humanity, and the benefit of their
own children, this is the moment.
I’ll leave you with a
quote by Waangari Maatthai, who I believe captured
where we are now:
“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”.
Paul Polman is a business
leader, campaigner, and co-author of ‘Net
Positive: how courageous companies thrive by
giving more than they take,’ a Financial Times
Business Book of the Year. Paul Polman works to accelerate
action by business to tackle climate change and
inequality. As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), he
demonstrated that business can profit through
purpose, delivering shareholder returns of 290%
while the company consistently ranked 1st in the
world for sustainability. Today, he works across a
range of organisations to deliver the UN
Sustainable Development Goals, which he helped
develop. Paul is #3 in Thinkers50.
The full interview with Paul can be
found here. | 
