Even companies we might consider today's sustainability leaders - Unilever, GE, Kingfisher, IBM - still face a huge challenge to doing more: a market environment that demands short-term results.
That's why Unilever CEO Paul Polman's quest to push back on the limits of "quarterly capitalism" is so important.
But what about companies that are coming at the issue from a more mainstream point of view? Here's Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the benefits of a long term perspective (via HBR):
"If you're long term oriented, customer interests and shareholder interests are aligned. In the short term, that's not always correct.. if we needed to see meaningful financial results in two to three years, some of the most meaningful things we've done we would never have even started."
Now all Amazon needs to do is reconcile its status as the world's biggest online retailer with a sustainable business model. A long term mindset is the perfect place to start.
That's why Unilever CEO Paul Polman's quest to push back on the limits of "quarterly capitalism" is so important.
But what about companies that are coming at the issue from a more mainstream point of view? Here's Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the benefits of a long term perspective (via HBR):
"If you're long term oriented, customer interests and shareholder interests are aligned. In the short term, that's not always correct.. if we needed to see meaningful financial results in two to three years, some of the most meaningful things we've done we would never have even started."
Now all Amazon needs to do is reconcile its status as the world's biggest online retailer with a sustainable business model. A long term mindset is the perfect place to start.
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