Andrew Winston: The Case For Doing Business Differently

In 1970, the economist Milton Friedman wrote a controversial piece for the New York Times Magazine entitled “The Social Responsibility of Business Is To Increase Its Profits." During the ensuing “greed is good" era of runaway American capitalism, many a titan of industry has quoted these words to rationalize dubious business practices. With a planet in peril and investors and consumers better informed than ever, isn't it time big business develop a conscience? Our guest this week on Sea Change Radio is Andrew Winston, a sustainability expert and author whose latest book, “Net Positive,” maps corporate social responsibility trends through a case study of the multinational Unilever. We examine the path forged by former Unilever CEO (and Winston's co-author) Paul Polman, discuss how the pandemic has affected corporate sustainability efforts, and look at the nexus of government, business, and philanthropy in the evolution of social impact.