Lead the Change: Sustainable Business

June 27, 2025 at ESP25

Module 6: Sustainable Business

Building a regenerative business for a better world

In today’s world, sustainability and innovation are no longer separate agendas but deeply intertwined priorities for businesses, governments, and society.

Sustainable innovation refers to the development and implementation of new products, services, processes, or business models that simultaneously create economic value and address environmental and social challenges.

It is about innovating with a long-term view that balances profit with planet and people.

Why it matters (one more time)

The urgency of sustainable innovation is driven by mounting global challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, social inequality, and regulatory pressures. The traditional linear “take-make-dispose” economic model is proving unsustainable, prompting a shift toward circular, regenerative, and inclusive business practices.

  • Environmental Imperative: Climate change demands urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimize waste, and protect biodiversity. Innovations in renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainable materials are critical to meet global climate goals like the Paris Agreement.

  • Social Responsibility: Growing awareness of social issues such as labor rights, community impact, and equity is compelling companies to innovate in ways that promote social inclusion, fair supply chains, and stakeholder engagement.

  • Economic Opportunity: Sustainable innovation opens new markets and revenue streams. Consumers increasingly prefer sustainable brands, and investors are prioritizing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. Businesses that innovate sustainably often gain competitive advantage, resilience, and access to capital.

  • Regulatory Compliance: Governments worldwide are tightening environmental regulations and sustainability standards, forcing companies to innovate to comply or face penalties.

In essence, sustainable innovation is not just a moral imperative but a business imperative.

Key concepts in sustainable innovation

  • Circular Economy: A system that designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and materials in use, and regenerates natural systems. Circular innovation involves developing products and processes that enable reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycling.

  • Environmental Innovation: Innovations specifically aimed at reducing environmental impacts, such as cleaner production technologies, renewable energy solutions, and low-impact materials.

  • Social Innovation: New strategies, concepts, or models that meet social needs and create social relationships or collaborations, addressing issues like poverty, health, and education.

  • Cradle to Cradle Design: A design philosophy where products are created with materials that can be fully recycled or safely returned to the environment, mimicking natural cycles.

  • Shared Value: Business strategies that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing social and economic conditions in the communities where it operates.

  • Sustainability-Driven Business Models: Models that integrate sustainability into core value creation, such as product-as-a-service, leasing, or collaborative consumption.

Practical approaches and techniques

  • Design Thinking for Sustainability: A human-centered approach that encourages empathy for users and stakeholders, problem reframing, and iterative prototyping with sustainability as a core lens.

  • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A technique to assess the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life, from raw material extraction through production, use, and disposal. LCA helps identify hotspots and opportunities for improvement.

  • Open Innovation and Collaboration: Engaging external partners—customers, suppliers, academia, NGOs, and competitors—to co-create sustainable solutions, leveraging diverse expertise and sharing risks.

  • Sustainable Supply Chain Innovation: Integrating sustainability criteria in supplier selection, raw material sourcing, logistics, and reverse logistics, often supported by digital tools for traceability and transparency.

  • Circular Design and Material Innovation: Using bio-based, biodegradable, or recycled materials; designing modular products; and developing closed-loop systems to minimize waste.

  • Digital Technologies: AI, IoT, blockchain, and big data can optimize resource use, improve transparency, and enable smarter products and services, such as predictive maintenance and circular platforms.

  • Sustainability-Oriented R&D: Investing in research focused on breakthrough sustainable materials, energy-efficient technologies, carbon capture, or alternative proteins.

Great examples of sustainable innovators

Patagonia (USA)
Patagonia is a leading example of sustainable innovation in the apparel industry. The company integrates environmental and social responsibility into its business model, pioneering the use of recycled materials, fair labor practices, and product repair programs (Worn Wear). Patagonia’s innovative approach to transparency and activism has reshaped consumer expectations around sustainable clothing.

Interface (USA)
Interface, a global carpet tile manufacturer, embarked on a “Mission Zero” journey aiming to eliminate any negative environmental impact by 2020. Interface innovated by developing carpet tiles made from recycled fishing nets and industrial waste, using renewable energy, and designing modular flooring that reduces waste.

Tesla (USA)
Tesla revolutionized the automotive industry by making electric vehicles (EVs) mainstream. Tesla’s innovation extends beyond EVs to battery technology, solar energy solutions, and energy storage, driving the transition to a low-carbon future.

Unilever (UK/Netherlands)
Unilever integrates sustainability across its 400+ brands, committing to net-zero emissions by 2039. The company innovates in sustainable sourcing of ingredients (e.g., palm oil, tea), reducing plastic packaging, and promoting circular economy initiatives such as reusable packaging models.

Ørsted (Denmark)
Ørsted transformed itself from a fossil fuel-based energy company to a global leader in offshore wind energy. Its sustainable innovation focus on renewable energy development and smart grid technology supports decarbonization of energy systems worldwide.

Tata Group (India)
Tata Group, a major Indian conglomerate, promotes sustainability through innovation in water conservation, renewable energy, and social enterprises. Tata Motors developed the affordable, fuel-efficient Tata Nano and focuses on electric vehicle development.

Fairphone (Netherlands)
Fairphone is a pioneer in ethical smartphone design, creating modular, repairable phones with responsibly sourced materials to reduce electronic waste and improve labor conditions in the supply chain.

Danone (France)
Danone focuses on regenerative agriculture, sustainable packaging innovation, and healthy nutrition. The company invests in sustainable sourcing of ingredients, reducing carbon footprint, and circular packaging solutions.

Beyond Meat (USA)
Beyond Meat innovates in plant-based protein products that aim to reduce environmental impacts of meat production. Their products offer consumers sustainable alternatives, lowering land, water, and greenhouse gas footprints.

IKEA (Sweden)
IKEA integrates sustainability into its product design, supply chain, and operations. It invests in renewable energy, circular product lines, and aims to become a “climate positive” business by 2030 through resource-efficient materials and recycling initiatives.

Sustainable business models

Here are 8 of the best examples of innovative B2B business models with a sustainability angle, covering different sectors and types of innovation—from circular economy platforms to sustainable energy-as-a-service:

1. Schneider Electric – Energy-as-a-Service

Model: Performance-based services for energy efficiency and decarbonization
Sustainability Angle: Helps clients reduce emissions and energy use
Innovation: Provides end-to-end energy management and automation systems, funded by future energy savings
Impact: Enables clients to achieve net-zero goals without upfront capital investment

2. Interface – Closed-Loop Supply Chain

Model: Circular product-as-a-service model for modular flooring
Sustainability Angle: Uses 100% recycled or bio-based materials, take-back program
Innovation: Mission Zero strategy integrates sustainability into every step of design and supply
Impact: Cut GHG emissions per product unit by over 96%, paving the way for a regenerative model

3. Too Good To Go for Business – Surplus Food Redistribution

Model: B2B platform for managing and redistributing surplus food
Sustainability Angle: Tackles food waste across grocery, hospitality, and food production sectors
Innovation: Connects businesses with local partners to redistribute or sell surplus stock
Impact: Millions of meals saved, reducing methane emissions from landfill

4. Ecovative – Mycelium Packaging for Supply Chains

Model: Sustainable packaging and materials for manufacturers
Sustainability Angle: Replaces plastic foam with biodegradable alternatives
Innovation: Scales custom-grown mushroom-based packaging to industrial B2B clients
Impact: Offers major CPG and electronics companies a low-carbon packaging alternative

5. ClimeCo – Carbon Markets Platform

Model: Carbon project development and offset trading for industrial emitters
Sustainability Angle: Accelerates industrial decarbonization through verified offsets
Innovation: Provides turnkey solutions for emissions tracking, offsets, and sustainability reporting
Impact: Helps companies meet regulatory and voluntary climate targets

6. LeasePlan – EV Fleet-as-a-Service

Model: Subscription-based electric vehicle fleet solutions for corporates
Sustainability Angle: Promotes fleet electrification and reduced transport emissions
Innovation: Bundles vehicles, charging, insurance, and maintenance into a predictable OPEX model
Impact: Supports clients’ scope 1 & 3 emissions reductions while simplifying fleet transition

7. Alibaba Cloud – Green AI & Cloud Infrastructure

Model: Energy-efficient cloud computing and green data centers for businesses
Sustainability Angle: Minimizes IT carbon footprint for clients
Innovation: Develops ultra-efficient cooling systems and green algorithms
Impact: Reduces emissions across the digital ecosystem

8. Climeworks – Direct Air Capture-as-a-Service

Model: Subscription-based carbon removal service for businesses (clients include Microsoft, Shopify)
Sustainability Angle: Permanently removes CO₂ from the atmosphere via direct air capture (DAC)
Innovation: Offers verified, third-party certified carbon removals that businesses can purchase to neutralize residual emissions
Impact: Enables companies to meet net-zero commitments with durable carbon removals

New ideas, as sustainability evolves

Sustainability has evolved from simply minimizing harm to actively regenerating ecosystems, communities, and economies. Businesses today are moving beyond “do less damage” toward restorative, circular, and regenerative models that create positive impacts—environmentally, socially, and economically. This next frontier of sustainable innovation involves new ways of thinking, designing, and operating business that embed regeneration into the core of value creation.

  • Regenerative Business Models: A regenerative business goes beyond sustainability by actively improving the health of the natural environment and social systems it interacts with. It is based on the principles of circularity, systems thinking, and stakeholder value. Patagonia implements regenerative organic agriculture in its cotton supply chain to restore soil health and sequester carbon, actively repairing ecosystems rather than depleting them.
  • Circular Economy with Regeneration: Traditional circular economy focuses on closing resource loops (reuse, recycle). The next level integrates regenerative design—materials and processes that improve the environment with each cycle rather than degrade it. Loop, the zero-waste shopping platform, uses durable, reusable packaging that reduces plastic waste and pollution, encouraging manufacturers and consumers to rethink linear “take-make-dispose” models.
  • Nature-Based Solutions:Businesses are investing in nature-based solutions like reforestation, wetland restoration, and regenerative agriculture to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequities. General Mills has committed to advancing regenerative agriculture on 1 million acres of farmland, working with farmers to improve soil health and biodiversity.
  • Impact Investing: Traditional finance focuses on short-term returns. Regenerative finance seeks long-term resilience and positive social-environmental returns, investing in businesses and projects that restore natural and human capital. KlimaDAO uses blockchain to finance carbon removal projects in a decentralized way, ensuring transparency and long-term commitment to climate regeneration.
  • Biomimicry Design: Biomimicry means designing products and systems inspired by natural processes that regenerate rather than extract. Companies use biological principles like closed loops, resilience, and adaptability to innovate sustainably. Nike’s Flyknit uses biomimicry in product design, reducing waste by knitting shoes in one piece, mimicking natural structures to optimize material use and durability
  • Community-Driven Regeneration: Sustainability is increasingly recognized as a social and cultural challenge, not just environmental. Regenerative business integrates community empowerment, local knowledge, and equitable value distribution. Businesses co-create solutions with indigenous and local communities, respecting traditional knowledge and ensuring benefits are shared. Patagonia’s Action Works platform connects consumers with grassroots environmental organizations, amplifying community-led regeneration efforts.
  • Regenerative Supply Chains: Moving beyond “greener” sourcing to actively regenerating ecosystems and social systems throughout the supply chain. Embedding circularity, social equity, and ecosystem restoration in every link. IKEA is investing in regenerative cotton and forestry practices to rebuild natural systems while sourcing sustainably.
  • Digital Tools for Regenerative Innovation: Emerging technologies like AI, IoT, and blockchain are used to monitor ecosystems, optimize resource use, and verify regenerative impact. Digital twins of ecosystems help companies understand environmental impact and design regenerative interventions. Blockchain provides transparency and traceability in regenerative supply chains. IBM’s Food Trust blockchain improves transparency and sustainability in food supply chains, supporting regenerative agriculture and reducing waste.

Sustainable innovation is critical for addressing the environmental and social challenges of the 21st century while unlocking economic opportunities. It requires a systemic shift in how products and services are designed, produced, consumed, and disposed of. Businesses that embrace sustainability as a core innovation driver can build resilience, attract talent and customers, and future-proof their operations.

By leveraging concepts such as the circular economy, cradle-to-cradle design, and shared value, and applying techniques including life cycle assessment, design thinking, and digital technology, companies can create meaningful impact. The examples from Patagonia to Tesla to IKEA demonstrate that sustainable innovation is not just possible but profitable and transformative.

Ultimately, sustainable innovation is about reimagining business success as value creation that respects planetary boundaries and uplifts society — a vision that is essential for a thriving, equitable future.

Sustainable innovations, more profitable t00

Here are great examples of sustainable innovations—products and services born from environmental or social challenges, but which also deliver significant commercial success and scalable impact. These innovations demonstrate that sustainability can be a catalyst for growth, differentiation, and market leadership, not a constraint.

1. Tesla – Electric Vehicles and Energy Ecosystem

  • Challenge addressed: Climate change, air pollution, fossil fuel dependency.
  • Innovation: Tesla didn’t just build electric cars—it created a sustainable mobility and energy ecosystem, combining EVs, solar energy (Solar Roof), and home battery storage (Powerwall).
  • Impact: Over 4 million EVs sold, billions of tons of CO₂ avoided, and a global shift in automotive industry standards.
  • Profitability: Tesla became the most valuable car company in the world, with margins higher than most legacy automakers.

2. Patagonia – Regenerative Organic Products & Worn Wear

  • Challenge addressed: Fast fashion waste, ecosystem degradation, overconsumption.
  • Innovation: Launch of regenerative organic cotton supply chains, Worn Wear resale platform, and a business model designed around repair, reuse, and activism.
  • Impact: Regenerative practices rebuild soil health and biodiversity. Worn Wear has extended the life of millions of garments.
  • Profitability: Patagonia is a $1B+ company with strong brand loyalty and premium pricing—while donating its ownership to fight the climate crisis.

3. d.light – Affordable Solar for Off-Grid Communities

  • Challenge addressed: 600+ million people without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
  • Innovation: Affordable, pay-as-you-go solar-powered lanterns, home systems, and appliances.
  • Impact: Over 150 million people impacted, reducing kerosene use and improving education, safety, and income.
  • Profitability: d.light became commercially sustainable with blended finance, and has expanded into new categories (e.g., solar TVs, smartphones).

4. Interface – Carbon-Negative Carpet Tiles

  • Challenge addressed: High emissions from construction and materials industries.
  • Innovation: World’s first carbon-negative carpet tile, using recycled materials, bio-based yarns, and renewable energy in manufacturing.
  • Impact: Pioneered the concept of “climate take back,” aiming to reverse global warming through business innovation.
  • Profitability: Premium product positioning and long-term cost savings have enhanced Interface’s profitability and brand value.

5. Too Good To Go – Food Waste App

  • Challenge addressed: 1/3 of all food is wasted globally, while millions go hungry.
  • Innovation: Mobile platform where users buy unsold food from restaurants, cafes, and bakeries at a discount.
  • Impact: 300+ million meals saved across Europe and North America.
  • Profitability: Scalable, commission-based business model with strong network effects and rapid expansion.

6. Oatly – Sustainable Dairy Alternatives

  • Challenge addressed: Carbon-heavy dairy industry and lactose intolerance.
  • Innovation: Oat-based milk with lower environmental impact, strong brand storytelling, and barista-quality performance.
  • Impact: Oatly’s carbon footprint is less than half of cow’s milk; the brand raised awareness of plant-based diets.
  • Profitability: $400M+ in annual sales, global expansion, and IPO on the NASDAQ in 2021.

7. Vestas – Wind Turbines and Energy Services

  • Challenge addressed: Fossil-fuel-based electricity generation.
  • Innovation: Large-scale wind turbines, hybrid energy solutions, and long-term energy-as-a-service contracts.
  • Impact: More than 160 GW of wind capacity installed worldwide—enough to power 100M+ homes.
  • Profitability: Vestas is a global market leader in wind energy, with recurring service revenues and long-term growth prospects.

8. Water.org – Financial Access for Clean Water

  • Challenge addressed: Over 2 billion people lack access to clean, safe water.
  • Innovation: Microfinance model that enables people in low-income communities to fund their own water connections and toilets.
  • Impact: 63 million+ people served, unlocking health, dignity, and time for productivity.
  • Profitability: Though a non-profit, its market-based model is self-scaling and sustainable, attracting blended capital and corporate partnerships.

9. Ecovative – Mushroom-Based Packaging and Materials

  • Challenge addressed: Single-use plastic and foam waste.
  • Innovation: Packaging and materials made from mycelium (mushroom roots), which are biodegradable, low-energy, and compostable.
  • Impact: Used by IKEA, Dell, and others to replace styrofoam and plastic.
  • Profitability: B2B licensing and manufacturing model allows scalable, high-margin applications across industries.

10. Schneider Electric – Digital Energy Efficiency

  • Challenge addressed: Energy waste, carbon emissions, inefficient infrastructure.
  • Innovation: Smart energy management and IoT-based automation platforms for buildings, factories, and cities.
  • Impact: Helps clients reduce energy consumption by up to 30% and cut emissions significantly.
  • Profitability: Core to Schneider’s growth strategy, generating billions in revenue while ranking top in global sustainability indexes.

Sustainable innovations like these share five success characteristics:

  1. Problem-first thinking: They start with an urgent social or environmental issue and build a solution with users in mind.
  2. Integrated impact and profit: Sustainability is embedded in the product/service, not added later—making it central to the value proposition.
  3. Scalability: Designed to grow fast via tech, platforms, or distributed networks.
  4. Business model innovation: They often rely on new models—e.g. circular, “as-a-service,” microfinance, or ecosystem platforms.
  5. Emotional relevance: Many connect deeply with values—e.g., health, justice, climate—creating loyal users and powerful brands.

New metrics of sustainability

As the world transitions into an era defined by planetary boundaries, social inequality, and digital acceleration, the question is no longer whether companies should be sustainable—but how to measure what truly matters. Traditional corporate responsibility metrics, framed by CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), have helped integrate sustainability into business. Yet, they often remain compliance-driven and incremental.

Today, a growing number of companies are aiming not just to reduce harm, but to create net positive impact—to put more into the world than they take out. These are businesses that deliver superior financial performance and systemic societal and environmental progress. To do this credibly, they need new metrics: ones that are strategic, integrated, forward-looking, and regenerative by design.

1. True Value Creation: Profit with Purpose

At the heart of any business performance system lies profit. But in a sustainable and net positive business, profitability is contextualised by how it is earned—with what impact on people and the planet. Contemporary metrics look not only at shareholder returns but multi-capital value creation.

  • Integrated Value Metrics: These combine financial, manufactured, natural, human, social, and intellectual capital to assess how businesses create or erode value across systems.

  • Value-to-Society Accounting: Pioneered by companies like Novo Nordisk and SAP, this approach monetises positive and negative externalities to reflect the company’s real contribution (or cost) to society.

  • Profit per Impact Unit: Forward-thinking firms begin to express profit not just in dollars but relative to the positive impact delivered—e.g., profit per tonne of carbon avoided or per low-income customer served.

2. Net Environmental Contribution: Beyond Carbon

Most companies now measure their carbon footprint, but a net positive organisation seeks to go further: to become nature-positive and climate-regenerative. This requires a broader and more ambitious set of metrics.

  • Carbon Handprint vs Footprint: The handprint measures the positive carbon impact of products or services (e.g. emissions avoided by using a clean-tech product) and is increasingly used alongside footprint.

  • Science-Based Targets (SBTi) + Beyond Value Chain Mitigation: Companies like Microsoft and Ørsted now set SBTs that include Scope 3 emissions and commit to removing more carbon than they emit—factoring in nature-based solutions, removals, and restoration.

  • Biodiversity Net Gain: Leading firms like Holcim and Nestlé have adopted biodiversity metrics, such as hectares of habitat restored, or improvements in species richness on company-managed land.

3. Circularity and Regenerative Flows

Circular economy metrics go beyond recycling rates. They assess how effectively companies decouple growth from resource extraction, redesign systems for reuse, and regenerate ecosystems.

  • Material Circularity Indicator (MCI): Developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, it quantifies how restorative the material flows of a product or company are.

  • Circular Revenue Ratio: Measures the share of revenue derived from circular business models—products-as-a-service, resale, remanufacturing, etc.

  • Water Positivity: Companies like PepsiCo and Google aim to return more water to the environment than they withdraw, with metrics on replenishment volumes and watershed restoration impact.

4. Social Impact and Equity Outcomes

Contemporary social metrics go far beyond headcount and charitable donations. Net positive companies measure the depth, scale, and sustainability of their impact on human lives, especially among underserved communities.

  • Decent Work Index: Tracks not just jobs created but their quality—wages, rights, progression, and security. Used by groups like Unilever and Accenture.

  • Social Return on Investment (SROI): Converts social outcomes into financial value to assess how effectively a company creates impact for each dollar spent.

  • Access and Inclusion Metrics: How many people get access to essential products and services—clean energy, education, healthcare—especially in low-income or marginalised areas? d.light and Safaricom use these metrics to track impact at scale.

5. Wellbeing and Human Flourishing

Employee experience is no longer measured only by engagement scores. A regenerative business recognises people as whole humans, and tracks wellbeing, growth, and purpose as part of organisational health.

  • Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS): Captures how likely employees are to recommend the company—used as a proxy for loyalty and morale.

  • Psychological Safety Index: Gauges whether people feel safe to speak up, take risks, and innovate—key to adaptive, inclusive cultures.

  • Purpose Activation Score: Measures how well individual employees connect their work to the broader purpose of the company—a concept applied by companies like Danone and Lush.

6. Governance for Regeneration

Strong ESG governance is critical—but in net positive companies, governance is more than compliance. It actively steers the business toward long-term value creation and stakeholder balance.

  • Stakeholder Engagement Index: Tracks how systematically and transparently the company involves stakeholders—customers, suppliers, communities—in shaping decisions.

  • ESG-Linked Compensation: The proportion of executive and board pay linked to ESG and net positive outcomes. Schneider Electric, DSM, and Intel integrate such metrics.

  • Purpose Compliance: In countries like France, companies with “Entreprise à Mission” status must report how effectively they deliver on their legally embedded purpose.

7. Transformation and Innovation Capacity

A sustainable organisation isn’t one that simply avoids harm—it’s one that adapts and leads change. That requires investment in innovation, agility, and the ability to scale transformative ideas.

  • Impact Innovation Ratio: Percentage of R&D or capital invested in sustainable, regenerative, or inclusive innovation—e.g., low-carbon tech, inclusive fintech.

  • Transition Readiness Score: Measures how aligned a company’s assets, culture, and capabilities are to a sustainable future—pioneered in ESG risk frameworks like Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI).

  • Speed of Scaling Positive Impact: How fast can the company scale solutions that address climate, health, or social equity challenges?

8. Reputation and Trust as Strategic Assets

Trust and reputation are among the most valuable yet intangible assets of any company. Net positive organisations earn trust through action and accountability.

  • Trust Index: Often measured via global reputation surveys (like Edelman Trust Barometer), or customer trust scores.

  • Transparency Scores: From public disclosures, third-party ESG ratings, and real-time dashboards—used by companies like Patagonia and Tesla to signal openness.

  • Net Trust Gap: The difference between what stakeholders expect and what the company delivers across key environmental and social dimensions.

Examples of metrics in companies

  • Interface, the carpet manufacturer, measures its “Climate Take Back” progress via carbon-negative product sales, gigaton-scale carbon reduction targets, and employee sustainability engagement metrics.

  • IKEA tracks the circularity of its entire product portfolio, sets science-based climate and forest-positive goals, and uses wellbeing indicators across its global workforce.

  • Climeworks, a Swiss carbon capture firm, quantifies its positive climate impact by the tonnes of CO₂ permanently removed—not offset—and has third-party verification in place.

The shift to a net positive business is also a shift in mindset. It redefines success—not as being less bad, but as being actively good. It values long-term over short-term, systems thinking over silos, and deep purpose over shallow PR. And crucially, it builds new metrics to make these ambitions real.

The new performance frontier asks bold questions:

  • Are we helping the world thrive, or just survive?

  • Are we solving problems we helped create—or preventing them in the first place?

  • Are we creating value for all stakeholders—not just shareholders?

In answering these, the best companies are not only building better futures—they are measuring them, managing them, and proving that profit and purpose are not trade-offs, but a route to more holistic success.

Explore more

Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take

Net Positive is a powerful manifesto co-authored by former Unilever CEO Paul Polman and sustainability expert Andrew Winston, urging business leaders to rethink their role in society. The central premise is bold: companies should aim to be “net positive”—giving more to the world than they take. This means restoring nature, strengthening communities, empowering people, and ultimately building trust and long-term profitability. The book moves beyond incremental change and compliance, arguing that sustainability must become a core growth driver.

Polman draws on his own experience at Unilever, where he transformed the company’s strategy to integrate sustainability into every facet of the business while outperforming the market. He argues that today’s social and environmental crises are business risks—and opportunities. To thrive, companies must act with courage, work across value chains, and embrace transparency. The book outlines how to navigate complexity, engage stakeholders, and build alliances across sectors.

Net Positive is both a practical roadmap and a moral call to action. It reframes business leadership not as a privilege but a responsibility to deliver measurable, positive impact—for people, planet, and shareholders alike.

Try the Net Positive Readiness Test

Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist

Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics presents a radical rethinking of economic theory for the 21st century. At its core is the “doughnut” model—a visual framework showing a safe and just space for humanity. The inner ring represents the social foundation (health, education, income), while the outer ring marks the ecological ceiling (climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution). A healthy economy operates in the space between—meeting everyone’s needs without breaching planetary limits.

Raworth critiques traditional economic assumptions—such as endless growth, rational self-interest, and equilibrium—and calls for a shift toward regenerative and distributive systems. She argues that 20th-century economics is outdated, having failed to address inequality and environmental collapse. Instead, economies must be designed to be regenerative by design and distributive by default.

The book offers seven principles to rethink economics, including seeing the economy as embedded in society and nature, and focusing on systems dynamics rather than mechanical models. It has inspired cities (like Amsterdam) and businesses to apply the Doughnut as a strategic tool for sustainable decision-making.

Doughnut Economics is a vital resource for business leaders seeking a holistic and future-fit way to balance purpose, prosperity, and planetary health.

Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism

In Green Swans, John Elkington—who coined the term “Triple Bottom Line”—introduces a new metaphor to frame sustainable transformation. Unlike Black Swans (unpredictable and often catastrophic events), Green Swans are positive, exponential shifts—transformational changes that create systemic progress in economic, social, and environmental spheres.

Elkington argues that current sustainability efforts are not enough; the world is facing a “responsibility revolution” where regenerative capitalism must replace degenerative systems. Green Swans are driven by innovation, new business models, and visionary leadership. They flourish at the intersection of social movements, technological change, and financial realignment.

The book offers both critique and hope: it’s critical of “greenwashing” and incrementalism, but optimistic about the potential of bold action. Elkington highlights pioneers like Tesla, Impossible Foods, and Interface as early Green Swans—companies that have reimagined industries.

Green Swans provides a framework for leaders to understand the trajectory of change and to actively shape transformations that go beyond sustainability into systemic regeneration. It’s a wake-up call to business to embrace complexity, anticipate exponential change, and lead with courage and clarity.

The Regenerative Business: Redesign Work, Cultivate Human Potential, Achieve Extraordinary Outcomes

Carol Sanford’s The Regenerative Business redefines what it means to build a business that not only performs well but actively enhances life—for people, communities, and ecosystems. Unlike traditional sustainability approaches focused on minimizing harm, Sanford argues that businesses should be regenerative by design, creating conditions for growth, evolution, and value across all systems they touch.

Her approach rejects conventional management practices like KPIs, performance reviews, and standardized metrics, which she sees as dehumanizing and mechanistic. Instead, Sanford advocates for living systems thinking, where organizations behave more like forests than factories—self-renewing, adaptive, and context-sensitive. She outlines how leaders can redesign work environments to unleash human creativity, cultivate personal agency, and engage people in meaningful contribution rather than compliance.

At the heart of this interpretation of the regenerative business is a belief in human potential as the greatest asset.

Future-Fit Benchmark

The Future-Fit Benchmark, developed by the Future-Fit Foundation, offers a set of Break-Even Goals (to avoid causing harm) and Positive Pursuits (to actively create good). It draws from systems science, planetary boundaries, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The benchmark provides actionable guidance for companies to assess their fitness for the future—defined not by market share but by their alignment with a sustainable, regenerative society. It emphasizes full-system outcomes, not incremental improvements.

 B Lab’s Impact Assessment

The B Impact Assessment (BIA), created by B Lab, is the gateway to becoming a Certified B Corporation. It evaluates companies across five key areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers. It promotes stakeholder capitalism, accountability, and continuous improvement. Companies scoring over 80 points (out of 200) can be certified, but the tool is useful even without certification.

Together, these tools support a transition from compliance-driven ESG to performance-driven impact management, helping companies align purpose with profitability and build trust in the eyes of investors, customers, and society.

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