The Business Case for Change
Remember that National Geographic photo of a seahorse clutching a floating cotton swab? Or the viral video of a turtle in Costa Rica having a straw painfully removed from his nose?
We all remember these images. The world saw them and stopped in its tracks. That turtle inspired millions into action. He started a revolution.
But now it’s time to say NO MORE TURTLES!
Of course, I don’t mean it. We need turtles. But we have to stop using their image to hang our messaging on. This turtle may have sparked a revolution, but he’s had his 15 minutes. Now it is time for us to nurture that flame of dissent and turn it into a forest fire of systemic change. And that starts with business.
Business is the Catalyst for Change
The public can only do so much. Consumers have embraced reusable shopping bags, bought and carried their refillable water bottles, and reluctantly accepted paper straws – now what? Individual customers are dependent on high-street suppliers. They can only buy what is made available to them. If we’re not offered a way to collect our waste, we can’t recycle. Willemijn Peeters, CEO of Searious Business, agrees. “Individuals cannot bear the responsibility. If you bring plastic to market, you are responsible for what happens to it” The people who control the means of production need to change to drastically impact plastic pollution. But businesses don’t speak turtle. They speak profit.
Sustainability = Profitability
Business leaders may be personally affected by emotional appeals, but at the end of the day, companies need to grow to survive. According to the Circular Transformation of Industries report by the World Economic Forum, the circular economy could unlock a $4.5 trillion economic opportunity by 2030 for businesses by reducing waste, stimulating innovation, and creating employment.
Sustainability needs to be profitable in order to be sustainable. In fact, research from Oxford University shows a strong correlation between sustainability and economic success. Businesses that manage to implement robust ESG into their business model will be rewarded with deeper customer engagement, attract the most motivated employees, and increase profits. Notably, Unilever saw a 125% increase in stock value during the tenure of sustainable business champion Paul Polman, compared to a mere 6.8% growth in the seven years since he stepped down and the company scaled back its sustainability efforts.
Several leading companies have already demonstrated that sustainability is a driver of profitability:
· Nestlé has committed to making 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. By switching much of its portfolio to paper-based packaging and refillable containers, Nestlé has cut packaging costs, improved margins and achieved award-winning acclaim. Additionally, their investment in sustainable packaging has attracted eco-conscious investors and customers, positioning the company as an industry leader in sustainability.
· IKEA has optimized its packaging by eliminating unnecessary elements and swapping virgin for renewable or recycled materials. These changes have lowered costs, enhanced efficiency, and resonated with their environmentally-conscious customer base. Additionally, IKEA's sustainable initiatives have improved logistics by reducing shipping volumes, leading to lower transportation costs, a more streamlined supply chain and 5% CO2 savings.
· Dell Technologies has embraced recycled ocean plastics for its packaging, reducing environmental impact while boosting brand appeal and sales. Its NextWave Plastics Collaboration has diverted the equivalent of 2.27 billion water bottles from entering the ocean since 2017 but also created strategic corporate partnerships that have solidified Dell's position as a leader in sustainable practices and expanded its market share.
These companies demonstrate that integrating sustainability isn’t just about compliance—it’s about competitive advantage. Businesses that act now will gain market leadership, while those that wait will fall behind.
Beyond CSR: Creating Shared Value (CSV)
The turtle revolution moved consumers and even senior executives, leading to ambitious Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) targets. However, CSR is often treated as philanthropy—a cost rather than an investment. Instead, businesses must embrace Creating Shared Value (CSV), a concept outlined by strategists Michael Porter and Mark Kramer in their Harvard Business Review article.
CSV recognizes that sustainability and profitability are not opposing forces. By making sustainability a strategic priority, companies can foster innovation, boost margins, and gain a competitive edge.
Activists or Activators?
Philanthropists will not save the ocean, and neither will the activists. Clean-up projects, plastic offsets, and awareness campaigns have their place, but they don’t address the core issue: plastic production. To achieve real change, we need both activists and activators those who push from the outside and those who work to drive change from within. There’s no use creating distractions with charitable donations and greenwashing stunts while factories continue churning out plastic at an alarming rate. We must close that tap.
This message was reinforced by the UNEP 5.2 resolution for a Global Plastic Treaty and echoed by leaders all over the world. Since then, progress has unfortunately stalled. Five rounds of negotiations (INCs) have passed without resolution. The good news? The majority of countries refuse to compromise on the need to reduce plastic production. The bad news? The world can’t afford to wait. So we must turn to the plastic producers and users themselves, who after all are not cartoon villains, but merely businesses responding to demand. The key is to show them that preventing plastic pollution isn’t just good ethics—it’s good business.
Because the source of pollution will also be the source of the solutions.