Huffington Magazine Issue 71 | Page 37

BUDA MENDES/LATINCONTENT/GETTY IMAGES Voices It is nothing less than a new business model. One that focuses on the long term. One that sees business as part of society, not separate from it. One where companies seek to address the big social and environmental issues that threaten social stability. One where the needs of citizens and communities carry the same weight as the demands of shareholders. This is why we have put the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at the heart of our strategy. Our growth rates are increasing as we PAUL POLMAN put the USLP in action. Innovation rates are accelerating, new growth opportunities are appearing (like Pure-it) and costs are decreasing as we reduce our resource dependency. Our corporate brand is flourishing, with Unilever becoming the preferred employer in many of the markets we operate . But if we achieve our sustainability goals and no one else follows, we will have failed. We recognize that to be successful we have to work in partnership with others: with governments, with customers, competitors, suppliers and,very importantly, NGOs. The Rio+20 summit, dubbed by many as a failure, saw some prom- HUFFINGTON 10.20.13 Lawmakers during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, in Brazil.