Zaved Akhtar, CEO & Managing Director, Unilever Bangladesh

• Prelude: Role of Business in the New World

In recent times, there have been heated debates at one end of accusing businesses of profiteering, to the other where businesses have been asked to forfeit profit so that they may invest behind social causes. The reality is that none of these are fair reflections of how one should see businesses operate. All businesses are funded by their investors who are looking at the management to maximise their shareholder value. The cold reality is that businesses do not operate in isolation to their society nor their shareholder, rather, they need to be intertwined with the investors, community, and society. Milton Friedman’s philosophy that the sole reason for the existence of any business is to maximise shareholder value is not only totally outdated but also archaic. Businesses cannot operate in isolation from the society it operates in. A sustainable business thrives and grows while simultaneously solving some of the world’s biggest challenges.

• Our World a Volley of Paradoxes

Today’s world is filled with paradoxes. 38% of the world population is either overweight or obese while 828 million people are affected by hunger (a 150mln increase since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic^[1]). 99% of the earners in the US make less than the top 1% of the earners². Should we not intervene right now, inequal development will continue increasing at a rapid pace. The pandemic and the ensuing Russia-Ukraine war have pushed us backward and thrown a spanner into achieving global SDG goals. The world order has now gotten redefined, and a new model of globalisation is in flight where networks are being built within a country to country and/or within regional economies. The days of having one global market and unification are not within striking distance, and hence, businesses must evolve to forge new models for driving sustainable and inclusive growth.

• The Case for Sustainable Business

The case for building a sustainable organisation is not a new concept. Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-American industrialist, and philanthropist, not only left his mark on the US Steel Industry but also the billions of dollars of wealth for people to use for the good of all men. In the famous speech Gospel of Wealth, written in 1889, he concludes by saying “…obedience to which is destined someday to solve the problem of the Rich and the Poor…”

Closer to home, the respected businessperson and philanthropist Ranadaprasad Saha, who was born ahead of his time, also founded Bharateswari Homes, Kumudini College, and Debendra College. Today, under the leadership of his grandson Rajiv Prasad Saha, the Kumudini Welfare Trust aims to become a centre of excellence for quality healthcare—especially for the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged.

From the above, it is evident that   transformational business leaders have always seen the role of businesses differently, i.e., to have a positive impact on society and the people, which consequently helps businesses to thrive. Take Lord Lever Hulme, the founding father of my organsiation, Unilever. His roots go back to a humble family grocery business in north England, which produced a soap known as ‘Sunlight’ that helped fight the flu outbreak in Victorian England, saving countless lives in the process. His legacy is one of the biggest multinational consumer goods companies in the world.

• The ‘How’ of Building a Sustainable Business

At Unilever, we believe that we will have sustainable growth when we make sustainable living a commonplace. To deliver this vision and our purpose we adopt a 3-pronged approach:

1. Brands with Purpose Grow: Brands must be defined by its purpose–the reason for its existence. It could be as philanthropical as Lifebuoy’s ‘saving people’s lives’ through hand washing, or Domex’s through safe sanitation, to as true, authentic pleasure as Magnum’s ‘indulge responsibly’. Brands must have a role that they play in the lives of their consumers, and at the same time have a positive impact on the society they operate in. The reason for brands to be embedded in purpose is not because of any altruistic reasons or because it is the right thing to do, but because we have empirical evidence to assert that brands that are defined by their purpose and truly bring them to life, grows faster than the ones that don’t. The writings are on the wall, and nothing could be as black and white.
2. People with Purpose Thrive: Purpose is not merely defined by our brands. Our people also need to have a sense of purpose and being. When anyone joins Unilever, they just do not join a job or a company, rather, they join a mission. Their role is to rise beyond the work that they are doing and have a personal purpose. A well-designed ‘Purpose Workshop’ is conducted for everyone in the business so that people can define what their personal purpose is. Each one of us is then motivated by that. For instance, my own purpose is to ‘Unleash the hidden potential in others’. Hence, I get motivated when my team can make their mark globally. I have a role to play to coach them and set them up for success.
3. Companies with Purpose Last: Finally, just having purposeful brands and individuals is never good enough, and as an organisation we also need to have a strong and lasting purpose. We have been in Bangladesh now for 60 years and we have built a sustainable Unilever by living on the ethos of what is good for Bangladesh is good for Unilever. As we move forward and set ourself for the next 100 years, supporting Bangladesh’s Vision 2041, and the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan, managing plastic pollution will be important. As sustainable waste management is one of the key priorities of the government’s Vision 2041.
4. How we are going to drive it: In Unilever Bangladesh, to meet 100% better plastic goal by 2025, our ambition this year is to become 100% technically ready and be in 80% implementation by 2022. To meet the 50% less plastic goal by 2025, we have the target of ~25% virgin plastic reduction (vs 2018 baseline) and achieved ~10% till now. On virgin plastic reduction through PCR (Post Consumer Recycled), technical readiness is achieved for many of our product packagings. Our team is bringing changes to our packaging to reduce the plastic we use and use recyclable plastic when available. Some of the examples of our work are – our new Vim 1-litre bottles have 33% less plastic, the new Lifebuoy handwash bottle 18% less plastic, and we have removed most of the foil from the inside of our large brand Glow & Lovely creams, among others. We introduced the first-ever refill machine in the country for dispensing liquid products to reduce plastic use through technology and behaviour change. The refill machine allows anyone to refill Rin and Vim liquid at a discounted rate by bringing an empty container. Unilever has also started its journey of collecting post-consumer used plastic waste in Narayanganj, Dhaka, and Chattogram. Till date, we have collected ~1700 tonnes of plastics and our endeavour will be that by next year we will collect more plastic than we sell with our products.

• Sustainability vs CSR: Not incongruent

A lot of time, when we talk about sustainability, we take refuge under the umbrella of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). However, the reality is while CSR and sustainability are not in conflict, one is not a replacement for the other. One can endeavour as much CSR they want, but it does not relinquish the responsibility of running a responsible business. Building a sustainable business means that one needs to build this as a part of its business model and needs to be on this journey over the years under strong governance of matrices that show the impact on society, the shareholders, and on business.

• Conclusion

Economic success is increased while performing well in social and environmental issues, there are no two ways about it. The business case for sustainability is well-proven. Unilever has been on this journey for a while now and years of investing behind our consumers, society, and country is helping us now reap the benefit of it. We have seen how a growing Unilever has been at the back end of a rising Bangladesh. We believe that by taking on some of the wicked problems we can raise the country to a new standard of living, something that we call, #BangladeshRisingWith  .

 

Zaved Akhtar

CEO & Managing Director, Unilever Bangladesh

 

Zaved Akhtar joined Unilever in 2000 after 3.5 years in British American Tobacco, and in a career spanning more than 20 years in Unilever, has worked in multiple categories across Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines, demonstrating the ability to thrive across different cultures. From Regional Brand Innovation Manager for Dirt is Good (India), Marketing Manager – Skin (Bangladesh), Marketing Manager – Home Care & Oral (Philippines), Regional Brand Director, Deos Asia to Brand Building Director (Bangladesh), Zaved carries rich international experience in brands, innovation, communication development and business management. In his recent role as VP, Digital Transformation & Growth, Zaved has setup and led the Digital Council for Hindustan Unilever and anchored the ‘Reimagine HUL’ agenda, which is widely recognised across Unilever as a comprehensive end-to-end digital transformation program with impact. Zaved has also been an integral part of Hindustan Unilever team crafting the Five Fundamentals of Growth, Institutionalising Market Development and driving Net Revenue Management in Unilever’s business in South Asia.

[1] https://www.who.int/news/item/06-07-2022-un-report–global-hunger-numbers-rose-to-as-many-as-828-million-in-2021#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20people%20affected,away%20from%20its%20goal%20of