Are you interested in connecting with other alumni leveraging their careers to combat climate change? BEI invites HBS Alumni to join our Alumni in Climate Networking Series for a chance to connect with local alumni to discuss ideas, trends, opportunities, and challenges at the intersection of business and the environment. Email bei@hbs.edu to learn more about upcoming events.

On June 17th, 2024, the Business and Environment Initiative and the HBS Alumni Association of the United Kingdom convened a group of around 50 alums working in climate to network with one another. The event was hosted in downtown London at 11 Cavendish Square and brought together alumni working in a variety of industries. Julie Mulchay, the president of the HBS Alumni Association of the United Kingdom, was instrumental in organizing and gathering alums for this important topic.

The event opened up with a fireside chat between Professor Peter Tufano, Baker Foundation Professor and Senior Advisor to the Harvard Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability as well as former Dean of the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, and Paul Polman, the former CEO of Unilever and co-author of the book Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take. Peter and Paul discussed Paul’s past work at Unilever, what he’s learned since leaving, and his top takeaways from his book, Net Positive.

The conversation covered some of Paul’s favorite examples of net positive behavior from companies as well as a discussion around how hard it can be to future proof these actions. Paul discussed how things have changed at Unilever since his departure and whether or not there were actions the company could have taken during his tenure to instill longer term net positive behaviors.

Peter and Paul then discussed the interplay between government and businesses towards a net positive future and how a number of elections in 2024 could impact climate goals. They discussed how businesses could exercise their muscles in the political sphere in order to vie for more climate smart legislation. Then they ended with a discussion of the role of business schools in educating future leaders of corporations to instill net positive values.

After the fireside chat, attendees were invited to network with one another and to continue asking the panelists questions that hadn’t been discussed during the talk.