Michael Porter: Why business can be good at solving social problems

翻译人员: Shiwen He 校对人员: Jun CHEN

I think we're all aware

我想大家都意识到了

that the world today is full of problems.

当今世界问题重重

We've been hearing them

今天，昨天，数十年来的每一天

today and yesterday and every day for decades.

我们都会听到这些问题

Serious problems, big problems, pressing problems.

严重的问题，大问题，紧急的问题

Poor nutrition, access to water,

营养不良，水资源不足

climate change, deforestation,

气候变化，森林面积减少

lack of skills, insecurity, not enough food,

技术不足，不安全，食物短缺

not enough healthcare, pollution.

医保不完善，环境污染

There's problem after problem,

问题层出不穷

and I think what really separates this time

而我认为真正使得当今世界

from any time I can remember in my brief time

和我记忆中的任何片段有所不同的

on Earth is the awareness of these problems.

是人们对于这些问题的关注

We're all very aware.

我们都非常重视这些问题。

Why are we having so much trouble

为什么我们在处理这些问题时

dealing with these problems?

有这么多困难？

That's the question I've been struggling with,

这是我一直在纠结的问题

coming from my very different perspective.

（它们）来源于我有些与众不同的视角

I'm not a social problem guy.

我不是那种解决社会问题的人

I'm a guy that works with business,

我跟商业打交道

helps business make money.

我帮企业赚钱

God forbid.

谢天谢地

So why are we having so many problems

那么，为什么解决社会问题

with these social problems,

是这么困难

and really is there any role for business,

商业会是解决方案之一吗？

and if so, what is that role?

如果是的，它将扮演怎样的角色？

I think that in order to address that question,

我想，为了解决这个问题

we have to step back and think about

我们要先退一步想想

how we've understood and pondered

我们是如何理解和考虑

both the problems and the solutions

我们面临的种种社会难题

to these great social challenges that we face.

以及对应的解决方案

Now, I think many have seen business

现在，我想许多人会把商业

as the problem, or at least one of the problems,

看作一个问题，或者至少是我们面临的

in many of the social challenges we face.

众多社会问题之一

You know, think of the fast food industry,

想想快餐业

the drug industry, the banking industry.

医药业，银行业

You know, this is a low point

人们对于商业的尊重

in the respect for business.

处于历史最低点

Business is not seen as the solution.

大家不认为商业是解决问题的办法

It's seen as the problem now, for most people.

对于大多数人来说，商业本身就是个问题

And rightly so, in many cases.

事实上很多情况下，也的确如此

There's a lot of bad actors out there

社会上有很多坏榜样

that have done the wrong thing,

他们做了错事

that actually have made the problem worse.

让问题变得更糟糕

So this perspective is perhaps justified.

所以这种观点也许是正当的。

How have we tended to see the solutions

我们倾向于如何看待

to these social problems,

这众多社会问题

these many issues that we face in society?

的解决方法呢？

Well, we've tended to see the solutions

我们认为解决这些问题需要

in terms of NGOs,

依靠NGO（非盈利政府组织）

in terms of government,

依靠政府

in terms of philanthropy.

或是慈善业

Indeed, the kind of unique organizational entity

的确，这个时代特有的组织形式

of this age is this tremendous rise of NGOs

就是NGO和各种社会组织

and social organizations.

的飞速崛起

This is a unique, new organizational form

这是一个独特的、全新的组织形式

that we've seen grown up.

而我们看着它一点一滴地发展起来

Enormous innovation, enormous energy,

大量的创新，巨大的能量

enormous talent now has been mobilized

令人惊叹的天赋，现在都通过

through this structure

这种结构调动起来

to try to deal with all of these challenges.

用来试着解决各种挑战。

And many of us here are deeply involved in that.

而且在座很多人都深入地参与其中

I'm a business school professor,

我是一个商学院教授

but I've actually founded, I think, now, four nonprofits.

但是我目前已经成立了四个非营利组织

Whenever I got interested and became aware

每当我对一个问题产生了兴趣，或是意识到

of a societal problem, that was what I did,

哪个社会问题的存在，我就会成立一个

form a nonprofit.

非盈利组织

That was the way we've thought about how to deal

这是我想到的

with these issues.

处理这些问题的方法

Even a business school professor has thought about it that way.

就连商学院教授都考虑过这个方法。

But I think at this moment,

但是当前

we've been at this for quite a while.

我们停留在这个阶段有很长时间了。

We've been aware of these problems for decades.

数十年前我们就意识到了这些问题的存在。

We have decades of experience

我们花费了数十年

with our NGOs and with our government entities,

从NGO以及政府部门中获取经验

and there's an awkward reality.

可是事实结果却令人尴尬

The awkward reality is we're not making

尴尬的现实是我们没有取得

fast enough progress.

足够快的进展。

We're not winning.

我们并没有胜利。

These problems still seem very daunting

这些问题还是显得十分艰巨

and very intractable,

并且很难对付

and any solutions we're achieving

我们实现的解决方法

are small solutions.

还是很微小的解决方法。

We're making incremental progress.

我们的进展仍然停留在量变阶段。

What's the fundamental problem we have

要解决这些社会问题

in dealing with these social problems?

最根本的问题是什么？

If we cut all the complexity away,

如果去掉各种细枝末节

we have the problem of scale.

我们需要解决规模化的问题。

We can't scale.

我们无法将方案规模化。

We can make progress. We can show benefits.

我们可以取得进展 我们可以展示效益

We can show results. We can make things better.

我们可以展出成果 我们可以让情况变得更好

We're helping. We're doing better. We're doing good.

我们正在努力 我们正在进步 我们做得很好

We can't scale.

但是我们无法规模化。

We can't make a large-scale impact on these problems.

我们无法对这些问题施加宏观的影响

Why is that?

这是为什么？

Because we don't have the resources.

因为我们没有资源

And that's really clear now.

这一点现在非常明显

And that's clearer now than it's been for decades.

数十年来这一点变得越来越明显

There's simply not enough money

利用现有的模式

to deal with any of these problems at scale

我们没有足够的资金

using the current model.

来大规模处理这些问题

There's not enough tax revenue,

我们没有足够的税收

there's not enough philanthropic donations,

也没有足够的慈善捐款

to deal with these problems the way we're dealing with them now.

来用现在的方式解决这些问题

We've got to confront that reality.

我们必须面对这个现实

And the scarcity of resources

而用于解决社会问题的资源的匮乏

for dealing with these problems is only growing,

只会进一步恶化

certainly in the advanced world today,

特别是在现代社会

with all the fiscal problems we face.

在我们面临各种财政问题时。

So if it's fundamentally a resource problem,

所以说，如果这根本上是资源问题，

where are the resources in society?

那社会上的资源都在哪儿呢？

How are those resources really created,

这些需要用于

the resources we're going to need to deal

解决社会问题的资源

with all these societal challenges?

都是如何产生的？

Well there, I think the answer is very clear:

看到这里，我相信答案已经非常明显了：

They're in business.

资源来自商业

All wealth is actually created by business.

一切财富实际上都由商业创造

Business creates wealth

当满足需求产生利润时

when it meets needs at a profit.

商业就创造财富

That's how all wealth is created.

所有财富就这样被创造出来

It's meeting needs at a profit

商业解决需求问题并获得利润

that leads to taxes

进而有了税收

and that leads to incomes

有了收入

and that leads to charitable donations.

最后有了慈善捐款

That's where all the resources come from.

资源就是这样产生的

Only business can actually create resources.

只有商业可以真正创造资源

Other institutions can utilize them

其他的行业可以利用它们

to do important work,

做各种重要的事

but only business can create them.

但是只有商业才能创造资源和财富

And business creates them

而当商业解决需求可以获利时

when it's able to meet a need at a profit.

商业就创造了资源。

The resources are overwhelmingly

绝大部分的资源

generated by business.

都是由商业所产生的。

The question then is, how do we tap into this?

接下来的问题在于，我们如何利用这一点？

How do we tap into this?

我们应该如何利用这一点呢？

Business generates those resources

商业生产了那些资源

when it makes a profit.

在有利可图的时候。

That profit is that small difference

这些利润就是

between the price and the cost it takes to produce

价格和生产成本之差

whatever solution business has created

无论商家为解决何种问题

to whatever problem they're trying to solve.

创造了怎样的解决方案。

But that profit is the magic.

然而这种利润很神奇。

Why? Because that profit allows whatever solution

为什么？因为这些利润使得

we've created

无论我们想到何种解决方法

to be infinitely scalable.

都变得可以无限扩展。

Because if we can make a profit,

因为如果我们可以获得利润，

we can do it for 10, 100, a million,

我们就可以让它变成10，100，一百万，

100 million, a billion.

一亿，甚至十亿。

The solution becomes self-sustaining.

解决方案可以自我维持下去

That's what business does

这就是商业所产生的效果

when it makes a profit.

当有利可图时。

Now what does this all have to do

那么，所有这些和社会问题

with social problems?

有什么关系呢？

Well, one line of thinking is, let's take this profit

其中一个想法是，让我们把利润

and redeploy it into social problems.

投入到社会问题的处理中去

Business should give more.

商业应该贡献更多

Business should be more responsible.

商业应该负起更多责任

And that's been the path that we've been on

我们在商场中一直

in business.

遵循这一路径

But again, this path that we've been on

但同时，我们所遵循的路径

is not getting us where we need to go.

并没有带领我们到达我们要去的地方。

Now, I started out as a strategy professor,

我开始（工作）时是一个战略学教授，

and I'm still a strategy professor.

我现在仍然是一个战略学教授。

I'm proud of that.

我以此为傲。

But I've also, over the years,

但历经那么多年

worked more and more on social issues.

我也处理过越来越多的社会问题

I've worked on healthcare, the environment,

我曾经从事过医疗保健方面，环境方面

economic development, reducing poverty,

经济发展方面，减少贫困方面的工作

and as I worked more and more in the social field,

当我越来越投身于社会领域

I started seeing something

我开始意识到，一些事情

that had a profound impact on me

在某些方面，对我的整个人生

and my whole life, in a way.

产生了深远的影响

The conventional wisdom in economics

一直以来，经济学的传统理论

and the view in business has historically been

和商界观点都认为

that actually, there's a tradeoff

事实上，社会福利和经济效益之间

between social performance and economic performance.

存在着权衡取舍关系

The conventional wisdom has been

传统观点认为

that business actually makes a profit

企业实际上通过引起社会问题

by causing a social problem.

而获取利润

The classic example is pollution.

最经典的例子是环境污染

If business pollutes, it makes more money

如果企业自由排污，相对于想办法减排

than if it tried to reduce that pollution.

能赚到更多钱

Reducing pollution is expensive,

减排很昂贵

therefore businesses don't want to do it.

因此企业不会愿意减排

It's profitable to have an unsafe working environment.

不安全的工作环境，能带来利润

It's too expensive to have a safe working environment,

而创造安全的工作环境，则太贵了

therefore business makes more money

因此如果企业选择不安全的工作环境

if they don't have a safe working environment.

就能赚到更多的钱

That's been the conventional wisdom.

这就是传统观点

A lot of companies have fallen into that conventional wisdom.

很多公司信奉这种传统观点

They resisted environmental improvement.

它们拒绝改善环境

They resisted workplace improvement.

拒绝对工作场所的升级

That thinking has led to, I think,

我想这些观点

much of the behavior

导致了很多

that we have come to criticize in business,

我们所批判的商业行为

that I come to criticize in business.

也是我所批判的商业行为

But the more deeply I got into all these social issues,

不过随着我更加深入地研究

one after another,

一个又一个的社会问题

and actually, the more I tried to address them

事实上，我越想解决由我个人

myself, personally, in a few cases,

来解决它们，在个别的情况下，

through nonprofits that I was involved with,

通过我所在的非营利组织，

the more I found actually that the reality

我越发觉得，现实是

is the opposite.

截然相反的

Business does not profit

企业并不通过

from causing social problems,

造成社会问题而获利

actually not in any fundamental sense.

实际上这根本就不对

That's a very simplistic view.

这是一个被过于简化的观点

The deeper we get into these issues,

我们越深刻地研究问题

the more we start to understand

就越开始明白

that actually business profits

事实上，企业通过

from solving from social problems.

解决社会问题而获利

That's where the real profit comes.

这才是利润的来源。

Let's take pollution.

还是说污染问题

We've learned today that actually

我们知道当今世界

reducing pollution and emissions

减少污染和排放

is generating profit.

能够产生利润

It saves money.

减排可以省钱

It makes the business more productive and efficient.

能让企业更有效率，提高生产率

It doesn't waste resources.

这样不会浪费资源

Having a safer working environment actually,

更安全的工作环境

and avoiding accidents,

能避免事故

it makes the business more profitable,

让企业利润增加

because it's a sign of good processes.

因为（安全的工作环境）代表好的工作流程

Accidents are expensive and costly.

事故是昂贵的，代价很高

Issue by issue by issue, we start to learn

一次次的事故之后，我们逐渐明白了

that actually there's no trade-off

实际上这种权衡关系并不存在于

between social progress

社会进步和

and economic efficiency

经济效率之间

in any fundamental sense.

从根本上来看。

Another issue is health.

另一个问题是健康问题

I mean, what we've found is actually

我们发现，实际上

health of employees is something

企业应该重视

that business should treasure,

员工的健康状况

because that health allows those employees

因为健康的身体可以保证

to be more productive and come to work

员工的工作效率

and not be absent.

和出勤率

The deeper work, the new work, the new thinking

深入的、新型的工作，

on the interface between business and social problems

以及对商业和社会问题的全新交叉研究

is actually showing that there's a fundamental,

都论证了这两者在本质上

deep synergy,

是相辅相成的

particularly if you're not thinking in the very short run.

尤其是，如果你考虑的不是短期效应

In the very short run, you can sometimes

在很短的时期内，有时候

fool yourself into thinking

你会觉得

that there's fundamentally opposing goals,

它们的目标互相对立

but in the long run, ultimately, we're learning

然而长期看来，最终我们发现

in field after field that this is simply not true.

在各类领域，这种对立观点并不正确

So how could we tap into

所以我们要怎样使用

the power of business

商业的力量

to address the fundamental problems

来解决我们面对的

that we face?

这些根本问题呢？

Imagine if we could do that, because if we could do it,

设想我们可以做到，因为如果我们可以去做

we could scale.

我们就能规模化

We could tap into this enormous resource pool

我们可以利用商业丰富的资源库

and this organizational capacity.

和组织能力

And guess what? That's happening now, finally,

你猜会怎样？终于，这些现在正在实现了，终于（实现了），

partly because of people like you

一部分是因为像各位这样的人们

who have raised these issues now

在这几十年来，年复一年

for year after year and decade after decade.

不断提出这些问题

We see organizations like Dow Chemical

我们看到像陶氏这样的企业

leading the revolution away from trans fat

发起了驱逐反式脂肪和饱和脂肪的改革

and saturated fat with innovative new products.

开发了创新产品

This is an example of Jain Irrigation.

这是一个Jain灌溉系统的例子

This is a company that's brought drip irrigation technology

这个公司将点滴灌溉

to thousands and millions of farmers,

推广到数以千万计的农户

reducing substantially the use of water.

极大地减少了用水量

We see companies like the Brazilian forestry company Fibria

我们发现一些公司，比如巴西林业企业Fibria

that's figured out how to avoid

它设计出怎样

tearing down old growth forest

避免采伐原始森林

and using eucalyptus and getting much more yield

同时利用桉树的办法，并且提高了

per hectare of pulp

每公顷的纸浆产量

and making much more paper than you could make

制造尽可能多的纸张

by cutting down those old trees.

用尽可能少的老树

You see companies like Cisco that are training

你看到像Cisco这样的公司

so far four million people in I.T. skills

目前已经培训了四百万人 在I.T.技术方面

to actually, yes, be responsible,

目的当然是负责

but help expand the opportunity

但也同时以此扩展市场机会

to disseminate I.T. technology

传播I.T.技术

and grow the whole business.

完善商业领域

There's a fundamental opportunity for business today

如今，企业有很大的机会

to impact and address these social problems,

去影响和解决这些社会问题

and this opportunity

这种机会

is the largest business opportunity

是我们在市场上看到的

we see in business.

最为巨大的商机。

And the question is, how can we get business

问题在于，我们如何改变商业思维

thinking to adapt this issue of shared value?

让其适应“共享价值”的观念？

This is what I call shared value:

我称之为共享价值（shared value）：

addressing a social issue with a business model.

用商业模型解决社会问题

That's shared value.

就是共享价值

Shared value is capitalism,

共享价值是资本主义

but it's a higher kind of capitalism.

但是是更高层次的资本主义

It's capitalism as it was ultimately meant to be,

这种资本主义的终极目标是

meeting important needs,

解决重要需求

not incrementally competing for

而不是不断地竞争在

trivial differences in product attributes

产品的微观特性上

and market share.

和市场份额中。

Shared value is when we can create social value

共享价值就是，我们可以

and economic value simultaneously.

同时创造社会和经济价值

It's finding those opportunities

找寻这些机会

that will unleash the greatest possibility we have

才能释放出我们拥有的可能性

to actually address these social problems

来切实解决这些社会问题

because we can scale.

因为我们可以规模化运作

We can address shared value at multiple levels.

我们可以在不同层面上 实现共享价值

It's real. It's happening.

这是真的，它正在发生

But in order to get this solution working,

不过为了让它实现

we have to now change how business sees itself,

我们现在必须改变 商业对自身的审视

and this is thankfully underway.

欣慰的是，这正在发生。

Businesses got trapped into the conventional wisdom

企业被传统思维所困

that they shouldn't worry about social problems,

认为它们不需要担忧社会问题

that this was sort of something on the side,

社会问题被放在一边

that somebody else was doing it.

由其他人来解决

We're now seeing companies

我们现在看到一些公司

embrace this idea.

接受这种想法

But we also have to recognize business

但是我们也必须意识到

is not going to do this as effectively

企业做不到

as if we have NGOs and government

像有NGO和政府

working in partnership with business.

进行合作一样有效开展。

The new NGOs that are really moving the needle

真正取得进展的NGO

are the ones that have found these partnerships,

是那些找到这些合作伙伴的组织，

that have found these ways to collaborate.

设那些找到这种合作方式的新式NGO

The governments that are making the most progress

取得最大进展的政府

are the governments that have found ways

是那些能让商家实现

to enable shared value in business

共享价值的政府，

rather than see government as the only player

这些政府没有

that has to call the shots.

独挑大梁

And government has many ways in which it could impact

而且政府有很多方法来

the willingness and the ability of companies

促进公司的意愿和能力

to compete in this way.

来激励它们这样竞争

I think if we can get business seeing itself differently,

我想，如果我们能改变 商业对于自身的认知

and if we can get others seeing business differently,

如果们能改变 其他人对于商业的看法

we can change the world.

我们就能够改变世界

I know it. I'm seeing it.

我知道这点。我能看到这天。

I'm feeling it.

我能感觉得到。

Young people, I think,

我想，年轻人们，

my Harvard Business School students, are getting it.

我在哈佛商学院的学生们，能够理解这点

If we can break down this sort of divide,

如果我们可以突破这种分歧

this unease, this tension,

打消不安和焦虑

this sense that we're not

以及在这里合作

fundamentally collaborating here

并不是为了

in driving these social problems,

制造社会问题

we can break this down,

我们就能突破障碍

and we finally, I think,

我认为，最终我们

can have solutions.

可以得到解决方法

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（掌声）