How Business Can Improve the World, Not Just the Bottom Line | Esha Chhabra | TED

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Shelley Tsang 曾雯海

Business as we know it has been focused on scale, growth,

我們所知道的企業 一直把焦點放在規模、

productivity and maximizing profit.

成長、生產力，和利潤最大化。

It's that hustle culture that we love, right?

我們就愛這種忙碌文化，對吧？

The faster the growth, the better; the more money, the better.

成長得越快越好；錢越多越好。

And yet that hasn't really worked.

然而，這種方式並沒有真正奏效。

I mean, the planet has clearly taken a hit,

我的意思是，地球顯然受到了衝擊，

but also, I think people are fed up

此外，我認為大家已經受夠了，

and seeking for more balance in their lives.

想在生活中尋求更多的平衡。

So to rectify this, over the last few years,

因此，為了改正這一點， 在過去的幾年中，

we saw the rise of sustainable and mission-driven brands.

我們看到永續 和使命主導的品牌興起。

These were companies that started with a very simple model of:

這些公司從非常簡單的模型著手：

you buy a pair of shoes, we'll donate a pair of shoes.

你購買一雙鞋，我們就捐贈一雙鞋。

Then it became "we'll be conscious companies,"

接著變成「我們會 成為有意識的公司」、

"we'll recycle our waste,"

「我們會回收我們的廢物」，

and most recently, "we'll use carbon offsets."

還有最近的「我們會用碳抵銷」。

Well, that’s all well-intentioned, and it truly is,

嗯，這些意圖都是好的，真的是，

but sustainability has become more marketing than action, it seems.

但似乎，永續性變得 更偏向行銷而不是行動。

It hasn't really moved the needle on what is the core purpose of business

它並未真正改變

企業的核心目的和核心商業模式。

and the core model of business.

So I see it as: it was a great step one, good effort,

所以我的看法是： 這是很好的第一步，

很努力，

but now it's time to move to step two.

但現在該邁出第二步了。

And what is step two?

第二步是什麼？

It's regenerative.

是再生。

You may have heard of the term.

各位可能聽過這個術語， 它最近常常上新聞，

It’s been all over the news lately, in Vogue, in New York Times,

《Vogue》、《紐約時報》， 《Outside》雜誌都有報導。

in Outside magazine.

These are just some headlines.

螢幕上的是其中一些頭條。

New York Times said it best, I think most succinctly.

我覺得《紐約時報》的 說法最好、最簡潔：

“Regenerative: it’s like yoga, but for farmland.”

「再生：它就像瑜伽， 但對象是農地。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Not quite.

不盡然。

So what is regenerative,

所以，再生是什麼， 尤其是在商業環境中？

particularly in the context of business?

Regenerative businesses are looking to restore,

再生企業尋求的是 恢復、復興，和活化

revive and bring to life communities, industries and people that are struggling.

在困難中的社區、產業，和人。

It's actually much more than just a term.

它實際上遠不只是一個術語。

So I’ve been reporting for over 10 years on business,

十多年來，我都在報導企業、

social issues and the environment and how all of that overlaps.

社會議題，和環境， 以及它們如何重疊。

I have seen my fair share of doom and gloom headlines.

我看過許多悲觀的頭條新聞。

I think we can all agree we've got problems in the world.

我想大家都同意， 這個世界上有問題存在。

But as I was doing this reporting,

但我在做這項報導時， 我不斷遇到一種企業家：

I kept meeting entrepreneurs

that were really looking beyond the crisis at hand

他們的視野超過手邊的危機，

and focusing on solutions.

並專注於解決方案。

So I decided to write about their stories and their regenerative businesses,

所以我決定寫下他們的故事 和他們的再生事業，

which don't start with this question

他們並不是從這個問題 或意圖開始著手：

or intent of how do we make the most money by selling you X, Y or Z?

我們如何透過賣 X、Y， 或 Z 給你來賺最多錢？

Rather, they ask a really simple question:

他們問的問題反而非常簡單：

What problem are we going to solve?

我們要解決什麼問題？

What social and environmental problem are we going to solve?

我們要解決什麼社會和環境問題？

And so it's not about just selling you another great pair of jeans

所以重點不只是要再賣給你 一條很棒的牛仔褲、

or a great cup of coffee or a nice hotel stay,

一杯很棒的咖啡， 或一次很棒的飯店住宿，

unless all of that has impact embedded into it.

除非影響力已經嵌入其中。

In fact, I like to think of regenerative companies as a multi-tiered cake.

事實上，我會把再生公司 想成是多層次的蛋糕。

It's layer upon layer upon layer of impact,

它是一層又一層又一層的影響，

which makes the whole thing enticing.

讓整體非常誘人。

It's not just one thing you do off to the side

它不只是你在旁邊做的一件事 或你的公司的一個面向，

or one aspect of your company.

It's every tenet of the company is focused on impact.

公司的每一條信條 都把焦點放在影響上。

And so what are some of these tenets they might be thinking about?

那麼，他們腦袋中 可能會有哪些信條？

Well, if you have a supply chain, if you're in manufacturing,

如果你有供應鏈， 如果你從事製造業，

那麼你一定要想到環境 以及和那供應鏈相關的人。

you're definitely thinking about the environment

and the people that are involved in that supply chain.

事實上，他們不是你的供應鏈， 而是你的合作夥伴。

In fact, they're not your supply chain, they're your partners.

如果你從事服務業，是的，

If you're in the services industry, yes,

你會想到你的環境足跡，還有，

you're thinking about your environmental footprint,

你是否在培養更好的人際連結？

but also are you fostering better human connections?

你打算如何資助這家公司？

And how are you going to fund this company?

因為你取得的資本將會決定你 在接下來幾年要如何營運公司。

Because the capital that you take on is going to determine

how you run the company for years to come.

Are you open to employee ownership, profit-sharing?

你願意考慮員工所有權、 和員工分享利潤嗎？

That can have serious social impact in the world.

那可能會在世界上 造成重大的社會影響。

And most of all, are you inspiring and improving people's lives at work

最重要的是，在工作上， 你是會激勵和改善大家的生活，

or just keeping them afloat?

或只是讓他們能維持？

Because I think we can all agree that we want to be treated with respect

因為，我想大家都認同， 現今，我們都會想

and work with purpose these days.

被尊重，且工作要有目的。

So it's every hub and spoke of the company

因此，是公司每個部門

is thinking about impact, not just one.

都在思考影響力，不只有一個。

And that’s why, when I turn to these entrepreneurs,

這就是為什麼

當我去找這些企業家時，我會問 他們：「你對永續的看法為何？」

and I would ask them, "Well, what's your take on sustainability?"

他們會反彈說：「在我們 這裡不用這個詞。」

They would sort of push back and say,

"We don't really use that word around here."

幾乎就好像他們對這個詞過敏一樣。

It was almost as if they were allergic to it.

他們說：「因為我們要讓什麼永續？

They said, "Because, what are we sustaining?

有問題的系統？現狀？」

A broken system, the status quo?"

I mean, that's what it suggests, right?

這就是永續暗示的意思，對吧？

Now regenerative is not a one-size-fits-all.

再生並非「均碼」適合所有人的。

For large global companies,

對大型全球公司來說， 這種轉型會更難、更慢，

this is going to be a harder and slower transition

for reasons we can discuss afterwards.

我們之後可以再來談原因。

But for small- to medium-sized companies, it’s very doable.

但對中小型公司來說，就非常可行。

In fact, it's already happening.

事實上，轉型已經是進行式。

And so it's lovely to talk about all this in theory,

所以，紙上談兵是很好，

but let's put it into context with some examples, shall we?

但，讓我們用一些例子 把它和現實情境結合好嗎？

You may have heard of the shoe brand Veja.

各位可能有聽過鞋子品牌 Veja，這陣子相當受歡迎，

They're quite popular these days,

但 20 年前這品牌剛問世時，

but 20 years ago, when they started,

the two French cofounders started with less than 20,000 Euros,

兩位法國的聯合創辦人 只有不到兩萬歐元，

and they had very little fashion experience.

他們也沒多少時尚方面的經驗。

And yes, they were selling shoes,

是的，他們是在賣鞋，

but they were looking to do something far more meaningful.

但他們想做點更有意義的事情。

They wanted to preserve the Amazon,

他們希望保護亞馬遜，

hire people that are considered unemployable,

僱用被認為不可僱用的人，

regenerate soils and challenge the fashion industry as a whole.

再生土壤，並挑戰整個時尚業。

So a few years ago, I had the opportunity to go down

因此，幾年前，我有機會過去

參觀他們在巴西 亞馬遜的供應鏈之一。

and see one of their supply chains in the Amazon in Brazil.

And it was beautiful and green and biodiverse.

而且它很美麗、很綠化， 生物多樣性很高。

And the supply chain that I focused on was rubber.

我當時關注的供應鏈是橡膠。

So Veja sources native rubber from the rubber trees in the Amazon

因此，Veja 把從亞馬遜 橡膠樹採集的原生橡膠

for the soles of their shoes.

用來做他們的鞋底。

These trees can harvest rubber for years, if not decades

若妥善採集，這些樹木可以 供應橡膠數年，甚至數十年，

if it's done properly and it's done by rubber tappers.

做這項工作的是橡膠採集工， 他們是住在亞馬遜的人，

These are individuals who live within the Amazon,

and their other option for a livelihood is cattle farming.

他們維持生計的另一個選擇是養牛。

But thanks to Veja,

但，多虧 Veja，

他們能夠賺到和養牛 一樣多的錢，甚至更多，

they were able to make the same amount of money,

if not more money, tapping trees for rubber

只要從橡膠樹採集橡膠即可，

than they would be doing cattle farming.

不需要從事養牛了。

And cattle farming requires you to level the land,

若要養牛，需要先 整平土地並把樹砍掉，

to get rid of the trees.

Here, the trees get to stay upright.

在這裡，樹木可以繼續聳立。

This is an example of a regenerative design,

這是個再生設計的例子，

where a company thinks about the environment

公司打從一開始就考量到 環境和環境中的人。

and its people from the beginning.

That rubber is then taken down to their factory

接著這些橡膠會被送到他們位在 巴西南部阿雷格港的工廠，

in the southern part of Brazil, in Porto Alegre,

where it meets up with organic cotton that comes from another corner of Brazil

工廠會把它們和來自巴西 另一個角落的有機棉結合，

and is turned into a shoe.

再製成鞋子。

That shoe then sails across the sea,

鞋子接著會漂洋過海，

and only by sea, to France.

只走水路，送抵法國。

Now here again, Veja had an opportunity.

在這裡，Veja 又有一個機會。

They could have hired any fulfillment company to do their fulfillment.

他們可以聘請任何物流公司 來做他們的物流。

Instead, they decided to partner with a nonprofit.

他們反而決定與非營利組織合作。

This nonprofit hires individuals that come from marginalized neighborhoods

這個組織僱用的是邊緣化 社區裡被認為不能僱用的人，

and are considered unemployable,

and gives them a chance at a career.

給他們工作的機會。

Those individuals are responsible for shipping the shoes out to customers.

這些人負責將鞋子運送給客戶。

So it's layer upon layer of impact.

因此，是一層又一層的影響。

And one more.

且，還有一層。

Veja decided early on

Veja 很早就決定 不要捲入行銷遊戲中，

that they were not going to get so involved in the marketing game,

so they don't pump loads of money into athletes

因此他們沒有砸大量請運動員、 網紅、模特兒穿他們的鞋子。

and influencers and models to wear their shoes.

The money goes back to the supply chain.

他們回頭把這些錢用在供應鏈上。

The materials cost more,

材料成本更高，但做材料的人 也得到更高的報酬。

but the people who make it also get paid more.

Every hub and spoke of the company --

公司的每個部門——

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Every hub and spoke of the company is thinking about impact.

公司的每個部門都在思考影響力。

So making a shoe has a footprint on the planet

做鞋子會在地球上留下足跡，

and no solution and no company is perfect,

且沒有任何解決方案、任何公司 是完美的，這些我們都承認。

we can all acknowledge that.

However, when we ask this question, can business do better?

然而，當我們問這個問題： 企業能否做得更好？

Definitely.

絕對能。這只是時尚業中的一例。

Here's just one example in fashion.

Looking beyond fashion,

在時尚業之外的 再生企業是什麼樣子？

what does regenerative business look like?

Well, some of them use employee ownership and profit-sharing.

有些企業採用員工所有制 和利潤分享制。

Here’s a company in Arizona called Technicians for Sustainability

亞利桑那州有一家公司 叫「永續技術人員」，

where the owner of the company realized early on

該公司的老闆很早就認知到

that the folks who are responsible for installing the solar panels

負責在屋頂上安裝太陽能板的人

on the roofs

are not going to amass personal wealth doing that job.

不可能透過這項工作累積個人財富。

So he opened up the profits of the company to his employees.

因此，他把公司的利潤 開放給他的員工。

Today, 40 percent of the profits every year go to the employees.

現今，每年有 40％ 的 利潤都分給員工。

And what's great about it is not only are they part

很棒的一點是，他們不僅 投入可再生能源轉型，

of the transition to renewable energy,

他們還投資在實現 轉型的那些人身上。

but they're investing in the people that are making it happen.

Regenerative companies think about waste differently.

再生公司對廢物有不同的看法， 將它們視為機會而非負擔。

They see it as an opportunity rather than a burden.

If you've been across the pond to the UK,

如果你曾經跨海去過英國，

you know that the Brits love their ready-to-eat sandwiches.

就會知道英國人喜歡速食三明治， 每個街角都有商店在販賣。

You can find them on every corner shop.

Well, to make those lovely sandwiches,

若要做出這種很棒的三明治，

you have to unfortunately sacrifice the end slices of loaves

很不幸，把麵包切片後， 你得犧牲掉最外側的兩片，

and so those end slices would often go to waste.

這兩片末端片常就會被丟棄。

Well, a food waste entrepreneur and a social entrepreneur got together

一名廚餘企業家和一名 社會企業家合作，說：

and said, "Why don't we turn it into beer?"

「不如把它們做成啤酒吧？」

And that became Toast Ale.

吐司啤酒就這麼誕生了。

And so now Toast is available throughout the country in pubs,

現在全國各地的酒吧、餐廳， 和雜貨店都可以買到吐司啤酒。

restaurants and in grocery stores.

And they've gone one step further.

且他們還又多邁出一步。

The profits of the company now go to a charity that's focused on food waste.

該公司把利潤捐給了一家 關注食物浪費的慈善機構。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

And regenerative, the term you may have heard of,

各位可能聽過，「再生」 這個術語源自於再生農業。

has its roots in regenerative agriculture.

That's where it's being used most prominently these days.

現今，它最主要的用途 也是在這個領域。

Well, here's a gentleman, David Vetter,

這位男士是大衛‧維特，遠在 再生農業成為流行前他就在做了。

who's been doing it far before it was trendy.

He is the son of a military veteran-turned-farmer

他的父親是退伍軍人， 後來轉職農民，

who lives in the cornfields of Nebraska,

住在內布拉斯加州的玉米田裡，

in the heart of big ag and conventional ag.

位在大農業和傳統農業的中心。

But him and his dad decided early on

但他和他的父親很早就決定 他們要走再生有機農業這條路。

that they would go down the route of regenerative organic farming.

They grow regenerative organic grains.

他們種植再生有機穀物。

And if you talk to David, he will tell you,

如果你跟大衛談談，他會告訴你：

"Soil is something you grow crops in,

「土壤是用來種植作物的，

dirt is something you find under your bed.

泥土是在你床下可以找到的。

You ought to know the difference."

你應該分得出差別。」

是有差別的。

There is a difference.

And as the company has grown and as the family has grown,

隨著公司成長和家族成長，

the Vetters have also put a processing unit,

維特一家還在他們的場所設置了 一個加工單位，一座磨坊，

a mill on their facility,

which now allows other farmers in the area who want to also do organic farming

能協助地區其他也想 從事有機農業的農民，

to be able to get their products closer to the market.

讓他們的產品更接近市場。

If we can create these links,

若我們能創建這些鏈接，我們 就能讓這些產品更接近消費者。

we can get these products closer to consumers.

So these are just some examples.

這些只是幾個例子。

I mean, I could rattle on many more examples of these kinds of companies,

我還可以介紹更多這類公司的例子，

but when I asked them fundamentally, "I said, OK guys, what's next?

當我問他們，基本上，我說： 「好，各位，下一步是什麼？

What do we have to do?"

我們該怎麼做？」

Many of them said to me one simple thing.

他們許多人都對我 說了一件很簡單的事：

We have to tell these stories further and wider.

我們必須把這些故事 告訴更多人、傳得更廣。

Veja 的聯合創辦人對我說了 一件事，我覺得切中要害。

The cofounder of Veja said to me something

that I thought was quite poignant.

He said, "We don't need Veja to be the next global ethical shoe brand.

他說：「我們不需要 Veja 成為 下一個全球道德鞋子品牌。

We need dozens of Vejas.

我們需要幾十個 Veja。

We need dozens in every industry, in every culture, in every geography.

每個產業、每個文化、 每個地理區都需要幾十個。

Replication is the answer."

答案就是複製。」

And that brought up another conversation about scale.

這就帶出了另一個關於規模的談話。

Many of the entrepreneurs said to me,

許多企業家對我說：「並非 大家都需要達到驚人的高度。

"We don't all need to reach astronomical heights.

Not every company needs to be a global company.

不是每間公司都得成為全球公司。

It should be OK to say we are good with this level of scale.

可以說，我們對這個規模感到滿意。

This is enough."

這已經足夠了。」

And that fundamental question, of how much is enough,

「多少才算足夠」這個根本問題

has come up year after year in my reporting.

年年都出現在我的報告中。

Ask yourselves personally how much stuff, house, food,

問問自己：多少東西、 房子、食物、消費才足夠？

consumption is enough.

But also, as business leaders,

此外，身為企業領導者，

how much growth, scale, profit is enough

也要問：多少成長、規模、利潤

to feed our greed and our egos sometimes.

才足以滿足我們的貪心， 有時，還要滿足我們的自負？

So I leave you with this thought.

我把這個想法留給大家。

We're all here, on this flying rock, for a moment in time.

我們大家在這個飛行的岩石 （地球）上，都只是短短一瞬間，

We can't take any of this stuff or any of this wealth with us.

所有這些東西或這些財富， 都是死不帶去。

So why not use this time to build businesses

那為什麼不善用這段時間 來建立能超越利益思考的企業？

that think beyond profit?

Why not build organizations

為什麼不建立協助環境再生 而非破壞環境的組織？

that regenerate the environment instead of destroy it?

Why not build organizations and companies that have a workforce

為什麼不建立以人為本的公司，

that treats people as humans and not as transactions?

將人視為人而不是交易？

I think it's time that we really redefine business.

我認為該是我們真正 重新定義企業的時候了。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）