The Chief Executive Officer of Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company Unilever has said while businesses are starting to understand climate risks, governments are failing to respond.
At the same time Unilever CEO Paul Polman said tackling climate change was the only way to grow the economy in the 21st century.
In a speech delivered in the British capital, London, Mr Polman said Unilever, which turned over €50 billion in 2013, would itself find its profits under pressure without determined efforts to tackle climate change by both fellow businessmen and governments.
“Not only is tackling climate change compatible with economic growth in my opinion, it is the only way that we are getting economic growth from the 21st century onwards,” he said.
“The good news is more and more businesses are starting to work this out. We’re trying to reach a tipping point for a new economy.”
The effects on businesses are vast, with extreme weather events causing extreme losses to profits, said the Unilever boss.
Natural disasters currently cost Unilever €300 million a year, Mr Polman said.
He cited instances of cancelled shipping routes due to intense weather in the Philippines, extreme cold causing factories to close in the United States, and United Kingdom flooding throwing distribution patterns into disarray.
“When I say that we can’t afford to not act, I literally mean that,” he said, but he added that it presented an opportunity for the corporate world.
“We recognise for the first time that, purely in monetary terms, the cost of inaction is starting to become bigger than the cost of action.
“This is a wonderful position to be in for businesses because that obviously galvanises business.”
However, he attacked politicians for moving too slowly on providing the right policy frameworks.
This absence meant, despite positive signals from both the market and individuals, businesses “can only get so far”, he said.
“We cannot solve all these issues, we do need these frameworks and these policy signals.
“Uncertainty to invest at scale is one of the big reasons why we don’t see these investments coming in at the speed that we need them,” Mr Polman added.