The Breakthrough Challenge

The world's most forward-looking CEOs recognize the real challenge facing business today: a fundamental shift in the nature of commerce. While sustainability programs, government action, and nonprofits are all parts of the solution, CEOs and other leaders must focus on social, environmental, and economic benefit--not only because it will make the world a better place, but because it will ensure lasting profitability and success in the business climate of tomorrow.The Breakthrough Challenge is both an inspiring call-to-action and a guide for this transformation, based on the work of The B Team, a major initiative uniting leaders in sustainability. As a founding advisor and member of The B Team, John Elkington and Jochen Zeitz map out an agenda for change. The most important goal for businesses must be redefining the bottom line to account for true long-term costs throughout the supply chain. To achieve this, leaders must rethink everything: what counts on balance sheets, how to incentivize performance, who does what in the C-suite, and even what inspires us. The Breakthrough Challenge draws on over 100 exclusive interviews to show this shift in action, sharing the pioneering work of leaders such as Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever; Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of The Huffington Post; Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman of the Nestlé Group; and Linda Fisher, pioneering Chief Sustainability Officer at DuPont, among many others.Change-as-usual strategies are not enough to move business from breakdowns to breakthroughs. The Breakthrough Challenge shows leaders how to achieve a true transformation and refocus the definition of profitability on the lasting wellbeing of people and planet--for the lasting success of their business.

ForewordSir Richard Branson ixPreface xiIntroduction: Profit from Tomorrow's Bottom Line 11 Adopt the Right Aspirations 232 Create New Corporate Structures 393 Apply True Accounting Principles 554 Calculate True Returns 715 Embrace Well-Being 876 Level the Playing Field 1077 Pursue Full Transparency 1238 Redefine Education 1439 Learn from Nature's Model 16710 Keep the Long Run in Mind 179Conclusion: Get Ready to Break Through 193Notes 211Acknowledgments 229About the Authors 235Index 239