Bob Langert: The business case for working with your toughest critics
بوب لانجيرت: مثال العمل التجاري للعمل مع نقادك الأشد صلابة
Bob Langert consults, writes and speaks about corporate sustainability, showing how companies can successfully navigate and manage today’s controversial societal issues, become better corporate citizens and make their businesses stronger, more relevant and more profitable. Full bio
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infamous Styrofoam container?
من مادة البوليسترين؟
it changed my company,
كما وغيرت شركتي.
can be your best allies.
أن يكونوا أفضل حلفائكم.
من القرن الماضي،
was the symbol of a garbage crisis.
لوجبة ماكدونالد الكبيرة رمزًا لأزمة نفايات
were sending letters, blaming McDonald's,
يرسلون رسائل يلومون فيها ماكدونالدز،
millions of these at that time.
في ذلك الوقت.
about environmentally friendly packaging,
بخصوص التعبئة الصديقة للبيئة،
and truck drivers.
وسائقي الشاحنات.
to save this clamshell for the company
المصنوعة من المحارات الصدفية للشركة
within McDonald's."
داخل ماكدونالدز".
وأوائل السبعينيات من القرن الماضي،
in the late '60s, early '70s,
in the United States.
في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.
with the protests, the sit-ins,
والاعتصامات،
to question authority.
going to make a living doing this.
إلى ماكدونالدز،
protest letters to McDonald's,
to make a difference.
to a partnership
of "sue the bastards."
about me and my team?
all I care about is the money.
هو أنني أهتم بالمال.
to give us real-world solutions.
أن يعطونا حلولًا عالمية حقيقية.
in our restaurants.
to dress a quarter-pounder,
باستخدام الهاون،
two squirts of ketchup, one mustard,
ورشة من الخردل،
ثم الانتقال إلى اللاحقة،
go on to the next one,
طوال اليوم بطريقة صحيحة.
He couldn't get it right all day long.
to understand our business.
were the holy grail for our business.
كان بمثابة الكأس المقدس بالنسبة إلى عملنا.
outside DC, we went to the back room.
خارج العاصمة واشنطن، ذهبنا إلى غرفة خلفية.
experience at McDonald's
at McDonald's, all day long,
طول النهار.
left with the food,
غادروا ومعهم الوجبات،
إلى استنتاجه الخاص
بالنسبة إلينا.
a lot of ideas that did work.
of them by ourselves,
from the white carry-out bag
التحويل من أكياس الوجبات السفرية البيضاء
bleaching chemicals,
الكيميائية المبيضة،
أعيد تدويرها.
the fiber is stronger,
وخيوطها أكثر قوة،
our napkin by one inch.
by three million pounds a year.
بثلاثة ملايين رطل سنويًا.
is we changed that bright white napkin,
أننا غيرنا ذلك المنديل الأبيض الساطع،
became gray and speckled.
رمادي اللون ومنقط.
وكان لدينا مناقشات ليليلة متأخرة،
late-night discussions,
waste reduction action plan.
بخصوص التقليل من النفايات.
the decade of the '90s,
من القرن الماضي،
300 million pounds of waste.
بثلاثة ملايين رطل.
about that polystyrene clamshell,
تلك العبوة المصنوعة من مادة البوليسترين،
the idea to work with critics.
للعمل مع المنتقدين.
on solutions that could work
not within our direct control.
ليست في متناول سيطرتنا المباشرة.
animals used for meat.
في استخدام لحوم الحيوانات.
the biggest purchaser of meat
the most vociferous and vigilant critics
تعبيرًا ويقظة
head of Animal Rights International,
رئيس المنظمة الدولية لحقوق الحيوان،
about animal rights.
بخصوص حقوق الحيوانات.
in New York City.
في مدينة نيويورك.
getting ready,
going to order my favorite,
and sausage and eggs.
والنقانق والبيض.
to the pastries.
discussion to happen.
they asked good questions.
how working on animal welfare
على رعاية الحيوانات
they only make meat patties.
يصنعون فقط فطائر اللحوم.
removed from our influence.
إلى ثلاث أو أربع خطوات.
of our organizations,
a terrific recommendation.
then and now, on animal behavior.
بخصوص سلوكيات الحيوانات.
and how they should react in facilities.
وكيف يتعين عليها التفاعل في المباني.
she just loves the animals,
the reality of the meat business.
to a slaughterhouse in my life,
have electric prods in their hands,
عصي كهربائية في أياديهم،
almost every animal in the facility.
في المبنى.
she's jumping up and down,
هذا ليس صحيحًا،
this isn't right,
ويمكننا استخدام أكياس بلاستيكية،
we could use plastic bags,
for natural behavior."
من أجل سلوكيات طبيعية".
of implementing animal welfare.
two to five years.
it all got enforced.
ووضع كل ذلك موضع التنفيذ.
suppliers lost business
إلى ماكدونالدز أعمالهما
to the entire industry.
أن تضبط الصناعة بأكملها.
that we're blamed for elsewhere?
التي وقع اللوم علينا في مجالات أخرى؟
that's their role.
ستنتهي بهذا الشكل غير المتوقع.
Greenpeace campaigners
في حملة السلام الأخضر المعروفة بغرينبيس
to the chairs and tables.
إلى الكراسي والطاولات.
that they had just released,
الذي قد نشروه للتو،
is a key ingredient for chicken feed,
لإطعام الدجاج،
في الصندوق الدولي لحماية الأحياء البرية،
at the World Wildlife Fund,
the Greenpeace report was accurate.
كان دقيقًا.
next day, after that campaign,
بعد تلك الحملة،
Heathrow airport.
the first hour was shaky,
كانت الساعة الأولى متزعزعة،
of trust in the room.
على الساعة الأولى.
everything came together,
wanted to save the Amazon.
على غابات الأمازون.
and who was from McDonald's.
ومَن كان من ماكدونالدز.
on a trip through the Amazon,
في رحلة في أرجاء الأمازون،
on the Greenpeace boat.
وعلى متن قارب تابع لهم.
of miles west of Manaus,
there's no roads,
rainforest destruction.
produced outstanding results.
عن نتائج رائعة.
other retailers and suppliers
من تجار التجزئة والموردين
clear-cutting practices
هذه الممارسات الواضحة لقطع الأشجار
as a spectacular drop in deforestation
باعتباره انخفاض رائع في إزالة الغابات
of collaborations that I've described
التي تم وصفها سابقًا
is to deny and push back,
every problem,
هو مفيد جدًا للمجتمع
the best intentions of your critics.
a lot of these tactics.
a lot of the tactics
التركيز على ما هي الحقيقة،
your organization will become better,
some good friends along the way.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Bob Langert - Corporate sustainability expertBob Langert consults, writes and speaks about corporate sustainability, showing how companies can successfully navigate and manage today’s controversial societal issues, become better corporate citizens and make their businesses stronger, more relevant and more profitable.
Why you should listen
As VP of sustainability at McDonald's, Bob Langert shaped the restaurant chain's commitment to the environment, supply chain sustainability and balanced menu choices. After retiring from McDonald's in 2015, Langert joined the GreenBiz Group, writing a regular column ("The Inside View"). He has advised several organizations on sustainability strategies, including the National Pork Council, Big Dutchman, Cadbury, Shell and Corteva. He is a popular speaker who has addressed audiences that include the Sustainable Agricultural Alliance, the United Egg Producers and the American Feed Industry Association.
In January 2019, Langert published The Battle to Do Good; Inside McDonald's Sustainability Journey. Based on his 25 years leading McDonald's sustainability and corporate responsibility efforts, Langert shares how he helped address some of the most significant societal issues of our times -- obesity, waste and packaging, deforestation in the Amazon, animal well-being and much more. The Economist wrote: "The Battle to Do Good: Inside McDonald's Sustainability Journey is a must-read even for those who are cynical about the business of corporate social responsibility."
From the late 80s, McDonald's landed smack in the middle of one contentious issue after another, often locking horns with powerful NGOs such as Greenpeace, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Corporate Accountability. This sudden shift from being the beloved Golden Arches since opening its doors in 1955, to the demon of many societal ills, caught McDonald's off guard. Langert chronicles the highs and lows that McDonald's experienced in turbulent times and how its sustainability journey evolved from playing defense to strategically solving issues with unlikely partners, including a whirling dervish, autistic animal scientist and avid environmentalists from the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International.
Bob Langert | Speaker | TED.com