Bob Langert: The business case for working with your toughest critics
Bob Langert: O "case" de negócios para trabalhar com seus críticos mais ferrenhos
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
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
embalagem de isopor?
infamous Styrofoam container?
it changed my company,
mudou minha empresa
can be your best allies.
podem ser nossos melhores aliados.
was the symbol of a garbage crisis.
foi o símbolo de uma crise sobre o lixo.
were sending letters, blaming McDonald's,
culpando o McDonald's,
millions of these at that time.
dessas embalagens na época.
about environmentally friendly packaging,
sobre embalagens ecológicas,
and truck drivers.
e dos motoristas de caminhão.
esta embalagem de poliestireno pra empresa
to save this clamshell for the company
within McDonald's."
os resíduos dentro do McDonald's".
in the late '60s, early '70s,
dos anos 60, início dos anos 70,
in the United States.
nos Estados Unidos.
with the protests, the sit-ins,
nos mais diversos tipos de protestos,
to question authority.
enorme de questionar a autoridade.
going to make a living doing this.
a vida protestando.
já havia diminuído,
contrários à poluição,
protest letters to McDonald's,
de protesto ao McDonald's,
social corporativa,
to make a difference.
a chance de fazer a diferença.
to a partnership
concordou com uma parceria
of "sue the bastards."
de "processar os sacanas".
about me and my team?
sobre mim e minha equipe?"
all I care about is the money.
to give us real-world solutions.
para nos dar soluções pé no chão.
in our restaurants.
em nossos restaurantes.
to dress a quarter-pounder,
two squirts of ketchup, one mustard,
de ketchup, um de mostarda,
go on to the next one,
e tudo isso muito rápido.
He couldn't get it right all day long.
nenhum direito o dia todo.
to understand our business.
entender o nosso negócio.
were the holy grail for our business.
seriam o Santo Graal do nosso negócio.
pensamos: "Reutilizáveis?
uma bagunça e atrasar nosso trabalho".
outside DC, we went to the back room.
escolheram, e fomos para os fundos.
direito, saía tudo mal lavado,
no McDonald's, que é limpo e organizado,
experience at McDonald's
at McDonald's, all day long,
left with the food,
não iam funcionar para nós.
a lot of ideas that did work.
que acabaram funcionando.
of them by ourselves,
from the white carry-out bag
da cor do saco para viagem
bleaching chemicals,
um saco sem alvejantes,
de papelão ondulado reciclado".
the fiber is stronger,
a fibra era mais forte,
our napkin by one inch.
2,5 cm do nosso guardanapo
reciclado de escritório.
by three million pounds a year.
em 1,3 milhão de quilos por ano.
is we changed that bright white napkin,
aquele guardanapo branco brilhante,
became gray and speckled.
ficou cinza e manchado,
com a equipe do EDF.
late-night discussions,
tarde da noite, fomos a um jogo juntos...
tinham paixão pelo que faziam;
waste reduction action plan.
com 42 pontos para redução de resíduos,
the decade of the '90s,
durante a década de 1990
300 million pounds of waste.
136 milhões de quilos de resíduos.
about that polystyrene clamshell,
sobre aquela embalagem de poliestireno,
the idea to work with critics.
a ideia de trabalhar com críticos,
on solutions that could work
que poderiam funcionar
not within our direct control.
sob nosso controle direto,
animals used for meat.
com o abate de animais para consumo.
the biggest purchaser of meat
o maior comprador de carne
the most vociferous and vigilant critics
com os críticos mais ferozes e vigilantes
head of Animal Rights International,
chefe da Animal Rights International,
about animal rights.
sobre os direitos dos animais.
eu não ia virar vegano,
in New York City.
na cidade de Nova York.
getting ready,
going to order my favorite,
meu café da manhã favorito,
and sausage and eggs.
bacon, linguiça e ovos.
to the pastries.
discussion to happen.
uma discussão acalorada.
they asked good questions.
fizeram perguntas interessantes...
how working on animal welfare
animal era complicada para o McDonald's,
they only make meat patties.
só moldavam a carne do hambúrguer.
removed from our influence.
distantes da nossa influência.
em posições tão opostas
of our organizations,
das nossas organizações,
a terrific recommendation.
uma excelente recomendação.
com a Dra. Temple Grandin".
then and now, on animal behavior.
então e agora, em comportamento animal.
and how they should react in facilities.
se deslocam e reagem em currais.
de crítico que existe,
she just loves the animals,
ama os animais e quer protegê-los,
a realidade do negócio da carne.
the reality of the meat business.
to a slaughterhouse in my life,
num matadouro na vida...
have electric prods in their hands,
têm bastões elétricos nas mãos,
almost every animal in the facility.
em quase todos os animais no curral.
she's jumping up and down,
mas ela dava pulos de raiva
isto não está certo.
this isn't right,
usar sacos plásticos,
we could use plastic bags,
o comportamento natural".
for natural behavior."
of implementing animal welfare.
de implementar o bem-estar animal.
two to five years.
aos cinco anos seguintes.
it all got enforced.
suppliers lost business
com dois fornecedores
se estendendo para toda a indústria,
to the entire industry.
that we're blamed for elsewhere?
em outras áreas, de que éramos acusados?
that's their role.
públicas e do governo.
Greenpeace campaigners
to the chairs and tables.
that they had just released,
recém-lançado por eles,
is a key ingredient for chicken feed,
na alimentação do frango,
at the World Wildlife Fund,
no Fundo Mundial para a Natureza,
the Greenpeace report was accurate.
do Greenpeace era preciso.
next day, after that campaign,
quatro pessoas do McDonald's
Heathrow airport.
de Heathrow, em Londres.
the first hour was shaky,
que a primeira hora foi estranha,
of trust in the room.
everything came together,
wanted to save the Amazon.
queriam salvar a Amazônia.
and who was from McDonald's.
e quem era do McDonald's.
on a trip through the Amazon,
durante nove dias, pela Amazônia,
on the Greenpeace boat.
of miles west of Manaus,
de quilômetros a oeste de Manaus,
there's no roads,
não há estradas,
rainforest destruction.
destruição da floresta tropical.
produced outstanding results.
produziu excelentes resultados.
other retailers and suppliers
de outros varejistas e fornecedores
clear-cutting practices
de extração ilegal
as a spectacular drop in deforestation
uma queda espetacular no desmatamento,
of collaborations that I've described
de colaboração que descrevi
is to deny and push back,
é realmente poderosa.
every problem,
the best intentions of your critics.
nas melhores intenções de nossos críticos.
a lot of these tactics.
de muitas dessas táticas.
a lot of the tactics
de muitas das táticas
concentrem-se na verdade,
mostrar a eles os bastidores.
your organization will become better,
sua organização vai se tornar melhor,
some good friends along the way.
ao longo do caminho.
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