Why Big Business Should Get Radical To Address The Climate Crisis

“Once you have the framework in place, find people who will make you feel uncomfortable. The world is an uncomfortable place. If the people with whom you surround yourself don’t make you shift your feet just a little bit, then you’re probably not being radical enough.” — Charmian Love, Global Director of Advocacy at Natura &Co

In the eyes of Charmian Love, global crises call for radical ideas and urgent action. In her role at Natura &Co, that means working with a global network of partners who are similarly moved by the need to aim higher, move faster, and work together to tackle the interconnected emergencies we’re facing in the world. 

“Right now, I feel like the world needs some very strong and solid examples of big businesses willing to set ambitious, radical climate strategies rooted in what we know is needed rather than limited by what feels possible,” she says, noting that the term has origins from the Latin word “radix,” meaning “root.” “Whenever we talk about radical action or radical collaboration, it doesn’t mean the action is necessarily extreme but rather deeply rooted in its urgency.”

And in the case of the climate crises, Love realizes many business leaders aren’t sure how to best act for the good of people and our planet. “It’s tricky, and that’s OK. Because if it wasn’t tricky, then it wouldn’t be something new,” she says. “As a business, you should always ask yourself the right questions to make sure you are going in the right direction. The first question should be, ‘Is this work rooted in what is needed rather than limited by what feels possible?’ This is super important, because with a challenge like the climate crisis the science is screaming at us. We need to find ways to work closer together as a civilization to tackle these existential threats.”

During a recent conversation with Love, she shared how her experiences at B Lab UK and as Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Oxford have influenced her work in her new role at Natura &Co, a Brazil-based cosmetics group that is the world’s largest Certified B Corporation. “At Natura &Co, I spend a lot of time working with a global network of partners who are similarly moved by the need to aim higher, move faster, and work together to tackle the interconnected emergencies we’re facing in the world,” she says. “Now is the time for a system change; the challenges we’re facing are far too great for any one business to solve alone.”

Business leaders are well-positioned to make decisions and change policies and procedures to reduce negative impact on the environment and actually shift toward a regenerative economy. “Those of us who work in business actually have a special kind of power— the power to make decisions with huge ramifications. It is vital that we find ways to help channel that power in a direction that can drive system-level change.”

For some people, that means building on the desire to address the climate crisis by stepping into the unknown. “I’ve spent time looking at a range of definitions of activism, and the one I most resonate comes from an activist friend of mine. She talked about activism as being about seeing your edge, and then finding the courage to step beyond it. I love that so much because it means activism is a relative term,” she says. “For example, someone who has never been to a protest could step beyond that edge by simply joining a march. Speaking up in a meeting where you would have normally stayed quiet is another way to step beyond that edge. So it activism is a relative concept, then it becomes important that we all understand our individual edges so that we can figure out how to push beyond them.”

With partners around the world, Love sees growing momentum for urgent and broad-based action to mitigate the climate crisis. “I’m interested in working with a business that is willing to engage in radical ways regarding the changes we need to see in this world, and a business that understands the importance of being connected to our communities,” she says. “I also like that, as the world’s largest B Corporation, Natura &Co has the framework in place that allows its leaders to take on the sorts of decisions we know are important. It is also a business that understands what it means to be global by operating across both the Global North and the Global South.”