Quotes from Paul Polman

There are billions of people in the world who deserve the better quality of life that products such as soap, shampoo, and clean drinking water can provide.

Forest nations willing to do more than their fair share to solve the climate crisis should be rewarded through results-based payments.

P&G started in 1837, Nestle in 1857. These companies have been around for so long because they are in tune with society. They are very responsible companies, despite the challenges that they sometimes deal with, all the criticism they get.

It cannot be right in a world of increasing human progress - whether in medicine, space exploration or renewable energy - that so many people are denied the most basic human rights.

At the end of the day, people will follow you or people will be energised by you if they buy into your vision or purpose. So the most important thing is to be true to yourself. That's why I would say to be a great leader - you, first and foremost, have to be a great human being. And sharing that purpose and sharing the values.

I work a lot with blind people in my spare time outside of Unilever, and I count my blessings every day.

Unilever brings together the resources and experience of a multinational company alongside our deep local roots, which enables us to grow a genuinely African consumer goods business.

As a consumer goods company serving billions of consumers every day, Unilever understands the drivers and motivations that create the norms that lie behind people's behaviour.

The great challenge of the 21st century is to provide good standards of living for 7 billion people without depleting the earth's resources or running up massive levels of public debt. To achieve this, government and business alike will need to find new models of growth that are in both environmental and economic balance.

Africa's vibrancy and entrepreneurial spirit is un-matched. There's huge potential here to grow business, create jobs, and to improve living standards.

Business has a responsibility and opportunity to be the driving force for the advancement of universal human rights.

The moral case for gender equality is obvious. It should not need any explanation.

We need new, dynamic models for growth through the sharing economy, using big data to unlock new insights and adopting closed-loop cycles.

In certain cases, empowering women starts with making their lives easier and removing unnecessary burdens.

This world is changing enormously. In any position in a company you need to work very hard on learning new skills every day, but you also need to unlearn some of the old skills from the past.

When women are provided with training and entrepreneurial opportunities in distribution networks, they become role models in their communities, showing it is possible to challenge limiting norms and stereotypes, and to succeed.

At Unilever, we operate in 190 countries with two billion people using our products daily. We take climate seriously because we know that it impacts those two billion people - and that means it impacts us, too.

At Unilever, we are committed to building an inclusive organisation where all individuals feel safe, valued, and supported - irrespective of gender, background, or any other difference.

We all have responsibility to stop violence and discrimination against women, whether it's in our businesses, in our homes, or on our streets.

Business must go on reiterating its absolute commitment to embedding human rights in all it does, driving industry change through collaboration with governments, international organizations, and each other.

Around the world, businesses and investors are increasingly taking action to climate-proof their own organizations.

Every region in the world faces challenges - and Africa is hugely diverse, so its own challenges are varied.

We cannot choose between [economic] growth and sustainability - we must have both

Taking proactive action on climate change is essential to ensuring that Unilever remains a viable business in the future. We will also reap the benefits in innovation, new product development, and cost efficiencies.