Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/59979
Students should not be taught a specialist subject on sustainable development that makes it feel like an elective. Because in life, it's not an elective. Sustainable development should be an integrated part of making business decisions. © BP P.L.C. 2005 ciently? Can we make gasolines that have even less carbon in them by using products that come from biological matter? We don't know the answers to these things yet. It's certainly true that themix of energy in the world keeps changing. If you go back 50 years, we were burning a tremen- dous amount of coal, the use of oil was growing very fast, and natural gas was an unusual fuel that only a few people used. Today, natural gas is growing much faster than crude oil. It's more benign to the environment, it'smuch better formaking electricity, and it's much more efficient. Energy makes changes. And I believe it will continue to make changes for a very long time. We're looking at all sorts of energies and saying, "It's too early to pick a winner, but there are some areas where we can apply our skills." We're considering a better oil product and better ways of recovering oil and gas. We're looking at what we can do with photovoltaic energy.We're looking at how we can use wind energy. What's the role of nuclear power? What's the role of hydroelectricity?What's the role of hydro- gen?What's the role of coal? There aremany,many questions that are being asked. I believe the benefit is simply this: When we look at alter- native energy, we remind people that the future is always different from the past. For the future, people want secure supplies of energy, and they absolutely do not wish to harm the environment. No tradeoff, in other words. I believe a company like BP should be able to contribute greatly to solving this problem. BP does business in more than 100 countries, so you understand the need for a global outlook. Business schools today emphasize globalization, but are they successfully preparing their students for careers in an international market? You can't prepare for a career in the global market without going to places and experiencing them. Because, however global the world is, when something happens, it actually hap- pens in a place, not a concept. So the first thing to remember is that students need to get the experience. Second—it cannot be stated too often—every person is different, every place is different, every nation is different, every culture is different. In global business, it's very impor- tant to listen and learn. Nothing should be presumed. Pre- sumption can destroy a relationship, and relationships are needed to understand how to do business. To create the best business globally requires doing business that creates mutual advantage locally. That may be as simple as saying, "I need to change my supply chain to get more local products. To do that, I need to set up some microfi- nance activity to encourage enterprise; and to do that on a sustaining basis, I need to help people get educated in busi- ness principles." It may be as complicated as saying, "To do business here, I need to remediate past environmental prob- lems." Every place is different. There is no recipe, which means students need to go out and get experience. When I began my career, the place to start was America— so I went to America. If I was starting today, I might go to China or India. I would want to have an experience that would last me a very long time. The British magazine Management Today has several times named you its Most Admired Leader. What traits do you think landed you on this list, and what traits do you admire most in other leaders? I believe I'm a work in progress, and I'll always believe that, I hope. I prefer to talk about what I admire and emulate in other leaders. First, I believe that change is a powerful thing in this world. To be effective, you have to keep changing yourself— not necessarily changing your deep values, but what you understand about the world. Second, I think you need to be open. You need to have a touch of humanity. Third, you have to be determined. You have to be very clear. If you have an objective, you should get there; but you should be mindful that perhaps the way from one part of the city to another is not a straight line but through some other roads. I also admire in other people the ability to market great ideas, to communicate in a way that inspires, engages, and aligns people. That's very, very important. Last year, Columbia Business School awarded you the Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics, which goes to an BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005 21