The contribution that companies can make to face current and future environmental and social challenges and the ability to reconcile financial performance and social responsibility are some of the major topics under discussion at the APED Retail Summit | Better Together.

To launch the debate and present an innovative vision on this theme, APED is bringing Paul Polman, one of the global references in this area and co-author of the best-seller “Net Positive – Positive Difference: Courageous Companies Give More Than They Take Away”, to Lisbon.

At a time when companies from all sectors, and in particular retail and distribution, are challenged to become more competitive, efficient and sustainable, through a rational use of the limited resources at their disposal, reducing their ecological footprint and seeking to ensure the future for the next generations, APED makes an important contribution to placing the debate on corporate social responsibility at the center of the discussion, by bringing to Portugal an unavoidable name on these issues.

Paul Polman argues that it is possible for companies to give more than they take without compromising their bottom line. Co-author of the book “Net Positive – Positive Difference: Courageous Companies Give More Than They Take Away”, Paul Polman believes that today’s challenges will only be overcome through strong and disruptive partnerships within sectors that promote change. He has addressed the need for companies to commit to long-term challenges, based on a multi-stakeholder perspective, as the path to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which he helped develop.