Social value creation, an opportunity of a lifetime | Dan Iversen | TEDxVicenza

Every drop matters and has the power to make change happen. Dan Iversen talks about the importance of companies using their influence for both economic and social advancement, and how through Watermark, the social investment program of Xylem specializing in water resources, positive change has been brought about in the world.

In his job at Xylem, Dan Iversen has created an innovative program of social responsibility to increase awareness of water usage as a collective resource. Dan is the founder of Aqua Semper, a nonprofit organization that supports international companies to support social investment projects. The last five years of his life have been completely dedicated to solving water challenges, and to building towers and water intake systems in the Philippines and Cambodia.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

I have a confession to make:

most of my adult life

I have been working because of money
and because of prestige.

It was not about high moral standards
or creating social value.

It was about money
and it was about prestige.

The more money, the better.
The more prestige, the better.

It's a bit sad, but that's the truth.

But I want so much more
than money and prestige.

I want to make a difference.

Think about it.
We are born as human beings.

We are born, we grow up,
we live our lives, and we die.

The same cycle
you could apply to companies.

They are created,
they start, they develop,

and eventually, many of them die.

So what is the meaning about all of this?
What is the meaning about our work life?

And what is the meaning
about the companies,

more than just giving a profit?

Some of you here have
not even started your working life,

and some of you have, just like me,
been working for decades.

And what's the purpose of that,

and how's that actually link
to creating social value?

What is also the purpose of the companies?

I think, so far, we have talked
about creating social value

as something nonprofit
organizations are doing.

I think we need to change that model.
We need to think in a different way.

And I think this is important and leads
to some very interesting questions.

Think about it, we are working
more than we have ever done before.

For what purpose?

And the markets are flooded
with services and products.

For what purpose?

How can you build a company that can last?

I think one of the answers here

is that we are more clear
about our purpose.

It's all about for us -
as individuals and also the companies -

creating economic and social value.

And if you think about it,
creating economic value

is probably, you know,
it's pretty obvious for us.

As individuals, we need to survive,
we need to pay our mortgages,

have a vacation
once in a while, and so on.

And the companies all also need profit.

They need to invest in employees,
they need to invest in products,

and also give something
back to the owners.

Well, we need to create a new model,
and I see that because of two reasons:

first of all is reason number one,

and that is we are facing
some major challenges in the world.

According to the
World Health Organization,

2.1 billion people lack access
to safe, reliable water every day.

Think about it: 2.1 billion people.

4.5 billion people lack access
to safely managed sanitation.

So when Greta Thunberg,
the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist,

says to the World Economic Forum,

"I don't want your hope,
I want you to act,"

I see that as a proof
that our model has to change,

it has to transition.

The reason number two
is divided between two things:

one thing is the individual part
and the other thing is the company part.

What you see here on the screen,
you know, that is proven for us,

that is things that
are actually given to us

when we are helping and giving to others.

We know from studies
that it activates parts of the brain

that are associated with pressure
when we are helping and giving.

We know when we give back,
we are more likely,

and when we give something,
we are more likely to get it back.

We know also

when we do social value creation,
we build stronger social connection,

and that's one of the things that's proven
to give us a happy and long life,

more than anything else.

So that's, you know,

from an individual perspective,
why we should do this.

If you look from a company perspective,
the business case is very, very good.

We need here - a company needs a mission.

Why are we here?

And that needs to go beyond profit.

And we need that mission
to spark a purpose,

and that purpose, as I said before,
is so important because the purpose,

that's where employees
and customers will buy into.

And also talent.

Young people today
don't want money and prestige only.

They also want to make
a difference in the world.

That purpose will create
engagement in your workforce.

That engagement
will give more productivity.

More productivity is equal to profit.

So it's a very good business case
in creating social value.

And the Edelman Trust Barometer,
they confirm that.

They say that 73% of us believe

that we would rather be in a company

that creates both social
and economic value.

Before I get too carried away about this,

I just want to give
everybody here a word of warning.

If you were to hear a TED Talk
about social value creation,

or you think this is the new Black
and you want to do this as a leader

and you're not really engaged,

you will fail.

In order to do so, you need to be sincere,
you need to be honest,

and this needs to be delivered
with integrity;

otherwise, both your employees
and your customers will see you're a fake.

I would like to give you an example
that we have tried in real life.

It's Xylem Watermark.

I come from a company
where we have 17,000 people.

We are dedicated to solve
the world's water challenges.

We do that by producing solutions

to transport, to treat, to analyze,
and to data [manage] water -

so where we can get
what we call "smart water" moving

to solve the challenges we have.

In 2008, we started
a program called Watermark,

and so far, we have supported
3.5 million people in 55 countries.

So what we do here
is that we go to countries.

We make water towers to make sure
that people have access to clean water.

When we had the situation
in Thailand with the cave,

where the 12 boys
were there with their coach,

we were one of the companies

that supported the team there
to get the boys out.

But we also do things
on a smaller scale,

so in the office where I am, you know,

we bake cakes and we sell them,
and the money we donate to Watermark.

We wash the cars of the neighbors,

and the money for that,
we donate to Watermark.

Or we do a football tournament,

and we take 10 euros
from each person participating,

and we donate these monies to Watermark.

All of this is small stuff.
Let's try to see how it works.

(Video)

Narrator: Because this
same spirit of respect,

responsibility, integrity, and creativity

that makes us invaluable to our customers

is even more valuable
to communities in need around the world

and knows where we live
and work every day.

To our corporate citizenship initiative,
Xylem Watermark,

we provide safe water resources

to remote villages
in the Philippines and India,

protect water resources
in the rural areas of China and Brazil,

educate children from Cambodia
to Columbia about water,

and work with local nonprofits and NGOs
to help solve local water issues.

We do all of this so people everywhere

have a better chance at living
healthy, prosperous and sustainable lives.

But none of these profound changes
happen on their own.

First, it requires great partners,
and we have the best,

but the most vital component
in making a difference

is the collective action of our people.

The power and passion

of more than 16,500 employees
is enough to change the world.

So when we volunteered to put our hands

and our feet and our hearts
and our minds into action,

we helped Haiti, Houston,
and Puerto Rico recover.

We make rivers in Germany
and North Carolina cleaner

and our neighbors wiser.

We give children
a chance at a better future.

And we come to understand
why it is we do what we do.

Woman: Thanks to this donation,

our community is going
to be able to have water.

Man: It's very difficult to comprehend.

It's massive for these guys.
It's massive for them.

Narrator: In 2016,
we made a bold proclamation:

Xylem colleagues would dedicate
100,000 hours of time

to water-related volunteer activities
by the end of 2018,

and we're well on our way
to meeting that goal.

Xylem. Let's solve water.

(Video ends)

(Applause)

Dan Iversen: Thank you too.

If you're sitting now and saying,
"How do we start this?"

you know, when something new starts,
it's always a bit vulnerable,

and that was also the case
when we started this in the company.

I was doubting myself.

I remember some of my colleagues said,

"Well, this will go over.
It's a virus, you know, it will go away,"

but it didn't, and like many other things,
it was dependent on leadership.

In 2014, we had a new CEO,
and he started to change our look at this,

and he said to us as leaders

that he looked a bit on Watermark
like a business unit.

So he gave us individual targets.

I had to do that many individual hours,

volunteer hours.

So, he also did that
for the business unit I was leading,

and that changed that.

And more important than everything else,

he had and he has a really honest desire

to make a difference in the world
with the company.

The big difference
for myself came in 2015.

We, Watermark, had until then been
internal for us as colleagues.

We now decided to spread
this more around the world,

so we invited 12 customers to build
four water towers in the Philippines.

It was an idea. It was a test.

We didn't know it would work,
but the result was quite amazing.

I remember, in the evening,
after building the water towers,

I took my phone,
and I recorded the customers.

And I asked them this simple question,
"How has the day been for you?"

And they answered that question,
and they started to cry,

and then I started to cry -
that's not the goal in itself,

but it just showed that something here
was truly, truly amazing.

I think that's one of the formulas here
in creating social value.

We shouldn't talk so much about it.
We should actually go and do it.

And remember, this is so rewarding.

When you see a child that's learning
something new in school

or you see a child that sees
clean water for the first time

or the customer crying
in front of you, it's so rewarding.

It's contagious.

I've seen some funny stuff on these trips.

I will show you now a clip
that was done last year in Cambodia.

I was there with customers from UK
and from France, in Siem Reap Province.

(Video)

DI: Hey.

So now we have put up the tower
here with our customers.

It took us around a couple hours,
and we're almost ready to fill in water,

and what we're doing over here

is that some of the customers
and my colleagues

are actually training the kids
in how to have a high level of hygiene.

So we tell them how to wash their hands

and these things they're doing right now.

As you can see, they are having
a lot of fun over here,

so we're almost there
and in, I think, half an hour,

we'll finalize
and put water in the system.

I'll be back.

(Video ends)

(Applause)

DI: Thank you very much, and you know,
think about it, this is contagious.

And why is this contagious?

I think it's contagious
because it goes away

from the rational stats
about the challenges we have.

We all know about that.

Then it goes into the personal reaction
you see when you help people

and the personal gain we have ourselves
when we are helping others.

Well, we have to change the model.

That means, we also, as leaders,
have to change the way we're doing things.

In 2016, I took a decision as a leader.

I took the decision,

a bit tough, but I took the decision:

You cannot be in my part
of the organization

if you don't buy into the idea
of social value creation.

I don't care how talented
you are, how good you are.

If you don't buy into that idea,

you must strive, grow,
perform, and be happy

in another organization, not with me.

So in the end, I don't think
we really have a choice.

As individuals and as companies,

we need to create
both social and economic value.

It's pretty simple.

So I'm asking you,

what will you do to make
a difference in the world?

What gives you a purpose?

What gives your life
personal growth and learning?

And remember, it doesn't have
to be big and fancy and [overt].

It just has to bring value
to someone and to yourself.

Good luck in making
a difference in the world.

Thank you.

(Applause)