1
00:00:11,667 --> 00:00:14,001
Let me start by asking you a question.

2
00:00:14,583 --> 00:00:18,731
Imagine you decided to buy a new T-shirt

3
00:00:18,732 --> 00:00:21,737
so you drive to your favorite shop,

4
00:00:21,738 --> 00:00:23,524
you look at the choice they offer,

5
00:00:23,525 --> 00:00:25,998
and you narrow it down to two T-shirts

6
00:00:25,999 --> 00:00:28,298
that you find more or less equally cool.

7
00:00:28,299 --> 00:00:30,247
You hold them in your hands,

8
00:00:30,248 --> 00:00:32,610
and you know that one of them
comes from a company

9
00:00:32,610 --> 00:00:37,674
that is known for very decent
working conditions in the production.

10
00:00:37,675 --> 00:00:40,698
No child labor, fair wages.

11
00:00:40,699 --> 00:00:44,380
You know it doesn't include
toxic chemicals for the coloring,

12
00:00:44,381 --> 00:00:47,055
and it's made with organic cotton.

13
00:00:47,056 --> 00:00:48,797
The T-shirt in the other hand,

14
00:00:48,798 --> 00:00:52,126
as you remember
from the media, a week before,

15
00:00:52,127 --> 00:00:53,778
comes from a brand quite notorious

16
00:00:53,779 --> 00:00:56,086
for so-called "sweat shop"
working conditions.

17
00:00:56,087 --> 00:00:57,876
So, maybe child labor,

18
00:00:57,877 --> 00:00:59,746
certainly, no fair wages,

19
00:00:59,747 --> 00:01:03,304
full of toxic chemicals, and not organic.

20
00:01:04,529 --> 00:01:08,130
As I told you, you like them
more or less the same.

21
00:01:08,131 --> 00:01:11,249
Who of you would, in that situation,

22
00:01:11,250 --> 00:01:13,186
pick the more responsible T-shirt?

23
00:01:13,187 --> 00:01:15,236
Please raise your hand.

24
00:01:18,027 --> 00:01:19,228
OK.

25
00:01:21,218 --> 00:01:22,628
That's a majority.

26
00:01:23,688 --> 00:01:28,139
Now think about the last time
you bought a T-shirt.

27
00:01:29,352 --> 00:01:31,605
Did you take into consideration

28
00:01:31,606 --> 00:01:36,256
the social and environmental aspects
of your decision?

29
00:01:36,257 --> 00:01:38,639
Did you think about

30
00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,604
the social and environmental performance
of the brands behind the T-shirt?

31
00:01:43,113 --> 00:01:46,678
Or the last time you bought
a computer, or a smartphone?

32
00:01:47,186 --> 00:01:50,274
Did you check for
the human rights conditions

33
00:01:50,287 --> 00:01:52,730
in the production of these products?

34
00:01:54,792 --> 00:01:56,209
Probably not.

35
00:01:58,884 --> 00:02:03,813
What you have here is
the so-called "intention-behavior gap."

36
00:02:05,093 --> 00:02:07,362
We have all the best intentions,

37
00:02:07,363 --> 00:02:10,458
but when it comes
to the real decision making,

38
00:02:11,396 --> 00:02:12,957
we forget about it,

39
00:02:12,958 --> 00:02:17,737
or we have many reasons
why in that moment we cannot do it.

40
00:02:17,738 --> 00:02:19,247
What drives that gap?

41
00:02:19,248 --> 00:02:20,660
So why does it exist?

42
00:02:20,661 --> 00:02:23,751
Why do we so often fail
to do what we intend to do

43
00:02:23,752 --> 00:02:25,621
when it comes to sustainability?

44
00:02:26,677 --> 00:02:29,748
You might think
it has to do with information.

45
00:02:31,129 --> 00:02:34,083
So if we just would know
about all these things,

46
00:02:34,084 --> 00:02:36,293
then we would make better decisions,

47
00:02:36,294 --> 00:02:40,228
more informed, more responsible
decisions as consumers.

48
00:02:41,263 --> 00:02:44,121
Think about April 2013,

49
00:02:45,247 --> 00:02:49,096
when this garment factory
collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

50
00:02:49,781 --> 00:02:52,355
You have seen these pictures on the news.

51
00:02:52,832 --> 00:02:55,831
You might even recall
some of the brand names.

52
00:02:56,195 --> 00:02:57,756
Brands being produced there.

53
00:02:57,757 --> 00:03:01,046
You might even have bought
these brands before or afterwards.

54
00:03:01,589 --> 00:03:03,458
One year earlier,

55
00:03:03,459 --> 00:03:08,210
you certainly heard of the story
about the workers at Foxconn,

56
00:03:08,214 --> 00:03:12,026
the factory producing
smartphones and computers,

57
00:03:12,027 --> 00:03:14,096
jumping from the roofs of the factory

58
00:03:14,097 --> 00:03:17,565
because of the desperation
for their working conditions.

59
00:03:18,825 --> 00:03:22,111
You all know that you might be
the last generation eating tuna fish.

60
00:03:22,959 --> 00:03:26,209
You have heard all these stories
about child labor and slave labor

61
00:03:26,210 --> 00:03:31,334
in chocolate, in sugar, in gold,
in coltan, you name it.

62
00:03:32,706 --> 00:03:34,870
If you've never heard
about all these things,

63
00:03:34,871 --> 00:03:37,618
you've probably spent
the last 20 years on an island,

64
00:03:37,619 --> 00:03:39,399
like Robinson Crusoe.

65
00:03:39,417 --> 00:03:43,858
So information is not the problem.
Information is not the problem.

66
00:03:43,859 --> 00:03:46,648
We are very good in shifting
the blame somewhere else

67
00:03:46,667 --> 00:03:50,666
and rationalising
our own unsustainable decisions.

68
00:03:50,667 --> 00:03:57,251
We shift the blame on the corporations.
We say it's about production problems.

69
00:03:57,251 --> 00:03:59,695
So we frame it
as a problem of production.

70
00:03:59,696 --> 00:04:02,347
We ask corporations
to change their behavior.

71
00:04:02,348 --> 00:04:04,469
There's some truth in that as well,

72
00:04:04,470 --> 00:04:06,254
but that's only part of the story

73
00:04:06,255 --> 00:04:09,678
because basically,
the sustainability problems

74
00:04:09,679 --> 00:04:13,770
that we face today
are problems of our way of life.

75
00:04:15,227 --> 00:04:16,750
We want more stuff,

76
00:04:16,750 --> 00:04:20,834
at an ever higher speed
and an ever lower price.

77
00:04:21,382 --> 00:04:23,103
So we are part of the problem.

78
00:04:23,104 --> 00:04:27,446
It's not just about improving
the current production conditions,

79
00:04:27,447 --> 00:04:30,895
it's also about changing
the culture of consumption.

80
00:04:31,918 --> 00:04:33,784
So it's not about information.

81
00:04:34,334 --> 00:04:38,960
What is it that explains this gap
between intentions and behavior?

82
00:04:40,454 --> 00:04:43,835
Most of the time, when we make
decisions as consumers,

83
00:04:43,836 --> 00:04:48,541
we do so in an automatic way,
we cruise on auto-pilot.

84
00:04:48,542 --> 00:04:52,293
We act without thinking.
It's just routine decisions.

85
00:04:52,324 --> 00:04:56,792
It's deeply embedded,
taken-for-granted habits

86
00:04:56,793 --> 00:04:58,861
that drive our behavior.

87
00:04:58,862 --> 00:05:01,063
Just think about the last time

88
00:05:01,064 --> 00:05:05,105
you tried not to check emails
on your smartphone.

89
00:05:05,817 --> 00:05:07,393
You probably failed.

90
00:05:08,474 --> 00:05:11,158
Habits can be stronger than reason.

91
00:05:11,877 --> 00:05:15,603
So if you want to make
consumption more sustainable,

92
00:05:15,604 --> 00:05:18,494
we have to reprogram habits.

93
00:05:19,113 --> 00:05:21,502
You must imagine a habit like an iceberg.

94
00:05:21,503 --> 00:05:25,018
What you can see on the surface
is the behavior.

95
00:05:25,667 --> 00:05:30,320
What you cannot see under the water
are the values and beliefs

96
00:05:30,321 --> 00:05:33,194
that drive that behavior.

97
00:05:34,375 --> 00:05:37,126
So if you want to change someone's habit,

98
00:05:37,162 --> 00:05:38,289
which is not easy,

99
00:05:38,290 --> 00:05:42,220
you can either
directly target the behavior,

100
00:05:42,221 --> 00:05:46,263
let's assume we would try
to get rid of the habit of smoking,

101
00:05:46,264 --> 00:05:50,294
so we can we make it illegal
to smoke in public places.

102
00:05:50,919 --> 00:05:53,474
You directly target the behavior.

103
00:05:53,475 --> 00:05:58,417
Or you can target the values
and beliefs under the water

104
00:05:58,418 --> 00:06:01,245
that drive the behavior
in the first place,

105
00:06:01,247 --> 00:06:02,958
which is much more difficult,

106
00:06:02,959 --> 00:06:06,300
but which creates much profounder changes.

107
00:06:07,723 --> 00:06:11,779
How do we normally speak
to these values and beliefs?

108
00:06:11,780 --> 00:06:16,655
We speak to these values and beliefs
in our society through stories.

109
00:06:18,235 --> 00:06:24,218
Stories shape, and reinforce,
and break habits.

110
00:06:24,959 --> 00:06:29,751
Just think about
how children love fairy-tales,

111
00:06:30,312 --> 00:06:34,024
how we transport values
and beliefs through fairy-tales.

112
00:06:34,288 --> 00:06:38,380
Think about how the old
ancient Greek and Roman societies

113
00:06:38,381 --> 00:06:41,630
were guided by strong mythologies,

114
00:06:42,353 --> 00:06:46,746
highly complex stories that guided
the behavior of people in everyday life.

115
00:06:48,100 --> 00:06:51,539
If you want to stop smoking,
for instance, to go back to that story,

116
00:06:51,540 --> 00:06:54,272
you can either make it illegal
in public places,

117
00:06:54,273 --> 00:06:57,740
or you can reprogram
the beliefs and values

118
00:06:57,750 --> 00:07:00,167
that drive that behavior.

119
00:07:00,915 --> 00:07:04,785
The tobacco industry is very good
in creating these stories.

120
00:07:04,786 --> 00:07:06,367
For teenagers, they create

121
00:07:06,368 --> 00:07:10,337
a story of coolness,
and risk, and adulthood.

122
00:07:10,338 --> 00:07:12,054
That's exactly what teenagers want.

123
00:07:12,055 --> 00:07:15,628
So they will smoke
as long as they believe it's cool,

124
00:07:15,629 --> 00:07:18,109
and it's promoting their growing up.

125
00:07:18,110 --> 00:07:23,508
For women, they used the story
of emancipation and sexiness.

126
00:07:24,129 --> 00:07:25,678
For poor people in Africa,

127
00:07:25,679 --> 00:07:28,988
they used the story
of the European prosperity,

128
00:07:28,989 --> 00:07:32,724
"You can reach it a little bit
if you start smoking."

129
00:07:32,725 --> 00:07:35,638
So if you want to change a habit,

130
00:07:35,645 --> 00:07:39,244
you have to find stories
that are stronger and more powerful

131
00:07:39,245 --> 00:07:42,140
than the stories that drive
the behavior in the first place.

132
00:07:42,141 --> 00:07:45,895
The problem
of the sustainability movement

133
00:07:45,896 --> 00:07:49,086
is that it has no stories to tell,

134
00:07:49,745 --> 00:07:54,321
no stories that are powerful enough
to break the power of the story

135
00:07:54,322 --> 00:07:57,336
that drives our consumption
in the first place.

136
00:07:57,337 --> 00:07:58,908
What is that story about?

137
00:07:58,909 --> 00:08:04,159
This is basically the story
of the 20th century consumer society.

138
00:08:05,725 --> 00:08:09,790
It is a story that grew over decades
and became stronger and stronger.

139
00:08:09,791 --> 00:08:14,204
It starts with the positive
outlook on the future.

140
00:08:14,205 --> 00:08:17,032
We believe in a bright future.

141
00:08:17,033 --> 00:08:19,164
We believe that technology leads us there.

142
00:08:19,165 --> 00:08:21,032
We put a man on the Moon.

143
00:08:21,892 --> 00:08:25,733
Technology will make
our production system ever more efficient,

144
00:08:25,734 --> 00:08:30,051
so we can produce more stuff
at higher speed and lower costs.

145
00:08:30,459 --> 00:08:36,082
We buy that stuff because by buying
stuff we become someone,

146
00:08:36,082 --> 00:08:41,207
we belong somewhere,
we increase our happiness.

147
00:08:41,219 --> 00:08:43,710
So the story that drives our behavior

148
00:08:43,711 --> 00:08:47,709
is the story that makes a link
between technological progress,

149
00:08:48,911 --> 00:08:53,288
economic efficiency, growth,
consumption, and happiness.

150
00:08:53,731 --> 00:08:57,651
And you feel the happiness
in the immediate gratification,

151
00:08:57,661 --> 00:09:00,841
when you bought
the T-shirt, for instance.

152
00:09:01,959 --> 00:09:03,958
In recent years,

153
00:09:03,959 --> 00:09:07,460
this story has received
a bit of competition.

154
00:09:07,479 --> 00:09:09,934
There's another story going around,

155
00:09:09,935 --> 00:09:13,893
and this is basically the story
about the side effects of the first story.

156
00:09:13,894 --> 00:09:16,394
We learn that when we consume more,

157
00:09:18,601 --> 00:09:22,257
we can increase our happiness
only to a certain degree,

158
00:09:22,258 --> 00:09:23,834
then it falls down.

159
00:09:24,546 --> 00:09:26,604
It's a U-shape; a negative
U-shape, a curve.

160
00:09:26,724 --> 00:09:28,668
negative U shape, a curve.

161
00:09:28,709 --> 00:09:33,834
We smoke, we get cancer.
We eat, we get diabetes.

162
00:09:34,647 --> 00:09:39,616
We buy stuff all the time,
we feel empty and get depressed.

163
00:09:39,617 --> 00:09:41,767
On the level of society we learn

164
00:09:41,780 --> 00:09:44,936
all these consumption decisions aggregate

165
00:09:44,937 --> 00:09:47,271
in large scale environmental problems.

166
00:09:47,834 --> 00:09:51,543
The forest disappears,
the ice is melting,

167
00:09:51,572 --> 00:09:55,694
and in a few decades,
probably Manhattan will be under water.

168
00:09:55,695 --> 00:09:59,785
There will be more migration,
more poverty, more wars, less water.

169
00:09:59,786 --> 00:10:05,410
This is actually
the post-vision of the future.

170
00:10:05,417 --> 00:10:10,376
It's an apocalyptic future.
It's a future that is dystopian.

171
00:10:10,730 --> 00:10:13,551
It's a story about
the collapse of the planet.

172
00:10:15,174 --> 00:10:16,781
So you have these two stories,

173
00:10:16,782 --> 00:10:19,235
the utopian story about your happiness,

174
00:10:19,236 --> 00:10:22,954
and the dystopian story
about the end of the world.

175
00:10:22,955 --> 00:10:25,350
Next time you go in a shop
and buy a T-shirt,

176
00:10:25,351 --> 00:10:28,295
you will hear two voices in your ear.

177
00:10:28,296 --> 00:10:31,576
One voice will tell you,
"why don't you buy both?"

178
00:10:31,577 --> 00:10:33,077
(Laughter)

179
00:10:33,078 --> 00:10:34,933
"You double your happiness."

180
00:10:34,934 --> 00:10:36,110
(Laughter)

181
00:10:36,111 --> 00:10:39,900
But you might start to doubt
about the evidence of that.

182
00:10:40,756 --> 00:10:42,722
So there's the other story,

183
00:10:43,308 --> 00:10:45,581
"Do you really need a T-shirt?"

184
00:10:45,582 --> 00:10:50,192
OK, if you need it, buy
the organic one. the fair one.

185
00:10:50,193 --> 00:10:51,942
...and did you come by bus?

186
00:10:51,943 --> 00:10:53,318
(Laughter)

187
00:10:53,319 --> 00:10:56,043
Did you switch off the light
when you left your house?

188
00:10:57,010 --> 00:11:00,652
If you did all these things,
you might save the planet.

189
00:11:01,829 --> 00:11:04,755
Saving the planet
by switching off the light?

190
00:11:05,555 --> 00:11:08,440
Two days ago,
I was walking through London,

191
00:11:08,441 --> 00:11:10,557
and there was a printing shop,

192
00:11:10,578 --> 00:11:13,323
which obviously used
some advanced green technology

193
00:11:13,324 --> 00:11:15,269
because in their window,

194
00:11:15,270 --> 00:11:18,560
they invited me to save
the planet with them.

195
00:11:19,430 --> 00:11:23,777
I didn't know that this planet will be
saved by a printing shop in London.

196
00:11:23,778 --> 00:11:27,498
And what I assume is
that these kind of stories

197
00:11:27,499 --> 00:11:30,494
are just an insult
to our minds, to our intelligence.

198
00:11:30,495 --> 00:11:31,884
We don't believe them.

199
00:11:31,885 --> 00:11:35,533
We don't believe
this strange causal link

200
00:11:35,534 --> 00:11:40,256
between our little decisions
and the apocalyptic future.

201
00:11:40,257 --> 00:11:42,028
So these stories are not credible.

202
00:11:42,029 --> 00:11:43,966
They don't speak to our minds.

203
00:11:43,967 --> 00:11:49,822
If they come in the negative form,
we are doomed, the planet is lost.

204
00:11:51,491 --> 00:11:53,351
They don't speak to our emotions,

205
00:11:53,352 --> 00:11:57,843
because they appeal to fear,
they give us no hope.

206
00:11:57,844 --> 00:12:01,383
But fear only drives behavior
when the threat is immediate.

207
00:12:02,616 --> 00:12:06,403
Manhattan will be under water
when I will be dead,

208
00:12:06,404 --> 00:12:07,931
and you as well.

209
00:12:08,944 --> 00:12:10,797
So this doesn't drive my behavior.

210
00:12:10,798 --> 00:12:12,653
This story is not strong enough

211
00:12:12,654 --> 00:12:16,032
to break the power
of the immediate happiness

212
00:12:16,033 --> 00:12:18,738
that I can get when I buy both T-shirts.

213
00:12:19,301 --> 00:12:20,573
We need different stories.

214
00:12:20,574 --> 00:12:23,619
We need stories that include ourselves.

215
00:12:23,620 --> 00:12:28,143
There are stories about our happiness
connected to the well-being of the planet,

216
00:12:28,144 --> 00:12:30,085
stories of our future,

217
00:12:30,086 --> 00:12:33,096
in which we are the actors
who make the decisions

218
00:12:33,097 --> 00:12:34,725
and feel the change.

219
00:12:35,695 --> 00:12:37,035
This might be a bit abstract

220
00:12:37,036 --> 00:12:40,292
so let me tell you a story
about such a story.

221
00:12:40,822 --> 00:12:42,835
I don't know how you would feel

222
00:12:42,836 --> 00:12:47,171
if you hear that in your neighbourhood
a new fast food restaurant is opening up.

223
00:12:47,716 --> 00:12:49,848
You might not even care,

224
00:12:49,849 --> 00:12:53,451
but this is a story about someone
who got really really angry

225
00:12:53,452 --> 00:12:57,048
when he heard that MacDonald's
was opening a new restaurant

226
00:12:57,049 --> 00:12:59,566
at the Spanish Steps in Rome;

227
00:12:59,567 --> 00:13:04,598
the Spanish Steps in Rome, at the heart
of the cultural heritage of Italy -

228
00:13:05,460 --> 00:13:10,481
fast food, the opposition
of what Italians are so proud of,

229
00:13:10,482 --> 00:13:11,719
their food.

230
00:13:12,417 --> 00:13:14,126
This guy was Carlo Pertini,

231
00:13:14,153 --> 00:13:16,029
and he channeled his anger

232
00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,979
by creating the slow food movement.

233
00:13:19,404 --> 00:13:23,061
The slow food movement
basically, is a movement

234
00:13:23,062 --> 00:13:25,264
that fights against this broad nexus

235
00:13:25,265 --> 00:13:30,159
of industrialized,
mechanical food production

236
00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,446
and mindless, unhealthy
food consumption,

237
00:13:33,459 --> 00:13:36,293
from the Monsantos to the MacDonald's.

238
00:13:38,292 --> 00:13:40,918
This movement was created
by Carlo Petrini

239
00:13:40,924 --> 00:13:44,353
because he believes
that we have to change the way we eat.

240
00:13:45,501 --> 00:13:50,141
We have to eat
local food, healthy food.

241
00:13:50,142 --> 00:13:51,848
We have to produce locally.

242
00:13:51,849 --> 00:13:55,702
We have to protect our biodiversity,
our cultural heritage.

243
00:13:55,703 --> 00:13:58,149
We have to recreate the link that is lost

244
00:13:58,150 --> 00:14:00,746
between the producer and the consumer.

245
00:14:00,747 --> 00:14:05,559
We have to educate consumers
and producers to change their habits.

246
00:14:07,125 --> 00:14:12,167
This story that started
as a little Italian episode

247
00:14:12,167 --> 00:14:14,001
has become a huge global movement,

248
00:14:14,002 --> 00:14:18,546
with more than 100,000 actors
in more than 150 countries.

249
00:14:19,795 --> 00:14:22,278
Why is this story so powerful?

250
00:14:24,665 --> 00:14:28,733
This story is so powerful
because we all can connect to it.

251
00:14:30,114 --> 00:14:33,200
You have concerns
about the health of your children,

252
00:14:33,201 --> 00:14:34,854
you can connect to it.

253
00:14:36,770 --> 00:14:41,194
You hate the growing influence
of multinationals on the way we eat,

254
00:14:41,473 --> 00:14:42,898
you can connect to it.

255
00:14:44,290 --> 00:14:47,587
You are a promoter of local traditions,

256
00:14:48,159 --> 00:14:49,686
you can connect to it.

257
00:14:51,322 --> 00:14:53,820
You want to preserve biodiversity,

258
00:14:53,821 --> 00:14:55,589
you can connect to it.

259
00:14:55,590 --> 00:14:58,868
You want to help poor farmers
somewhere in Latin America

260
00:14:59,359 --> 00:15:02,963
at the end of the supply chains
of our production system,

261
00:15:02,976 --> 00:15:04,738
you can connect to that story.

262
00:15:04,739 --> 00:15:07,441
We all can somehow connect to that story

263
00:15:07,442 --> 00:15:12,104
through our own beliefs
and values in that very moment.

264
00:15:13,020 --> 00:15:16,122
What started
as a very small Italian episode

265
00:15:17,083 --> 00:15:20,208
has turned into a trans-cultural movement,

266
00:15:20,211 --> 00:15:24,503
because it is a story
that speaks to everyone, potentially.

267
00:15:27,129 --> 00:15:32,359
So, the next time you speak
with your children

268
00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:36,408
about sustainability, ask yourself,
"What kind of story will I tell them?"

269
00:15:37,194 --> 00:15:38,549
And keep in mind

270
00:15:38,550 --> 00:15:42,445
it has to be a story about yourself,
and your children, and your future.

271
00:15:43,135 --> 00:15:45,349
When you are a manager, ask yourself,

272
00:15:45,350 --> 00:15:48,662
"How do I talk about sustainability
with my clients?"

273
00:15:49,962 --> 00:15:51,833
You probably in the past talked about

274
00:15:51,834 --> 00:15:54,513
the greatness of your engagement,

275
00:15:54,514 --> 00:15:56,288
your wonderful products.

276
00:15:56,289 --> 00:15:59,733
These are small stories
that will not change the world

277
00:15:59,734 --> 00:16:02,440
You need a great story
to which many people can connect,

278
00:16:02,441 --> 00:16:05,182
in many industries
and in many circumstances.

279
00:16:06,061 --> 00:16:10,085
When you are a teacher, ask yourself,
"How can I inspire my students?"

280
00:16:10,918 --> 00:16:16,293
As a journalist, your readers.
As a politician, your citizens.

281
00:16:17,392 --> 00:16:20,344
Yes, we need more technology
and better technology

282
00:16:20,345 --> 00:16:22,313
to improve the state of the world,

283
00:16:22,314 --> 00:16:25,410
but what we have underestimated so far

284
00:16:25,818 --> 00:16:29,120
is this amazing soft power
of storytelling.

285
00:16:29,125 --> 00:16:33,412
We're telling the wrong stories,
and we have to change that.

286
00:16:33,413 --> 00:16:34,673
Thank you.

287
00:16:34,674 --> 00:16:36,190
(Applause)