Responsible consumption - the soft power of storytelling | Guido Palazzo | TEDxLausanne
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0:12 - 0:14Let me start by asking you a question.
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0:15 - 0:19Imagine you decided to buy a new T-shirt
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0:19 - 0:22so you drive to your favorite shop,
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0:22 - 0:24you look at the choice they offer,
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0:24 - 0:26and you narrow it down to two T-shirts
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0:26 - 0:28that you find more or less equally cool.
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0:28 - 0:30You hold them in your hands,
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0:30 - 0:33and you know that one of them
comes from a company -
0:33 - 0:38that is known for very decent
working conditions in the production. -
0:38 - 0:41No child labor, fair wages.
-
0:41 - 0:44You know it doesn't include
toxic chemicals for the coloring, -
0:44 - 0:47and it's made with organic cotton.
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0:47 - 0:49The T-shirt in the other hand,
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0:49 - 0:52as you remember
from the media, a week before, -
0:52 - 0:54comes from a brand quite notorious
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0:54 - 0:56for so-called "sweat shop"
working conditions. -
0:56 - 0:58So, maybe child labor,
-
0:58 - 1:00certainly, no fair wages,
-
1:00 - 1:03full of toxic chemicals, and not organic.
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1:05 - 1:08As I told you, you like them
more or less the same. -
1:08 - 1:11Who of you would, in that situation,
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1:11 - 1:13pick the more responsible T-shirt?
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1:13 - 1:15Please raise your hand.
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1:18 - 1:19OK.
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1:21 - 1:23That's a majority.
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1:24 - 1:28Now think about the last time
you bought a T-shirt. -
1:29 - 1:32Did you take into consideration
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1:32 - 1:36the social and environmental aspects
of your decision? -
1:36 - 1:39Did you think about
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1:39 - 1:43the social and environmental performance
of the brands behind the T-shirt? -
1:43 - 1:47Or the last time you bought
a computer, or a smartphone? -
1:47 - 1:50Did you check for
the human rights conditions -
1:50 - 1:53in the production of these products?
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1:55 - 1:56Probably not.
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1:59 - 2:04What you have here is
the so-called "intention-behavior gap." -
2:05 - 2:07We have all the best intentions,
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2:07 - 2:10but when it comes
to the real decision making, -
2:11 - 2:13we forget about it,
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2:13 - 2:18or we have many reasons
why in that moment we cannot do it. -
2:18 - 2:19What drives that gap?
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2:19 - 2:21So why does it exist?
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2:21 - 2:24Why do we so often fail
to do what we intend to do -
2:24 - 2:26when it comes to sustainability?
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2:27 - 2:30You might think
it has to do with information. -
2:31 - 2:34So if we just would know
about all these things, -
2:34 - 2:36then we would make better decisions,
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2:36 - 2:40more informed, more responsible
decisions as consumers. -
2:41 - 2:44Think about April 2013,
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2:45 - 2:49when this garment factory
collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. -
2:50 - 2:52You have seen these pictures on the news.
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2:53 - 2:56You might even recall
some of the brand names. -
2:56 - 2:58Brands being produced there.
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2:58 - 3:01You might even have bought
these brands before or afterwards. -
3:02 - 3:03One year earlier,
-
3:03 - 3:08you certainly heard of the story
about the workers at Foxconn, -
3:08 - 3:12the factory producing
smartphones and computers, -
3:12 - 3:14jumping from the roofs of the factory
-
3:14 - 3:18because of the desperation
for their working conditions. -
3:19 - 3:22You all know that you might be
the last generation eating tuna fish. -
3:23 - 3:26You have heard all these stories
about child labor and slave labor -
3:26 - 3:31in chocolate, in sugar, in gold,
in coltan, you name it. -
3:33 - 3:35If you've never heard
about all these things, -
3:35 - 3:38you've probably spent
the last 20 years on an island, -
3:38 - 3:39like Robinson Crusoe.
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3:39 - 3:44So information is not the problem.
Information is not the problem. -
3:44 - 3:47We are very good in shifting
the blame somewhere else -
3:47 - 3:51and rationalising
our own unsustainable decisions. -
3:51 - 3:57We shift the blame on the corporations.
We say it's about production problems. -
3:57 - 4:00So we frame it
as a problem of production. -
4:00 - 4:02We ask corporations
to change their behavior. -
4:02 - 4:04There's some truth in that as well,
-
4:04 - 4:06but that's only part of the story
-
4:06 - 4:10because basically,
the sustainability problems -
4:10 - 4:14that we face today
are problems of our way of life. -
4:15 - 4:17We want more stuff,
-
4:17 - 4:21at an ever higher speed
and an ever lower price. -
4:21 - 4:23So we are part of the problem.
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4:23 - 4:27It's not just about improving
the current production conditions, -
4:27 - 4:31it's also about changing
the culture of consumption. -
4:32 - 4:34So it's not about information.
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4:34 - 4:39What is it that explains this gap
between intentions and behavior? -
4:40 - 4:44Most of the time, when we make
decisions as consumers, -
4:44 - 4:49we do so in an automatic way,
we cruise on auto-pilot. -
4:49 - 4:52We act without thinking.
It's just routine decisions. -
4:52 - 4:57It's deeply embedded,
taken-for-granted habits -
4:57 - 4:59that drive our behavior.
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4:59 - 5:01Just think about the last time
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5:01 - 5:05you tried not to check emails
on your smartphone. -
5:06 - 5:07You probably failed.
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5:08 - 5:11Habits can be stronger than reason.
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5:12 - 5:16So if you want to make
consumption more sustainable, -
5:16 - 5:18we have to reprogram habits.
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5:19 - 5:22You must imagine a habit like an iceberg.
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5:22 - 5:25What you can see on the surface
is the behavior. -
5:26 - 5:30What you cannot see under the water
are the values and beliefs -
5:30 - 5:33that drive that behavior.
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5:34 - 5:37So if you want to change someone's habit,
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5:37 - 5:38which is not easy,
-
5:38 - 5:42you can either
directly target the behavior, -
5:42 - 5:46let's assume we would try
to get rid of the habit of smoking, -
5:46 - 5:50so we can we make it illegal
to smoke in public places. -
5:51 - 5:53You directly target the behavior.
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5:53 - 5:58Or you can target the values
and beliefs under the water -
5:58 - 6:01that drive the behavior
in the first place, -
6:01 - 6:03which is much more difficult,
-
6:03 - 6:06but which creates much profounder changes.
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6:08 - 6:12How do we normally speak
to these values and beliefs? -
6:12 - 6:17We speak to these values and beliefs
in our society through stories. -
6:18 - 6:24Stories shape, and reinforce,
and break habits. -
6:25 - 6:30Just think about
how children love fairy-tales, -
6:30 - 6:34how we transport values
and beliefs through fairy-tales. -
6:34 - 6:38Think about how the old
ancient Greek and Roman societies -
6:38 - 6:42were guided by strong mythologies,
-
6:42 - 6:47highly complex stories that guided
the behavior of people in everyday life. -
6:48 - 6:52If you want to stop smoking,
for instance, to go back to that story, -
6:52 - 6:54you can either make it illegal
in public places, -
6:54 - 6:58or you can reprogram
the beliefs and values -
6:58 - 7:00that drive that behavior.
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7:01 - 7:05The tobacco industry is very good
in creating these stories. -
7:05 - 7:06For teenagers, they create
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7:06 - 7:10a story of coolness,
and risk, and adulthood. -
7:10 - 7:12That's exactly what teenagers want.
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7:12 - 7:16So they will smoke
as long as they believe it's cool, -
7:16 - 7:18and it's promoting their growing up.
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7:18 - 7:24For women, they used the story
of emancipation and sexiness. -
7:24 - 7:26For poor people in Africa,
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7:26 - 7:29they used the story
of the European prosperity, -
7:29 - 7:33"You can reach it a little bit
if you start smoking." -
7:33 - 7:36So if you want to change a habit,
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7:36 - 7:39you have to find stories
that are stronger and more powerful -
7:39 - 7:42than the stories that drive
the behavior in the first place. -
7:42 - 7:46The problem
of the sustainability movement -
7:46 - 7:49is that it has no stories to tell,
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7:50 - 7:54no stories that are powerful enough
to break the power of the story -
7:54 - 7:57that drives our consumption
in the first place. -
7:57 - 7:59What is that story about?
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7:59 - 8:04This is basically the story
of the 20th century consumer society. -
8:06 - 8:10It is a story that grew over decades
and became stronger and stronger. -
8:10 - 8:14It starts with the positive
outlook on the future. -
8:14 - 8:17We believe in a bright future.
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8:17 - 8:19We believe that technology leads us there.
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8:19 - 8:21We put a man on the Moon.
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8:22 - 8:26Technology will make
our production system ever more efficient, -
8:26 - 8:30so we can produce more stuff
at higher speed and lower costs. -
8:30 - 8:36We buy that stuff because by buying
stuff we become someone, -
8:36 - 8:41we belong somewhere,
we increase our happiness. -
8:41 - 8:44So the story that drives our behavior
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8:44 - 8:48is the story that makes a link
between technological progress, -
8:49 - 8:53economic efficiency, growth,
consumption, and happiness. -
8:54 - 8:58And you feel the happiness
in the immediate gratification, -
8:58 - 9:01when you bought
the T-shirt, for instance. -
9:02 - 9:04In recent years,
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9:04 - 9:07this story has received
a bit of competition. -
9:07 - 9:10There's another story going around,
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9:10 - 9:14and this is basically the story
about the side effects of the first story. -
9:14 - 9:16We learn that when we consume more,
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9:19 - 9:22we can increase our happiness
only to a certain degree, -
9:22 - 9:24then it falls down.
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9:25 - 9:27It's a U-shape; a negative
U-shape, a curve. -
9:27 - 9:29negative U shape, a curve.
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9:29 - 9:34We smoke, we get cancer.
We eat, we get diabetes. -
9:35 - 9:40We buy stuff all the time,
we feel empty and get depressed. -
9:40 - 9:42On the level of society we learn
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9:42 - 9:45all these consumption decisions aggregate
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9:45 - 9:47in large scale environmental problems.
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9:48 - 9:52The forest disappears,
the ice is melting, -
9:52 - 9:56and in a few decades,
probably Manhattan will be under water. -
9:56 - 10:00There will be more migration,
more poverty, more wars, less water. -
10:00 - 10:05This is actually
the post-vision of the future. -
10:05 - 10:10It's an apocalyptic future.
It's a future that is dystopian. -
10:11 - 10:14It's a story about
the collapse of the planet. -
10:15 - 10:17So you have these two stories,
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10:17 - 10:19the utopian story about your happiness,
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10:19 - 10:23and the dystopian story
about the end of the world. -
10:23 - 10:25Next time you go in a shop
and buy a T-shirt, -
10:25 - 10:28you will hear two voices in your ear.
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10:28 - 10:32One voice will tell you,
"why don't you buy both?" -
10:32 - 10:33(Laughter)
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10:33 - 10:35"You double your happiness."
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10:35 - 10:36(Laughter)
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10:36 - 10:40But you might start to doubt
about the evidence of that. -
10:41 - 10:43So there's the other story,
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10:43 - 10:46"Do you really need a T-shirt?"
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10:46 - 10:50OK, if you need it, buy
the organic one. the fair one. -
10:50 - 10:52...and did you come by bus?
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10:52 - 10:53(Laughter)
-
10:53 - 10:56Did you switch off the light
when you left your house? -
10:57 - 11:01If you did all these things,
you might save the planet. -
11:02 - 11:05Saving the planet
by switching off the light? -
11:06 - 11:08Two days ago,
I was walking through London, -
11:08 - 11:11and there was a printing shop,
-
11:11 - 11:13which obviously used
some advanced green technology -
11:13 - 11:15because in their window,
-
11:15 - 11:19they invited me to save
the planet with them. -
11:19 - 11:24I didn't know that this planet will be
saved by a printing shop in London. -
11:24 - 11:27And what I assume is
that these kind of stories -
11:27 - 11:30are just an insult
to our minds, to our intelligence. -
11:30 - 11:32We don't believe them.
-
11:32 - 11:36We don't believe
this strange causal link -
11:36 - 11:40between our little decisions
and the apocalyptic future. -
11:40 - 11:42So these stories are not credible.
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11:42 - 11:44They don't speak to our minds.
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11:44 - 11:50If they come in the negative form,
we are doomed, the planet is lost. -
11:51 - 11:53They don't speak to our emotions,
-
11:53 - 11:58because they appeal to fear,
they give us no hope. -
11:58 - 12:01But fear only drives behavior
when the threat is immediate. -
12:03 - 12:06Manhattan will be under water
when I will be dead, -
12:06 - 12:08and you as well.
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12:09 - 12:11So this doesn't drive my behavior.
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12:11 - 12:13This story is not strong enough
-
12:13 - 12:16to break the power
of the immediate happiness -
12:16 - 12:19that I can get when I buy both T-shirts.
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12:19 - 12:21We need different stories.
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12:21 - 12:24We need stories that include ourselves.
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12:24 - 12:28There are stories about our happiness
connected to the well-being of the planet, -
12:28 - 12:30stories of our future,
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12:30 - 12:33in which we are the actors
who make the decisions -
12:33 - 12:35and feel the change.
-
12:36 - 12:37This might be a bit abstract
-
12:37 - 12:40so let me tell you a story
about such a story. -
12:41 - 12:43I don't know how you would feel
-
12:43 - 12:47if you hear that in your neighbourhood
a new fast food restaurant is opening up. -
12:48 - 12:50You might not even care,
-
12:50 - 12:53but this is a story about someone
who got really really angry -
12:53 - 12:57when he heard that MacDonald's
was opening a new restaurant -
12:57 - 13:00at the Spanish Steps in Rome;
-
13:00 - 13:05the Spanish Steps in Rome, at the heart
of the cultural heritage of Italy - -
13:05 - 13:10fast food, the opposition
of what Italians are so proud of, -
13:10 - 13:12their food.
-
13:12 - 13:14This guy was Carlo Pertini,
-
13:14 - 13:16and he channeled his anger
-
13:16 - 13:19by creating the slow food movement.
-
13:19 - 13:23The slow food movement
basically, is a movement -
13:23 - 13:25that fights against this broad nexus
-
13:25 - 13:30of industrialized,
mechanical food production -
13:30 - 13:33and mindless, unhealthy
food consumption, -
13:33 - 13:36from the Monsantos to the MacDonald's.
-
13:38 - 13:41This movement was created
by Carlo Petrini -
13:41 - 13:44because he believes
that we have to change the way we eat. -
13:46 - 13:50We have to eat
local food, healthy food. -
13:50 - 13:52We have to produce locally.
-
13:52 - 13:56We have to protect our biodiversity,
our cultural heritage. -
13:56 - 13:58We have to recreate the link that is lost
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13:58 - 14:01between the producer and the consumer.
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14:01 - 14:06We have to educate consumers
and producers to change their habits. -
14:07 - 14:12This story that started
as a little Italian episode -
14:12 - 14:14has become a huge global movement,
-
14:14 - 14:19with more than 100,000 actors
in more than 150 countries. -
14:20 - 14:22Why is this story so powerful?
-
14:25 - 14:29This story is so powerful
because we all can connect to it. -
14:30 - 14:33You have concerns
about the health of your children, -
14:33 - 14:35you can connect to it.
-
14:37 - 14:41You hate the growing influence
of multinationals on the way we eat, -
14:41 - 14:43you can connect to it.
-
14:44 - 14:48You are a promoter of local traditions,
-
14:48 - 14:50you can connect to it.
-
14:51 - 14:54You want to preserve biodiversity,
-
14:54 - 14:56you can connect to it.
-
14:56 - 14:59You want to help poor farmers
somewhere in Latin America -
14:59 - 15:03at the end of the supply chains
of our production system, -
15:03 - 15:05you can connect to that story.
-
15:05 - 15:07We all can somehow connect to that story
-
15:07 - 15:12through our own beliefs
and values in that very moment. -
15:13 - 15:16What started
as a very small Italian episode -
15:17 - 15:20has turned into a trans-cultural movement,
-
15:20 - 15:25because it is a story
that speaks to everyone, potentially. -
15:27 - 15:32So, the next time you speak
with your children -
15:32 - 15:36about sustainability, ask yourself,
"What kind of story will I tell them?" -
15:37 - 15:39And keep in mind
-
15:39 - 15:42it has to be a story about yourself,
and your children, and your future. -
15:43 - 15:45When you are a manager, ask yourself,
-
15:45 - 15:49"How do I talk about sustainability
with my clients?" -
15:50 - 15:52You probably in the past talked about
-
15:52 - 15:55the greatness of your engagement,
-
15:55 - 15:56your wonderful products.
-
15:56 - 16:00These are small stories
that will not change the world -
16:00 - 16:02You need a great story
to which many people can connect, -
16:02 - 16:05in many industries
and in many circumstances. -
16:06 - 16:10When you are a teacher, ask yourself,
"How can I inspire my students?" -
16:11 - 16:16As a journalist, your readers.
As a politician, your citizens. -
16:17 - 16:20Yes, we need more technology
and better technology -
16:20 - 16:22to improve the state of the world,
-
16:22 - 16:25but what we have underestimated so far
-
16:26 - 16:29is this amazing soft power
of storytelling. -
16:29 - 16:33We're telling the wrong stories,
and we have to change that. -
16:33 - 16:35Thank you.
-
16:35 - 16:36(Applause)
- Title:
- Responsible consumption - the soft power of storytelling | Guido Palazzo | TEDxLausanne
- Description:
-
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
Consumers buy and throw away things at an ever-increasing speed. This has a negative impact on the common good and paradoxically, also on the well-being of the individual consumers themselves. At the beginning of the 21st century, humanity is confronted with large-scale social and environmental risks such as global warming, chemical pollution, ocean acidification and water scarcity. While some corporations have started to innovate their approach towards ethical production, attempts to mainstream sustainable consumption have failed spectacularly. Palazzo's talk presents the idea of using "stories" that people can connect to in order to change the hearts and minds of consumers.
Guido Palazzo is a professor of business ethics at the University of Lausanne. He is passionate about understanding the dark side of the force and in his research he examines unethical decision making from various angles.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 16:42
Denise RQ
Hi Michela Zorzenone
http://www.amara.org/es/profiles/profile/michela_zorzenone/
Thank you for your interest in reviewing this task. Nevertheless, you made no changes whatsoever to this transcript.
http://www.amara.org/es/videos/tZ93cG1Xrao5/info/responsible-consumption-the-soft-power-of-story-telling-guido-palazzo-at-tedxlausanne/?tab=activity
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Best regards,
Eriko Tsukamoto
Spotted a typo : at 00:11:49,822 - he says "If they come in the negative form" while caption reads "Il they"
Thank you in advance!