The golden rule that changes everything in sustainability

The golden rule that changes everything in sustainability – “6 Min to Understand” with Pierre Léonard. Midoricast: Podcast #235

In this episode on “The golden rule that changes everything in sustainability”, Pierre Léonard shares a moment he rarely speaks about openly: the day when, right in the middle of a mission within a company, he was firmly called out… and how that intervention completely transformed his way of working.

He could have taken offence, defended his vision of the circular economy, his tools, his ambitions. But what happened that day revealed to him an invisible mechanism — one that silently determines the success or failure of any sustainability initiative in a company.

A sentence as blunt as it was clear.

A moment that shakes your certainties.

A lesson that few articulate clearly, yet one that anyone working in transition eventually encounters.

In this episode, Pierre opens the backstage, sharing his own internal shift and explaining how this realisation redefined his method, his words, and his approach to decision-makers. And above all: why this awareness can change the trajectory of projects that truly aim to last.

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For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or experiencing hearing difficulties, we provide a full transcript at the end of the article.
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Alongside the voicemail, each episode is sequenced and accompanied by a full transcript, ensuring access for Deaf and hard-of-hearing listeners. And with the Google Translate plugin in Chrome, the episode becomes available in any language! We also provide a video version and subtitled transcripts.

Why this series?

We support companies applying real and measurable ESG approaches. Pierre, for his part, trains and guides them through this transition. Our approaches are different, yet complementary: we encourage, he accompanies.

This choice also raises an important question: where to draw the line?

Some companies mentioned in this series are not aligned with our current criteria, and we would refuse any collaboration with them until they begin a concrete shift. But that’s precisely where Pierre steps in: his role is to initiate that transformation.

This podcast is not here to judge, but to inspire. The goal? To encourage rather than discourage, to accompany rather than exclude.

Let’s work together toward a circular, sustainable and inclusive economy. Listening, reflection, action… in just 6 minutes.

Listen to “The golden rule that changes everything in sustainability” on our YouTube channel (subscribe — thank you!):

French: The full transcript of this podcast is available as video subtitles in five languages: French, Dutch, German, English and Spanish.
Dutch: De volledige transcriptie van deze podcast is beschikbaar als ondertiteling van de video in vijf talen: Frans, Nederlands, Duits, Engels en Spaans.
German: Die vollständige Transkription dieses Podcasts ist als Untertitel des Videos in fünf Sprachen verfügbar: Französisch, Niederländisch, Deutsch, Englisch und Spanisch.
English: The full transcript of this podcast is available as video subtitles in five languages: French, Dutch, German, English and Spanish.
Spanish: La transcripción completa de este pódcast está disponible como subtítulos del vídeo en cinco idiomas: francés, neerlandés, alemán, inglés y español.

Sequencing of the podcast “The golden rule that changes everything in sustainability”:

• [00:00:02] Introduction to the series
• [00:00:14] The topic and context of the golden rule that changes everything in sustainability
• [00:00:33] The sentence that shakes certainties and the reaction
• [00:01:40] Why sustainability must protect profitability
• [00:02:25] SME constraints and economic realism
• [00:02:56] How this realisation changed the method
• [00:03:21] Key 1: start from what exists and from waste
• [00:03:48] Key 2: speak the language of the decision-maker
• [00:04:05] Key 3: start small and prove quickly
• [00:04:25] Sustainable sustainability: triple win
• [00:04:51] Announcement of the next episode
• [00:05:05] Michel’s invitation: contact Pierre and leave a voice message
• [00:05:13] Acknowledgements
• [00:05:14] Mentions, partners and sponsors

Full transcript

[00:00:00] Jingle Intro: Your are listening to “The Podcast Factory Org”.

[00:00:02] Michel: Welcome to another episode of “Midoricast”, your podcast on positive initiatives in favor of the environment and transition. We’re in a section of “6 minutes pour comprendre”, with my friend Pierre Leonard, to whom I’ll give the floor straight away.

[00:00:14] Pierre Léonard: Hello Michel, hello everyone. Pierre Leonard, circular economy facilitator, welcome to this episode of “6 minutes pour comprendre”. And today, I’m going to tell you how I got my back up and why it changed everything about the way I work with companies.

[00:00:33] Pierre Léonard: The year is 2022. I’m in the offices of an SME which is a subsidiary of a listed investment fund, and this small company is active, incidentally, in aerial signalling. I have an informal chat with the CFO about my approach to identifying circular economy opportunities. All enthusiastic: “We can deploy robust ESG KPIs, we can measure carbon impact, we can create a dashboard of your circularity”. And he, a big strapping guy with glasses, a bit like you Michel, cuts me off by saying “You do what you want as long as you don’t touch the dividends”. At that point, I had two options: I could either take offence at his short-term capitalist vision, or I could understand that I had just been given the golden rule for any sustainable business transformation. I chose option number two. And you know what? This guy was 1,000% right.

[00:01:40] Pierre Léonard: Why? Because that rather brutal sentence made me understand something that has never ceased to confirm itself since. A sustainable initiative that threatens profitability is not courageous, it’s stillborn. It will never be deployed, never funded beyond the pilot project, never replicated, it will end up in an annual report with a nice photo while the company continues its linear practices. In other words, the real question is not how to convince managers to sacrifice profitability for impact, but how to prove that the circular economy and sustainable development protect and increase that same profitability?

[00:02:25] Pierre Léonard: Why was my interlocutor right to be demanding? Firstly, in his case, as a subsidiary of a listed group, he had no choice. Secondly, because that’s the reality of SMEs: they don’t have the margins of multinationals to engage in “purpose washing”. Their shareholders, who are often their founders, and their investors too for that matter, expect results, including on CSR. Sustainability has to pay salaries, suppliers and, yes, dividends too, otherwise it disappears at the first blow.

[00:02:56] Pierre Léonard: In fact, this realization completely transformed my method. I don’t start with values anymore, I start by looking at where we waste. I no longer offer ESG dashboards, I map value recovery opportunities. I’m no longer talking about sustainable CSR initiatives, I’m talking about intelligent profit optimization.

[00:03:21] Pierre Léonard: So if this approach appeals to you, here are three tips for applying it. First of all, always start with what already exists. Before you propose anything, identify how you can take action on things like wasted energy, under-used materials, waste you have to pay for, and disposal. These wastes represent direct opportunities for value recovery.

[00:03:48] Pierre Léonard: Secondly, speak the language of the person you’re talking to. If you’re talking to a CFO, show them how the circular economy improves cash flow. If it’s a sales manager, demonstrate how it reinforces the value proposition to the customer.

[00:04:05] Pierre Léonard: Third, start small, but prove it fast. Identify, not the most profitable action, but the one that will be the quickest, however modest, and deploy it. This first financial victory will lend credibility to your approach with your stakeholders for the future.

[00:04:25] Pierre Léonard: Because guess what? A circular economy that generates sustainable profit is true sustainability. It’s the kind that survives crises, that really unfolds, the kind that transforms companies. So it doesn’t matter if you call it ESG, or something else, it’s just economic, social and environmental triple win applied intelligently.

[00:04:51] Pierre Léonard: Thank you for being with me during these “6 minutes to understand”, and in the next episode, I’ll be offering you an extension of this one by proposing that you set off to discover the invisible requirements. See you soon!

[00:05:05] Michel: Great program, thank you Pierre Léonard. Don’t hesitate, dear listeners, to leave a voicemail for Pierre Léonard and contact him if you need him. He’s there to help you. See you soon.

[00:05:13] Pierre Léonard: Merci, Michel.

[00:05:14] Michel: This podcast project is an initiative created and proposed by the ASBL “The Podcast Factory Org”, with the sponsorship of “transforma bxl – Innovation Playground”, a coworking space in Evere. Since January 2025, and for five years, we have also been sponsored by “Plugin Company”, our preferred charging station and card operator. “The Podcast Factory Org” is proud to be a member of “KAYA” – Coalition des Écopreneur et Écopreneures, and to collaborate with the “Love Health Center”. You can find all the episodes of all our podcasts on the “What’s Your Story point be” website. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel @thepodcastfactoryorg, where we offer the podcast in video format with subtitles in several languages.

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