TO DO: revision of a draft, make changes, add info, make it a good/better essay. the link I used for the original essay is: www.ted.com/talks/esha_chhabra_how_business_can_improve_the_world_not_just_t

M aria G ra zia 1 Maria Grazia Micheletto Frank Richardson ENGLISH 101 8 March, 2024 A Rhetorical Analysis of Esha Chhabra's TED T alk Introduction In her 2019 TED T alk titled "How Business Can Improve the W orld, Not Just the Bottom Line," Esha Chhabra presents a vision for how businesses can adopt more socially and environmentally conscious operations. Chhabra has over a decade of experience reporting on topics relating to business, social issues, and the environment. Through her work, she observed many entrepreneurs developing solutions to societal problems but believed there was an opportunity for businesses to have an even greater positive impact. In this talk, Chhabra ar gues that companies should move beyond concepts like sustainability , which can become more about marketing, and embrace a regenerative approach (Chhhabra). A regenerative business seeks to actively solve social and environmental challenges in all facets of its work. By sharing compelling examples of regenerative companies and methods they employ , along with emotive storytelling and calls for listeners to spread these ideas further , Chhabra makes an ef fective case that this business model can meaningfully address issues in a more holistic way than previous approaches while still achieving financial success. V eja 's S usta in ab le R ub ber S ou rc in g a n d E m plo ym en t I n it ia tiv e s I l lu str a te R eg en era tiv e P ra ctic e s Esha Chhabra uses the shoe brand V eja as an impactful example of a regenerative business. V eja sources rubber for shoe soles from trees tapped by individuals living in the M aria G ra zia 2 Amazon. Chhabra explains "V eja sources native rubber from the rubber trees in the Amazon for the soles of their shoes. These trees can harvest rubber for years, if not decades if it's done properly and it's done by rubber tappers." This sustainable sourcing model provides an alternative livelihood to cattle farming, which requires deforestation (Chhhabra). By partnering with these tappers in an environmentally-friendly way , V eja actively solves social and environmental issues through its supply chain operations. This demonstrates how a company can take a regenerative design approach from the beginning by supporting both people and the planet. V eja's employment initiatives also illustrate its regenerative practices. As Chhabra outlines, "They could have hired any fulfillment company to do their fulfillment. Instead, they decided to partner with a nonprofit. These nonprofit hires individuals that come from mar ginalized neighborhoods and are considered unemployable, and gives them a chance at a career ." Providing jobs in this manner actively addresses social problems (Chhhabra). It gives opportunities to those otherwise excluded from the workforce. In both its sourcing and hiring choices, V eja embeds positive impact into core business activities rather than pursuing it as a separate endeavor . This reflects Chhabra's vision of regeneration, where a company holistically solves issues through everyday operations. T o ast A le 's N ove l U se o f W aste a n d C harit a b le D on atio n s B rin g s t h e C on ce p t o f R eg en era tio n t o L if e . T o bring the concept of regeneration to life for her audience, Esha Chhabra employs impactful storytelling. She shares the example of T oast Ale, a company that exemplifies regenerative problem-solving through innovation. In telling the story of T oast Ale, Chhabra notes that in the UK "to make those lovely sandwiches, you have to unfortunately sacrifice the end slices of loaves and so those end slices would often go to waste." Rather than M aria G ra zia 3 viewing this as a burden, "a food waste entrepreneur and a social entrepreneur got together and said, 'Why don't we turn it into beer?' And that became T oast Ale." By finding value in a resource previously considered waste, T oast Ale demonstrates innovative regenerative thinking (Chhhabra). T aking unwanted bread ends and crafting them into a popular brew sold nationwide exhibits clear problem-solving that appeals to listeners through Chhabra's relatable narrative. Chhabra continues the story by explaining T oast Ale has "gone one step further" by aligning its profits with positively addressing social and environmental issues. "The profits of the company now go to a charity that's focused on food waste," she outlines (Chhhabra). By reinvesting financial success into mitigating the very problem which sparked the business concept, T oast exemplifies holistic regeneration on multiple interconnected levels. It simultaneously finds economic opportunity amidst waste, spreads awareness of food waste issues through its product, and directly funds initiatives combating the root cause through charitable donations. Chhabra's sharing of this specific, step-by-step innovation story brings the abstract idea of operating regeneratively to a compelling reality for those engaged with her enthusiastic storytelling.

T he N eed t o S pre ad R eg en era tiv e M od els W id ely T hro u g h R ep lic a tio n R ath er T han U nlim it e d G ro w th T o motivate her audience to take meaningful action, Chhabra issues calls to spread regenerative business approaches more broadly . She emphasizes replication over unrestrained expansionism. When asked about next steps, the co-founder of V eja told Chhabra something insightful. As she recounts, "W e don't need V eja to be the next global ethical shoe brand. W e need dozens of V ejas. W e need dozens in every industry , in every culture, in every geography ." This emphasizes scaling impact through multiplying diverse, localized models rather than any single company's world M aria G ra zia 4 dominance. It shows how spreading ideas is key , not continuous growth itself. Chhabra supports the co-founder's sentiment, telling audiences the entrepreneurs said "'W e don't all need to reach astronomical heights. Not every company needs to be a global company . It should be OK to say we are good with this level of scale.'" This refutes assumptions that businesses necessarily require unlimited scaling and prioritizes sustainable well-being over unchecked enrichment (Chhhabra). By highlighting calls from regenerative pioneers to proliferate their approaches contextually rather than necessarily grow endlessly , Chhabra issues a potent call to action. She suggests grassroots spread of these impactful ideas can maximize benefits to people and planet where most needed. Chhabra implies copying success stories with cultural sensitivity better solves ur gent problems than relentless expansion of any single operation. This encourages audiences to adapt, not just adopt, principles of models like V eja in their own appropriate settings. It inspires propagating thoughtful change beginning from one's own sphere of influence instead of waiting for distant dominance. Q uestio n in g C om mon A ssu m ptio n s a b ou t P ro ﬁ t a n d S ca le T hro u g h R heto ric a l I n q uir ie s T o challenge conventional thinking about business priorities, Chhabra poses thought-provoking rhetorical questions to her audience. This prompts self-reflection on underlying assumptions. Near her conclusion, Chhabra asks the audience to consider , "W e're all here, on this flying rock, for a moment in time. W e can't take any of this stuf f or any of this wealth with us. So why not use this time to build businesses that think beyond profit?" This rhetorical query pushes listeners to reevaluate what truly matters regarding prosperous or ganizations (Chhhabra). Rather than assert answers, she respectfully causes private M aria G ra zia 5 reconsideration of motivations. If wealth cannot be retained after finite lives, what ends are served by relentless accrual alone without regard for impact? Chhabra further inquired "Why not build or ganizations that regenerate the environment instead of destroying it?" and "Why not build or ganizations and companies that have a workforce that treats people as humans and not as transactions?" Through open-ended questions, she encourages open-minded assessment of routine business rationales and whether alternative priorities could better reward all stakeholders in sustainable ways. Her polite interrogatives do not accuse but awaken independent critical thought regarding basic assumptions underpinning conventional operations and what truly drives fulfillment when short-term gains fade. By skillfully posing thought-provoking questions, Chhabra stimulates self-guided analysis of ingrained norms rather than demanding direct answers or attacks. She respects each person's journey while gently nudging revaluation of taken-for -granted philosophies through instinctive human curiosity about unquestioned truths. This subtle approach aims to promote regenerative change by informed personal conviction. C on clu sio n Esha Chhabra ef fectively ar gues that businesses should adopt a regenerative model focused on holistically addressing social and environmental issues through compelling examples, storytelling, and calls to action. By highlighting real companies like V eja and T oast Ale that exemplify regeneration, she illustrates this concept in a tangible, engaging manner . Chhabra issues a potent call for spreading these approaches more widely through grassroots replication of localized models rather than unrestrained growth of any single operation (Chhhabra). She also skillfully prompts deeper thinking about common assumptions regarding business priorities and profit through respectful rhetorical questions. Chhabra makes a persuasive case that embracing M aria G ra zia 6 regenerative practices can benefit companies and communities alike by prioritizing positive impact beyond only bottom lines. Her talk inspires audiences to consider more sustainable approaches to business that treat people and the planet with care.

M aria G ra zia 7 W ork Cited Chhabra, Esha. “How Business Can Improve the W orld, Not Just the Bottom Line.” TED T alks, www .ted.com/talks/esha_chhabra_how_business_can_improve_the_world_not_ju st_the_bottom_line .