Five minutes with… Jason Gissing
What or who inspires you to act on sustainability?
My wife Katinka. Her great uncle was the Norwegian philosopher and ecologist Arne Naess, who founded the Deep Ecology movement in the 1970s and promoted a pro-active and intimate relationship between society and the earth. He influenced both environmentalists and green political activists around the world and was a man very much ahead of his time. He had a massive influence on Katinka's way of life – and in turn mine.
How have you managed to embed sustainable thinking within your company?
We started Ocado in a small single room office in central London in 2000. As such we have been able to influence all aspects of the business as we have grown, and we have therefore been able to promote Ocado (and its unique way of doing business) as a more sustainable way to shop than traditional supermarket shopping. 
What is the biggest challenge you face professionally?
Competing with Tesco and Sainsbury's for customers. They are two of the best run businesses in the UK and arguably the world. Online grocery retailing is incredibly complex and hard to do well. 
What is the biggest driver for change in your company?
My partner and CEO Tim Steiner
What is the one piece of advice you would offer to others seeking to create change?
One thing that Katinka my wife and her family have taught me on all environmental matters is that we can ALL make a difference. There is a temptation to think that there is nothing that we can do individually that will make enough of a difference - this is fundamentally wrong!
What one thing have you done at your company to drive sustainability that others could replicate as best practice?
We came up with an innovative way to address the outcry over single-use plastic bags. We know where our bags go, and will take them back, recycle them locally, and turn them into new Ocado plastic bags so they can be used over and over again. In all things environment-related, there are arguments about what one measures and what one ignores. Plastic bags (and plastics, more broadly) serve many useful purposes in modern life and we believe we have found a way to use plastic bags responsibly. 
Do you believe business has the capability to catalyse the scale of change needed to rise to the long-term sustainability challenges?
Absolutely. If one starts from the premise that all individual action can make a difference, then getting business to engage with the challenges we all face must be a good thing.
What makes you optimistic about businesses' ability to rise to the sustainability challenge?
People are influenced by many different things: legislation, information, media, marketing - to name a few. If businesses embrace sustainability as a key marketing platform and influence behaviour on the one hand, whilst operating in a way that is less damaging to the planet on the other, that makes me optimistic!
What is your biggest concern about our ability to create a more sustainable world?
Large parts of the world exist 'hand-to-mouth' and are too busy 'surviving' to worry about the environment. At the other end of the spectrum, the privileged few in the developed world are often too apathetic to care. My biggest concern is that a combination of necessity and inertia will prevent the speed of change we need.
What have you done outside of work to live a more sustainable life?
We do all the usual things that a family does: recycling and being conscious of energy usage and teaching our children about the finite resources of the planet.
Which unsustainable behaviour are you most embarrassed about?
Having four children!
What specific leadership qualities are needed by innovators in the field of sustainability that differ from those of running a traditional business that seeks only to meet the needs of shareholders?
Openness, honesty and courage.
Short facts
Born: 1970
Lives: London
Education: Oundle school and Oxford
Career: Goldman Sachs 1992-2000; Ocado 2000-2011
Likes: The Alps; History; Sport; Japanese ceramics
Dislikes: Bigotry of any kind
Book: Shantaram
Film: Good Will Hunting
Album: Thirteens by my sister-in-law Leona Naess
Career ambition: Was to set up and run my own business
Life ambition: Was to fall in love and have a family
If I wasn't doing this I would be: Climbing mountains
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox