Directions – Sustainability: rip it up and start again?
- July 18, 2023
According to Chat GPT The future of sustainability involves the continued focus on environmental, social, and economic well-being to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
But we know a ‘continued focus’ is not enough. We’re already past the question of if or when the climate crisis will happen, we are living in it right now. Sustainability-as-usual, doing less bad and incremental improvements aren’t working. It’s time to rip this notion up and start again.
In an increasingly BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear and Incomprehensible) world, there can only be one way forward; we have to reframe sustainability. Away from a bolt-on to business as usual or a ‘nice to have’ and back to a definition that speaks more broadly to the health, resilience and regenerative capacity of the systems in which business (and all life) is embedded. Where there are no separate sustainability and business strategies, only a ‘sustainable business strategy’. Where sustainability is baked in as a basic design value and operating principle for everything the business does.
Shifting to this world is not going to be easy. It is going to have profound implications for business strategy and operations, impacting everything from defining scope and ambition to ensuring the ability to implement effectively. But it doesn’t need to be overwhelming. When you get down to it, the challenge can be boiled down to five key differences in perspective and approach. This year’s Directions Report is your guide. A playbook for business radicals on how to stop tinkering and get transforming.
So, what are you waiting for?