Regeneration & Resilience

6 Trends That Bode Well for a Resilient Business Future

In a time of ever-growing volatility, 6 themes that emerged from business leaders and innovators at SB’24 San Diego show glimmers of a resilient future for business and society.

Brand Provided | Published 2 weeks ago | About a 4 minute read

Image: Sustainable Ocean Alliance's Daniela Fernandez and rePurpose Global's Aditya Siroya discuss the burgeoning circular economy for plastics at SB'24 San Diego. | Sustainable Brands

Right around this time eight years ago, heads of major corporations from the US and around the world banded together and showed that, even in the face of sluggish bureaucracy and contrary governmental priorities, the economic benefits of sustainability action far outweigh any perceived, short-term risks. As those in the Sustainable Brands® (SB) community well know, it’s up to the business world to stay the course to ensure long-term viability — for society and for itself.

In this era of environmental, social, political and climate-related turmoil, businesses that remain committed to improvement regardless of the political and regulatory landscape will be the ones to stand the tests of time.

Here are 6 themes that emerged last month at SB’24 San Diego that highlight the ever-growing, undeniable benefits of innovation and collaboration for the greater good — and show glimmers of a resilient future for business and society:

AI — not yet, but soon to be, a net positive: With its already vast applications for advancing sustainability, artificial intelligence was naturally a hot topic throughout the week — but several discussions also addressed its darker side. Along with diving into its role in creating healthier products and helping save one of our most vital natural resources, a variety of experts explored the work being done to rein in AI’s environmental impacts and assuage the fears of reticent consumers — so, the technology can become a net-positive force for the environment and society.

MOB Beauty and Pact Collective co-founder Victor Casale

Yes, it’s complex – but a circular economy is achievable: Discussions throughout the week helped provide brands much-needed clarity about the practicalities of shifting to a circular economy — from creating new value and material flows to the “strategic patience” needed to understand and address the many facets of circularity, and the economic and operational benefits of doing so.

OK, Now What?: Navigating Corporate Sustainability After the US Presidential Election

Join us for a free webinar on Monday, December 9, at 1pm ET as Andrew Winston and leaders from the American Sustainable Business Council, Democracy Forward, ECOS and Guardian US share insights into how the shifting political and cultural environment may redefine the responsibilities and opportunities for companies committed to sustainability.

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Honda's David Perzynski

Brands are addressing the broader impacts of their communications: We talk a lot about the content of effective brand communications — particularly, in its role in driving sustainable behavior change — but what about the other social and environmental impacts of marketing and advertising? A variety of experts dove deeper into how their organizations are acknowledging the imperative for responsible communication by addressing its unintended consequences — namely, greenhouse gas emissions and the spread of misinformation.

L-R: The Regenerative Technology Project's Danielle Lanyard and Jessica Groopman

DEI & sustainability teams are linchpins of future-proof organizations: Several rich discussions highlighted the importance of giving sustainability and DEI their rightful attention, resources and integration within successful corporate strategies — even in the face of pressure from anti-woke naysayers.

(Left and right) Estakio Beltran and Kelly Dennis from the Department of Interior's Office of Strategic Partnerships - Indian Affairs, with the American Sustainable Business Council's Terrius Harris (center)

Resilience is now a KPI for business success: SB’s first-ever Resilience Summit underscored the idea that building resilience is not just about reacting to environmental risks — we heard from some of the many leaders and organizations leveraging insights from nature, Indigenous wisdom, scenario planning and more to build systems, businesses and communities designed to thrive in an uncertain future.

Logitech's Prakash Arunkundrum

Speaking of resilience, we are slowly but surely future-proofing our food system: Another central thread throughout the week highlighted the efforts underway by startup innovators, multinational brands and NGOs to redesigning our food system for resilience — through regenerative growing practices, novel ingredients, optimized processes, strategic partnerships and more — and how they’re engaging consumers to help cultivate the necessary changes at scale.

The momentum in these areas and so many others is heartening; but in this time of shifting politics and polycrises, it falls on intrepid brands to stay the course and embrace sustainable innovation to drive society forward — toward an equitable, climate-resilient future.

Be the change! Join the global SB community of business leaders and innovators continuing to fuel the momentum. Join us next fall at SB’25 San Diego — taking place October 13-16, 2025, at the Town and Country Resort — where we’ll continue our focus on increasing business value by leveraging social and environmental innovation for brand growth. Let’s keep building on what we’ve started, strengthening our community and driving substantive progress as we work together toward a resilient future.