The 2020s have begun with an extreme turbulence that no one saw coming: a global
public health crisis compounding the already-daunting social and environmental
challenges central to the sustainability movement. But as the economic, social
and environmental fallout from
COVID-19 continues,
all rules are being rewritten; and momentum to re-evaluate the role of business
in tackling the defining issues of our
times
is building. But why now, and just how can a business re-evaluate its purpose to
put sustainability at its heart?
Why re-evaluate now?
Firstly, COVID-19 has created a portal into a different future in which we
can rebalance the fundamentals of our global economy. The deep interconnections
between the economic, social and planetary systems on which we rely have been
laid bare, lending weight to a truth that has always been there, but rarely
accepted: Planetary, human and economic health are one and the same. One cannot
thrive without the others, and each must be equally prioritised.
Second: The pandemic has also shown us that the current systems upon which we
rely are neither capable of delivering the solutions we need for our grand
challenges, nor are they resilient when hit by them. In fact, COVID-19 has
shown us just how vulnerable we are to what is only the first shock of many more
to come.
Third: Citizens — which include company employees and customers — are finding
their voice. From demonstrating outrage at the climate
emergency
to marching the streets to protest against deep structural racism and gender
inequality, they are calling time on the harmful and unethical practices that
have created the deeply unsustainable situation in which we find ourselves.
The stage is set for change
DEI and sustainability: The ROI of inclusive corporate cultures
Join us as leaders from the Accomplis Collective, Bard, Beneficial State Foundation, ReEngineering HR and REI share best practices for cultivating a culture of belonging and insights into how inclusive leadership can lead to more effective and equitable sustainability outcomes — Wednesday, Oct. 16, at SB'24 San Diego.
With this deep disruption has come an urgently needed possibility for change. As
outlined in Forum for the Future’s latest
Future of Sustainability report, there
are multiple and extremely different
trajectories
ahead of us — each determined by the actions we take today. But only one of
these, Transform, has the potential to radically change the ways in which we
live and work at the scale and pace needed.
Transform is based on a mindset that planetary, human and economic health are
one and the same. A mindset in which we see the goals of our global economy
broadened to include a desire to see both people and planet prosper through a
just transition. It’s here we see new, regenerative business
models;
the scaling of nature-based solutions and regenerative
practices;
and businesses and government working collaboratively and non-competitively to
address our immense structural inequalities and the climate emergency head on.
It’s a compelling vision — and it gets us to the fourth, arguably the most
important, why behind the need to re-evaluate company purpose and culture
right now: They are both critical to delivering the transformational change
needed for a company to not only survive this current crisis, but to emerge
stronger.
Let’s be clear on what we mean by purpose: For me, purpose should be an
expression of how a company can contribute to a just and regenerative future.
As 2021 unfolds, we have an unparalleled opportunity to reconfigure the systems
we rely on — from food and health to energy and mobility — so that the creation
of social and environmental value becomes a key goal of each.
It’s about looking beyond the positive economic outcomes that have
incentivised so many businesses to date — equally prioritising stakeholder
returns,
as well as shareholder returns (with nature and
society
being critical stakeholders).
Corporate purpose can and must become increasingly bold and ambitious, with a
goal of systems change at its heart. Three Ds are critical to ensuring this.
Diagnose, Design and Deliver
Purpose must be supported by great:
1. Diagnosis. A diagnosis must clearly define where a company can make the
biggest positive difference. This necessitates all businesses building their
understanding of the world around us as a set of interconnected systems, and
using that to create interventions capable of delivering multiple benefits
across multiple systems.
Consider a pharmaceutical company, which is well placed to understand the connections between climate and health, and to then play a role in solving for challenges at this intersection — for example, by reducing its emissions to improve both air quality and human health.
2. Design. A company must then design a strategy with real potential to
drive transformational change at key leverage points. Interventions must be
both catalytic and self-sustaining. In particular, consider the enabling
conditions that will determine long-term success, from policy frameworks and
finance to behaviour change and public acceptance.
3. Delivery. A company’s delivery strategy must ultimately focus on
delivering systems change. Far from being fixed and linear, delivery must be
adaptive and emergent, capable of embracing and navigating complexity and
disruption.
Critically, the corporate purpose and culture of the future — and arguably, now
— will need new mindsets and new skills.
On mindsets, we all need to understand and work with the interconnections of
people, planet and economic health. While on skills, we need to embrace futures
thinking in ways that consider not only the risks and opportunities that come
with change today, but the risks and opportunities associated with multiple
futures. How can we constantly challenge our assumptions and work with both
enabling and resisting forces?
What it all comes down to…
This new frame for corporate purpose is underpinned by the ultimate business
case: If we don’t create the conditions in which people and planet can
prosper, no business can be successful.
To quote science writer William Gibson: “The future is here, all around us —
just not evenly distributed.” The features of the Transform trajectory are
already here, many at the niche of our systems. We now need to bring them into
the mainstream. This is how systems change. This is the opportunity in front of
us. An ambitious purpose is one of the keys to seizing it — and in doing so,
walking through the portal created by COVID-19 to a more sustainable world.
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Sally oversees Forum’s mission to accelerate a big shift towards a sustainable future by catalysing transformational change in global systems.
Published May 3, 2021 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST