Future-Fit ⁽²⁷⁾

I was disappointed this morning - though not surprised - to read this "Inside the Strategy Room" article from McKinsey & Company. The piece transcribes the 'key insights' from a conversation between three of McKinsey's most senior principals, and it begins well: We wanted to…

I just read a really depressing report from FCLTGlobal summarising the outcomes of its latest summit, held last week. The mission of FCLTGlobal is "to focus capital on the long term to support a sustainable and prosperous economy." An excellent objective, and one backed by…

Every January, various think tanks and advisory firms in the sustainability and ESG space publish a trend survey for the year ahead. If you haven't already waded through the 2022 crop, I've put together this handy template to save you time. Think of any environmental…

One could be forgiven for thinking that global markets are finally mobilising to solve humanity’s greatest challenges, from climate to poverty. ESG assets under management have been growing at 30% for five years, and now total $37 trillion. Meanwhile, a fifth of the world’s 2,000…

The greatest risk to the sustainability movement is that it is struggling and so far failing to articulate a vision of a future that is both prosperous while remaining within planetary boundaries. Until it is able to showcase a plausible paradigm shift, then no-one is…

Ask politicians, investors or CEOs if growth is ‘good’ and their "yes!" will likely be as emphatic as the "no!" one might hear from concerned environmentalists. Such polarisation is due to different perspectives on what growth actually means. To reconcile these views, we must apply a system…

In a previous article, we discussed how a defensive response to the SDGs achieves nothing, and a selective response risks causing negative trade-offs, which undermine any gains. Instead, a holistic response is required: Any company seeking to contribute positively to one or more SDGs must…

In the first article in this series, it was noted that the SDGs can help us chart a path out of the current socioeconomic crisis and into a more resilient and regenerative future. At this point you may be thinking: Our company has already figured…

A unique moment for business Perceptions that what matters most to business is market value and customer demand are giving way to a realisation that a company's success is highly dependent on government guidance, worker wellbeing, and what society really needs. Lockdowns across the world…

From recall… In a Harvard Business Review article in June 2018, John Elkington announced the world’s first product recall of a management concept — the Triple Bottom Line — which he had introduced 25 years earlier. Reactions were decidedly mixed, ranging from “good riddance!” to “how could…