In February of 2008, on a trip to London for the Natural & Organic Products Exhibition, I stopped by to visit John Elkington, the founder of SustainAbility and an old friend. John has worked in the environmental and sustainable development fields since 1972. In 2004, BusinessWeek called him, “a dean of the corporate responsibility movement for three decades,” an apt description.
After several hours of discussion, as I walked out the door, I asked if he’d written anything lately. This is a man who has published more than 10 books and hundreds of papers and articles. He placed in my hand, “Raising Our Game: Can We Sustain Globalization?” I placed the report in my briefcase, and when I returned home it landed in a pile of reading that never seems to be less than three-feet high. Yesterday I stuffed the paper into my backpack and headed off to the beach. Part of my summer vacation ritual is spending the better part of six weeks down on Long Island, writing and catching up on everything I haven’t had time to read over the past year.
What I read presented an exceptionally clear and compelling picture of the messy and confusing world that emerges daily from the news. The goal of the document is to look ahead to 2027, identify key challenges to the world’s sustainable development efforts, and propose solutions:
“Interactions between the complexities of globalization and the evolving sustainability agenda will define markets and politics in the 21st century. This report reviews some of the key recent trends driving — and driven by — globalization. It looks at where these processes are likely to take us over the next two decades, and their implications for the corporate responsibility and sustainable development agendas.
“Today’s globalized world has particular attributes: interconnected global financial markets with positive and negative consequences; unprecedented urbanization reflecting powerful underlying trends associated with the way people earn a living; growing divides and potentially explosive disparities between the rich and poor; challenges to diversity — in its biological, ecological, human, and social forms; climate and environmental insecurity; governance vacuums; and blessed unrest — the proliferation of networks dedicated to restoring the environment and fostering social justice.”
The project’s background rests in part on seven interrelated observations, which can be summed up as follows:
- ”Sustainable development” has stood the test of time since the Brundtland Commission, in 1987, first injected the concept into the political mainstream.
- The language of sustainability is now increasingly used even in the US, where it was for a long time viewed with far more skepticism than from audiences elsewhere.
- Business and markets have fueled sustainability’s rise in ways that would have been inconceivable during the Brundtland Commission era.
- The end of the Communist era and the onset of a new round of globalization radically redefined the playing field for business.
- As globalization has accelerated, multinational corporations with major brands have been pushed to accept new responsibilities and new forms of accountability.
- However, as issues like terrorism, pandemic risks, poverty, and climate change crowd the agenda, business is reaching the limits of what it can achieve voluntarily.
- As globalization draws in new market players, notably China and India, there is a growing sense that the rules of the game are changing — and that we may need to learn a whole new game.
How is Seventh Generation positioned to think about and work through these changes? Is our mission (or the phrase we use, our “global imperatives”) fit for a future that will challenge us with dramatic disruptions in both the global and the domestic landscapes? Do we have the necessary core competencies to make us nimble enough to adapt to the coming changes? Will we need to develop new partnerships? Given that sustainability will increasingly dominate the corporate agenda, how should we confront a swarm of new competitors? Lastly, how will these changes affect our supply chains and product portfolio?
The report identifies six major trends:
- Economic growth will need to be contained within a “one planet” agenda.
- There will be a continued acceleration in the scale and speed of events and decision-making, from business cycles to environmental impacts.
- The sustainable development agenda—or at the very least, key components pertaining to climate change and human rights—will continue to be mainstreamed into market and political systems.
- But the agenda will continue to encounter a bewildering array of social, cultural, ecological, and even psychological barriers.
- Leadership will likely emerge from unexpected sources, including newly emergent city-states, NGOs, and companies.
- Finally, equity will re-emerge as a fundamental principle and a precondition of a more sustainable world.
“Raising Our Game” concludes with seven recommendations to business and the wider sustainability movement:
- Plan for the unexpected. In a world where the rate of change is accelerating, we must build flexibility into technology platforms, supply chains, and human-resource policies.
- Find true South. The extent to which the interests of the emerging economies will clash with those of the developed North can scarcely be exaggerated. Sustainability efforts and investments should be focused on regions and cities where the population is booming and development needs are highest.
- Don’t expect “nice” companies to finish first. Even the best corporate citizens can be damaged by scandals, controversies, and economic discontinuities. Over time, the capacity to create real “blended value” will become a defining characteristic of tomorrow’s successful global businesses.
- Co-evolve Earth’s immune system. Social and ecological shocks are already catalyzing the development of a society-led “immune system” for the Earth. Be part of this, to help accelerate its development and serve as a source of market intelligence — and creation.
- Think opportunity — and innovation. Reframe social and environmental issues not just as risks, but also as sizeable market opportunities.
- S-t-r-e-t-c-h. The scale of the challenge is immense and will require radical approaches to catalyze breakthrough solutions. Business and other leaders will need to reach beyond their comfort zones in finding new models, new technologies, and new partners in sourcing — and scaling — solutions.
- Do the politics. This agenda is now political. Get involved and take stands. The time has come for the vision, courage, innovation, and enterprise needed to leapfrog into a different world. The time has come for us all to raise our eyes, our ambitions, our game.
You can download the complete report at the SustainAbility Web site.