World View

The issue with sustainability is not the availability of solutions, but the speed with which we’re taking them to scale.

What is holding us back? Many argue it is the lack of commitment to acting on sustainability by business leaders and investors - that if they wanted to drive it harder they could. We think this view is based on a flawed analysis of how markets and business operates. Most businesses and certainly nearly all investors, are not leaders but followers. They move as and when the market moves in a new direction.

So the idea that we can drive transformational global change by getting investors and business to proactively act ahead of the market is fatally flawed. And given we need to act urgently to address the existential risks posed by various sustainability issues, it is a dangerous idea because it will not work.

We understand the crucial role of leadership by forwarding thinking companies and business leaders. We have after all spent decades working alongside the top leadership of large global corporations who are deeply committed to drive change.

But what we need now is not more leaders, but more followers. That means we need outstanding success by a small number of leading companies in key market segments that show the possibilities on offer. The rest of the market will then follow. The companies most likely to lead this do not need to be convinced of the need to act, they need to see outstanding success. That is the focus of our work, to help them deliver this outstanding success. Then the market will follow.