It hasn’t all been positive. We had to lose rainforest and untold species before we started to even think about changing. Some of it persists today. Many echoed this sentiment, but Hendrik-Jan Laseur of Lead the Change put it best: “The notion of taking an internal combustion propelled car into a city centre, prioritising cars over people and children and polluting the air – we will look back and think, ‘How could we find this acceptable?’”
A call to action
Some people we spoke to feel that some improvements are foregone conclusions, particularly that we will be a zero-carbon society, human rights will be fully respected in value chains, and we will overcome inequality. On the contrary. Nothing is certain. On the one hand, we see rapid progress on decarbonisation, but what happens if we stop pushing? Will we fall short? The decisions we make – as individuals and organisations – matter. Below are some of the key actions business can take to help secure our future.
Making good choices in an era of rapid change: In such a time, we must consider the consequences of our decisions, which we failed to do in the past, and choose wisely.
There is no question that the energy transition will be profound, but we “need to deep dive on the consequences of the energy transition on job creation, taxes paid, business models, and new relationships between end users and companies providing energy services,” insists Clarissa Lins, Catavento & SustainAbility Council.
Globalisation shifted many economies from manufacturing to services, wreaking social havoc along the way. Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) casts similar threats. Can business shift gears to thinking about how they can positively influence the changes and consequences to come? We must leverage change with care.