From Simon Sinek to Sakichi Toyoda, we are reminded that it pays to start with ‘Why’ when trying to understand a problem before jumping to solutions. When faced with an ongoing climate crisis and systemic social challenges, we are armed with ‘Whys’ from academics, scientists, government officials, business leaders, and activists. `
So how many more ‘Whys’ do we need before toggling from concern to action? The Climate Clock that was launched in NY (and now in Seoul, Glasgow, Mexico, Kazakhstan, and counting) is a critical reminder to get the world to #ActInTime. It counts down the time window to reach zero emissions (our “Deadline”), while tracking our progress on solutions (“Lifelines”).
It’s a fallacy to claim that the sustainability agenda is simple. It’s complex. Big problems require big and thoughtful solutions. The ruthlessly honest Q, regardless of sector & size of company is, where and how do I start?
It starts with one person with a mission to do better for the planet and people. We believe, unequivocally, that it must be led from the top in an organisation. The CEO leads transformational change by embedding sustainability in the business strategy. More importantly, the CEO can unleash that mandate by empowering functional leaders to be swift and decisive when executing change.
The sustainability pathway has different on-ramps and we’re all pulling in the same direction. The goal is to get on it and commit with urgency and transparency. Here are some of the ways that we are working with companies, from PLCs to start-ups across different markets:
- Operational assessment: audit current operations to identify strengths and gaps towards a regenerative future
- Business Strategy: identify business priorities based on an aggregation of interests, from investor to regulator and from consumer to competitor
- Marketing Communications: translate the sustainability agenda into consumer messaging to drive conversion
- Innovation: spot growth opportunities for the category in a sustainability landscape
There is no business to be done on a dead planet. At the time of writing , we are 7 years and 192 days away from our Deadline.
Let’s #actintime together.