Sustainability LEADers Forum is launched in homage to Lord Holme

Are we heading to a world pandemic? Is climate change an environmental or a security issue? How can we prepare for the future?

These were some of the issues discussed with sustainability guru John Elkington, Founder and Non-Executive Director of SustainAbility & Founding Partner at Volans Ventures, at the first meeting of the Sustainability Leaders Forum, on 22 May in London. The Forum was masterminded by The Right Honorable Lord Holme of Cheltenham who passed away early May. Amongst other activities, Lord Holme was a former Chairman of LEAD International and throughout his career he was committed to sustainable development. Brand Legacy helped LEAD organize the event.

The evening started with John’s commenting on future scenarios for CSR by talking about past and the societal pressure waves that have driven political and market change linked to sustainable development which have been measured by SustainAbility since 1994.

John believes the latest wave is starting and it will focus around solutions that follow the creative destruction pattern (ref. Joseph Schumpeter). He also foresees new models and practical answers to current sustainability challenges coming from places we least expect, i.e. from emerging economies, rather than from the usual suspects such as Western Europe and US.

“People are struggling to understand what sustainability is about, not to mention how they can embed it into their businesses. Focusing on truly material issues is more difficult than it seems and on the top of that, we need to better understand how different cultures, markets and people operate and prioritise issues.”

John Elkington

It is clear that CSR does not encompass the full sustainability agenda and there are potential pitfalls in moves such as re-branding of CSR as sustainability. So far, even leading companies do not have comprehensive strategies to address all the direct and indirect impacts of their businesses necessary to tackle a sustainable future.

Additionally, in this moment of economic turmoil, people and corporations look to themselves and their immediate future, rather than worrying about what might come over the horizon in a few years time. If the recession scenario plays out, which seems likely, it can be expected that CSR will move to the backstage and as a consequence CSR teams will be diminished in size. However, a recession could open up opportunities for venture capitalists working with social entrepreneurs to set up new businesses based on sustainability principles. These new businesses, rather than CSR departments within existing businesses, may become the driving force for a sustainable future.

Comments from the floor noted:

• the importance of cutting edge business leadership as well as political leadership, but on the difficulty of shifting paradigms internally as well as externally to the companies; and
• the increasing bottom of pyramid consumerism is being underestimated and businesses are not doing enough, fast enough, to address the impacts this brings to economy, globalisation and the planet.

To add spice to our fears for the future, John reminded us about the growing probability of a pandemic, which is not that hard to imagine if we consider the conditions of our Megacities and the connections in a globalized world. With this in mind, one cannot help but to think about sustainability as a security issue, rather than any climate change concern.

In fact, John noted that sustainability is about risk management - but also about new market opportunities and the potential for disruptive innovation. Companies that actively try and shape a different future are thinking sustainably, eg a insulin manufacturer which nonetheless is working with governments and stakeholders to reduce obesity and the risks of a diabetes epidemic.

When asked about businesses that are ahead of the game and that master the scenario building art, John closed the discussion with a simple, yet insightful truism:

The best way to predict the future is to create it!

The evening ended over drinks and canapés, when participants networked and exchanged ideas of how each of us can create a sustainable future.
Insert picture of people networking

Now LEAD is looking for a company to host the next Forum in London. If you would like to host the Sustainability Leaders Forum, or if you know someone that would like to do so, please contact Isabela Souza (isabela@lead.org).

Release date: Thursday, May 22, 2008