Business urged to act now to avoid worse case scenario in 10 years time

Acting Now For A Positive 2018, released today by green development group Forum for the Future and sponsored by IT firm, Capgemini, urges business leaders to embrace sustainability as an opportunity and take radical action despite the recession.

The report looks at the trends expected to shape business over the next decade – from the end of cheap finance and resources, to the impact of climate change and the rise of markets, such as China. It concludes that by taking the initiative on sustainable behaviour, companies will not only generate significant returns but have the best chance of creating a future world that remains broadly free, stable and prosperous and avoids protectionism and Government dominance.

 “It is in companies’ best interests to be leaders in the move to a more sustainable world,” said Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future. “Climate change and shortages of food, energy and other resources will not go away just because there’s a recession. Companies which adapt now will reap dividends in the future.”

The report says companies can respond to the recession by looking at improving energy and resource efficiency in their operations, supply chains and with their customers. In the longer term, it says they should maximise the value they get from every unit of material or energy and should seek out new technologies and business models that can make their businesses profitable.

But the report concedes that effective action by government and regulators – with legal sanctions against business a last resort – is also required to create the conditions for a sustainable economy.

The report describes four scenarios for 2018, all of which could potentially develop depending on what type of action business takes on sustainability now. They are:

• An effective global response to world challenges prompts increased resource productivity and low-carbon growth. Companies have to play a greater role in supporting public services and infrastructure but reap the benefits of a broadly free, stable and prosperous world

• Nations hoard their own resources and tighten their borders in a retreat to nationalism and protectionism. Global businesses all but disappear and companies are expected to support the national interest

• Emerging markets rise as China stalls. Low-carbon technologies thrive, particularly biofuels. Successful companies are multinationals with a local feel, helping to deliver local development needs

• A highly networked world undermines individual countries and companies. Successful companies are now more like branded hubs, coordinating often temporary and short-lived supplier relationships to deliver customised products.

 “We believe that climate change and resource shortages have the potential to create the biggest business change problem ever,” said James Robey, head of Corporate Sustainability for Capgemini UK. “ In this context, we were keen to understand how the sustainability agenda may evolve over the next decade and how businesses should best prepare.”