How to respond to the anti-ESG wave? Embrace it! By embracing the politicization of corporate sustainability and the culture war surrounding it, corporate sustainability can see multiple benefits: Shifting the focus to dark matter elements shaping the corporate sustainability discourse, articulating a narrative war between the past and the future, and creating a broader political alignment that can win over the contest on our future.

Sustainability is at a crossroads — while it become more common, it is also less effective when it comes to addressing key challenges. Changing this course would require a shift to a new type of sustainability: Populist sustainability, which is based on three tenets: Narratives, affordability, and chutzpah. In…

This is the time of regenerative business models, at least according to the interest a growing number of companies show in advancing regenerative visions and initiatives. But what does it mean in practice? Are companies truly adopting regenerative mindset and practices or is it just a myth they help promote? — In 2020 Joel Makower wrote on GreenBiz a piece about regeneration, pointing out that it is “everywhere these days, vying to nudge “sustainability” aside in favor of the next trendy term.” …

The new wave of climate activists protesting in museums around the world brings up questions about the narratives promoted by these actions and their effectiveness. To win the fight against climate change we need narratives that can win over people, but how do we do it exactly? — Was the protest of Just Stop Oil activists throwing soup on Van Gogh’s painting at the National Gallery in London (or later, the activists throwing mashed potatoes at Monet's painting) successful or effective?

The success of Shein, the ultra-fast fashion company, brings up important questions about the ability of sustainable innovation to compete and win the hearts and minds of young consumers. Shein may be the new unsustainable kid on the block, but the lessons it offers are invaluable to anyone involved in sustainability in general and sustainable innovation in particular. — I don’t know how you feel about Shein, the ultra-fast fashion company that has become ultra-successful with Gen Z, but I think this brand could be the best thing that happened to the sustainability movement.

What does it mean to redesign Amazon as a degrowth business? Can a fashion brand use degrowth principles to be more successful? While these questions may sound very far from the reality of sustainability-as-usual they represent the next critical challenge for the sustainability movement: Creating thriving degrowth business models. Are we ready for D-Corps? — What would a degrowth business model for Amazon could look like? What would it mean for the company to adopt a business model grounded in “a planned reduction of energy and resource use designed to bring the economy back into balance with the living world in a way that…

Let’s face it — we are not winning for now the battle on sustainability. One reason is that we’re struggling to articulate a sustainable future that we can be excited about. With sustainability losing its mojo (if it even had one, to begin with) it’s time to figure out quickly how to rewild people’s imagination. — Let’s face it — we are not winning for now the battle on sustainability. Yes, you can read the news every day on this or that positive development, but overall key trends are still moving in the wrong direction — from planetary boundaries that exceed safe limits to deforestation in…

Many companies are committed to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but what is the value of the SDGs in business? While the SDGs have been considered as a North Star and a strategic tool helping companies pursue a meaningful sustainability agenda, in reality, it seems like they fail to do so. Therefore, it is time to reconsider if and what role the SDGs should have in business. — Earlier this year the GRI published a study looking into business contributions to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). …

2021 was the year of the Great Resignation. Will 2022 be the year of the Great Awakening, where we see a growing number of companies move away from sustainability-as-usual and adopt awakened sustainability as an organizing principle? And if so, what are some of the key signals of a sustainability-first mindset we may see in 2022? — In 2021 millions of people around the world quit their job. This trend was termed the “Great Resignation” or the “Big Quit.” However, resignation or quitting may have a negative connotation — quitting, for example, is “associated with pessimism, laziness, and lack of confidence,” Derek Thompson wrote on the Atlantic…