Looking beyond net zero: new report challenges businesses to adopt ‘just and regenerative’ approaches capable of tackling critical global challenges

Press release: Looking beyond net zero: new report challenges businesses to adopt ‘just and regenerative’ approaches capable of tackling critical global challenges

As ‘just and regenerative’ approaches gain traction across the sustainability movement, new report defines the concept for business and outlines how companies can reset ambition in order to tackle escalating social and environmental crises
Coming on the back of COP26, the report recognises that net zero is urgently needed, but also challenges businesses to look beyond it - making the case for deeper transformation and providing a new tool to help leaders drive change

London, 16 November 2021 – Following the COP26 Climate Summit, a new report launched today is calling on businesses to urgently reset their sustainability ambition – ultimately adopting ‘just and regenerative’ approaches with the potential to transform the way they operate at scale and pace.

Titled A Compass for Just and Regenerative Business, the report was created by international sustainability non-profit, Forum for the Future, in partnership with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

The report defines ‘just and regenerative’ as an approach that: embraces the power of nature to renew and regenerate; understands that humans are a fundamental part of nature; and respects everyone's universal rights and potential to thrive.

Just and regenerative approaches also:

challenge businesses to go beyond current extractive models to recognise the ability of all living beings and ecosystems to regenerate, replenish and create the conditions for more life
call for integrated thinking on environmental and social issues - recognising that a thriving planet can’t be one that contains widespread human suffering, while a thriving human population can’t exist on a dying planet.

Whilst there has been increasing energy around regenerative approaches and social justice issues, there hasn’t yet been an attempt to integrate the two concepts for a business audience.

The report aims to bridge that gap and comes as the latest science [1] indicates that global decarbonisation rates remain radically off course - with our entire 1.5ºC budget set to be used up within just eight years at current emissions rates.

Commenting on the report launch, Forum for the Future’s Chief Executive, Dr Sally Uren, said: “COP26 put the spotlight on the urgent need for greater ambition in tackling the climate crisis and the associated crises of biodiversity loss and inequality. Right now people are asking what's next? We know that standard approaches to corporate sustainability haven't got us where we need to be - but there has been no alignment on what will be the key unlock or what business needs to do. At Forum we believe a fundamental mindset shift is required - one that puts just and regenerative approaches at the heart of business. This guidance lays out what that mindset shift is and, crucially, what businesses need to do to make it happen.

“Businesses are either working towards restoring our world socially and ecologically, or they are depleting it,” Dr Uren continued. “Right now, business leaders have a choice: they can lead and help shape the next wave of sustainability - or they can get left behind.”

The report goes on to:

make the business case for why a just and regenerative future is so urgently needed - arguing that the very success of companies long-term will depend on thriving communities to trade with and a healthy planet to exist on
define five key outcomes of a just and regenerative future that businesses need to help realise: thriving social and environmental systems; rapidly stabilised planetary health; universal respect for human rights; the adoption of fairer ways to create and distribute value; support for resilience and vitality across generations and geographies
present an all-new ‘Business Transformation Compass’ tool to help leaders understand their current approaches – such as ‘do less harm’ or ‘do no harm / net zero’ - and reset their ambition to go further
provide specific recommendations to transform functions such as Marketing, Human Resources, Procurement and Corporate Affairs, and to address critical challenges such as climate, nature, circularity and waste, decent work and human rights.

Peter Bakker, President and CEO of WBCSD, said: “Momentum is building for real transformation of our societies and the businesses that serve them. Ambition is getting closer to where it needs to be – every day more companies commit to the creation of a net-zero emission, nature positive and inclusive future. Earlier this year WBCSD released Vision 2050: Time to Transform, our framework for action to help business translate its ambitions and commitments into impact at scale. Alongside its nine transformation pathways, Vision 2050 identifies three strategic mindset shifts that are essential to unlocking transformation at the rate and scale required: reinventing the outcomes of our current model of capitalism, rethinking long-term resilience, and adopting regenerative business approaches. This Compass for Just and Regenerative Business digs into the regenerative mindset, providing a resource to guide accelerated business contributions to a net-zero, nature positive, equitable world, in which more than nine billion people live well, within planetary boundaries. It’s time to transform.”

The report is based in part on insights from leading organisations such as the American Sustainable Business Council, Unilever, Nestlé, Ingka Group (IKEA), Kimberly-Clark, Seventh Generation, SIG and Capgemini.

Rob Cameron, VP Global Head of Public Affairs, Nestlé, said: “To feed the world for generations to come, our approach must go beyond ‘doing no harm’ to having a positive impact on food systems at scale. The Business Transformation Compass presented in this report is a hands-on tool supporting our journey to regeneration. Inspired by nature’s ability to renew and revive, Nestlé aims to co-create a resilient future for our planet and its people.”

Paul Margetts, Managing Director, Capgemini in the UK, commented: “It is imperative that we address the environmental and social crises, and that we take necessary action today. At Capgemini, we are committed to becoming a net zero business and will be carbon neutral by 2025, whilst also supporting our clients on their net zero journeys. The sheer scale of the sustainability challenge we collectively face provides a huge opportunity for businesses to create positive change. However, to do this at pace requires a reset and for businesses to adopt a just and regenerative mindset. We believe this report makes an important contribution in taking responsible business to the next level”.

-ENDS-

For more information, interviews or comment, please email Ulrike Stein, Senior Communications & Marketing Manager at Forum for the Future, [email protected].

Download the report: https://www.forumforthefuture.org/just-and-regenerative-business.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Further supporting quotes:

Lisa Morden, Vice President of Safety, Sustainability & Occupational Health at Kimberly-Clark, said: “The rising effects of climate change threaten the long-term health and well-being of people, communities and ecosystems around the globe. Businesses need to step up, think bigger, move faster, and set ambitious goals to renew and regenerate natural systems, spur innovation and action, and build a better future for all. The Business Transformation Compass provides Kimberly-Clark with a powerful tool to elevate our ambitions and collaborate on a deeper level across industries and sectors as we deliver our purpose of better care for a better world.”

Jeffrey Hollender, CEO, American Sustainable Business Council, commented: “Forum for the Future’s brilliant new report on 'Just and Regenerative Business’ is mission critical reading for the entire business community. Our historical focus on sustainability has not effectively addressed our most urgent challenges. Though business is unquestionably the primary cause of the climate and social crises we face - they can also be the solution. To do so they must radically transform how they operate. Incrementality will not be enough to course correct based on the severity of our global situation.”

References:

[1] IPCC 6^th Assessment report 2021

About the report

The report, A Compass for Just and Regenerative Business, was produced by Forum for the Future in partnership with WBCSD for people working within businesses on the transformation needed to address critical global challenges, including mounting inequality, the climate emergency and nature in crisis. It was developed with input from the American Sustainable Business Council and many leading businesses including Unilever, Nestlé, Ingka Group (IKEA), Kimberly-Clark, Seventh Generation, SIG and Capgemini. It provides a synthesis of current leading thinking around just and regenerative practice and presents the ‘Business Transformation Compass’ as a practical tool to aid adopting it. The report complements Forum for the Future’s Transform Trajectory and WBCSD’s updated Vision 2050: Time to Transform.

About Forum for the Future

Forum for the Future is a leading international sustainability non-profit. For 25 years we’ve been working in partnership with business, governments and civil society to accelerate the transformation toward a just and regenerative future. We use our systems change and futures expertise to help tackle critical global challenges: the climate emergency, transforming our food and farming systems, and ensuring supply chains are more resilient and more equitable. We also enable long-term, transformative change by equipping individuals and organisations to act more systemically. Find out more at www.forumforthefuture.org or by following @Forum4theFuture on Twitter. Our latest futures thinking is captured in the Future of Sustainability and on the Futures Centre platform.

About the World Business Council for Sustainable Development

WBCSD is the premier global, CEO-led community of over 200 of the world’s leading sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the system transformations needed for a net zero, nature positive, and more equitable future. Our member companies come from all business sectors and all major economies, representing a combined revenue of more than USD $8.5 trillion and 19 million employees. Our global network of almost 70 national business councils gives our members unparalleled reach across the globe. Since 1995, WBCSD has been uniquely positioned to work with member companies along and across value chains to deliver impactful business solutions to the most challenging sustainability issues. Together, we are the leading voice of business for sustainability, united by our vision of a world in which 9+ billion people are living well, within planetary boundaries, by mid-century.

Recently updated, Vision 2050: Time to Transform is our framework for action to help business translate its ambitions into impact at scale. Vision 2050 identifies three strategic mindset shifts that are essential to unlocking transformation at the rate and scale required: reinventing the outcomes of our current model of capitalism, rethinking what it means to be resilient in the long-term, and ultimately adopting a regenerative approach to business. This Compass for Just and Regenerative Business advances our understanding of the regenerative mindset shift. Find out more about our work at www.wbcsd.org or by following us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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