Right now, emergent strategy is how we can intentionally get into the right relationship with the planet and with each other. Emergent strategy is focused towards people who have a desire to change the world. They see that something is wrong. They see that there's injustice, imbalance, and that deep transformation is needed. The question is, how does one transform oneself in order to bring about that transformation?

It's also about creating the right relationship to change. So much of emergent strategy is inspired by Octavia Butler and the idea that all that you touch, you change, and all that you touch also changes you back. For most of us who strive to create change, we love that first part—“all that you touch, you change”— yes!

But the idea that we're also being changed is much harder for us to contend with. For this reason, the book provides strategies for how to adapt with intention. How can we understand that change is non-linear? How can we understand that change happens through relationships? 

Over the past 10 years, the natural fibre market has seen a marked improvement in the demand for sustainably produced fibres. This is becoming more critical as legislation forces companies to report on the source of their raw materials and the conditions under which their product is produced.

Commercial business decisions are being heavily influenced by consumer sentiment conveyed through social media. It would be nice to think retailers make decisions in order to do the right and ethical thing, but businesses are changing their behaviour because negative behaviour can be easily identified and Tweeted, Insta'ed, WhatsApped.

The disconnect between many companies’ public sustainability ambitions and their non-public lobbying efforts can no longer be excused. The Erb Institute’s Corporate Political Responsibility Taskforce is helping companies connect the dots.

A society based on natural ecology might seem like a far-off utopia—yet communities everywhere are already creating it.

Non-profit hails record year for climate, deforestation, and water risk reporting, as investor-backed group eyes plans to cover land and ocean data

Record numbers of companies, cities, states, and regions have reported their climate change, water security, and deforestation data to CDP in 2020, despite the disruption caused to the global econom

A human rights group filed a lawsuit on behalf of eight Malian men who say they were trafficked across the border to the Cote D'Ivoire and forced to harvest cocoa for one or more of seven companies: Mars, Nestlé, Hershey, Cargill, Mondelēz, Barry Callebaut and Olam. Child labor is a major and ongoing problem for cocoa production in West Africa.

Emerging technologies offer some fascinating possibilities for fighting climate change, but the benefits go even further in many cases. For instance, research from PwC found that using AI in environment management applications such as clean energy grids, precision agriculture, and predictive weather and disasters could contribute over $5 trillion to the economy by 2030. 

redundancy & adaptability in complex systems.

It is not simply a theory, either. Back in February 2020, the analyst revealed that 70 per cent of supply chain leaders are planning to invest in the circular economy in the next 18 months. The likes of Maersk, Caterpillar, IKEA, Philips Lighting, Rolls Royce, Timberland and Nestle are all developing circular economy initiatives, while others are building dedicated departments and hiring talent to specifically drive related projects.

A new paper suggests harnessing positive “tipping points” can significantly reduce carbon emissions.

Some currents of degrowth stress the need for production at the local level, ideally through worker self-organization. These  ideas can be found in the writing of Yves-Marie Abraham, for example, who argues that the production of the basic necessities of life should no longer be undertaken by private enterprise or the State, but by communities organized according to the principles of self-production and sharing of the means of production.[7] As many other organizations, Polémos, an independent research group on degrowth based in Montreal, also advocates a form of work organization based on cooperative and commons-based production[8].

International Educator and Thought Leader Nicholas Martino is advocating that we could use the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for teaching and learning.

Having a memory of past events enables us to take smarter decisions about the future. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) and Technical University of Munich (TUM) identify the basis for forming memories in the slime mold Physarum polycephalum—despite its lack of a nervous system.

Samsung’s First Look event, held virtually on January 6th, saw the company affirm its commitment to pursuing accessibility, sustainability and innovation in all its latest products and technologies to help redefine the role of the television in consumers’ homes.

 Samsung has embarked on a sustainability journey that puts the environment first in all business operations with several long-term sustainability programs that include sustainable packaging design, solar cell-powered remote controls and the reduction of carbon footprints through the use of recycled materials.

Take a look at the infographic below to learn more about Samsung’s commitment to a sustainable future through its eco-friendly visual display products and processes.

These Afro-Indigenous practices challenge ideas of human supremacy.

The European Commission (EC) has adopted a Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability to further strengthen protection of human and environmental health, including a phase out of the most harmful substances and simplification of the risk assessment process.

Companies are chasing profits from product innovations such as plant-based meat but failing to invest in supply chain resilience, study finds

Leading companies operating in the global food supply chain are underestimating key environmental risks, proritising small-scale product innovations while ignoring opportunities to create a more ...

People who make these foods are literally losing their lives.

A key thread of the research examined the ability of people to visualize the future. Results showed that while 74 percent of respondents were concerned about climate change, only 29 percent discussed lower carbon options when asked to describe travel in the year 2050.

"This suggests actively envisioning a sustainable future was less prevalent than climate change concern. So while the majority were concerned, there was a disconnect with expectations of what the future might hold," says lead author Jean Fletcher, who completed the study as part of her Ph.D. in Otago's Centre for Science Communication.

As governments and businesses pursue a resilient recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, the circular economy policy goals detailed in the paper can offer solutions to key global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, whilst delivering economic development. 

The Foundation worked with an extensive group of representatives from across its global network of businesses and policymakers to create five Universal circular economy policy goals :

Stimulate design for the circular economy
Manage resources to preserve value
Make the economics work 
Invest in innovation, infrastructure, and skills
Collaborate for system change

Work by the Foundation has shown that moving to a circular economy – in which waste is eliminated, products and materials are kept in use, and natural systems are regenerated – can play a pivotal role in tackling climate change, while delivering new opportunities for better growth.

Along with a hook to go climate-neutral, peer-to-peer resale marketplace Depop is, more or less, cutting ties with conventional fashion.

This and more was revealed in the company’s two-year sustainability plan released Thursday, envisioning “a new fashion system” based on commitments across governance, planet, people and platform. As with many businesses, Depop based its strategy on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, but unlike other sustainability reports, Depop’s report is brief and pointed.

“Fashion traditionally uses a top-down system — but that doesn’t fit today’s needs any more,” Maria Raga, chief executive officer of Depop, told WWD. “Not from a style perspective, not from an industry perspective and definitely not from an environmental perspective. So when we say ‘a new fashion system,’ what we mean is a way of making, selling, buying and experiencing fashion. One with space for many voices that’s kinder to people and kinder to the planet. Depop offers that space as a tech platform that’s easy to use, and even more so now with our sustainability plan.”

Tracking the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda

The European Commission’s Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy, unveiled in May 2020​, aims to engage all players along the supply chain – from, as the name suggests, farm-to-fork.

In an effort to improve human and planetary health, the Commission has set a host of actions directed at the agricultural sector. These include reduction targets for chemical and hazardous pesticides, and fertilisers, as well as improved animal welfare.

On the fork side of things, targets will be set to reduce food loss and waste, and plans are underway to bring in a mandatory and harmonised front-of-pack (FOP) labelling scheme.

Is this enough to ensure consumers are onboard with the strategy? Because as MEPs argued at a European Food Forum (EFF) event last week, much of the success of the F2F lies in consumers’ hands.