2023, Futuregazing, & The World Economic Forum Risk Report

Hello - Welcome to 2023, out of the covid pan and into the global recession fire it seems.

This is my first newsletter post, so I will try to keep it light, but this newsletter plans to be informative - if not always uplifting. I am planning to do a round-up of sustainability news/trends/headlines, with a focus on the net-zero, sustainability strategy and carbon. So lets get stuck in.

1. "93% of said they had seen what they believed to be an example of greenwashing within the last month" This, quite overwhelming stat comes from Edie, a UK-based sustainability media brand.

Edie surveyed?1,682 adults across the UK and the results show there is a lot more to do in the green business space when it comes to trust and transparency. "Just 19% of those polled said they found ‘green’ product descriptions reassuring" - Which considering how much money is spent on green marketing shows there is work to be done.

2. Unsurprisingly, there are huge economic benefits to a global net-zero transition. Anyone who has followed renewables stocks/values over the last few years would know this.

"Arup?estimated that green industries could add $10.3 trillion to the world's economy — or 5.2% of global GDP — by 2050 under a net-zero scenario."

This type of value-led growth again helps emphasise the first-mover advantage in any transition. And while there are calls for more of a degrowth strategy when it comes to net-zero for businesses many will be looking at it with a firm focus on their RoI.

3. Contrary to the top of this newsletter and the mood of most people in the UK, Nigel Topping (the UK's Champion for Cop26) seems fairly optimistic about the world reaching net-zero in the 2040's.

By applying the same sort of logic as the space race during the cold war, and business style 'FOMO', Nigel believes in a 'race to zero' which will see companies and countries who lead sustainability maintain a competitive edge and see them compete with ever more audacious climate commitments and plans.

4. The World Economic Forum released its 2023 Risk Assessment, and just the summary page makes for some difficult lunchtime reading and includes cheery new words like 'polycrisis' (a cluster of related risks with compounding impacts and unpredictable consequences.) - yay.

In summary, the global cost of living crisis dominates short-term issues for individuals, businesses and governments alike. But in the long term 6 of the top 10 long-term issues facing the world are to do with climate change or its knock-on effects - it really is the issue of our time.

The climate crisis can seem like an impossible task to undertake, but it can be broken down into the bits you can control and those you can't. If you're a business, measure your footprint and establish a baseline year for your emissions reduction plan. If you're an individual, maybe change your consumer habits or look into offsetting/removing those unavoidable emissions. At Ecologi we can help with both - for more information go to our website - https://ecologi.com/

This newsletter was sent by someone with dyslexia, apologies for any typos.??