12 - 12 - 12 ~ Breakthrough Time?

Many politicians are stuck on a brown economy, while many business leaders understand the necessity for a green one. Ambitions in large parts of the private sector are getting bolder, and this could be taken to the next level in 2013. I suspect we'll see a number of breakthrough activities.

Net positive plans

In our recent Green Game Changers report, we highlighted a number of restorative or "net positive" initiatives. PepsiCo's manufacturing operations in India used 5.8bn litres of water in 2010. In the same year, the company helped to recharge 10.1bn, thus replenishing 4.3bn litres of surplus water. BASF's greenhouse gases totalled 152m tonnes in 2011 while their products saved users 330m tonnes of emissions. In 2012, we saw Ikea, Kingfisher and O2 go public with similar ambitions. Who will be next in 2013?

The idea of business moving from doing less harm to doing good is by no means new, but at last we are seeing real traction in this space. It will be exciting to see more plans like this coming out next year, stimulating further healthy debate around what constitutes the enhancement of social and natural capital.

Collective goals

These unilateral net positive plans drive a greener economy, as do purposeful collaborative efforts. Zero deforestation in the supply chain by 2020 and phasing-out HFC refrigerants as of 2015 are commitments made by the board of the Consumer Goods Forum, representing more than 400 multinationals. Many eyes are on the delivery of these goals and the methods by which they are pursued, but with such aspiration and such scale it makes you think anything is possible in tackling all kinds of global challenges. What other collective goals could be established among businesses in 2013?

How about integrated water stewardship? Businesses are assessing water risks in the supply chain while understanding that they and their suppliers alone cannot bring solutions. This is a shared challenge, and 2013 will be the year when we will see multinationals coming together to protect critical river basins for the benefit of communities, wildlife and industry.

Innovative innovation

Every business working alone and/or with others will need to think differently. The fast growth in cleantech and the rapid emergence of collaborative consumption, the circular economy, 3D printing, co-operatives, crowd-funding and all kinds of other innovations aided by digital technologies present major opportunities for businesses that adapt and major threats for those that don't. This requires much more than product innovation.

The coming year will see many more companies exploring more innovation in more rounded ways – looking across business models, value chains and whole business ecosystems. Firms will work more closely with peers and customers in trying out adventurous propositions. WWF will continue to support such Green Game Changers.

To engage or not to engage?

These kinds of breakthrough activities make it increasingly harder for me and many colleagues to continue engaging with sectors, such as oil and gas, where doing bad things better remains the main game rather than much-needed thinking around changing the game. It is increasingly tempting – even for a business-friendly NGO such as WWF – to disengage from such sectors. The newly emerging net positive plans, solutions-oriented collaboration and the innovation into new ways of doing business are what drive us.


This article was written by Dax Lovegrove with WWF-UK