The Sustainability Agenda

Professor Carlota Perez has spent her career researching the profound impact technology has had on socio-economic development.  In this fascinating interview, we explore the two distinct phases of a technological revolution as outlined by Carlota: installation – or experimental early phase – and deployment (or “Golden Age”).  Carlota emphasizes the critical role governments play in this phase. By setting a clear and context-sensitive pathway for the transformation through new policies, regulations and taxes, the state can ensure a win-win outcome for both business and society.  Considering the trends from the four previous technological revolutions, Carlota compares the current socio-economic situation to the 1930s and suggests how we can move forward towards a sustainable golden age for our information revolution.Carlota Perez is a Venezuelan-British researcher and educator, currently affiliated to three universities in the UK ­– LSE, IIPP-UCL and SPRU (Sussex) – and to TalTech in Estonia.  She specializes in the relationship between technology and socio-economic development, with a focus on techno-economic paradigm shifts and the theory of great surges (a development of Schumpeter’s work on Kondratieff waves). Her book, Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages, published in 2002, has had a profound impact on our understanding of how technology shapes our institutional, economic, and social development. The post Episode 61: Interview with Carlota Perez, Centennial Professor of International Development at the London School of Economics appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.

In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to how economic theory is divorced from environmental reality, exemplified by how environmental breakdown is often dismissingly referred to as a mere “externality”. In this fascinating interview, we’re talking to self-described renegade economist Kate Raworth about a new economic vision that is firmly grounded in social progress and embedded in the environmental limits of our planetary household.Images are immensely powerful in shaping our perceptions. Raworth believes that tackling the unsustainability of our economic system requires new images that anchor human wellbeing within environmental boundaries. Raworth proposes an alternative in the doughnut – a safe and just space in which for humanity to survive and thrive in the 21st century. The doughnut, named after its shape, features an outer ecological ceiling with the nine planetary boundaries that humanity must not transgress to maintain a safe and stable environment and an inner ring with twelve crucial social foundations to ensure all of humanity’s peoples can have their human rights met. Doing so provides a compass in which we can redefine economics success.To this end, Raworth proposes seven different ways of evolving economic theories of the 20th century to meet the challenges of the 21st. In particular, she stresses the limits of GDP-oriented economic growth particularly its great inefficiency in distributing economic gains and the evident flawed thinking of the environmental Kuznets Curve. Rather than get mired in the green growth debate Raworth elegantly navigates the issue by stating that we need to be agnostic about growth. In short, we need to move from economies that need to grow, whether or not it makes us thrive towards economies that make us thrive, whether or not they grow. The doughnut also reveals the scale of the challenge, as currently no country is living within the doughnut so that “we are all developing countries now”. On a global scale, the picture is equally bleak as four environmental boundaries have been breached and none of the social foundations are being met. Far from being an optimist, Raworth stresses the urgency of the present and how we, the people of the early 21st century, are the first generation to truly understand the extent of damage we are doing to the planet, and the last to be able to do something about it.Raworth is a Senior Visiting Research Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute and a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Since Doughnut Economics was published in 2017, it has been translated into 15 languages, and The Guardian has named her “one of the top ten tweeters on economic transformation.”The post Episode 60: Interview with Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.

Ian Gough, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at University of Bath, discusses the need for new eco-social policies to address environmental crises. He emphasizes the importance of blending economy, ecology, social policy, and politics to understand climate change. Gough proposes examples of eco-social policies, such as social pricing of utilities and reduced work schedules. He highlights the need to recompose consumption, reducing luxuries to improve production of necessities. Gough urges us to think on a global scale, using the example of SUVs to emphasize the importance of considering electricity as a necessity.

Founded in 1993, Global Witness is a non-profit organization working to expose environmental and human rights abuses resulting from the exploitation of natural resources supported by political and/or economic corruption through the help of a global network of partners and allies.  Global Witness currently has active campaigns in over 15 countries designed to make national level impacts through international systems changing reform.In this episode, Gillian shares with us some of the hard-hitting campaigns that Global Witness has worked on in recent years. She describes a recent campaign where Global Witness repeatedly found that anonymous companies in the oil, mining, and gas companies had been shielding the public from important financial information.  In the Publish What You Pay campaign, oil, mining, and gas companies were forced to disclose how much they were paying for access to these resources. Global Witness also uncovered bribes from Shell to Nigerian officials totaling $1.1 billion. Gillian highlights the role of anonymous companies allowing corruption to take place—and stresses the importance the global trend for transparency in order to combat injustice and influence positive change around the world.Gillian Caldwell is no stranger to social injustice campaigns.  She was recognized as a Public Interest Law Scholar by Georgetown University where she received her J.D., and has since confronted women sex trafficking issues at WITNESS, and was instrumental in the success of the 1Sky campaign which became the largest collaborative climate and energy campaign in the United States (prior to its merger with 350.org).The post Episode 58: Interview with Gillian Caldwell, CEO of Global Witness appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.

Jeremy Lent is an author whose writings investigate the patterns of thought that have led civilization to its current crisis of sustainability. He is the founder of the non-profit Liology Institute, which is dedicated to a worldview that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably; Jeremy works to integrate history and philosophy to shape a more meaningful and sustainable life for all. More recently, his book, The Patterning Instinct, outlines how different cultures shape values and how those values have helped shape world history.Jeremy Lent is a graduate from Cambridge University and received an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is the founder NextCard, the first financial services company to enable consumers to apply for credit cards over the internet and be approved in real time.In this thought provoking interview, Jeremy discusses the evolution of cultures, values, and how world views change. Jeremy identifies key myths from the past and highlights the role that the media and transnational corporations play in developing our current culture. He makes several structural suggestions so corporations can shift from maximize immediate shareholder wealth to a triple-bottom line approach for the long-term, leading to a more sustainable future. In this wide-ranging interview, Jeremey presents a compelling vision of an ecological civilization – as an alternative to the present capitalist model – in which greater value is placed on life and growth.The post Episode 57: Interview with Jeremy Lent, author of The Patterning Instinct appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.

Dr. Jason Hickel is an anthropologist, author and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. His book, The Divide, addresses global inequality and was published by Penguin Random House in 2017. Jason has taught at a number of universities including Goldsmiths, and the University of London where he currently convenes the MA in Anthropology and Cultural Politics. He serves on the Labour Party task force on international development, works as Policy Director for the Rules collective, sits on the Executive Board of Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP), and recently joined the International Editorial Advisory Board of Third World Quarterly.This is a wide-ranging and thought-provoking interview, chock full of fresh thinking on sustainability, poverty and inequality, and the impact of the western-led development agenda across the world. Jason paints an eye-opening picture of the state of the global economy today, building upon his research in The Divide. He presents strong arguments for a post-growth economy in order to achieve emissions reductions, and to avoid crossing other planetary boundaries, and provides examples from Costa Rica, Japan, and other EU countries, highlighting non-growth approaches that facilitate human flourishing. Jason also provides an array of ideas for action including the need to limit shareholder power, and alternatives to GDP measurement techniques to account for ecological and social negatives.The post Episode 56: interview with Dr. Jason Hickel, author of The Divide appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.

Daniel Nyberg is a Professor of Management at the Newcastle Business School in Australia.  His main research focus is seeking to understand how corporations responsibly – or not so responsibly – engage with society and the environment. He has a background in social sciences and co-authored the book Climate Change, Capitalism, and Corporations: Processes of Creative Self-Destruction.In this thought provoking interview, Daniel offers a challenging perspective on how corporations pursue sustainability strategies with a particular focus on climate change.  In his research, Daniel found that businesses struggle to uphold their climate change goals over the long-term, eventually reverting back to prioritizing growth over green initiatives.  In a wide ranging discussion, Daniel also discusses the role investors and governments play in influencing corporate compliance with respect to sustainability practices and debates what role corporations should play in dealing with climate change.The post Episode 55: Professor Daniel Nyberg discusses the challenges companies face maintaining their sustainability commitments to climate change over time appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.

As more and more cities transition away from the port and manufacturing hubs of old to brain-based, service leading economies of the future, a greater emphasis will be placed on cities to push for sustainability in order to successfully compete for global commerce.  In this insightful interview with Dr. Cohen, co-author of The Sustainable City (2017), we consider the ways urban life is changing and how we can effectively transition to a renewable resource based economy.  He provides numerous examples of current trends guiding us towards a less resource consumptive society, and highlights the importance of government facilitated projects and the role public-private partnerships play in driving the sustainable city forward.Dr. Steven Cohen is a Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs where he also serves as Director of the Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy, and Director of the Masters of Science in Sustainability Management within the School of Continuing Education.  In addition, he is the Director of the Research Program on Sustainability Policy and Management at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.  Dr. Cohen has worked as a consultant for the Environmental Protection Agency intermittently since 1981, and serves on the Board of Directors for a number of organizations.The post Episode 54: Dr Steve Cohen talks about the Sustainable City appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.

Tobias Webb is the founder of the Innovation Forum, a sustainability events and publishing company based in London. Innovation Forum facilitates debate-driven events to help drive innovation and dialog.  Through collaborative events with partners, the company focuses on addressing the most difficult questions companies are facing today to assure sustainable supply chains. Tobias has also spent eight years teaching Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, and is now a visiting lecturer on corporate sustainability, supply chains and innovation at King’s College London.  From 2006-2009, he was co-chair of the Independent Working Group on Corporate Responsibility.In this fascinating interview, we take a deep dive with Tobias on the importance (and challenges) assuring sustainable agricultural value chains. Toby talks about the four key drivers forcing companies to address issues within their global supply chains: generational changes, consumer expectations, technology, and regulations.  Based on the Innovation Forum’s in-depth research, Toby discusses the progress and (complex) challenges associated with the drive to produce (and certify) sustainable palm oil –and assesses progress with respect to sustainability and governance for other commodities.  He is optimistic that transparency, traceability, and technology will come together and help drive change in agricultural supply chains, provide assurances to consumers that they are receiving sustainably sourced products, and in turn help generate momentum to address the sustainable production of other commodities.The post Episode 53: Deep dive on sustainable agricultural supply chains with Tobias Webb, founder of the Innovation Forum, a sustainability events and publishing company based in London. appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.

Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey and Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). His vision for CUSP builds on thirty years of multi-disciplinary research on sustainability and decades of policy experience, in particular his work as Economics Commissioner on the UK Sustainable Development Commission. Tim is the author of Prosperity Without Growth, recently published in a substantially revised and updated 2nd edition. He is also an award-winning playwright with numerous radio-writing credits for the BBC.In this wide-ranging interview, Professor Jackson outlines the compelling arguments for a post growth economy, based on his research and best-selling book Prosperity without Growth, highlighting the contradiction between the idea of unlimited growth and life on a finite planet. Professor Jackson recognises the progress that has been made in terms of relative decoupling of GDP growth from environmental impact but highlights the challenge of reaching a stage of absolute decoupling. He also discusses the shortcomings of using GDP as a measure of economic welfare and provides an overview of recent initiatives to develop alternative measures. This is a fascinating interview with a key thinker at the heart of post-growth thinking which gets to the heart of some of the biggest contradictions at the heart of green growth-and why green growth has proven to be such a seductive idea.The post Episode 52 Interview with Professor Tim Jackson, Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey and Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.