Reflections

    Reflections by Wayne Visser

    900 short reflections on the planet, the economy, society and life.

    Showing 30 of 900 · A–Z

    100

    Is your company part of a 100-Club? There are several to choose from now and they all signal ambitious sustainability leadership. The RE100 and EV100…

    Planet · Climate & Energy

    2030

    Being a business leader on sustainability today means committing to science-based targets. But those who really understand the science – and hence the urgency of…

    Planet · Climate & Energy

    3.5%

    If you are looking for inspiration, check out the Sunrise Movement – a youth movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs…

    Society · Change & Leadership

    Acceptance

    In life, it helps to know what we can control, what we should try to control, and what we can’t control. What we can control…

    Life · Inner Life

    Acceptance

    We all need to let go sometimes, take risks together, opt for a change of scenery, or pace, or work – and to trust that…

    Life · Inner Life

    Acceptance

    For those of us who are trying to change the world – or even a small part of the world – acceptance is one of…

    Society · Change & Leadership

    Accounting

    Is there a role for bean-counters in the sustainability revolution? As a former Director of Sustainability Services at KPMG, I have an insider-outsider view. The…

    Economy · Business & Finance

    Action

    Our global challenges demand ‘a little less conversation, a little more action’. But what can each of us do? I have this little mnemonic to…

    Society · Change & Leadership

    Activists

    As the world braces itself for ongoing climate protests, we need to celebrate and support social and environmental activist movements. Women are often at the…

    Society · Change & Leadership

    Adaptation

    Humans are nothing if not adaptable. In fact, adaptation is probably our evolutionary edge as a species. We see adaptation in action every day in…

    Society · Change & Leadership

    Adventure

    In life, you are being asked to choose between different doors, without really knowing what is behind each one. Finding a path that is interesting…

    Life · Wonder & Travel

    Adventure

    Letting go – taking risks – is not always easy, or without those knocks and bruises. But it is almost invariably more interesting and rewarding.…

    Life · Wonder & Travel

    Afforestation

    Wales is growing a forest that will span the length and breadth of the country, joining up existing protected woodlands with large scale tree planting…

    Planet · Nature & Biodiversity

    Ageing

    As much as age is a concrete reality, it is also an ethereal illusion. We all have to make that journey through time, from starting…

    Life · Inner Life

    Ageing

    We can refuse to be neatly confined to our age-boxes. There is as much wisdom in youth as there is rebellion in old age; adults…

    Life · Inner Life

    Ageing

    We are conditioned on what is expected of us at any given age, told to grow up or to act our age. When we are…

    Life · Inner Life

    Ageing

    As much as age is a wrinkling of the skin and a greying of the hair, it is a stretching of the mind and a…

    Life · Inner Life

    Agriculture

    The agro-industry sector is feeding people and starving the planet. In 1962, one farmer fed 25.8 persons; today it is 155. But our mechanistic, chemical-intensive…

    Planet · Food & Farming

    Agrowaste

    Years ago, I interviewed James Lovelock, the originator of Gaia Theory, which hypothesises that the Earth behaves like a living organism. When I asked him…

    Planet · Climate & Energy

    AI

    Artificial intelligence might make you think of a humanoid robot or increase your anxiety about the security of your job. But AI comes in many…

    Economy · Technology & Innovation

    Air

    What could be more precious than the air we breathe? The WHO estimates 7 million people die every year from air pollution, and 9 out…

    Planet · Climate & Energy

    AirCarbon

    As single-use plastic bans begin to bite, the race is on to create substitute materials. To be regenerative, these products should be climate-positive (absorb more…

    Economy · Circular Economy

    Algae

    What is solar powered, sequesters carbon and can grow up to 12 feet a day? You guessed it: algae. In some forms, algae are a…

    Planet · Climate & Energy

    Algorithms

    Automating decisions, by definition, takes humans out of the equation. With that comes the risk that ethics are removed as well. Artificial intelligence (AI) is…

    Economy · Technology & Innovation

    All-In

    More and more, I’m only trusting and supporting companies that go ‘all-in’ on sustainability. I still see so much greenwashing, bluewashing and (SDG-related) rainbow-washing. The…

    Economy · Business & Finance

    Amabie

    In the face of adversity, creativity and solidarity flourish. Which may explain the revival of Amabie, a Japanese folklore healing spirit (yōkai). The story goes…

    Life · Joy & Creativity

    Ambition

    My simple test for separating sustainability pioneers from pretenders is to look at the extent of their admission (about the scale and urgency of our…

    Economy · Business & Finance

    Americlan

    While Trump trumpets ‘Make America Great Again’, evidence shows that – on key measures – the US is a laggard, compared with 25 other rich…

    Society · Society & Justice

    Anticipation

    We should never underestimate the pleasure of anticipation. Whether it’s an upcoming holiday, reuniting with loved ones, a new book to read, the next instalment…

    Life · Joy & Creativity

    Ants

    We can learn a lot from the leaderless self-organising abilities of ant colonies. Stanford University biologist Deborah Gordon has uncovered five principles: 1. A group…

    Planet · Nature & Biodiversity

    Reflection of the Day

    Convergence

    Society · Change & Leadership

    We are entering a perfect storm. A powerful convergence of changing economic models, societal norms, environmental conditions, technology advancements and human capacities are going to ‘flip’ our global system within 10 years. Action on climate change, women in leadership, drone fleets – all these and other solutions are going to be adopted much quicker than the incumbent leaders of business and government expect. The convergence of rapid advances in AI, batteries, EVs and renewables is just one obvious example. Already, cost reductions and adoption rates of solutions are on exponential curves and many are at, or near, the tipping point.

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