The business case for sustainability is well-proven, yet progress lags in the face of the growing climate crisis. Conversation at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting earlier this month underscored the interdisciplinary and interconnected nature of the sustainability agenda and reinforced how vital the private sector is as a partner to scale innovations that help meet global energy and biodiversity goals ahead of mid-century targets. In this installment of the Purpose Decoded Forecast video series, “2023 Sustainability Agenda” looks at the future of sustainable business.

To understand where business should focus to drive sustainable progress, we spoke to the experts. The “2023 Sustainability Agenda” video provides perspective on how advancing a sustainable mindset and business model will accelerate the net-zero transition while also driving business performance.

Mindy Lubber, CEO and President at Ceres, points out that sustainability and profitability are not mutually exclusive and that smart management integrates “climate risk, water risk, human rights risks into the strategic plan of a company”.

David Wei, Managing Director at BSR, agrees, underscoring that “a company’s credible action also has to include thinking about the future,” for example, how to produce and distribute products and services in a low-carbon or decarbonized form.

Sasha Mackler, Executive Director of the Energy Program at the Bipartisan Policy Center, believes looking to the future is vital to accelerate the net-zero transition sooner rather than later. He cautions that “the longer we wait, the more expensive this will be, both from an economic standpoint and from a human welfare standpoint.”

Amy Hepburn, CEO at Investor Leadership Network, is optimistic that there is an ongoing “convergence of values and approaches” and a “willingness across sectors” that will drive progress.