Sustainability leaders face unprecedented disruption. These 5 mindsets can help

Worldwide, leaders in boardrooms and executive suites are having difficult conversations.

Rising populism, increasing trade tensions – including shrinking trade and ongoing trade wars – growing economic and social instability, and an increasingly toxic information sphere are proliferating. These complex influxes are giving rise to questions about what progress means and how it might be achieved in the current context.

The sustainability agenda, built on decades of hard work, is experiencing disruption. From funding cuts and shrinking mandates to the increasing fragility of existing gains due to growing climate hazards.

For instance, extreme heat alone accounts for 72-73% of the potential losses accruing to corporate fixed assets in the next 10 years – as much as $450 billion a year. Hitting the workforce, it is expected to cause $2.4 trillion in productivity losses annually by 2030.

Businesses are scaling back inclusivity and sustainability goals while mandatory disclosures are being rolled back or delayed. Some companies are green-hushing for fear of allegations of greenwashing in a toxic information sphere.

Non-profit and humanitarian leadership are facing substantial financial restraints as historic donors reorient their finances and balance competing priorities comprising increasingly weighty priorities.

Our digital infrastructure is under stress. In digital spaces, misinformation, disinformation, phishing and a paucity of credible information are increasingly evident and affecting global discourse and action.

What does leadership look like in a period of such marked disruption? How will we, as humanity, navigate this polycrisis? Our actions today will determine the course of humanity’s future now and in the long term. The course we steer will open up or close down potential futures, including whether humans survive the sixth mass extinction.

Below are five insights for leaders to navigate instability and change.

Some suggest we weather this storm until the sun re-emerges before changing strategy. This would be a mistake. Science is clear that Earth’s systems and its resilience are breaking down. Today’s geopolitical divisions may be viewed as a result of rapid destabilizing environmental change.

We are in a period of Earth’s evolution where breaching 1.5 degrees is a daily lived reality. The Earth system tipping points being unlocked today and in the coming years are creating cascading and reverberating consequences for every human, community, political party and culture.

Six of our nine planetary boundaries have been breached, and five of over 25 Earth system tipping points are at imminent risk with devastating domino effects driven by global heating and loss of nature.

A hard look at this reality is necessary for leadership to respond appropriately to impending risks that affect business bottom lines, elections, equality and justice.

When American scientist and historian Jared Diamond studied the collapse of previous human civilizations, he noted 12 drivers. Of these, 11 are in the crimson red zone. He also noted their demise is not inevitable. They are determined by society’s choices in responding to challenges.

Either we recognize and manage reactions and respond appropriately or disequilibria will be resolved in unpleasant ways – through warfare, genocide, starvation and disease.

As leaders, understanding meta-dynamics is essential to the right response. The rise of populism can be understood as a short-term fear-based reaction to impending risk and societal disruption.

Populist leaders promise simple responses to complex problems – a message that resonates with those who feel abandoned or overwhelmed by the pace of change. However, populist solutions do not effectively address underlying and complex drivers of change.

Similarly, rising conflict is a symptom of global heating. In one study, a one-degree rise in temperature increases the likelihood of conflict by 54% in regions with pre-existing tensions. Extreme heat increases aggression and violence – not just at the personal level but across entire communities and societies.

By understanding these dynamics, foresighted leaders can identify and prioritize actions that respond to root causes rather than placing a short-term bandage on a festering wound.

By developing approaches to process and overcome fear, we can support a societal response that is more measured and resilient – oriented towards post-traumatic growth rather than post-traumatic stress.

Plenty of opportunities are emerging through this crisis, encouraging us to think, feel and act differently. Research from the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, which includes 131 global CEOs representing 12 million employees, shows that every dollar invested in climate adaptation and resilience can generate up to $19 in avoided losses.

Green markets are set to grow from $5 trillion in 2024 to $14 trillion by 2030, with early movers gaining competitive advantages in sustainable solutions and adaptation offerings.

In the absence of foresighted leadership on the international stage, leadership from unexpected places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo inspires new economic models aligned with local community needs and nature.

An array of innovations from the grassroots in countries that have faced historic disruption are emerging and leading in their vision and ambition. There are plenty of solutions, from the return to climate-smart, locally appropriate building materials to safeguarding water for low-income communities.

Platforms such as UpLink support a global change engine for scaling purpose-driven innovation.

Inclusive governance structures are more resilient to climate hazards, leading to more just outcomes. Humanity’s collective, coordinated and credible responses are necessary to safeguard safety and justice.

This requires leadership and collaboration that brings together global public and private decision-makers, experts from academic institutions, and land stewards such as Indigenous peoples, civil society and youth.

It requires moving beyond a singular focus on emissions reduction to biodiversity conservation and restoration whilst building systemic and inclusive resilience. It also means moving from an individualistic conception of reality to a mutualistic, multidisciplinary and collective approach.

Wherever we sit on the political, social or environmental spectrum, the wicked problem of climate collapse is something we face jointly – whether we recognize it or not. Every being on Earth – human and non-human must navigate a path forward. Many have and will die out.

The sooner we wake up to our collective reality, the faster we can identify and pursue a collective response. Evidence from Indigenous knowledge systems demonstrates the value of Earth-centric collective action and trust-based inclusion in responding to cycles of change.

Changing the “me” to a “we” opens an opportunity to find a new collective identity for fast-paced change.

Ultimately, we need foresighted funding that addresses root causes whilst understanding that corporate profitability and human well-being are contingent on our global commons’ health.

Inclusive governance structures are better at recognizing common interests and aligning incentives in a mutually beneficial way. Many profitable opportunities are emerging that benefit the planet, people and bottom lines.

Ingenuity runs deep in humanity. Now is the time for courageous collaboration and inclusive progress on agendas that determine how to survive and thrive.