Welcome to the final issue of our Ten Year Anniversary volume. In just one year, we have partnered with over 100 solutioneers to produce 62 articles that provide you —our amazing readers—the solutions you need to move the needle toward sustainability in your industries. Thank you to those who helped us to double our subscriptions and to extend our reach into further points of the globe. I have been deeply heartened by our contributors and followers alike. What an honor it is to be a part of the Solutions Community!
I would especially like to welcome Robertson Work as the newest member of our board. Rob is a global visionary whose work has inspired collaborative governance for sustainability in his career and consulting with UNDP, UNDESA, UN Habitat, The Institute of Cultural Affairs and the East-West Center. We are so grateful to have Rob’s expertise transforming individuals, communities, organizations, systems and societies toward sustainability. We review Rob’s book—A Compassionate Civilization—in this issue. In Gitta’s review, he describes the central contribution of Rob’s book, which is to provide a framework for creating a sustainable and desirable future with compassion and solidarity as guardrails in our quest for systems, policies and institutions that address planetary challenges with urgency and resolve. We know you will be inspired by his book.
You will find that our contributors push us to take a sharp look at the world we’re in. The Club of Rome and The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research declare 2020 “a ‘Super Year’ for international policy action” on climate change, required because we are in a Planetary Emergency. As such, accelerated commitments to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are required, along with biodiversity targets and ambitious efforts to decarbonize our global economy.
Business as usual is no longer a reasonable choice, and our authors highlight this fact in no uncertain terms. In the second article in our series on sustainability reporting, Keith Murray argues that Total Sustainability measures—often discussed in corporate sustainability circles—need to be based upon a set of values that include commitment to ecological sustainability, advancing basic human needs, supporting intra —and inter-generational equity, and an understanding that “economics is constrained, firstly by environmental and secondarily by social limits.”
Perhaps the most mind-altering article in this issue is by Hunter Lovins —our wonderful Associate Editor and my dear friend. Better than anyone I know, Hunter has a knack for telling it like it is. This piece is a rare gem where she not only speaks deep truth to the challenges we face, but she paints a remarkably clear picture regarding the changes required to meet these challenges head-on. Hint: It’s the economy, stupid!
Over seven million people took to the streets in September to press our global leaders to take bold action on climate change. We are indeed facing a Planetary Emergency. I continue to hold great hope because of the passionate commitment of young leaders like Greta Thunberg and her colleagues at #FridaysForFuture, and our cover image captures that sentiment. When the power of youth joins hands with lifelong torch bearers, the barriers that hold us back from revolution begin to break. Many members of our Editorial Board and production team were in New York City for the climate strike. We will continue to stand in solidarity —amplifying the cutting edge actions and emerging trends needed to move us from complacency to action. May we all recommit ourselves daily to realize shared prosperity on a healthy planet, together!
