As we come to the end of an incredible year of twists and turns, we close out 2022 with a review of our most widely read posts of the year. The GlobeScan community gravitated toward our contributions on climate change, diversity, mental health, nature and biodiversity, sustainable lifestyles, leadership, and impact.
Navigating the Nature Agenda: Insights for Collective Action and Leadership
GlobeScan’s new shared research program, Navigating the Nature Agenda: Insights for Collective Action and Leadership was developed to understand the attitudes and expectations of stakeholders and consumers around the world for the role of business and other sectors in protecting and restoring nature and biodiversity. The learnings and insights are meant to help companies and other organizations with developing and managing nature-based strategies, programs, and engagement. The findings from the report have been shared at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15).
Two in Three People are Prepared to Halve Their Consumption to Help Save the Planet
GlobeScan’s Healthy & Sustainable Living research study has been tracking consumer attitudes and behaviors around living healthier and more sustainable lifestyles since 2019. Almost 30,000 people across 31 markets around the world were surveyed about the diverse mindsets, expectations, barriers, enablers, and behaviors that are shaping the marketplace.
Research findings from the 2022 study reveals that two in three people now say they are willing to reduce their consumption by half to avoid environmental damage and climate change, especially those who have worried children at home. The cost-of-living crisis is also affecting consumers’ willingness to pay for more purposeful products and brands.
The Pandemic’s Effect on Mental Health, Particularly for Younger People and Women
GlobeScan research conducted for BBC World Service shows “the pandemic has had a profound effect on the mental health of many people” according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and that “further research on mental health and COVID-19 among specific at-risk populations (younger people and women) is needed.”
Global Sustainability Community Comes Together To Support Ukraine
The global sustainability community came together for Sustainability for Ukraine to explore the future of sustainability, and the need for more collaborative, inclusive efforts to advance sustainable development. The event was a 24-hour continuous, online webinar, with 24 different panels and topics featuring over 90 speakers from around the world, who explored the current state of sustainability and began to outline a revived roadmap to help us navigate towards a better future.
Sustainability Leadership is Now Defined by Evidence of Integration and Impact
The 2022 Sustainability Leaders Survey by The SustainAbility Institute by ERM and GlobeScan found that sustainability leadership is increasingly being measured by evidence of action, impact, and above all the integration of sustainability into business strategy.
Unilever continues to top the list of companies recognized as sustainability leaders (named by 31% of respondents for the way it integrates sustainability into its business strategy), with Patagonia in second place at 22%. Microsoft makes the top five for the first time, behind Natura &Co and IKEA.
This year’s survey questioned more than 700 sustainability professionals across 73 countries and revealed a significant evolution in the way companies are assessed on their sustainability leadership.
Leading Regenerative Brands: Five Paradigm Shifts to Thrive in a World in Flux
In a report by BBMG and GlobeScan, Leading Regenerative Brands: Five Paradigm Shifts to Thrive in a World in Flux, we share a vision for regenerative leadership inspired by a global survey of over 30,000 people in 30 international markets, extensive in-depth interviews with brand leaders, issue experts, elders and youth activists who pay deep attention to the changes underway and the tipping points that may already have been breached.
Five Trends in Communicating Food Sustainability to Consumers
As part of our recent collaboration with UNEP’s One Planet Network and WWF, GlobeScan published a series of case studies, alongside a report Communicating Food Sustainability to Consumers: Towards more Effective Labelling. We summarised five key trends in food sustainability communications that emerged from the case studies and the expert interviews we conducted as part of the process.
Diversity & Sustainable Living: Global Public Opinion Research on How Different Populations Engage on Sustainability
GlobeScan opinion research on Diversity & Sustainable Living looks at how different populations engage on sustainability. The research found that people in minority groups are more concerned about discrimination and are disproportionally affected by issues like climate change and air pollution.
The Sustainable Business Handbook: A Guide to Becoming More Innovative, Resilient and Successful
GlobeScan helped launch The Sustainable Business Handbook: A Guide to Becoming More Innovative, Resilient and Successful. The book, co-authored by David Grayson, Professor Emeritus, Cranfield School of Management, Chris Coulter, CEO, GlobeScan, and Mark Lee, Director, The SustainAbility Institute by ERM, has been written as a practical guide filled with case studies and tips to help make business more sustainable.
Analysis of Larry Fink’s Annual Letter to CEOs: Reinforcing the Need for Long-term Purposeful Business in a Capitalist Society
Since 2012, Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock Investments, has sent out an annual letter to CEOs of the companies that BlackRock invests in on behalf of its clients. For the fourth year in a row GlobeScan released an analysis of Larry Fink’s letter which traces the development of themes from 2012 to 2022. This year, Fink cited a variety of increasing and evolving pressures on business as ever more compelling reasons for CEOs to focus on creating purposeful businesses designed to create long-term value for stakeholders.
GlobeScan Insight of the Week
Each week, we release research and insights on timely and strategic issues for leaders in business, civil society, and government. Here are the top-5 Insights of the Week for 2022:
- One in Five Companies Have Been Accused of Greenwashing
- Top Ten Corporate Affairs Leaders
- Unilever and Patagonia Maintain the Top Sustainability Leadership Positions, with Others Increasingly Recognized
- Fair Worker Pay Is a Top Priority for Retail Investors
- WWF Continues to Lead NGOs in Advancing Sustainable Development
The All In Podcast on Sustainable Business
The All In Podcast on Sustainable Business features three leading thinkers in the field of sustainability – Chris Coulter, CEO of GlobeScan, David Grayson, Emeritus Professor of Corporate Responsibility at the Cranfield School of Management, and Mark Lee, Executive Director of The SustainAbility Institte by ERM. Building on the themes of their 2018 book All In: The Future of Business Leadership, the podcast explores the evolving sustainability agenda through thoughtful interviews with leading thinkers and innovators. Here are the top-5 most-listened-to episodes for 2022:
