The biggest missed opportunities come from not knowing that there are things that you don’t know about a particular subject area.

They come from assuming (sometimes spelled “ass-u-me”) that you know enough about an issue to know it doesn’t offer you any opportunities.

That’s true of all sorts of dated assumptions – assumptions like:

• Heavier than air machines can’t fly.
• The world will only ever need 12 computers.
• Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months.

It’s equally true of several 20th century assumptions about sustainability – including:

• Environmental issues are an expensive compliance obligation for business.
• Governments and NFPs are responsible for environmental maintenance and protection.
• We don’t have solutions today – we need to invent more and better technology.
• Business does what government tells it to do.

If you operate on those assumptions, then you’ll probably miss out on emerging 21st century realities – data like:

• The top 93 evidence-based commercial climate solutions already scaling globally offer $80-$140 trillion in savings by 2050.
• Circular Economy innovation is projected to offer industry $4.5 trillion in savings by 2030.
• Businesses who genuinely make regenerative business a core strategy reap millions in innovation and staff engagement in the medium to long term.
• The high-impact solutions we have today are rich in rewarding career and business opportunity (and impact).

Are you able to read this post (by connecting your smart device to your social media channel on the global Internet) because some government somewhere directed big business on how to build better communications systems?

We literally have to reinvent our energy systems, our food systems, our manufacturing, our cities. Everything!

You can look at that as ‘”Rats, that’s a really big problem” …

OR

“Wow, what a great opportunity!”

DR JONATHAN FOLEY, CEO PROJECT DRAWDOWN.

Yes, we we need better government policy. But it’s by no means the only leverage point.

(BTW, just how well did you like your government’s response to the COVID pandemic? Are you happy to leave the ball in their court on ecosystem regeneration?)