CEO Clubs: The New Age of Sustainability

Tudor Trita, Managing Director of Archibus Solution Centers.

In the last two centuries, human society has gone through several major shifts which have generated unprecedented opportunities and brought tremendous challenges.

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The Industrial Revolution (1750-1850) gave us the brute force to change nature. As a consequence, the population and average incomes began to exhibit unprecedented growth. In only two centuries the world’s average income per capita increased over tenfold and the world’s population increased six-fold.

In 1960, the microprocessor was invented – another boost to our power to change nature. For over 50 years Moore’s Law – computer power doubles every year – has proved to be true.

Since 1995 – when the internet became commercially available, making the world a global village – information has been available to anyone instantly. That amplified our power to change the environment and increase our standards of living. Everybody is now connected to the global information stream and anyone can see how others live.

With a population exceeding 7 billion people and a growth rate of 75 million/year, demand for goods is ever increasing and the pace of innovation is at its all-time peak. However, only 2 billion people live in countries with a high standard of living, with the other 5 billion dreaming of attaining the same standard.

How to fulfill the increasing needs of the growing population on the long term, with limited resources and without jeopardizing the environment, is the next big challenge. We are on the verge of a significant change in consumer behavior from “what I want” to “what I need”. My sons already decided against buying a Christmas tree for purely environmental reasons. I expect new generations will develop environmental and social consciousness, acting more in synchrony with nature rather than against it. I see this as the next necessary evolutionary step of the human species.

Local communities are already less willing to accept the development of new industries or mining facilities that will impact their surroundings. New legislation is being enforced to limit pollution and preserve local ecosystems. Those trends will spread and accelerate.

Solutions are at hand. For instance in the built environment, responsible for 40 percent of energy consumption, CO2 emissions from energy use can be reduced by 29 percent at no net cost, according to the WBCSD – the World Business Council for Sustainable Development – Energy Efficiency in Buildings.

The new goal of CEOs will be to build resilient organizations able to learn, and adapt to and survive unforeseen changes. Profit growth will no longer be the main parameter to measure a CEO’s success. Financial indicators have to be weighed against social and environmental impact on the medium and long term. I expect that a “bad quarter” should no longer be avoided at all cost, but accepted as part of the evolution of business toward resilience. Shareholders’ reign will be challenged by an increasing number of stakeholders and, in the end, maybe this will lead to the avoidance of such events as the subprime mortgage crisis, which plunged the world economy into a deep recession.

There is no theoretical model to lead a CEO on the path of the new age of sustainability; new ideas have to emerge through practice and experience sharing. This is why I am happy to be part of the CEO Clubs Romania, a perfect place to discuss and learn fresh business perspectives.

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