How do you know what your future market will look like? How can your business model adapt? And how can it help your business? Explore these questions using Horizons, a practical tool to help identify and think through the big environmental and social trends and issues.

1. Building a Sustainable Economy

2. The Questions
• How do you know what is sustainable and what
isn’t?
• What does a sustainable economy look like?
• How do you put this into practice?
We’ve been trying to figure this out
and came up with something called
Horizons
Let’s begin…

3. What are the critical sustainability issues
facing your organisation now or in the future?
Some examples of the many trends shaping
our society and economy

4. Life expectancy in developing countries
has risen from 46 to 64 years since the 1960s.
Infant mortality rates have halved too.
Ageing population
Not just in the developed world:
by 2050 nearly 1 in 5 people in
developing countries will be over 60
Demographic change
Urbanization
By 2050 2 out of 3 people will live in
cities

5. “By 2050, humanity will demand TWICE
as many resources as the planet can
supply. Meeting future demand for steel,
water, agricultural products and energy
would require roughly
$3 trillion average capital
investment/year”
McKinsey, Resource Revolution

6. Competition for land, water and resources is a
potential risk for migration and conflict

7. Every 24 hours we lose 150-200 species forever.
This is 1000 times the rate of natural extinction and could lead to economic collapse
Source: UN 2010

8. We’re used to thinking about financial risks, but
to be prepared for the future we need to think
about all the trends and issues affecting you
These are just some of the risks
that we should be paying attention to

9. So what does a sustainable
economy look like?
One that operates within safe environmental limits
and delivers social value.
To break this down, we’ve done a lot of thinking
and come up with something called Horizons

10. Explore and discover our videos
http://horizons.innovateuk.org/

11. Source: horizons.innovateuk.org

12. How we approach a new topic
• Set a goal
• Define what we mean (e.g. what is ‘resilience’)
• Explain why is this critical
• Include some killer facts
• Develop case studies
• Signpost further resources

16. Many companies are generating value from responding to these drivers

17. “Investment outperformance will come from spotting
sustainability winners early” - Aviva
“Lasting way to deliver our mission is by aligning with a sustainable future”
- Technology Strategy Board
Why is this vital to long-term success?

18. Dow Jones Sustainability Index
• Companies on the DJ Sustainability Index are outperforming the DJ General Index
• DJSI saw a 31% increase in participation from companies in emerging markets

19. Ask yourself
• How are these trends driving changes to the
market?
• What is the right business model?
• How are we uniquely placed to contribute to
these goals?

20. Test your strategy and drive new innovation

21. Questions to take away
What are the critical sustainability issues
facing your organisation?
How can you turn potential risks into opportunities?

22. www.forumforthefuture.org
Company No. 2959712
Charity No. 1040519
www.forumforthefuture.org
Company No. 2959712
Charity No. 1040519
Nicky Conway
Principal Advisor
Email: n.conway@forumforthefuture.org
Mike Pitts
Email: Michael.Pitts@tsb.gov.uk
Lead Specialist, Sustainability
For more information and a webinar: