Improving Earth Systems Governance through “Purpose Ecosystems”

Business is pushing the planet to the brink of environmental disaster: biodiversity is being lost at mass-extinction rates, agricultural systems are under strain and pollution of the air and sea has become an increasingly pressing threat to human health. Coupled with climate change, rising inequality and entrenched poverty, these interconnected sustainability issues – referred to as ‘wicked’ problems or grand societal challenges – are triggering social instability and conflict. Yet incremental approaches to pursuing sustainability by business are insufficient for delivering
change at the speed and scale necessary to solve the pressing sustainability risks identified by the World Economic Forum and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We argue that as part of ‘Earth system governance’ (ESG), ‘purpose ecosystems’ will increasingly play an important role in transforming business to address these risks.