The challenges of sustainable development

I thought that answering these questions would be easy in the age of advanced artificial intelligence models. So I asked Le Chat and ChatGPT what would be important in terms of sustainable development in 2025 and what actions should be focused on. The answers contained a number of references to issues such as the need for decarbonization, compliance with new regulations, implementation of data monitoring and reporting systems, application of ISO standards, implementation of a corporate culture based on diversity, reputation management, and investment in innovation.

Is that clear? Do you already know what is important? Do you know how to translate this into a concrete action plan? Because I don't really. And so I conclude that perhaps 2025 (or the following year) will be the year in which we finally demystify this overhyped field, where everything seems to have been promised, but the results have never come close to the predictions. The use of large language models will probably increase work efficiency in some very narrow applications, but there is no indication that the main barriers to the development of artificial intelligence (which I wrote about twice last year) will be overcome anytime soon., here i here).

While waiting for Godot, or truly practical artificial intelligence, we must continue to rely on HI, or Human Intelligence, for at least some time. Its advantage is that we have several billion representatives of it in the world, and in Poland at least several thousand people who are able to harness their intelligence to the challenges of sustainable development.

I see the following three that I think are worth focusing on in the coming months:

• Deepening systemic thinking skills. Sustainability concerns various issues that are separate from each other and at the same time often interrelated. Analyzing individual problems usually motivates us to immediately look for solutions, but we should not do so if we do not understand the positive and negative consequences that a given solution to a specific problem will have in relation to other issues. One of the most comprehensive and accessible models using systems thinking is Doughnut Economics Kate Raworth.
• Monetization of impacts, risks, and opportunities. Most of us have already conducted thorough materiality research. But what exactly do significant impacts, risks, and opportunities mean? How do they relate to the company's financial results? We will not find out unless we estimate their value in a comparable unit, i.e., money. There are a number of methods for doing this. One of them is the Environmental Profit & Loss Account, which has been used for over a decade by, among others, Kering. EP&L has certain limitations: it only addresses environmental issues and is quite labor-intensive to implement. But it's worth starting somewhere 😊
• Understanding and implementing due diligence processes. But real due diligence, based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, not the degenerate monstrosity, much more difficult and costly to implement, that the CSDDD reformers are proposing to us. Shift Vice President Mark Hodge recently wrote a very short and very clear article about what due diligence based on risk assessment is. I recommend it, it couldn't be any simpler 😉

My own subjective human intelligence tells me that these are the three most important things to focus on in order to make progress in sustainable development in 2025. I am very curious to hear what you consider important and what you plan to focus on. Please write back to this newsletter 😊

P.S. (1) Tomorrow is the last day. EFRAG consultation regarding what and how to simplify in ESRS standards. If you haven't participated yet, I highly encourage you to do so!

P.S. (2) If any of you are looking for an ambitious career move, we are currently hiring at MATERIALITY. recruitment for the position of Sustainability Specialist.