Sustainability as the next economic chapter - A note of validation on my earlier posts

Published November 2, 2021 · 3 min read · #sustainability , #economics

TLDR;

  • This is a self-indulgent pat on the back.

Oh dear! Its been 2 months since the last post. I continue to have a backlog, but my attention has been focused on other matters personal and professional.

This post calls back to an earlier post written off thoughts I’ve been engrossed on over the last 3 years. Specifically, on the increasing role of Sustainability and its emergence as an Economic Chapter in its own right. It is nice to have recently read articles by industry movers and shakers which reflect the same.

Specifically, this echoes what Gates mentions about the next Teslas / FANGGs, and what Fink describes as the next 1,000 Unicorns. Whether it made for a sexy title, or whether it is a brave and ambitious statement, in my mind - mother history has her own tales to tell, and certainly the historical indicators and patterns (for very principled /fundamental reasons I might add), point towards a direction that I have find myself agreeing with.

As mentioned in my previous post, the emergence of each economic chapter starts with the proliferation of new businesses (or startups in today’s parlance) focussed on the new theme/technology which we see rapidly emerging over the last half-decade or so. This proliferation will reach all edges of the modern economy. Similarly, capital flows and job creation will be anchored around this sector. Eventually, this wave will mature and undergo consolidation - hence leading to the next generation of “Sustainability Giants”, whose core business is Sustainability, but whose success is enabled by all technologies of the past.

Despite Sustainability having been around for a long time, it is only now that the Economic aspects has reached a trigger point at the sytems level for its own long term growth and development as the next leading economic chapter.

Aside from the rather superficial metrics of valuation (“unicorns”) and what not, I think an important feature of will touch on the additive nature of various economic and technological activities. Indeed, all preceding chapters will have a critical role to play in how this new chapter will evolve rapidly in the coming decade. Everything - from consumption, resources, manufacturing, servics, digital and more will be redefined within the global Sustinability trend.

Whether prescient, or from the heart - it was not a bad choice to study my masters in sustainabiliy - at a time where this level of economic movement has not completely taken off yet.

Anyway, the back-patting is over - now to mull over which series in my longggg backlog of posts I can begin to add in.


See also

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Economics 8 - Critical Uncertainties and Battlegrounds of the Future

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