A Sustainability Agenda for the New Normal

This story was originally created by Kristina Balciauskaite for Euromoitor International. Read the full story here.

Five key trends, affecting the sustainability agenda across the public and private sectors, have been identified by Euromonitor. Chief among these trends, an increased interest by the private sector in incorporating sustainability in operations, with Euromonitor’s “Voice of the Industry: Sustainability 2020” survey showing that more than 40% of respondents’ companies have sustainability-related investment plans.  

The adoption of a circular economy is another trend, with governments and manufacturers around the world focusing on reducing and recycling waste. A third and critical trend is the adoption of “new age/regenerative” agriculture that uses sustainable soil management, which according to the FAO can boost a country’s food production by 58%, to meet increasing demand as well as conserving ecosystems.

With the Global Water Institute prediction of severe water scarcity potentially displacing 700 million people around the globe by 2030, improving the availability of clean water, through improving infrastructure and the adoption of new tech solutions, is also a key sustainability trend.  Preserving biodiversity is the fifth sustainability key trend identified for the new normal and the future, with governments increasingly focusing on it as part of their sustainability agendas.