Confluence: Coronavirus Crisis, Climate Change, Global Warming, Sustainable Investing, Corporate Sustainability & Citizenship…Shaping These Times
G&A's Sustainability Highlights (05.04.2020)
Over the past several weeks we have been witnessing an important confluence of events, something we might call a critical inflection point for the sustainability and well-being of our planet, people, plants, and yes, profits going forward. Consider:
The COVID-19 infection has now touched just about every sovereign state on Earth, shutting down the largest economy, that of the United States of America, as well as the economies of many European nations…and of course important parts of the world’s second largest economy, China.
As this was happening, the public conversations about the impacts of climate change and global warming on our people, flora and fauna, and planet continued, with the worldwide observance of the 50th Earth Day. Attention on climate change doubled down even in the face of a frightening disease and resulting economic turmoil.
Numerous conversations among science and climate experts, in media channels, among public sector leaders, and other stakeholders, focused on the possible links between the coronavirus (and other infections) and climate change. What new diseases might emerge…what new vectors might we see, moving tropics to temperate carrying unfamiliar diseases, what awaits humanity as we systematically destroy rain forests and cities push farther into wilderness areas?
As the world’s capital markets were being impacted by the virus crisis and shutdowns of entire economies, the focus on sustainable and impact investing intensified. Early results showed that sustainable investments were performing with more resilience in the slowdown and adjustments of institutional investment portfolios in response to the crisis.
The focus on the corporate sector intensified as the three important sectors of 21st Century economies struggled to adjust to the widespread effects of the virus crisis – public (governments), private (corporate and business) and social (institutions, NGOs, foundations, charities, others, as first defined as the social sector by management guru Peter F. Drucker).
There is considerable public discussion now about what the “new normal” might look like as we emerge from the terrible effects of the coronavirus. The confluence of recent events as outlined above will help to shape society in the near term.
The G&A Institute team has been monitoring and sharing perspectives on the above and more in our usual communications channels. In these newsletters, in our Resource Guides, on our Sustainability Update blog.
You can check out our blog posts here.
We are offering perspectives in the ongoing series, “Excellence in Corporate Citizenship on Display in the Coronavirus Crisis” -- #WeRise2FightCOVID-19.
We offer several features along the above themes of confluence of factors for you:
This is just the introduction of G&A's Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.
