The Big Reframe
“When we invoke the frame, we reinforce the frame.” (George Lakoff)
Humans’ way of living and working relies overwhelmingly on the ability to extract and maximize resources. The notion of prosperity that the industrial era set in motion is deeply ingrained in our societies today. It is hard to imagine that everyone can have everything they need and thrive, without being on a constant rat wheel for “more”. The pervasive globalized system has everyone racing to either achieve economic growth or, if you are born in the wrong part of the world, to play catchup on the development path. It is not just the economy, political ideologies from left to right are enabling opportunistic extraction, trade, consumption. So much so that humanity is now facing a triple planetary crisis (climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss), coupled with social crises like poverty, loss of community, depression, and at the extreme, wars, pushing both people and the planet towards wreckage.
It doesn’t have to be this way. There are alternative paradigms, movements, and systems for measuring prosperity: from the UN’s global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development or the Human Development Index, to the doughnut economy, or the circular economy. The latter in particular is a compelling framework helping us understand that we need to decouple economic activities from the finite use of resources, challenging the linear model of “Take-Make-Waste.”
The good news is, we don’t need to be on any political side or ideology in order to acknowledge the need to change the way we are doing things, and this starts from the very top decision-making levels in governments, private conglomerates, banks, small businesses, and communities. You know that a narrative reaches mainstream thinkers when the UN puts is at the center of its discourse:
Discussions on going beyond GDP have been under way for decades. Now is the time for action. Primarily relying on GDP as a metric of progress does not accurately reflect the world as it is – nor the world that we want future generations to inhabit. We need a paradigm shift in what we measure as progress, so that we can capture data on the activities and outcomes that a society truly values and then use the data to better inform our policy and financial decisions. We have an opportunity to shape our future into one that is more equal and resilient to crises and in which the benefits of social and economic progress are shared by all. By moving beyond GDP, we can measure what we truly value, reconsider what we mean by progress and, on that basis, re-evaluate how we distribute resources and commit to real change. Extract from Our Common Agenda Policy Brief 4. Valuing What Counts: Framework to Progress Beyond Gross Domestic Product
But how do we move from ‘here’, to incorporate the desired changes for a sustainable future? There are a plethora of options and not all of them are workable. This makes the Journey to Sustainability more challenging than it might appear at first glance. For instance, approaches such as “Green Growth” focus on economic growth with the help of green technology for decarbonization, adaptation, and resilience. However, in Green Growth models, support for renewable energy lives alongside subsidies for fossil fuels, thus slowing down or worse, propagating business-as-usual. On the other end of the spectrum, a more radical approach to change is “Degrowth,” which in Europe is slowly moving in from the margins, challenging any solution whose resulting policies are rolled out in the framework of capitalism. This includes the “Green Growth” and the others we mentioned.
It is hard to enact change and have fresh outlooks, if we don’t recognize the dominant narrative and approach change from a novel perspective. Unless we challenge the harm caused by the status quo, anything proposed as “different” will risk replicating the same issues, therefore reinforcing the frame. This is why we put forth in this handbook the reflective path, guided by a value compass, of the fearless sustainability leader, which we unpack case by case in this handbook.
By now, we know all too well why “take-make-waste” exists. Most of us do not know, however, where to start in order to reverse this. This handbook flips the “take-make-waste” on its head and reframes important sustainability innovations and themes according to a mindset of “take-make-give back.”
Sustainability starts when we get serious with our relationships with nature, with the deeply endangered ecosystems, and with all beings. It starts from looking out the window at the tree in front of you, with a worldview of interdependence. Notice the leaves touching the sky, the foliage in the many living branches. Feel how as the tree breathes out, you are breathing in.
Proverbs passed down through the ages say that there are two things which complete, or fulfill a person’s duty in this world: when he or she builds a house and when she plants a tree. Planting the world, in particular, is an admirable, life giving, energy emanating act. If you're ever participated in a tree planting campaign, you know how fun, social, and healthy it can be! Similarly, if we look back in our own lives, we can notice how the most engaging child play, the most energetic after school activities, or the most rewarding team building at work are activities which happen in nature, when we interact with its elements. Unfortunately, reconnecting with nature sporadically is not enough for the wicked problem we have at hand. Sustainability can not just be a job on the side, a CSR activity, an afterthought, or any sort of leisure affair.
Sustainable business leadership is born from serious consideration, from leaders’ relentlessness to make a change, to give back to others, to the planet and to all beings. This book attempts to shine light on innovations and fearless leaders who are model examples for anyone aspiring to practice sustainability in all areas of their business or in their life. Starting with critical questions and using a value compass to identify paths forward, we believe that many more entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs can learn the way of fearless leadership in sustainability.
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