What’s On Our Radar: 10.09.26
Every other week, we share five links that made us think in our popular sustainable business briefing. Sign up here to get the next edition delivered straight to your inbox.
🎤 U.N. Leader Uses Final Speech to Issue Stark Warning — The New York Times
The UN General Assembly might take a backseat to Climate Week in this community, but it's no less consequential. The latest edition was Secretary-General António Guterres's final UNGA, closing out eight years with climate as one of his signature issues. Though not always the most effective, I was always impressed by Guterres’ passionate advocacy and the evocative, visual way that he communicated the scale of the crisis. His farewell speech kept that streak alive with a powerful “faultlines” metaphor and two “stories of power” that world leaders need to choose from. (4 minutes, gift link 🎁)
🔌 ‘Eat the rich, save the planet’: climate protesters call out big tech’s disconnect from reality — The Guardian
EAI was clearly the theme of Climate Week this year, on stage and off. "Unplug AI" protesters picketed OpenAI, Google and Amazon's Manhattan offices; clergy were arrested for disrupting a closed-door AI health summit; and several of the Big Tech panels fielded coordinated heckling from campaigners in the audience. The high tensions - and direction of that protest energy toward the sustainability leaders who are often advocating for the same changes, just from the inside - only show how these issues are becoming an increasingly volatile flashpoint. (4 minutes)
🎙️ Podcast 383: The Easy Wins Are Gone. What's Actually Next for Net Zero? — Outrage & Optimism
The whole episode is worth a listen, but I particularly appreciated the starting reflections on Climate Week and discussion around Net Zero verbiage around minutes 9-13. The polarization of words like climate, sustainability and Net Zero was a frequent topic of discussion in the events I attended. And while there’s a case to be made for swapping out a word when it no longer feels useful, we shouldn’t forget that there are targeted campaigns underway to discredit these concepts - and we run the risk of muddling our message and losing our momentum if we continue falling prey and chasing new terms. No right answers here, but definitely some interesting questions. (41 minutes)
🌎 On Sustainability Shifts and Ikigai — Michael Kobori on LinkedIn
In his Climate Week recap, ex-Starbucks and Levi’s CSO Michael Kobori reflects on the personal challenge facing corporate sustainability professionals as budgets are cut and positions (especially senior ones) are eliminated. He encourages peers to reflect honestly on our Ikigai - the place where our talent, our passion and what the world actually needs from us right now intersect - and shares where that exercise has led him. “It takes immense courage to walk away from the familiar,” he writes. “By taking that leap and deploying ourselves where our power is fully unleashed, we will ensure the arc of history bends, permanently, toward a sustainable future.” (3 minutes)
📚 ulab: Leading From the Emerging Future — Presencing Institute & MIT Learn
After 10 years and 250,000 students, the u-lab MOOC on Leading from the Emerging Future is running one final free (!) cohort. The online course teaches Theory U, Otto Scharmer’s blend of systems thinking and civic action, straight from Scharmer and senior MIT faculty using a “learning by doing” approach. Reconsidered study group, anyone? Reply if you’re in. 🤗