The Make-or-Break Decade for the SDGs has begun

»Stakeholder
capitalism is
not about a
world without
profits, it is
about a world
where profits
are derived
from true value
creation, not
value
extraction.«
Vision 2050 asks companies to take these
factors into account as they plan their
own strategies, as it is only by developing
ideas about how they might react to
change that they can have a chance of
reacting well when the change happens
and their plans have to be adapted to
the new reality. The Covid-19 tragedy
has made companies much more aware
of the need for this kind of scenarioplanning
as part of good risk management
and business practice.
“Build build build!” With these words, Boris
Johnson announced his “new deal” to boost
the UK economy. It’s the old mantra that the
economy has to keep growing. Now you say:
Stop! The concept of capitalism needs to be
discussed. You go even further and demand
that capitalism be reinvented. Aren’t you taking
on a bit too much?
Hill-Landolt: With respect, that’s absolutely
not what we have said! We have
said that there are three strategic business
mindsets that need to change if we
are to unlock the kinds of transformations
we are talking about at the rate and
scale required. One of those mindsets
is around capitalism, and yes, we have
said that it needs to be reinvented. But
we have not said stop! Quite the contrary
– as the World Business Council
for Sustainable Development, we are
absolutely committed to capitalism – its
innovative power and tremendous reach
are essential for driving the changes the
world needs. But we are also clear that
the current dominant model of capitalism
is not delivering the outcomes that
society needs, and therefore capitalism
must be reinvented (as it has been many
times before) so that it rewards true
value creation, not value extraction, as
today’s model does. We are not alone in
this view: Many of the world’s leading
companies are also clear on the need for
the rules of the game to be updated so
that social and environmental costs and
benefits are internalized and reflected in
the relative prices of goods and services,
in companies’ P&L statements, the cost
of capital, and market valuations.
It reminds me a bit of a quote by David Byrne
from the music group Talking Heads: “When
everything is worth money, then money is worth
nothing.” Do you really believe that most CEOs
will lightheartedly abandon profit targets and
embrace stakeholder capitalism?
Hill-Landolt: No, CEOs will not abandon
profit targets. Stakeholder capitalism
is not about a world without profits,
it is about a world where profits are
derived from true value creation, not
value extraction. Forward-looking CEOs
understand that running companies well,
well into the future, will demand that we
update the current model of capitalism.
It needs to become: stakeholder-oriented
(rather than maximizing shareholder
value); impact-internalizing (rather than
impact-externalizing); long-term (rather
than short-term); regenerative (rather
than degenerative); and accountable
(rather than unaccountable). These are
the features that are going to help CEOs
run their companies well and profitably
into the future. That is why CEOs will
embrace these changes.
The homo economicus is not easily replaced by
a “mindful mankind.” That takes time, but we
don’t have it. Isn’t that a dilemma?
Hill-Landolt: This is a question that
applies at a societal level, not just an
economic one. Politically, intellectually,
and culturally we have failed to act on
the information that we have had available.
However, while it is true that there
is very little time left for us to act and
avoid breaching the safe operating space
for humanity, it is also true that for some
time, momentum has been building to
a point where the right level of action
can finally be taken. From the begin-
36 Global Goals Yearbook 2021