Article posted on January 20, 2015 by Jean Chua published on Eco Business
The inaugural Global Opportunity Report surveyed 200 sustainability experts and 6,160 business leaders in 21 countries on their views on building a safe and sustainable future. Based on the results five major global risk could have been identified, which have set the ground for several innovation workshops during which 15 opportunities in sustainable living have been fleshed. The opportunities outlined below aim at creating a new mindset among businesses to explore new ventures for sustainable development.
The risks identified are:
- lack of fresh water
- unsustainable urbanization
- continued lock-in to fossil fuels or energy dependency
- non-communicable diseases
- and extreme weather
The 15 opportunities identified included:
- Early Warning and Forecasting Systems
- Energy Autonomy
- Rural Growth Initiatives
- Combat Non-Communicable Diseases with Mobile Technologies
- Attractive Investments in Extreme Weather Resilience
- Green Consumer Choices
- Water-efficient Agriculture
- Innovation Finance for a Healthy Generation
- Cost-effective Adaptation
- Compact, Green and Connected Cities
- Fresh Water Production
- Everyday Health Enablers
- Regulation for an Energy Transition
- Smart Cities
- Smart Water Regulation
While the private sector especially in Asia and and South America is very optimistic about spotting sustainability opportunities, governments tend to be less optimistic about how the opportunities can positively affect society. This indicates that ventures who want to take advantage of the opportunities outlined above will be faced with major impediments when it comes to support from the public sector.
Read the full article here.