27 November 2014 – In July 2014, the Nexus Network commissioned 13 think pieces with the remit of scoping and defining nexus approaches, and stimulating debate across the linked domains of food, energy, water and the environment. CISL’s Jake Reynolds and Gemma Cranston have co-written a think piece entitled ‘Nexus thinking: can it slow the Great Acceleration?’ that explores how business success and corporate decision-making could be shaped by nexus thinking.
In business, success tends to be measured in terms of profitability, stock price and market share. Firms like to be at the top of market share league tables or rankings that highlight their size, growth or attractiveness to investors. There is an implicit sense that growth is necessary for survival, and that the right people and strategies can deliver it, endlessly. The question explored here, admittedly at a high level, is whether these measures of success are the right ones in an economy that is reliant on a depreciating base of natural capital. What would success look like if one was to take this into account, and design business strategies accordingly? As well as profitability, stock price and market share, what other metrics would guide business growth?