Shape or be Shaped: Activating Business in an Age of Disruption

5 June 2025 - A new report by CISL marks 20 years of impact from the Corporate Leaders Groups and considers how CISL and the CLGs will enable businesses to shape, rather than be shaped by the markets we need in the future.

Download the report

About

This new report, marking 20 years since the Corporate Leaders Groups (CLGs) were established, highlights the CLGs' successes over the past two decades and considers how CISL and the CLGs will engage and enable businesses to shape, rather than be shaped by the markets we need in the future.

At this critical moment, when political consensus has fractured and market sentiment has faltered, we are building on the strengths and insights of our members to:

  1. Reset the narrative to frame action in ways that are relevant to today, showing how sustainability drives growth, competitiveness, resilience and security, and helps address social polarisation and inequality. We also need to shift the debate from ‘inaction vs action’, to the reality of a choice of futures.
  2. Broaden the base of support, moving beyond a small group of leaders to build wider mainstream support, activating disengaged industry bodies, and building public backing for action.
  3. Support business to speak out. Governments need visible, vocal signals that business stands ready to invest, innovate, and scale solutions – creating jobs and driving growth – when the right policies are in place. They need clear private sector backing for strategies to create the incentives, skills and infrastructure for transition. Silence leaves the floor to those who will undermine progress.

This publication includes next steps for how we at CISL will engage and enable business to shape, rather than be shaped by, the markets we need in the future. This will be critical if we are to achieve resilient, competitive and sustainable economies.

Citing this report 

University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (2025). Shape or be Shaped: Activating Business in an Age of Disruption. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.