December 2012 – As nations entered Rio+20 to negotiate around the theme of a “green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication”, I was left confused. UNEP’s report Towards a Green Economy defined a “green economy” as one which increases well-being and social equity whilst reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In other words, a green economy must reduce poverty and inequity. So why did the UN feel the need to reiterate this as a tautology in the central theme in the run-up to Rio?
Here Pavan Sukhdev, founder of GIST Advisory, career banker, and leader of UNEP’s landmark The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project, argues that within the next decade we need a new corporate paradigm to meet the challenges of delivering a green and equitable economy. He proposes four ‘planks’ to this new model for Corporation 2020 – which is also the title of his new book, published in October 2012.
