Vision 2050

Vision 2050

Introduction

As established by the Vision 2050 project that relates to World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the 29 member companies created a vision connected to world well sustainability move by 2050. As well, they developed a pathway worth leading to the world that demand crucial changes in relation to governance structures, human behaviors, economic framework and business (Vision 2050, 2013). It was noted that such changes were essential, feasible with an offer of tremendous business opportunities to the companies that will take sustainability measures as core strategy. According to the report, it demonstrate how a sustainable world looks like, how it can be realized, and role played by the business in making rapid progress toward achieving such world (Vision 2050, 2013).

Hence, vision 2050 has been achieved due to collaborative efforts. The project has been manned by four co-chair companies whereas the content has been developed by 29 companies with partnership with each other, with representation from governments, businesses, civil societies and regional partners (Vision 2050, 2013).

Strength and Weakness of the Report

The report has been fully complemented by presentation decks, toolkit and murals. Generally, Vision 2050 will provide the basic way of interaction with some other business, government and civil society. The interaction will relate to how sustainable future in the world would be achieved. There are hopes that Vision 2050 plan will challenge other companies to think on their products, strategies, services, brands as well as envisioning them to undertake new opportunities related to creation of sustainable center (Vision 2050, 2013). As well, it offers chances of communicating and motivating the company’s employee together with the board and developing the leadership positions within the world. According to the plan, there are invitation of governments toward consideration of the available policies and regulation that are required in guiding and organizing the entire society and offering market incentives that will create sustainability with capacity of people to note differences in their own daily lives (Vision 2050, 2013).

On the other hand however, the report does not have a room for prescription plans or blueprint but only provide a platform for holding dialogues and asking queries. The highest value of the report rely upon the narrative created between gap of vision 2050 as well as business as-usual world as well as dilemmas and question raised. For the business, the question that remains unanswered relates to the process to get sustainable business and form of governance that will make the required changes and at what speed and scale needed. In such instance, the report indicates the company’s willingness, leadership, management and support toward invitation of stakeholders such as the government, businesses and the civil society. The stakeholders are invited in this case to explore and join with their efforts (Vision 2050, 2013).

According to the report, it is estimated that, 40 years from now, there would 30 percent more people who would be living in the world. However, for the business, it is worth to note that, the population increase would deliver new customers who would demand for homes, cars and television. Conversely, this would be associated with negative aspect where there would be shrink in resources with potential changes in the environmental and climate (Vision 2050, 2013). This would have to limit the population from maintaining consumptive lifestyle that would be consummated with aspect of the wealth in the current operational markets. The plan has been developed based upon dialogue held by 20 countries with other experts from companies to maintain the world and be on truck toward sustainability aspect by 2050 (Vision 2050, 2013). This target to consider the global population living in the planet as well as those living well and within the set limits of the planet. By living well, the plan developed target describing standards of living especially where the population will have access and ability to afford education, mobility, healthcare as well as basic food, water, shelter and energy as well as consumer goods. The term, “living within the limits of the planet” the report describes living in ways where standards of living will be sustained within available resources without harm for the climate, biodiversity and the ecosystems (Vision 2050, 2013).

However, the idea and the plan sound to be far from the current world. With or without the developed vision 2050, life will be quite different for everyone. Hence to steer the current world, vision 2050 will be the way based upon observations, expectations and projections of the companies as well as experts. The guide would assist everyone across the businesses, governments and the civil society to avoid repetition of mistakes realized in the past decision made. Vision 2050 plan targets how to offer understanding of leaders and how they can make decisions that would deliver some of the best outcomes that are quite possible for human developments (Vision 2050, 2013).

To attain the vision, the report describes the pathways that were developed with other elements to connect the sustainable future. The main aim was to identify real world effort toward sustainable development with radical policies and change in lifestyle and how they mean for the markets and the business. The elements describe the behavioral changes as well as social innovations that are essential for the best solutions as well as technological innovations (Vision 2050, 2013). Allowing the set changes will have chances of creating opportunities in finance, partnership and finance and information communication. New opportunities in due course will be realized with distinct external priorities and ensure that partners are engaged and deal with risks that navigate and adapt to the changes. By vision 2050, smarter business, smart systems, smart designs and smart people will prevail (Vision 2050, 2013).

There will be transformation in the regulation markets, pricing of inputs, measurement of profits and loss as well as consumer preferences. Rather than considering the changes, businesses will be expected to lead the transformation and do what the entire business do best. This would be achieved by possessing cost effective measures that will create the best solutions that will be required by people (Vision 2050, 2013). The fact is that, there would be new solutions based upon the global and the local markets with aspect of “true values and costs”. On the other hand, consumers, business and the policy makers will have capacity of experimenting collaboration with systematic thinking and innovation the best process to achieve sustainable world (Vision 2050, 2013).

Under the new framework, the business leaders will have capacity to run the company in a successful way within the current framework and conditions while it still assist the society toward achieving the new framework conditions while working with the social and political leaders. This indicates that, there will be new partnerships for the governments and the business with systematic thinking process and approaches that would manage opportunities and challenges. Hence, the business leaders and managers will be expected to manage the companies via transformational changes to achieve policies and incentives set by the government (Vision 2050, 2013).

Supportive Evidence

All companies that take part in the plan have believes that the world possess knowledge, science, skills, financial resources and technologies that are essential for developing vision 2050. However, what need to be done has to be laid down faster and be completed by the next one decade. Hover, the plan is far from being complete. There are more to be achieved with questions that need answers especially on governance issue, world framework on commerce, responsibilities and roles as well as risks. The report note that, the world currently has what is required for the population to live well and within the limits of the world. Currently, the world is experiencing a threat within the unsustainable programs (Vision 2050, 2013).

According to the evidence provided, by 2050 there would be global population increase from the current one of 6.9 billion to almost 9 billion. Almost 98 percent of the growth will be experienced in the developing and emerging countries (Vision 2050, 2013). According to the estimates provided by the United Nation, the global urban population would have doubled by 2050. Currently, the population is aging and being able to stabilize especially for most of the developed countries. There are chances that local demographic will have a diverse pattern. In the recent decades, there have been some improvements in connection to economic growth in large part of the world especially in core areas of infant and the mortality, access to water, education and food supply (Vision 2050, 2013).

Developing and emerging economies will experience most economic growth. Large part of the population will have to move up on the economic ladder all the way to middle class. Basically, the governance and the policy undertaken will have to respond toward management of the growth that takes place in silos with limitation from the limited short terms and the localized political powers (Vision 2050, 2013). Additionally, the choice of the countries, communities, companies as well as individuals will be marked by short term objectives and the self-interests. Continuous investment toward the energy-inefficient infrastructure as well as adoption toward the higher footprints client lifestyle preference will be clear examples toward the status quo (Vision 2050, 2013).

According to Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, it was evidenced that 15 out of the 24 ecosystems service that were evaluated have been degraded in the last century. There has been rapid and continuous increase in the use of the fossil fuel that are based upon energy as well as acceleration on use natural resources that continue to impact the ecosystem services and threaten supply of food, water among other resources. There are frequent and severe weather conditions as well communities are impacted by the droughts and famines all over the world (Vision 2050, 2013).

Implication on Practices within Society, Organization and Individual Levels

According to the report, by 2050, the world will hold around 9 billion people who will be living well and within the limits of the world. There is stabilization of the population that is caused by education and economic empowerment to women and the increased level on urbanization.  Almost two-third of the population lives in the urban towns. People have developed better means that meet their own basic human needs among them dignified lives as well as the meaning roles played by the communities (Vision 2050, 2013).

It is worth to note that, countries and cultures have remained diversified and heterogeneous. However, the education via secondary school and the common connection has allowed people to have awareness of realities in the world (Vision 2050, 2013). All over the world, theme of “one world-people and planet” has been embraced with emphasis on interdependence among people. Conversely, conflicts, shocks, crime, terrorism and disasters still exist. Hovwer, the entire societies have been resilient with capabilities of withstanding the disruption with quicker recovery (Vision 2050, 2013).

Hence, people, companies and government tends to be forward looking, resilient, problem solving as well as experimental understanding that security will be achieved via working together and adapt with the rapid and the fast changing world. On the other hand, economic growth and development relate to ecosystem destruction as well as material consumption with connection to sustainable economic development and the well being of the society. Communities have been able to redefine aspect of prosperity with successful lifestyles and bases of profit and loss, progress and creation of values to incorporate the environmental impacts, personal and the well-being of the society (Vision 2050, 2013).

In addition, the global economic landscape has a focus on distinct turn of the century. There are evolvement in the nations and roles undertaken by governments. Governance systems have been making decisions within the best and desired local levels (Vision 2050, 2013). Countries tend to pool sovereignty where required with an aim of managing the international systems as well as challenging diseases, climate changes, fisheries, commons, conflicts and water. Countries have been encouraging the local governance to connect with neighborhood and grassroots of international organizations. The governance policy assists the local groups in managing various issues such as adaptation to the climatic changes as well as access to water and sanitation. There is greater governance within communities, cities and regional levels (Vision 2050, 2013).

As well, governance allows and controls the markets where it clarifies limits as well as establishing the frameworks targeting promotion of transparency, inclusivity, externalities as well as other characters of sustainability (Vision 2050, 2013). The systems have capacity of defining the targets, creating greater levels that would eliminate the barriers hence allowing business to be innovative as well as developing deploying solutions. In case of business, the level playing fields indicates the true values among them externaties related to environmental impacts as well as benefits associated with the ecosystem services within the marketplaces for rivals. The reward system tends to have recognition of sustainable behaviors and business will have capacity to deliver solutions that tends to be sustainable and competitive. Hence, consumers have chances of choosing sustainable products and ensure they deliver the best values (Vision 2050, 2013).

Societies and communities are prepared toward adapting to climatic changes. The adaptation process is undertaken via joint efforts made between distinct countries and communities. Integrated and the systematic approach have been widely used in management of agriculture, water, forestry, urban transport, energy ad communications. As well, there are continuous efforts toward mitigation of changes in climate conditions. There have been reductions in harmful emissions with low-carbon emission that enable efficient use of cleaner energy and resource use (Vision 2050, 2013).

Leading companies in this case, tends to be those that using their core business, they assist the societies in managing the world major challenges. These companies will have worked all through radical transformations within the internal corporate values as well as external market restructuring. Hence, such companies tend to be more flexible as well as capacity to be engaged with diversified partnership and customers with skills to respond to changes. In operations, these companies have focused upon proactive culture that eliminates the energy and material wastage (Vision 2050, 2013). These companies notes that the closed loop culture reduce pollution as well as being collaborative and competitive. Being employers, businesses have capacity of training and developing creative societies that have capability of managing the conflicting issues to create and maintaining the required jobs and improve on labor productivities. People being the employee have an understanding of how they become flexible and move toward areas with jobs (Vision 2050, 2013).

Conclusion

Business plays a crucial role in advancing developments of policy framework and innovation process. Companies, policy-makers and customers need to experiment on various ways that ensure sustainability with improvement of human well-being. As well, there is need to develop products and services that will translate values aspirations as well as maintaining sustainable lifestyles and behaviors. Successful business will have to adapt with the changes within the market as well as regulatory environments. Such business will learn when to lead and when they should follow. They have to reach for new resources in terms of natural and human to transform the company as well as the product while servicing the world. Creativity as well as experimentation will be part of the most renewable and sustainable resource for such transformations. Creativity is evidenced under the product development. As well, creativity has been sought from governments, suppliers, governments as well as other stakeholders. After companies succeed in tapping new sources of creativity, new directions of success are developed since there is business culture that opens up new ideas.

Bibliography:

Vision 2050, 2013. “The New Agenda for Business”. World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Pp. 1-80.