Abstract
In the past 15 years, sustainability has become a standard term used in many job descriptions and has even garnered an occupational classification. However, the seeming inconsistency of business as usual and sustainability objectives has not received much attention. Instead, the interest in sustainability appears to be more aligned to branding than operation. In my own experience, I remember a CFO noting to me that he would not engage in any sustainability initiatives as a leader, but rather as a follower in his sector; profits were the fiduciary focus.
How does sustainability gain traction when those with the power to promote it lack the incentive to do so? This is a challenging question and one that can be aligned to a strategy, but the strategy requires time, patience, and effort. A stakeholder engagement plan that outlines the incentives of stakeholders groups and works with and within groups to align internal incentives to externally beneficial sustainability objectives is such as strategy.
How do we move the discussion from argument to engagement? This is perhaps the simplest yet the most difficult action. Instead of speaking at one another, we have to find our common needs and goals and address how sustainability action can facilitate them. This is where we can develop sustainability literacy. Through inclusive engagement we can understand the impact as well as the resources required to enable sustainable outcomes that benefit the global system, all of us.
In this issue we address topics that enhance sustainability literacy. With poverty being central to the discussion of the Sustainable Development Goals, Antonio Bravo addresses the normalization of multi-job holding and time poverty. In our Commentary, Divya Chaudhry furthers the discussion of climate change to focus on health. Dao Le and Gam Pham provide a Perspective addressing the role of regulation in coastal protection. Elli Papastergiou reviews Cities for Life, ushering the February issue to the original articles, each of which highlights an aspect of sustainability from the impact of climate change to the effect of education, and finally the viability of regulation in fostering sustainability-focused action and resulting risk management.
As always, thank you for your readership. We look forward to strengthening sustainability literacy in this new year!