OSLO/COPENHAGEN NOV. 12, 2014: The Global Opportunity survey aims to map private sector response to 15 opportunities for sustainable growth. The results of the survey will be published in the first Global Opportunity Report in January 2015.
When presented with a range of opportunities for sustainable growth, how will mainstream business react? With a worldwide survey launching this week, the newly established Global Opportunity Network sets out to map how much confidence the private sector decision makers place in 15 tangible opportunities that represent sustainable responses to current global mega-risks from extreme weather to non-communicable diseases.
“In order to speed up the transition to a sustainable economy, it is crucial to identify the confidence and willingness that markets currently hold in sustainable innovations and prospects available today, “ says Bjørn Kj. Haugland, DNV GL Group Chief Sustainability Officer. “At the same time I firmly believe that the greatest risk we, as a society, is facing right now is not seeing the opportunities inherent in the transition to a safe and sustainable future. To fast track the transition, we must map the roads of least resistances.”
Launched by DNV GL and Monday Morning Global Institute in August this year, the Global Opportunity Network aims to identify opportunities for sustainable responses to a range of global risks. A series of eight workshops conducted in different cities on five continents, identified 111 sustainable responses. The project team has since refined this material into 15 opportunities – distinct strategic choices for how to address the risks. Over the next two weeks, the survey will map how compelling each of these 15 opportunities are to private sector decision makers across the globe.
The survey, which is open to private decision makers, will be conducted in 29 countries and in 14 languages from 12-23 November 2014. The results will be published in the first Global Opportunity Report in January 2015.
Spotlight on Regional Challenges and Opportunities
The 15 opportunities to be examined in the survey are a result of the recent workshops conducted in eight cities; Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi, London, Mumbai, Oslo, Shanghai, San Francisco and Sao Paulo.
With contributions from business, academia, NGOs, youth organisations and public offices, the opportunities reflect geographical challenges and region-specific responses to five risks present in global communities today: Extreme weather, continued rise in non-communicable diseases, water scarcity, unsustainable urbanization and lock-in to fossil fuels.
“By collecting input from expert panels across regions and sectors, we aim to bring to light the mosaic of opportunities that capture the complexity of the risks our communities and industries are facing. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to our sustainability-related challenges. An innovation might engage stakeholders in San Francisco, but have little traction in Mumbai. We wish to uncover which opportunities creates the greatest resonance with business stakeholders – and where,” says Erik Rasmussen, Founder and CEO of Monday Morning Global Institute.
According to Morten Jastrup, Project Director, Monday Morning Global Institute, opportunities in the Global Opportunity Network are defined “as the starting points for systemic changes with benefits for societies at large”.
“The identified opportunities respond to a global risk, but preferably bring additional positive benefits. Opportunities require multiple stakeholders working together to reach their potential, and are global in the sense that they affect a large enough portion of the world’s population to have an impact that, given time, can be felt globally,” says Jastrup.
The 15 Opportunities to Be Surveyed:
Early warning and forecasting services • Attractive investments in extreme weather resilience • Cost-effective adaptation • regulation for an energy transition • Energy autonomy • Green consumer choices • Compact, green and connected cities • Smart urbanism • Rural growth initiatives • Water-efficient agriculture • Fresh water production • Smart water regulation • Combat NCDS with mobile technologies • Innovation for a healthy generation • Everyday health enablers
For more Information, please visit www.globalopportunitynetwork.org/opportunities
About the partners:
DNV GL is driven by the purpose of safeguarding life, property and the environment, DNV GL enables organizations to advance the safety and sustainability of their business. Operating in more than 100 countries, our 16,000 professionals are dedicated to helping our customers in the maritime, oil & gas, energy and other industries to make the world safer, smarter and greener.
Monday Morning is Scandinavia’s largest independent innovation tank, having for 25 year worked on innovating societies. The core in the work is the ambition to identify new insights to build more resilient societies. Monday Morning Global Institute brings the experience with changing agendas and deep knowledge of innovating societies from Monday Morning to the global debate on sustainability.