The Futures Foundation

A range of international studies shows that, despite a trebling of real income per capita since WWII, people in rich countries do not feel any better off.

As the growth project has failed, GDP should be abandoned as a measure of national wellbeing. Yet the stock answer of our political leaders to all problems is to promise more economic growth -- as though "development" which is manifestly unsustainable will "fix" unemployment, for example. New international research indicates the reason the growth project has failed is that the costs of the process outweigh the benefits. Accumulation of income is increasingly at the expense of stocks of natural, social and cultural capital. Neo-liberal policies of small government and free markets since the 1970s have created a world with a grave imbalance, a world in which we are increasingly living off the capital bequeathed to us by previous generations.

While poverty can devastate local environments, the global environment has been placed at risk mainly because of the lifestyles of the wealthiest 20 per cent of humanity.

While the poor will suffer most from adverse environmental change, it is unacceptable to use them as shock absorbers for our comfort. Furthermore, it is in our collective self-interest to steer our limousine away from the cliff; rather than continue blindfolded, lulled by the smoothness of a ride that could end abruptly.

The UN Development Program found that in 1990 the ratio of the income of the richest fifth of the global population to the poorest fifth ad doubled from 30:1 to 60:1 in 30 years. Though these figures substantially underestimate inequality the reported trend is accurate, and is increasing.

Inequality has not only increased between countries, but also within them. Extreme wealth is no longer confined to industrialised nations, nor do developing countries have a monopoly on the poor. This shifting balance has enormous implications for global ecological sustainability and for global political, social and military security.

The Futures Foundation argues that a sustainable future offers more promise than threat for organisations. To fulfil that promise, learning from the past is not enough any more. Even learning from the present is often too late. It's time to learn from the future. And quickly.

Too many Australian companies are missing out on the top opportunities of the future. At best, they are failing to capture opportunities to own the top brands of 21st century business -- to be the "Coca Colas" of the stakeholder culture, the "Shells" of the values world, the "McDonald's" of sustainability. At worst, they are pouring time and money into strategies designed to meet old realities that don't realities that don't apply any more.

There's a growing "corporate culture gap" between the past and the future. Past organisations were accustomed to making their own decisions. Future organisations will share their decision-making with more and more stakeholders.

Leaping this gap, the time warp between the past and the future, is hard for older organisations, but futures work can help them do it successfully. Both sticks and carrots are urging them to make the jump. The sticks are felt in issues and crises, in customer resistance, in employee turnover, in citizen protest. The carrots are much more appealing.... cutting costs, increasing profits, attracting and retaining top people, and winning the support of stakeholders. And on top of all that, there's the opportunity to build a "deep brand" that will increase in value as time goes by.