The landscape of business has been radically transformed. Discussions about business action on sustainability are now taking place against a COVID-shaped backdrop of geopolitical and economic shifts, growing – and increasingly visible – inequality, heightened awareness of systemic flaws and human vulnerability, and societal fractures and polarisation. In addition, many businesses are operating in regions with high levels of government, corporate and private debt and growing levels of unemployment.

Over September and October 2020, the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership invited close friends, Senior Associates and Fellows to a series of conversations to explore the implications of these challenges and transformations for business action on sustainability. This report provides an overview of the key insights that emerged from these discussions.