What could a deep reset of the sustainability movement look like? Read “Shock Therapy” and tell us what you think.
Nine years ago in April 2016, we founded Systemiq with a sense of urgent possibility. The world had just come together around the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. There was a new global consensus — imperfect, but inspiring — that system change was both necessary and possible. Then came the shocks. Much of the past decade has felt like a struggle to hold the line. We’ve seen populist backlash, geopolitical fragmentation, pandemic disruption, and now a resurgence of conflict and economic insecurity. Climate and nature progress has been real — but painfully uneven, and often vulnerable to shifting political winds. Today, many of the ideas and assumptions that powered the sustainability movement over the last generation feel tired, contested, or simply insufficient.
As we look towards Systemiq’s tenth anniversary, this feels like another inflection point — not just for us, but for the broader project of sustainability. What we need now is not just more ambition or more urgency. We need a reset: of narrative, of strategy, of the role that sustainability plays in driving shared prosperity, resilience and innovation in a world that is changing fast. The essay here is our initial contribution to that conversation. It’s not a manifesto, nor a playbook. It’s a provocation — an attempt to reframe the questions, challenge some of the orthodoxies, and suggest what a more forward-looking, politically aware, and opportunity-driven sustainability agenda might look like. It draws from the incredible insights and honesty shared by contributors to the Blue Whale Inquiry, and from our lived experience working across systems, sectors and geographies.
We don’t expect everyone to agree with all of it. Our hope is to spark debate, collaboration, and renewed clarity — for Systemiq, and for the movement we are proud to be part of. We look forward to your feedback, your challenge, and your engagement in reshaping the sustainability agenda, as we seek to use this reset moment wisely.
