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Business and sustainability introduction
Growth misgivings
It is taken as a given that unless political parties of whatever stripe promise growth, they are dead in the water. Even within the green movement, anyone seeking to influence
Beyond the pale?
Lebohang Liepollo Pheko is a South African activist academic who was one of the non-Europeans invited to speak at the recent Beyond Growth conference in the European Parliament. This conference
More is less
Mainstream politics has long proved resistant to the arguments of those who question the pursuit of unending economic growth. Richard McNeill Douglas suggests a treatment. It is fifty years since
The growing realisation
Tim Jackson has just published a new book, Post Growth – Life After Capitalism, examining our disastrous obsession with growth in a finite world and how we might escape it.
Environmental and social life cycle
Green through a feminist lens
Katy Wiese argues that the US has pointed the way to an economy that is just and fair to people and nature, and Europe now should go the distance. Feminist
All change
Former Czech Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla says our way of life is pulling into its final stop. He tells The Mint it’s time for the world to get off and
Flogging a dead horse
Japan’s new leader is looking to revive the nation’s economy with the same strategy that floored it. Dr. Chris G. Pope explains. Abe Shinzo stepped down in September after becoming
Value and business models for sustainable development
Moral bankruptcy
Colin Mayer CBE is an eminent Oxford University professor and fellow of the British Academy – the top club for social scientists. He believes that capitalism is in crisis and
Which way will water flow?
Justin Taberham examines the prospects for the UK water sector. Near daily media interest and criticism of water companies’ pollution performance has lately been often stimulated by public reporting or
All things being unequal
Sarah McKinley describes a structural reset to democratise our economies. The results of the recent midterm elections in the US were less polarised than anticipated and the threatened Republican Red
Cooperatives on the table
Jessica Gordon-Nembhard is a leading economist studying co-operatives. In fact she effectively invented this economic research agenda in the US. She was brought up by social activists who discussed Marx
Holding Corporations to Account: towards an Economic Democracy?
We take it for granted that we get to vote in elections, but that is of course a relatively recent innovation. Universal suffrage only occurred in 1928. However most of
A politics of belonging
Seed-sharing commons help Indian women restore native crops while emancipating themselves from dependency on multinational corporations selling expensive, proprietary GMO seeds. The Commons as a set of responsibilities and entitlements:
Natural capital ecosystem services and valuation
Can finance save polar bears?
Frederic Hache questions proposals that perpetual growth can be made sustainable by planting trees. In an article published by Le Monde in December, 2023, the President of the French Republic,
Natural beauties: a dollar and a half to see ‘em
Nicolette Boater investigates whether privilege, connection or economic thinking and practice wins the day for nature’s protection. The image is by James Allen. In summer 2023 the UK’s National Trust
The nature of the beast
Verity delves into the environmental economics undergrowth. Our peaceful piece of suburbia is feeling particularly tame at the moment. A far cry from the perilous encounters to be had in
Local currencies and sustainability
Local lucre, little interest
Why did a bid in Bristol to create a city currency fold? Diana Finch tells the tale. When the Bristol Pound came onto the scene, it commanded worldwide attention. It
Globalisation and sustainability
All for One
A combination of government edicts, broken promises and climate change has driven Malian villagers away from their collective livelihoods and traditions to bring prosperity for the few, not for the
Carbon dating
Getting together to reduce carbon emissions brings hope in a world that doesn’t care, say Colin Nolden and Michele Stua On first sight, the global climate conference in Madrid was a
The gravity of the situation
People risk their lives to defend an environment they, and we can thrive in, but they are also changing our global economy. Nick Meynen writes. One June morning in 2008
Pro-environmental behaviour
Nudge theory: the elbow or helping hand?
There is a backlash against Nudge Theory. In the original “nudge manifesto”, Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein promoted the political value of
Who knows what’s good for you?
Wendy Adamba works in Kenya to change behaviour to improve health and welfare outcomes. She works closely with communities to understand their perspectives and build trust. She tells The Mint
Impoverished economics? Unpacking the economics Nobel Prize
When the world is facing large systemic crises, Ingrid Kvangraven asks why is the economics profession celebrating small technical fixes? This week it was announced that Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo
Citizens Can
Anna Cura explains how thinking differently of ourselves can change the future of our food system to end its damaging influences on our world. I’ve always had a passion for food. The
Sustainability reporting
Life by Numbers
Does a five-star rating say it all? Rita Samiolo ranks the ranks that pervade modern living Almost every aspect of our existence, from the mundane details of our shopping to
You don’t count
Opaque reporting in company accounts is not in the public interest says Richard Murphy. The failings of accounting have been afforded much attention of late. This has been actively appropriate.
Green and circular economy
Fibre optics
Looking good and being good people don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Zoe Gilbertson spins a worthy yarn. The £50bn listing on the London stock exchange of clothing giant, Shein,
More ore or less waste?
Paul Ekins warns of the need for low-carbon-economy policymakers to consider the full circle. Many of the technologies seen as critical for the shift to low-carbon energy, as well as
E-waste recycling: time to peddle harder
Christine Nikander finds bargains in the global secondhand store of transition metals. Growth in the production and trade of most critical raw materials is not keeping up with the expected
The circular root
Emma Fromberg experiments with new metaphors to illustrate the changes needed to cultivate a circular economy. It is undeniable that much of the sustainability buzz is generated by businesses putting
Three forgotten lessons about the circular economy
A circular economy requires a more holistic view of the economy (image by Tony Biddle 2020). Emma Fromberg retrieves some earlier wisdom. I vividly remember the first time that the idea
Selling the circular
Thinking out of the box: currently, retail is largely about mass, transactional relationships. Can business ever be good? Henry Leveson-Gower explores. A year ago I was on the hunt for examples
Policies on pollution
Which way will water flow?
Justin Taberham examines the prospects for the UK water sector. Near daily media interest and criticism of water companies’ pollution performance has lately been often stimulated by public reporting or
China and US: cooling off and global warming
Competing superpowers have much to offer in tackling climate change. Joshua Brown asks: can the US and China put aside their rivalry for the sake of the Earth? It’s a
Levelling up – will it turn Britain into a more equal country?
‘Levelling up’ is the nearest the Conservative Party has to a big idea and now it has just become a White Paper, which opens with the following words: “Levelling