Transcending Boundaries: collaboration needed to preserve natural capital
In his incisive article for our 25th Anniversary Portfolio of Perspectives, Martin Roberts of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) takes a look back over the past 25 years and reflects on the enormous global shifts that have taken place in the world around us, confronting the loss of arable land, increasing drought and declining biodiversity, and indicating the present and potential impact of these changes on food security and the global ecosystem. For Roberts, it is clear that ‘business as usual’ for the next 25 years is no longer an option and stakeholders at all levels must collaborate without delay. The article goes on to acknowledge the vital role of global companies in maintaining the Earth’s Natural Capital, and recognises the benefits of a landscape approach being adopted by companies such as Olam.
Martin Roberts is the director of the Natural Capital Leaders Platform at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. The Natural Capital Leaders Platform is a group of leading companies collaborating to understand and manage their impacts and dependences on natural resources. The Platform is managed by the CISL, which works to build the leadership capacity necessary to tackle critical global challenges.
