Forum ö, Zürich, 02-06-2016
WAVE 6
Breakthrough Innovation for Sustainable Development
Who’s Who?
•  Founded 2008
•  Certified B Corporation
•  From incremental to systemic solutions
•  3 books:
o  The Power of Unreasonable People (2008)
o  The Zeronauts (2012)
o  The Breakthrough Challenge (2014)
•  Clients include: Allianz, Business & Sustainable
Development Commission, Covestro, Nestlé, Tesco, United
Nations Global Compact
Image sources: B Lab
4 Questions
1.  What’s Wave 6?
2.  What’s the New Normal?
3.  What’s Breakthrough Innovation?
4.  How’s the Global C-Suite Responding?
1
WHAT’S WAVE 6?
WEF 1: Fourth Industrial Revolution
Image source: World Economic Forum, 2016
WEF 2: Robots on Boards?
800 technology executives and experts, ICT sector
Image sources: World Economic Forum; Wikimedia
WEF 3: Davos 2020?
Image source: Ingram Pinn, published in Financial Times, 23 January 2016
K-Wave 6, 2020-2060

2
WHAT’S THE NEW NORMAL?
Going Exponential: The Great Acceleration
International-Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP)
Going Exponential: The Great Acceleration
International-Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP)
Welcome to the Anthropocene
Image sources: Worldmapper
Post 2015: ‘New Normal’
Image sources: Irish Defence Force; The TImes
3
WHAT’S BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATION?
Breakthrough Challenge
FOREWORD BY SIR RICHARD BRANSON
JOHN ELKINGTON
JOCHEN ZEITZ
THE
BREAKTHROUGH
CHALLENGE
•  .. place a higher value on ambition
and stretch targets
•  … be part of efforts to level playing
field—upwards
•  … favor businesses that learn from
nature and play into emerging
circular economy
10 WAYS TO CONNECT TODAY’S PROFITS
WITH TOMORROW’S BOTTOM LINE
Image sources: Volans; The B Team
•  … value education as single most
important investment we will make
Breakdown or Breakthrough?
Going Exponential: Stampeding Unicorns
Image sources: Jeremy Enecio for Fortune; franciscopalao.com
Going Exponential: Sustainable Mobility
Image source: WRI/EMBARQ; BMW; Google
Going Exponential: Chaos or Amazement?
Image source: Salim Ismail/Evolution Partners; Fortune; Robin Chase
Going Exponential: Carbon X Prize
Image source: X Prize Foundation
4
HOW’S GLOBAL C-SUITE RESPONDING?
Consequences: How to Lose €500bn+
Image source: The Economist
2015: HBR Ranks TBL #1
Image sources: SustainAbility/Volans; Google Ngram; Harvard Business Review; Novo Nordisk
Image source: UN
Stretching the Global C-Suite
Image source: iStock; Volans; Headcount.org
Pushing for Breakthrough
André Borschberg:
Co-pilot, Solar Impulse
"If you focus on
results, you will never
get change. If you
focus on change, you
will get results."
Image sources: UNGC; BSDC; GRI; WikiSky.com
Thank you
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @volansjohn
Website: www.volans.com