Abstract

Sustainability indicators are metrics used to measure the progress of a company towards
sustainability goals and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) targets. Future-Fit is a
business model that helps companies align their operations with the United Nations'
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and create positive impact in the world.

The Future-Fit framework includes 19 sustainability indicators, which cover a wide range of
sustainability issues including climate change, resource depletion, human rights, and social
inequality. The indicators are designed to be science-based, actionable, and measurable, and
they provide a comprehensive view of a company's sustainability performance.

By 2030, the Sustainable Development Objectives (SDGs) aim to eradicate poverty, protect
the environment, and promote peace and prosperity for all through 17 global goals. The
SDGs provide a blueprint for action on sustainable development and are relevant for all
countries and all actors, including businesses. By aligning their operations and strategies with
the SDGs, companies can contribute to achieving the global sustainability goals.

The integration of Future-Fit and the SDGs helps companies to not only meet their ESG
targets but also contribute to the global sustainability agenda. By regularly tracking and
reporting on their sustainability performance, companies can continuously improve and move
towards a more sustainable future.

In conclusion, sustainability indicators such as the ones offered by the Future-Fit framework,
play a crucial role in helping companies assess and improve their sustainability performance,
align with the SDGs, and create positive impact in the world.
Introduction

The SDGs represent a worldwide response to these issues, as well as a call to immediate and
dramatic collective action. The SDGs have been described as a "buy order from the future"
for firms ready to step up, representing a $12 trillion market potential by 2030. Being the
'least terrible' among peers, on the other hand, will not suffice in order to succeed, businesses
must develop new methods to generate value that bring environmental, social, and financial
success. Hundreds of tools are available to assist businesses in responding, but one important
issue remains unanswered: what is the destination?

This paper investigates the Future-Fit Business Benchmark, a free business tool meant to
steer actual progress toward a prosperous future and make the SDGs a reality. Benchmark is
based on more than 30 years of scientific study and consists of 23 social and environmental
goals that collectively indicate the extra-financial breakeven threshold that every organization
must eventually attain in order to preserve people and the earth. The Benchmark also
demonstrates how all firms may make genuine positive contributions to the SDGs while also
aiming to avoid accidentally hindering progress elsewhere. Furthermore, firms may
communicate their path to future-fitness through consistent, comparative, forward-looking
data, allowing investors to determine which ones are on the right track and progressively
focus their resources appropriately.
Vision of Future-Fit Society

Consider a future in which business is undeniably a force for good; a world in which no
corporation, purposefully or unintentionally, damages the well-being of people or the earth.
The global economy will function in harmony with nature in the future: today's take-make-
waste strategy to servicing human needs has been replaced by a borrow-use-return approach.
Every dollar produced creates value for society as a whole, so the more prosperous a
company is, the more it is lauded - not just by its shareholders but by everyone else as well
this future, 'growth' is synonymous with rising trust, better fairness, healthier lifestyles, and
richer ecosystems, not with bigger GDP. And, in their drive of expansion, all businesses seek
to guarantee that every individual who contributes to their success has the chance to learn,
grow, and live satisfying lives.

In the future, society will become more ecologically sustainable, socially equitable, and
economically inclusive as all important players work collectively, intentionally, and
consistently toward the same goal: removing impediments to our collective growth. The
Future-Fit Society is envisioned as an economy driven by Future-Fit Businesses, each
contributing to the conditions which will allow mankind to thrive on our finite planet. This
vision seems compelling, reasonable, and feasible even though people get sick, crimes
happen, and accidents happen. This ambition remains unfulfilled, however.
Current Situation

Humanity has achieved astounding progress since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Between 1990 and 2010, for example, the share of persons living in severe poverty was
slashed in half.1 In the early nineteenth century, just 12% of the world's population could read
and write, but now, over 83% of the world's population is literate. 2 And, although in 1870, the
average life expectancy at birth was approximately 30, today's global average is closer to 72.3

This remarkable improvement, however, has come at a cost.

More than a billion people inhabited the earth around 250 years ago. There must have been
no end to the planet's riches, and its persistence must have seemed limitless at the time. It is
therefore not surprising that classical economics, which emerged around that time, ignored
resource constraints and finite resources, thus failing to account for them. Indeed, it was
commonly assumed that 'growth' is inherently beneficial, and that endless growth is both
feasible and desired. This mode of thinking established the tone for how we have done
business for generations: manufacturing, consuming, and disposing of ever more items
without considering the long-term implications. Nature supplies us with a wide range of
necessary resources, but we deplete them at a rate that is around 1.7 times quicker than the
Earth can restore them.4 The magnitude of our consumption and influence is quite
astounding.

Consider that in 2017, the globe lost the equivalent of one football pitch of forest per second. 5
Chemical-intensive farming practices, deforestation, and global warming have been
degrading our soil for decades, and at present rates, all of the world's topsoil might be gone in
60 years.6 That would mean no more harvests, which is a scary prospect given that soil
provides 95% of our food. Pollution-related diseases killed around 9 million people
prematurely in 2015,7 accounting for 16% of all fatalities globally and three times more than
AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. And each year, over 8 million tons of plastic wind
up in our seas,8 where it will eventually make its way back into our food and water systems
since plastic garbage does not biodegrade but just breaks down into ever-smaller bits. Recent
research conducted across five continents discovered plastic particles in 83% of tap water. 9
Of course, no one purposefully caused these problems. These are just a few instances of how
our global economy has developed to prioritize commercial performance over societal and
planetary well-being. Consequently, billions of people around the world remain without basic
necessities, while the gap between those who have and those who don't grows wider. And we
are interrupting and deteriorating the natural systems that support humankind and all other
forms of life on Earth.

These issues are so large and intricate that they threaten the survival of civilization as we
know it, making it hard for any business to prosper. To counteract these challenges, we must
begin to prioritize economic activity that benefits both our social fabric and the ecological
systems of the Earth - what we may call extra-financial performance.

There are approximately 7.5 billion people on the earth, with an additional 2 billion expected
by 2050. So, if we are to usher in a Future-Fit Society, we must move quickly. But one thing
is certain: we will only be able to get things back on track if everyone - businesses,
governments, investors, and so on - works together. The Sustainable Development Goals
were created in 2015 by the United Nations in recognition of this, becoming a rallying cry for
nations, businesses, and individuals worldwide. In addition to providing a unified perspective
on to be dealt with, they also provide an understanding of what progress looks like and how
to measure it, which have been critical lacking among economic players. If everyone does
their part and all 169 objectives are completed by 2030, we won't have completely eradicated
poverty or climate change, but we will be on the right track.
Changing the current situation

At their core, the SDGs are about mending our economy, which involves transforming the
way we do business. A market-based solution cannot be effective unless the government
provides the laws and incentives needed to encourage it. However, as the engines of our
economy, it is the tens of thousands of firms throughout the world that play the most
important role.

The SDGs have been defined as a "crowd-sourced purchase order from the future" and
constitute an urgent call to action for businesses. For two reasons, this purchase order
example is instructive. First, it recognizes that the SDGs identify what society requires, and
hence what the global economy must provide. Second, it underscores the reality that the
SDGs provide massive financial potential. According to studies, the market for SDG-related
goods and services would exceed $12 trillion per year by 2030.10

So, how should CEOs respond to this call to action?

The first approach is to defend the status quo, telling a story about what the firm is already
doing on SDG-related themes rather than looking for ways to improve. For example, a
corporation that already has a target in place to minimize its greenhouse gas emissions may
claim that it is in line with SDG 13 - Climate Action. However, most of today's greenhouse
gas objectives are far from ambitious enough to provide what is needed.

It is precisely the emphasis on narration over action that has led us into this situation. CEOs
who still believe firms exist solely to maximize financial returns may be attracted by a
defensive approach to SDGs, but assertions lacking ambition and sincerity open them to
accusations of SDG-washing. Any business that takes such a defensive stance is unlikely to
attract and maintain brilliant workers, loyal consumers, and increasingly anxious investors.
The second option available to corporate executives is to be selective and concentrate on only
one or a few of the SDGs. This selective strategy is analogous to the concept of Creating
Shared Value, in which a corporation seeks possibilities where its present economic model
intersects with social requirements. By developing drugs that enable people to live productive
lives, for example, a pharmaceutical company may focus on SDG 3 - Good Health and well-
being. Such initiatives may make a meaningful contribution to SDG 3 if the medications are
inexpensive and available to those in greatest need. How about if the drugs are made in a
water-stressed area and require a large amount of freshwater? The corporation may really be
harming SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation - for local residents in that region.

Markets, communities, ecosystems, and so on, are all connected through our business world
today. A sea of complexity can lead to a breakdown in linear thinking about cause and effect,
and any action can have unintended consequences in another area. Consequently, selective
approaches to the SDGs may lead to unintended consequences: even well-intentioned
organizations may aim to solve one problem while unintentionally increasing another. Are
such compromises acceptable? Perhaps, but how can we know if we don't know what they
are?

All of this leads us to the third choice for business leaders: taking a holistic approach, taking
into account all of a company's SDG impacts, both good and bad, across the value chain.
There are always trade-offs in business decisions. However, by using a systems perspective
and examining all connections between the organization and its suppliers, consumers, other
socioeconomic players, and the environment, we can find previously unknown concerns. It is
therefore possible to predict, avoid, or at the very least minimize negative trade-offs across
the value web of a company.

This type of systems approach to monitoring non-financial performance is critical because we

will only be able to achieve the SDGs if we begin to reduce – and eventually, reverse – harm
to our natural systems and social fabric. We might conceive of this as attempting to build
system value rather than just shareholder profit or even shared value. That entails
approaching the SDGs holistically in order to maximize the good while working
intentionally, continuously, and collaboratively to remove the negative.
Systems view for a Business

How might the concept of producing system value alter our perspective on company
performance? The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were announced in 2015,
however, the concept that corporate performance is about more than simply profit is not new.
Indeed, the phrase "Triple Bottom Line" was coined 25 years ago to reflect this notion.
Unfortunately, the Triple Bottom Line is sometimes shown as three overlapping circles. This
visual framing is harmful because it implies that business has some impact on society and the
environment while remaining essentially independent of them. Given this layout, it should
come as no surprise that social and environmental problems are frequently overlooked in
talks about basic corporate strategy.

However, from a systems perspective, the Triple Bottom Line is more effectively depicted as
three-layered circles. The fundamental context is now clear: business can only survive if
society thrives, and society can only thrive if the environment can sustain its requirements.
However, as previously stated, neither of these success requirements can be assumed today.
Indeed, as the twenty-first century progresses, every company's financial performance will
become increasingly dependent on how effectively it manages its non-financial performance.

However, the good news is that many CEOs already 'think in systems' to some level. Since
the 1970s, MBA programs have taught Porter's Five Forces Model. It is a tool used by
business executives to comprehend the different forces at work in and around their
businesses, as well as the dangers and opportunities they present. Consider this systems
intelligence tool: the Five Forces enable business leaders to see the context in which their
organization operates, allowing them to develop stronger strategic responses to it. However,
in today's increasingly complicated world, businesses must go outside their own industry to
increase the quality of their system intelligence. When we go further out, we can see that
whole industries are being buffeted by three more macro-level factors.
Fig. From Shared Value to System Value

Fig: Porter’s Five Forces Model

Fig: Future-Fit’s Eight Forces Model

1. Social norms and people's demands are evolving as a result of issues such as rising
inequality, widespread economic migration, and employment automation, all of which are
worsened by a rapidly expanding and aging population.

2. Environmental pressures include increasingly intense and frequent droughts and flooding
caused by climate change, as well as the accumulation of toxins in nature and increased
competition for natural resources.

3. Disruptive Technology: A wide range of developing technologies, from artificial

intelligence to gene treatment, have the potential to disrupt whole sectors by allowing people
to satisfy their needs in entirely new ways.

In fact, talking about three distinct forces is a simplification since they interact in intricate
ways. Extreme weather occurrences, for example, may encourage economic migration from
rural areas to cities, destroying smallholder farmers' livelihoods. This inflow of migrants may
raise competition for low-wage positions at a time when workforce automation is making
such jobs more difficult to come by.

Any company may improve its chances of success by improving the intelligence of its
systems. We just need to broaden our horizons, from Porter's Five Forces to Future-Eight Fit's
Forces. This is a message that all CEOs in the twenty-first century would be well to embrace.
Every business choice should include the context of the system if organizations are to
successfully foresee and adapt to what is to come in the next years.
An example

The Automotive Sector:

Artificial intelligence, battery technology advancements, and progressive emissions rules are
converging to make a speedy transition to autonomous, electric road cars not only
conceivable but also unavoidable.

There are enormous consequences to this. Many people will never need to acquire a car
thanks to a network of self-driving cars that can be called in minutes from any smartphone.
And sophisticated routing will allow for near-100% utilization, eliminating the need for
automobiles to sit idle on driveways for 23 hours a day just in case someone needs them.
Furthermore, electric vehicles have considerably fewer moving parts than gasoline vehicles,
allowing them to last longer while requiring less expensive continuing maintenance.

When all of these variables are considered together, any firm that relies on selling more and
more new automobiles each year should radically reconsider its business strategy. The
advantages of this change in road-based transportation are projected to include decreased
traffic congestion, fewer accidents, near-zero emissions, and more inexpensive mobility.
However, there will be drawbacks: it is predicted that by 10 to 15 years, every bus, truck, and
taxi driver in the industrialized world would be out of work. This is a big task when you
realize that there are 3 million truckers in the United States alone.
Flaws in current Assessment Methods

The SDGs are an urgent call to action for businesses to devote equal attention to their non-
financial performance as they do to their financial success. We've already shown that a
defensive approach to the SDGs accomplishes nothing, and a selective approach risk
producing unfavourable trade-offs that undercut any advantages. As a result, although every
firm may endeavour to positively contribute to particular SDGs, it must equally try to
eradicate any negative impacts generated by activities across its value network.

So, how can a business evaluate its positive and negative contributions? Unfortunately, it is
not that simple. For years, the Global Reporting Initiative and others have attempted to
standardize how non-financial data is disclosed, typically in sustainability reports. However,
no two businesses today measure and communicate their success in exactly the same way.

As a result, sustainability reports don't actually assist readers in comparing and contrasting
organizations or determining who the true leaders are.

Over the last decade or so, more than a hundred sustainability ratings, rankings, and indexes
have emerged, purporting to determine who the leaders are - and to urge firms to improve
year after year. While the concept of scoring a company's environmental and social
performance appears good, it simply isn't working for three reasons.

To begin, today's ratings typically focus on relative performance within each business,
making them ignorant to larger systemic problems. Even a corporation with a fundamentally
unsustainable business plan is referred to as a "leader" as long as it outperforms its
counterparts. This can give business executives and investors a false sense of confidence
about how well a firm is doing when, in reality, the entire sector may be facing existential
risks.

The second reason is that the scoring is performed by third-party raters rather than by the
firms themselves. Companies are often required to complete a lengthy questionnaire once a
year, frequently requesting commercially sensitive information, and the rater then takes two
or three months to determine their ratings. Even when businesses get their ratings, they
frequently struggle to comprehend them since most raters do not publicize how their rankings
are computed. All of this implies that organizations acquire little if any, practical knowledge
from being graded.
The third reason today's evaluations are ineffective is that they focus on present performance
and governance rather than genuine commitments and progress toward a prosperous future.
As a result, firms that truly take breakthrough measures are seldom recognized.

Overall, today's sustainability reports and ratings aren't generating the necessary
improvement. Instead, a new type of tool is needed. It must be a self-assessment tool,
allowing businesses to evaluate their own performance without having to disclose
commercially sensitive information to other parties, and allowing them to understand where
the action is most needed. It must be forward-thinking, encouraging actions that aim for a
desirable future state rather than just awarding incremental improvements to an unsustainable
present quo. It must also enable organizations to express their promises and accomplishments
in a simple, comparative manner, allowing investors and others to identify real game-
changers. The Business of the Future Benchmark was built to meet these requirements. And
in order to develop it, we had to begin with the goal in mind.
Clear Vision for Future-Fit Business and Society

By being ecologically restorative, socially equitable, and economically inclusive, a Future-Fit

Society safeguards the prospect that humans and other species will flourish on Earth in
perpetuity.

In order for society as a whole to become Future-Fit, all socioeconomic players, particularly
businesses, must play their share. However, it is crucial to recognize that some people may
accomplish more than others. Many sorts of businesses, such as movie studios, fashion firms,
and ice cream sellers, do not provide items that strive to address society's most pressing
issues. This in no way makes them 'bad' or incompatible. With a Future-Ready Society. On
the contrary, many people believe that life would be boring without wonderful movies, nice
clothes, and the odd, delectable treat! And such businesses may serve society in other ways,
such as actively assisting their suppliers in reducing their bad consequences.

In contrast, some firms have business strategies that deliberately strive to meet social needs -
such as pharmaceutical companies or food manufacturers, but this doesn't imply they are
intrinsically 'good' either. Regardless of whether their products are advantageous, such
businesses may be worsening a variety of environmental and social issues within their
operations and supplier networks. What makes something 'good'? What makes it 'bad'?
Efforts by the organization

What counts from a systems viewpoint is that no corporation, regardless of size or industry,
undermines society's move to future fitness Furthermore, we must acknowledge that any
enterprise striving to tackle a societal problem may contribute to accelerating our collective
change. With a clear description of what it means to be a Future-Fit Business, we can capture
both aspects:

Fit Business in no way diminishes – and, ideally, boosts – the potential that humans and other
species will continue to thrive on Earth indefinitely.

So, what is the bare minimum that all businesses must strive for? The aim has always been
clear in terms of financial success. A corporation can make a loss for a while, but in order to
thrive in the long run, it must produce at least as much money as it spends. The more the
profit, the better, but the least level of performance required for the firm to be sustainable is
to break even.

However, when it comes to the environmental and social elements of the Triple Bottom Line,
the corporate sector has struggled to define what it means to break even. What is the
business's extra-financial break-even point? In other words, what are the minimal social and
environmental performance standards that every corporation must strive for in order to
eradicate its negative impacts?

In the form of 23 Break-Even Goals, the Future-Fit Business Benchmark provides a solution.
These objectives are founded on a thorough grasp of systems science and address every
critical problem, from worker well-being to water consumption, and procurement procedures
to product performance. The aims encompass all aspects of the company's value chain, from
the resources it acquires to the goods it sells. All organizations follow the same set of 23
Break-Even Goals; hence the destination is the same. However, because each business is
unique, everyone's path to future fitness will be distinct. Goals that are simple for one
company may be quite challenging for another.

Nonetheless, if a company has not yet achieved a certain Break-Even Goal, it is delaying
society's move to future fitness. Bold initiatives to address such shortcomings should be
supported but claiming that efforts to be "less terrible" are having a beneficial influence is
wrong.
However, even if a company has not yet achieved every Break-Even Goal, there are
numerous things it may do to promote the well-being of people or the environment. For
example, removing garbage from the environment or providing crucial services to
underserved clients, such as sanitation or clean electricity. Such initiatives have the potential
to push a firm over break-even, thus they should be encouraged; any company that works to
become a part of the solution should be recognized for it. As a result, the Benchmark
identifies a wide range of Positive Pursuits: activities whose outcomes can really accelerate
society's transition to future-fitness. And, like the Break-Even Goals, the Future-Fit Positive
Pursuits encompass activities throughout the whole value web.
Holistic View of Future-Fitness

The Future-Fit Break-Even Goals and Positive Pursuits characterize all of the ways a
corporation may contribute to our collective advancement, both favorably and adversely.
However, as we have shown, we must consider the implications holistically. Due to the fact
that doing good doesn't inhibit development elsewhere and the effects of good and bad
seldom cancel each other out, efforts to 'do good' cannot impede development elsewhere. It is
therefore beneficial to assess what corporations must do as a minimum and what they may do
beyond that. We may do this by categorizing Break-Even Goals and Positive Pursuits into the
eight categories listed below:

 Energy is renewable and accessible to everyone.

 Water is obtained in a responsible manner and is provided to everybody.
 Natural resources are maintained to benefit local populations, promote animal
welfare, and keep ecosystems healthy.
 There is no pollution in the environment.
 Our physical presence preserves ecosystems and communities.
 There is no such thing as waste.
 Everyone has the ability and chance to have a meaningful life.
 Social, political, and economic institutions place a premium on nature, well-being,
and inclusivity.

For example, on the Break-Even side, every firm must ensure that its energy comes from
renewable sources, yet on the Positive Pursuits side, a corporation may also assist more
people to gain access to energy or others rely less on non-renewable energy.

This comprehensive framework may be used to examine what a company is doing to

maximize its positive effect while working to eradicate its negative impact. At this stage, we
can see how the Future-Fit Business Benchmark may provide firms with a clear destination to
aim toward as well as a mechanism to communicate their progress toward it. When a firm
achieves all 23 Break-Even Goals, it can confidently state that it is actually producing system
value - and that its contribution to the SDGs is unmistakably positive. Given the current state
of our economy, that day may be a long way off: certain Break-Even Goals may take several
years to achieve. But it is undeniably a vision worth pursuing.
Practical tools

The Benchmark encourages a comprehensive approach to managing non-financial

performance. Achieving meaningful progress towards the ambitions of companies regarding
their environmental and social impacts is made easier through this program, which offers
detailed guidance on how to make and measure meaningful progress toward them. In
addition, it provides an effective way of engaging stakeholders more effectively by shifting
the narrative to emphasize the company's future, how it is getting there, and why it's good for
society as a whole as well as the business.

Future-fit Business Break Even Goals

In Future-fit Business Future-Fit Break-Even Goal

Energy is renewable and accessible to
everyone
Water is obtained in a responsible manner
and is provided to everybody
Natural resources are maintained to benefit
local populations, promote animal welfare,
and keep ecosystems healthy
Renewable energy sources are used
Water use is both ecologically and socially
responsible
Natural resources are maintained in a way
that protects ecosystems, humans, and
animals.

There is no pollution in the environment  No greenhouse emissions are

Our physical presence preserves ecosystems
and communities
There is no such thing as waste
emitted during operations.
 Products produce no greenhouse
emissions.
 People or the environment are not
harmed by operational emissions.
The operations have little impact on
ecosystems or populations
 The elimination of operational waste

Everyone has the ability and chance to have
a meaningful life
Nature, well-being, and inclusivity are
valued in social, political, and economic
institutions
 Products can be recycled.
 Keeping the community's health in
mind is paramount.
 Employee health is protected.
 Employees are paid a liveable wage
or more.
 Product communications are
truthful, and ethical, and encourage
appropriate use.
 The employment conditions of
employees must be equitable.
 Discrimination against employees is
not tolerated.
 Employee issues are actively sought,
evaluated impartially, and resolved
in a transparent manner.
 Product complaints are actively
sought, evaluated impartially, and
resolved in a transparent manner.
 Products are safe for humans and the
environment.
 Procurement protects the pursuit of
long-term viability.
 Financial resources protect the quest
for future fitness.
 Lobbying and corporate clout
protect the pursuit of future fitness.
 Tax is paid in the correct amount, at
the correct location, and at the
correct time.
 Business is handled in an ethical
manner.
If 23 goals seem like a lot, keep two things in mind. First, when we hear the word "business
objective," we frequently envision something that is two or three years in the future.
However, the Break-Even Goals indicate the end destination of a much longer trip. To
achieve some objectives, a corporation may need to substantially alter its operations, which
cannot happen quickly. So a corporation should not be discouraged if a goal appears
'impossible' at first look. This type of change may entail a succession of multiyear goals, each
of which serves as a steppingstone toward future fitness. And that's OK. What matters is not
how far away the objective is, but if you have a solid strategy in place to get there.

Second, it seems likely that just a subset of the 23 goals will necessitate immediate and
drastic action. Because each organization is unique, so are its effects on people and the
environment. While all 23 goals must be met at some point, some will need a more
immediate and coordinated reaction than others.

Positive Pursuits that Fit the Future

Many businesses deliberately strive to be a positive force in the world, even if they have not
addressed all of their negative externalities. The difficulty, though, is determining what
"doing good" truly entails. If the complete context is not addressed, almost any action, such
as opening up the Arctic for oil exploration to generate new employment, or cigarette makers
giving tobacco farmers a livable wage to lift them out of poverty, may be portrayed
positively. The disadvantages of these specific cases may be clear, but this is not always the
case. Even the most well-intentioned programs or solutions may address one problem only to
worsen another unless decisions are guided by a systems approach. Following is a table
showing Future-Fit Positive Pursuits aligned once again with the eight categories that are
overarching.

In Future-fit Business Future-Fit Break-Even Goal

Energy is renewable and accessible to  Others rely less on non-renewable
everyone energy sources.
 More people now have access to

Water is obtained in a responsible manner
and is provided to everybody
Natural resources are maintained to benefit
local populations, promote animal welfare,
and keep ecosystems healthy
There is no pollution in the environment
Our physical presence preserves ecosystems
and communities
There is no such thing as waste
Everyone has the ability and chance to have
a meaningful life
electricity.
 Others provide a smaller
contribution to water stress.
 More individuals now have access to
safe drinking water.
Others rely less on poorly managed natural
resources.
 Others produce less greenhouse gas
emissions.
 Taking steps to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions
 Others produce fewer hazardous
emissions.
 Emissions that are harmful to the
environment are reduced.
 Others have a lower impact on the
environment.
 Ecosystems are being replenished.
 Others inflict less harm to regions of
great social or cultural significance.
 Restoration of areas of significant
social or cultural significance
 Others produce less garbage.
 Reclaimed and reused waste
 More individuals are healthy and
secure.
 People's powers are enhanced.
 The economic opportunities available
to people have increased.
 Individual liberties are being
protected for a greater number of

Nature, well-being, and inclusivity are
valued in social, political, and economic
institutions
people.
 Social cohesiveness is improved.
 Infrastructure is being improved in
order to be future ready.
 Governance is enhanced in the quest
for long-term viability.
 Market systems indicate and reward
the pursuit of future fitness more
efficiently.
 Social standards are progressively
aligning in favour of the pursuit of
future fitness.

There is a significant difference between having a good purpose and having a meaningful
outcome, and this is the distinction that the Future-Fit Positive Pursuits strive to make.
Positive Pursuits only include a subset of outcomes that may be regarded as 'good' on some
level. Giving away free ice cream to consumers may make them happy, and supporting local
sports competitions may create community spirit, but neither activity makes society more
economically inclusive, socially just, or ecologically sustainable. Similarly, Positive Pursuits
exclude initiatives that primarily serve to lessen the business's own negative effects. Of
course, a company's attempts to be "less terrible" are vital, and their impacts are measured as
progress toward the Break-Even Goals.

Positive Pursuits so only refer to results that can accelerate society's development toward
future fitness. Each one identifies a technique to either reverse the effect of a previous bad
impact or to assist others in avoiding a future negative impact. Each Positive Pursuit, like the
Break-Even Goals, is described as a single statement that everyone in business should be able
to comprehend without any specialist expertise.
Effective Engagement of Stakeholders

Even the most enthusiastic and dedicated CEO cannot alter a company without the
cooperation of key stakeholders ranging from workers to investors. In three ways, the Future-
Fit strategy may improve such engagement initiatives.

First and foremost, Future-Fit enables businesses to demonstrate actual leadership. There is a
significant distinction between a corporation that is in the lead at any one time and a true
leader. To be in the lead, all that is required is to outperform one's colleagues and possibly get
the occasional award or appear in best-in-sector rankings. To be a great leader, however, one
must plan a road to the desired destination and illuminate that way for others to follow. The
SDGs identify this common goal, and Future-Fit converts the SDGs into something that
businesses can achieve. By recognizing the need for further financial break-even, a company
may convey a strong statement that it is leading the charge to the future we require. And such
dedication will entice everyone who cares about the company's success.

Second, Future-Fit can assist the company in getting the most out of its people. Nothing
demoralizes an employee who wants to make a difference in the world more than seeing a
gap between their day-to-day function and what the company's sustainability report states.
Nothing is more useful than an employee who is enthusiastic about the direction of the
company and understands exactly how they are contributing to it. The Future-Fit advice
guides are particularly developed to bridge the gap between boardroom goals and shop-floor
activities. They also assist to reframe the conversation: it's no longer about demanding more
data from colleagues who don't understand its worth; instead, it's about enabling individuals
to make better day-to-day decisions for themselves and seeing how they contribute to the
organization's broader goals.

Third, Future-Fit can assist in increasing support from investors, partners, and other external
stakeholders. Companies should focus their external communications on what they are doing
to become part of the solution in today's ever-more unpredictable, uncertain, complicated,
and confusing environment. This is about demonstrating how the company's non-financial
goals are the appropriate ones - for both society and the company's long-term prosperity.
Some businesses may be turned off by the prospect of publicly discussing goals that they
don't know how to attain or that will take years to achieve. True leaders, on the other hand, do
not back down from a task. They recognize that being Future-Fit will not happen
immediately. True leaders express audacious goals and describe the steps they are doing to
make those goals a reality. This entails discussing publicly the gaps between where the
company is today and where it needs to be, as well as revealing what is being done to bridge
those gaps. And in other circumstances, it requires being willing to say 'we don't know how to
accomplish that'. Some development obstacles are so complicated that nothing short of a
technical or legislative breakthrough will be able to tear them down. True leaders see such
challenges as an opportunity to mobilize people and develop collaborative solutions to issues
that no one organization can solve alone. Future-Fit provides a realistic framework for such
discussions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, sustainability indicators such as the Future-Fit Business Model and the SDGs
provide important frameworks for guiding businesses, governments, and individuals in their
efforts to promote sustainability. Monitoring and reporting on organizations' performance in
important sustainability areas helps to ensure that they are taking the necessary steps to
reduce their environmental impact and promote social and economic well-being. As
sustainability continues to be a critical issue in the coming years, the use of these and other
sustainability indicators will play a key role in helping to achieve a more sustainable future
for all.

The Break-In Even Goals highlight the line in the sand that all firms must aspire to cross in
order to safeguard people and the environment across their value network. Beneficial Pursuits
provide a framework for seeing 'doing good' through a systems perspective in order to
maximize positive results for society while minimizing the possibility of negative side
effects. Putting all of this together, businesses can use the Benchmark to define more
authentic and business-relevant goals, make better day-to-day decisions in pursuit of those
goals, and involve employees in their progress more effectively. We must all contribute to the
transition to a Future-Fit Society, and by working together, we can accelerate and scale our
progress.
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