On March 28th, the City of San Diego made the exciting announcement that it is one step closer to becoming an Age-Friendly Community. What is an Age-Friendly Community?  It’s a livable community where people of all ages can get around without a car and safely go for a walk and ride a bike, live comfortably and affordably, work or volunteer, enjoy public places and spend time outdoors, socialize, find the services they need, and make their city, town, or neighborhood a lifelong home. Actions to make communities age-friendly have benefits to the environment as well.

If someone told you that you could end poverty and hunger, promote equality and sustainable economic growth around the world, and protect the environment, all while realizing $12 trillion dollars in economic opportunities, would you invest? I am betting most people would! The SDGs - the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals - present this kind of opportunity in the coming decades, and investors and corporations are taking note.  

As companies prep for investor meetings this winter and annual meetings in the spring, I thought it was timely to tackle the topic of rising investor interest in corporate responsibility. During the past six months at SustainabilityNext we’ve noticed a sharp increase in inquiries about our sustainability reporting services from “first time reporters”. These inquiries appear to be driven, at least in part, by more focused attention on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues from the investor community.   

More inspiration from Asia Pacific…this time from Australia where I recently spent some time learning about climate policies, absorbing the culture of sustainability, and, yes, chasing down the surf. 

Five years ago this month, during a campervan surf trip around New Zealand, I came up with the idea of starting SustainabilityNext.  I didn’t know what it would be called then, and I wasn’t sure how my experiences would all fit together to make it happen, but I knew it had to be born.