The Transition to a Sustainable

Economic Model

Human instinct

Shareholder capitalism

Shared value capitalism

Sustainable capitalism

LEVEL OF

EQUALITY

UNIT OF

VALUE

MORAL INTENTIONS

& OUTCOMES

MARKET

DYNAMICS

DIMENSION

OF CSR

VALUE

CREATION

FOCUS

ECONOMIC GROWTH

ASPIRATIONS

ENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACT

Survive

and

thrive

The economic systems created by humans are ultimately designed to support our instinctual quest to survive

and thrive.

Human instinct

Shareholder capitalism

Shared value capitalism

Sustainable capitalism

LEVEL OF

EQUALITY

UNIT OF

VALUE

MORAL INTENTIONS

& OUTCOMES

MARKET

DYNAMICS

DIMENSION

OF CSR

VALUE

CREATION

FOCUS

ECONOMIC GROWTH

ASPIRATIONS

ENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACT

Survive

and

thrive

Self-interest

(good for me)

Competition

(survival of

the fittest)

Pro

fit

befo

re

pla

net S

ocia

l

inequality

Individual

(egocentric)

Grow

th

economy (no

decoupling)

Econ

omic and

lega

l

Emph

asis on

human

-mad

e

capita

l

The dominant model, shareholder capitalism, is powered by our basest instincts – self-interest and “survival

of the fittest” competition.

Human instinct

Shareholder capitalism

Shared value capitalism

Sustainable capitalism

LEVEL OF

EQUALITY

UNIT OF

VALUE

MORAL INTENTIONS

& OUTCOMES

MARKET

DYNAMICS

DIMENSION

OF CSR

VALUE

CREATION

FOCUS

ECONOMIC GROWTH

ASPIRATIONS

ENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACT

Survive

and

thrive

Self-interest

(good for me)

Reciprocity

(good for

society)

Cooperation

(creating

shared value)

Competition

(survival of

the fittest)

Harm

min

imis

ati

on

Pro

fit

befo

re

pla

net

Socia

l equality

Socia

l

inequality

Individual

(egocentric)

Community

(anthropocentric)

Grow

th economy

(relative decoupling)

Grow

th

economy (no

decoupling)

Econ

omic and

lega

l

Ethica

l

Emph

asis on

human

-mad

e

and

social

capita

l

Emph

asis on

human

-mad

e

capita

l

We are currently seeing an evolution to the possibility of a more equitable system, based on the creation of

shared value. But this is not enough.

Human instinct

Shareholder capitalism

Shared value capitalism

Sustainable capitalism

LEVEL OF

EQUALITY

UNIT OF

VALUE

MORAL INTENTIONS

& OUTCOMES

MARKET

DYNAMICS

DIMENSION

OF CSR

VALUE

CREATION

FOCUS

ECONOMIC GROWTH

ASPIRATIONS

ENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACT

Survive

and

thrive

Self-interest

(good for me)

Reciprocity

(good for

society)

Altruism

(good for the

planet)

Symbiosis (harmony

between people,

planet and profit)

Cooperation

(creating

shared value)

Competition

(survival of

the fittest)

Envir

onm

enta

l

regenera

tion

Harm

min

imis

ati

on

Pro

fit

befo

re

pla

net

Ecolo

gic

al

justic

e

Socia

l equality

Socia

l

inequality

Individual

(egocentric)

Community

(anthropocentric)

Biosphere

(ecocentric)

Low/no grow

th

economy: “stasis”

(relative decoupling)

Grow

th economy

(relative decoupling)

Grow

th

economy (no

decoupling)

Econ

omic and

lega

l

Ethica

l

Phila

nthr

opic

Balanc

e be

twee

n

human

-mad

e, soc

ial

and

natu

ral c

apital

Emph

asis on

human

-mad

e

and

social

capita

l

Emph

asis on

human

-mad

e

capita

l

Our imperative is to evolve our economy to a truly sustainable model where our ability to survive and thrive

is actually maximised – but what will it take to get us there? It will require a new moral philosophy, a

reassessment of where humans fit in the world, and a redefinition of the core purpose of business.

Corporations must

reimagine

themselves as

vehicles for

creating social and

environmental

value, in addition to

the requirement

that they make a

profit.

LEVEL OF

EQUALITY

UNIT OF

VALUE

MORAL INTENTIONS

& OUTCOMES

MARKET

DYNAMICS

DIMENSION

OF CSR

VALUE

CREATION

FOCUS

ECONOMIC GROWTH

ASPIRATIONS

ENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACT

When describing the biosphere and the place of different species within it, ecologists commonly use the

analogy of a spider’s web.

Evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin believed that the highest moral achievement is concern for the welfare of all living

beings, human and nonhuman.

Darwin wrote: “Sympathy beyond the confines of man, that is humanity to the lower animals, seems to be one of the latest

moral acquisitions… This virtue [concern for lower animals], one of the noblest with which man is endowed, seems to arise

incidentally from our sympathies becoming more tender and more widely diffused, until they extend to all sentient beings.”

The spider’s web analogy is useful because it highlights the interconnectedness of the biosphere and the

accompanying need for humans to extend notions of morality to include all life.

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web,

we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”

― Chief Seattle, 1854

To survive and thrive into the future, we must evolve our economic model

to embrace sustainability, to the extent that economic activity has a

restorative impact on the earth’s natural systems.

Pollen Strategy

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East Victoria Park

Western Australia 6981

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