As the world continuously faces multidimensional crises, experiencing sudden, rapid, and intense changes, or 'Global Permacrises,' the business sector must adapt and evolve from the traditional laissez-faire business model, which is primarily profit-driven, towards a sustainable business model that responds to long-term sustainability. This shift gives rise to five challenging questions for the business sector:

1. Will you initiate the change yourself, or will you be compelled to change?
2. Will you implement incremental changes, or will you undertake large-scale systematic transformations encompassing business, operating, investment, collaborative, and profit models?
3. If you intend to change, will there be a supportive environment that encourages this transformation? More importantly, who will host this change?
4. If you wish to change, must you alter your entire supply chain?
5. If small and medium enterprises (SMEs) desire to change, who will provide the necessary support and assistance? Because if these businesses cannot adapt, what will be the impact on the industrial sector, Thailand, and the global community as a whole?

     If we cannot answer these questions, we risk facing "Predictable Surprises." Therefore, to avoid such surprises, we must be able to address all five questions.

     Nowadays, the business sector cannot be separated from the global community. Therefore, we must look at the ecosystem in a systemic context and have a big picture that can link global, national, and corporate levels.

     At the global level, there are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with only seven years remaining to achieve them. However, only major corporations are currently attempting to respond to these SDGs, and they are only able to address some of them.

     At the national level, we have the Bio, Circular and Green (BCG) Economy, which is a national agenda that can address the global agenda by linking with the SDGs. However, the BCG lacks clear and powerful strategies and mechanisms to drive it forward.

     At the corporate level, there is the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, which currently lacks a connection with the two previous levels and lacks the critical mass to genuinely drive the sustainable movement.

     The SDGs, BCG, and ESG are not new topics. Yet, they are still being handled individually and are not systematically linked. To link these three elements, all stakeholders involved at the global level, such as the United Nations, at the national level, such as the Board of Investment, and at the corporate level, like the Stock Exchange of Thailand, must:

1. Share the same big picture and have a common vision.
2. Have a strategic direction, knowing where they are heading.
3. Understand how each level can connect and interrelate with each other.
4. Understand what restrictions the private sector organizations, which are essential drivers of change, face. They must understand what aids or environments are needed to shift from a Laissez-Faire business model towards a sustainable business model.

     The transformation towards a sustainable business must be systemically driven. Private organizations cannot do this alone. If these questions can't be answered, systemic transformation will not occur.

     It is evident that sustainable business is an extension of what has been in place, not something new. It still needs sustainable growth to achieve sustainable profit. Companies must change their mindset from viewing the move towards sustainable business as an expense to considering it as an investment that will yield returns in the future.

Data updated on May 29, 2023

Source: National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)

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