Trends & Waves

The Oakville Sustainability Initiative has grown to think of the evolution of the sustainability movement in terms of a series of waves, with peaks and troughs of activity, all contributing to the momentum we see today. Our research aims to explore the business implications and what will happen next.

Broadly, we see three sets of waves to date, each building to a peak or crest of activity where a new set of issues is hot and shapes the forward agenda. Each peak is then followed by a lull or downwave, typically a period when the issues are less in the media spotlight, but where processes of consolidation embed the new priorities in law, management standards or governance systems.

We describe the three waves to date as having had the following characteristics:

1. The 1960s and 70s saw the first wave, characterised by the rise of an NGO and an embryonic 'green' movement seeking to change government approaches to the agenda. This at a time when the world order was characterised by the Cold War status quo.

2. The second wave peaked late in the 1980s and through the early 1990s. This period saw the end of the Cold War, coupled with a series of environmental and social catastrophes that put markets, big business and their brands firmly in the NGO and media spotlight.

3. We are currently in the post-millennial third wave, or more particularly in the third downwave period, following an intense era of globalisation – and of anti-globalisation. The focus is now increasingly on responsible globalisation, on the changes in global and corporate governance that this will require and on new forms of innovation and enterprise.