2020 – are we on a Highway to Hell?

As AC/DC memorably sang a few decades ago – are we on a Highway to Hell? Well sometimes I wonder…

And so 2019 rolls onto its inevitable finale, ending not just the year but also a decade. So how was it for you? Are you full of fear – intimidated by the magnitude of the challenges that humanity faces knowing that time and time again in the last few years politicians have failed to take the initiative? 

Is the open road only leading one way?

Or are you entering the 2020s brimming with optimism and hope for a better world?

No matter how you are feeling about the watered down compromises made at COP25, the ongoing Presidential impeachment process and the inevitability of the UK departing the European Union. I think there are many things that we can agree that have happened in the last few years which constitute at the very least steps in the right direction.

In the latest episode of the Global GoalsCast podcast, my partner Claudia Romo Edelman and I try to counter the gloom with help from Gillian Tett, founder of Moral Money at the Financial Times.

Gilian strongly believes that when it comes to global goals “this was the year that business really stepped up.” The SDGs are a valuable checklist for business, she explains, and virtually every CEO she talks to wants to discuss the environment, corporate governance, and sustainability.

So maybe if governments don’t always live up to our expectations enterprises might have a role in filling the gaps.

In this episode we also look back over 2019 thinking about the people we have met and the stories we have listened to. There have been some incredible tales of human resilience and ingenuity which we want to remember once again.

There is also a special Facts and Actions this episode, drawn from some of the best recommendations throughout the year.

So getting back to my original question? I guess we could be heading for Hades, but at the moment we are at a service station supping a coffee and wondering how we might make that detour…

The Global GoalsCast podcast lives here