FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 15 Sustainability concerns that focus on the resilience of ecological systems are usually interested in two aspects: the time it takes for a systemto return to equilibriumafter an external shock, and the capacity of a systemto absorb shocks and reorganisewhile retaining the same functionality. There is an increasing recognition, however, that the equilibria we relied upon in the past are no longer present with changing ecological baselines. For example, challenges for business arise from climate change impacts, biodiversity changes and changes inmaterial flows (including the loss of resource bases and pollution impacts). The future for sustainability in business research and practice, therefore, will be about how organisations navigate more complex and dynamic ecological contexts, entwined with social and economic dynamics. It is here that family businesses become especially important. Possibilities for corporate biosphere stewardship rely upon business beingmore conscious of environmental matters, as well as accepting responsibilities for ecosystem operations in locations where they operate in or draw resources from. A resilience frame also points towards understanding natural capital dependencies and adopting regenerative business practices. Family businesses are well placed to be at the forefront of these responses. Professor Jan Bebbington, Directorof the ThePentlandCentreforSustainabilityinBusiness Family businesses represent a significant proportion of employers in the UK, providing jobs for 14million people and equating to 50%of all private sector employment. They come in all sizes, operate across all sectors and are based in every region. Many family businesses have been operating for over a century, proving themselves resilient and adaptive to significant economic, social and political change. But we know that as a nation we face further substantive transitions over the coming decades – from the shift to net zero to the rise of automation – which are very likely to fundamentally alter the economy and the world of work, while also presentingmassive challenges and opportunities to local and regional economies. The UK’s family businesses, and those whowork for them, will be in the vanguard of these transitions. Understanding how family businesses can adapt and be resilient to these changes, and what specificallymakes themeither wellplaced or at risk of failing to do so, will be key to developing approaches to policy and practice that support employers and local economies to thrive. In particular, understanding how family businesses can support the wellbeing, development and security of their workforces while also playing a key role in the economic growth of their places will be vital. Ben Harrison, Director of the theWork Foundation
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