FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 45 The background is a recognition that we live in a world of finite resources and planetary boundaries (such as the 1.5C limit to temperature increases), and also that there are huge numbers of people without decent living standards (food, housing, clean water, energy etc). Part of the problem lies in our huge inequality – the top 1%of the world’s population (by income) emit double the emissions of the bottom 50%. Degrowth is not about ‘less of the same’. Nor is it about creating a recession. It is about the direction and emphasis of growth: growing the provision of products and services that improve wellbeing, equity and nature, whilst simultaneously phasing down the production of some sectors of economy (e.g. private jets, large SUVs), and approaches such as built-in obsolescence and advertising designed to create demand. The term is provocative and unsettling. And rightly so. It is meant to force a rethink of our current form of capitalism. If this feels impossible, there is plenty of evidence from opinion polls of strong support from the public for the underlying concepts of degrowth. Ultimately, we cannot keep growing on a planet with finite resources, and neither can we tolerate the inequalities that today’s version of capitalism is delivering. Where B-Corps are actually happening and provide a clear roadmap for companies to follow, Degrowth is still a concept. It is, however, receiving a lot of attention from academics, key opinion leaders and now governments. They are fleshing out not just the what, but the how. Businesses do not need to wait for all the issues to be researched – the principles Degrowth is built upon already provide a roadmap of sorts. The businesses that will thrive in a Degrowth economy will be those: that focus on goods that last, and are needed, not wanted; where success is derived from a balance of business and societal outcomes; with a governance structures such as cooperatives, Community Interest Companies or family-owned; and that are rooted in the community. The overlap with B-Corps is significant. Duncan Pollard is an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business. He has 35 years’ experience working in the corporate and NGO sectors, principally on land use, food and agriculture. His interest is in new ways of measuring societal value creation, and how corporate approaches to sustainability can best deliver impact for society, consumers and investors. d.pollard2@lancaster.ac.uk Celia Gaze is the Founder and CEO of TheWellbeing Farm, one of the UK’s B-Corps. Since becoming certified in March 2022, she has become an evangelist for the B-Corp business model. Victor Giannandrea is a business mentor and coach, who was the youngest main PLC Board Director for three of the largest furniture manufacturers in Europe, including Silentnight PLC Ltd. He is an Entrepreneur in Residence and Honorary Teaching Fellow in LUMS, and holds a number of non-executive chairman roles. He has been advising Celia for several years. v.giannandrea@lancaster.ac.uk
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