56 REAL-LEADERS.COM / SUMMER 2022 FUTURE 2030 PREPARE NEVER TOMEET YOUR COWORKERS IN PERSON In 2030, 100% remote companies are the norm, and virtual reality has become part of the remote work experience. You can put on a headset and find yourself in a simulated office environment where you collaborate with your teammates. In 2030, the possibilities are endless. It’s only been eight years since 2022 but look how far we’ve come. When business leaders decided that a focus on technology could solve many of the world’s problems, that’s when the real change began. It’s so obvious now, especially when we can see how advances in technology are continuing to shape the future of every industry. Rachel Blank, founder and CEO of Allara SUPPORT CAUSES BIGGER THAN YOURS TO SCALE YOUR IMPACT In 2021, our company joined the 1% for the Planet movement. This meant that 1% of our profits went to an approved organization in the 1% for the Planet network. We chose this organization because they represented (and still do) a global network of businesses, individuals, and nonprofit organizations tackling our planet’s most pressing environmental issues. In the early 2020s, we were dealing with a lot of ecological challenges in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. So we wanted to do our part to help not only our current loved ones but our future loved ones too. At that time, we chose to support The Gates Foundation. For decades, they had been working on enhancing healthcare around the globe, reducing extreme poverty, and giving children access to education and technology. As a company, we believed these were worthwhile endeavors. Because of foundations such as The Gates Foundation, worldwide poverty is now at an all-time low. We haven’t been able to eradicate it entirely, but it’s the lowest it’s ever been. Healthcare is at a very low cost or even free in many countries, including the United States. It’s amazing to see the impact that thousands of businesses, individuals, and nonprofits can have when they come together with a common goal in mind. Jean Gregoire, CEO, Lovebox AN INDIVIDUAL WITH VISION AND PASSION CAN MAGNIFY CHANGE After a decade of profitability by addressing social justice and environmental issues through core products, services, mission, and mindset, I keynoted an international CEO conference with 400 in person and 2,000 more attending via Zoom in 2023. I showed how hunger, poverty, racism, war, and ecocide had created cascades of catastrophic health and climate crises, unrest, polarization, and broken business. Then, I demonstrated the many profitable solutions that existed to solve them. Back then, I sketched today’s 2030 world, where business embraced biomimicry, holonomics, cradleto-cradle, zero-waste design, and morphed economic and climate injustice into an interlocking web of caring communities. Scale was important, and I began consulting with six major corporations. I worked with their sustainability departments to rethink every aspect of their business. Convincing management meant the trickle-down effected millions of employees and customers alike. As these companies became more profitable, competitors started copying them — magnifying the impact. By 2025, the idea had rapidly shifted toward regenerative models. Labor embraced these changes earlier; middle management was a bit farther behind but came aboard as the results became evident. Shel Horowitz, CEO, Going Beyond Sustainability
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