Rhiannon Edwards writes about culture, media, and technology, and the intersection of all three.

Conversations about sustainability are no longer enough. As it becomes all but certain that global heating will increase beyond the 1.5°C of the Paris Agreement, the effects of climate change are already a reality for many communities worldwide. People are not only sensing the urgency of the matter but are realising that existing strategies – on a personal and collective level – are not sufficient.

While companies and businesses were quick to make environmental pledges and commitments, demonstrated by the rising ESG movement in recent years, the momentum has slowed or reversed in the face of economic downturn and potential culture war boycotts. Both people and companies are increasingly confused about the language of sustainability, and vague and misleading vocabulary has led to cases of greenwashing. While climate change is acknowledged as a pressing matter, people no longer understand how they can make a difference – feeling mistrust, scepticism, and fatigue from the oversaturation of messaging from big companies. At the same time, others are angry at the lack of progress, taking more drastic measures to spur governments, businesses, and billionaires into taking action and accountability for their disproportionate environmental impact.

Facing polycrisis in a world that's more interconnected and globalised than ever, people recognise the need for new leaders and ways to mobilise. They're calling for more intersectional approaches to sustainability, looking at long-term social, environmental, economic, and ethical impacts across the supply chain.

At the same time, the cost of living crisis is having a significant impact on people's sustainable behaviours. People often prioritise price over ethics (even if the growth of the eco-luxury sector shows no signs of stopping) but are also increasingly adopting circularity to save on costs – buying more secondhand, seeking out durability, repairing more, and sharing more.

Sustainable Solutions

As extreme weather events and record-breaking heat become the norm, climate change has moved beyond future fears and become a present-day reality. On average, 57% of people worldwide report that climate change has already severely impacted where they live. Permanently changed, erratic weather patterns are colliding with people’s livelihoods, identities, and mental health (not to mention their brains).

The immediacy and scope of this new ‘climate abnormal’ is creating friction at all levels of society. Despite the fact that four in five people across the globe believe humanity is ‘heading towards environmental disaster unless we change our habits quickly’, the way forward feels ridden with tensions. Individuals feel fatigued by brands’ and institutions’ climate inaction – they want change (but less so if it forcibly alters their lifestyle). More than three-quarters of Europeans believe countries would be more effective at tackling climate change by working together, but few can agree on what that work should look like.

A desperate need for change is rubbing up against a society set in its ways. As a result, people are warming up to the idea that the path forward into the climate-adaptive future will require creative, experimental modes of thought more entrenched in imagination than in our current status quo. Luckily, the AI boom and experimental cultural moment that it’s brought about are creating space for new, accessible ways of experimenting, designing, and imagining the world.

This new synergy is ushering in the era of Eco Imagination.

Emboldened by the possibilities of decentralised creativity and incentivised by the rapid decay of the environment, people are re-imagining their relationships with nature. They’re imbuing the nature narrative with the new, experimental, and unconventional, whether by warding off climate anxieties at climate cafes and ecotherapy parks or instigating equitable climate futures through ecofeminism and intersectional eco-thinking. Where recycling no longer cuts it, people are exploring ‘technobiophilia’, eating insects, and using bacteria to build computers. Individuals are looking to create transformative connections with the natural world. With the help of new tools and resources, brands can deliver the kind of regenerative environmental strategies necessary for humanity to survive (and potentially thrive) in a new climate reality.

Eco Imagination 

 is an award-winning environmentalist, author of 

, a UK-based organisation running campaigns to stop plastic pollution at source.

United States

United Kingdom

Careers

Deloitte

Economic Times

The Lancet

Woodland Trust

McKinsey and Co

Interview with Natalie Fee conducted by author

LinkedIn

Adecco

Terra.do, a jobs board and platform for climate-conscious work, is heralding a new era of meaningful careers for eco-minded employees across generations. As unfulfilled workers look for purpose in their day-to-day work, how will this shift impact and futureproof the career landscape?