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We publish reports and briefings to translate the social, environmental, economic and regulatory trends shaping tomorrow’s business.

And show how they can be exponentially shifted to support business become more resilient and regenerative, for a thriving world.

More on current research initiatives and inquiries.

Past work still relevant to the wicked problems we face today

Neither a Greenwasher Nor a Greenhusher Be: A Guide to High Integrity Corporate Climate Action

As a member of the Secretariat for the Global Council on Future Fuels, part of the Global Council on the SDGs, this co-produced publication with First Abu Dhabi Bank is for companies that want to avoid both greenwashing and greenhushing.

This report explores the toolbox of climate solutions that are available today to help companies address their Scope 3 emissions. From offsets to renewable energy credits and sustainable aviation fuel, not only does it dive into how to utilise climate solutions, but how to communicate about their use in a high integrity matter.

Volans, December 2023

Go Long: The Case for Investing in Long-termism

This paper is the product of a knowledge partnership between Volans and EIT Climate-KIC’s Long-Termism Deep Demonstration. It builds on the body of knowledge and thought leadership about systems change that Volans has developed as part of the Tomorrow’s Capitalism Inquiry.

Our particular focus in this paper is on understanding how short-termism came to be embedded in today’s financial system and what we can do about it. We set out a comprehensive strategy for fostering long-termism and creating a resilient, regenerative economy that operates within planetary boundaries.

Volans, January 2022

Tooling up the Green Homes Industry: Financing the Retrofit Supply Chain

This paper is the final output of a series of roundtables, co-convened by the Green Finance Institute and Bankers for Net Zero. The roundtables brought together leaders from finance, industry, civil society and public sector to explore how best to accelerate the deployment and scale-up of green home technologies across the UK.

Our particular focus was on identifying how public and private finance can support UK manufacturers, in particular SMEs, to pivot their production lines towards energy efficient and zero-carbon heat products.

Volans, Re:Pattern, APPG on Fair Banking and Green finance Institute, September 2021

Mainstreaming Net Zero: Mobilising SMEs for Climate Action

This paper is written primarily for parliamentarians and policy makers. Our aim is to set out in the simplest terms possible how the combination of action from banks and Government can accelerate progress towards net zero for the UK’s approximately 6 million small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The ideas and recommendations in this document are the product of a series of working sessions involving banks and small businesses. The Bankers for Net Zero initiative participants and partners are eager to work with parliamentarians and policy makers to bring the ideas in this paper to fruition and to ensure that government action has the desired impact of catalysing private sector action.

Volans, Re:Pattern and APPG on Fair Banking, July 2021

Bankers for Net Zero briefing: The Retrofit Revolution 

Deep retrofitting homes and businesses  is one of the biggest economic, social and environmental opportunities for the UK over the next three decades. It will create jobs, stimulate economic growth, reduce fuel poverty, improve health and wellbeing – not to mention helping to eliminate the 40% of UK greenhouse gas emissions that are produced by the built environment sector. You can find the full Bankers for Net Zero briefing here.

Volans, Re:Pattern and APPG on Fair Banking, March 2021

Innovation and Transformation: What it will take to finance net zero

This paper is the latest in a series sponsored by Climate-KIC and UNEP-FI, “Aligning finance to the net-zero economy.”

It hopes to encourage stakeholders that a proactive climate response is not only about disclosing risks, but also about investing in green opportunities that can enable the low emissions societies of the future. This series convenes innovators and industry experts to provoke discussion, challenge the status quo and guide the transformation of business and finance towards a sustainable future.

Volans, Climate-KIC and UNEP-FI 2021

Responsible Retail Banking in the 2020’s

If the opening months of the 2020s are anything to go by, we are in for a bumpy ride this decade. Many businesses and households have experienced an unprecedented financial hit in recent months – and, for some, worse may be yet to come. Retail banks have a critical role to play in helping their business and individual customers first to survive this crisis and, second, to recover from it.

Volans, Business in the Community, Santander, 2020

Reinventing Capitalism: a transformation agenda

The purpose of this issue brief is to lay out why capitalism can and should change – why the time is right for reinvention – and to explore some of the most important shifts that companies can drive, as well as the actions that other stakeholders, including governments and regulators, must take.

Our research is being used by WBCSD and its member companies to help develop strategies for long-term success in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting opportunities for business to play a part in “building back better”.

Volans and WBCSD, November 2020

The consequences of COVID-19 for the decade ahead.

The pandemic has exposed our vulnerability to systemic shocks, urgently underlining the value of building resilience at all levels – from individual businesses to supply chains to the global economy. This report looks at the opportunities that COVID-19 offers to reset the norms and rules of capitalism in ways that enable businesses and economies to become more resilient and regenerative.

Volans and WBCSD 2020

Macrotrends and Disruptions shaping 2020-2030

This issue brief outlines the macrotrends and disruptions that could shape the environment business operates in over the next 10 years. These represent major shifts in the demographic, environmental, economic, technological, political and cultural landscapes that can be foreseen with a relatively high degree of certainty, though their implications are often more uncertain or ambiguous.

Volans and WBCSD 2020

Procuring a Regenerative Economy

Procurement has a vital – though often under-valued – role to play. The purpose of this paper is to challenge Chief Procurement Officers, sourcing professionals and other business leaders who influence buying decisions to shift their approach in service of a more responsible, resilient and – ultimately – regenerative economy.

This paper is a contribution towards the Tomorrow’s Capitalism Inquiry, which seeks to identify practical pathways towards a future in which markets incentivise economic, social and environmental regeneration.

Volans 2020

The Carbon Productivity Challenge Revisited

Just over a decade ago, the global economy’s Carbon Productivity was going to need to improve approximately tenfold by 2050 (against a 2008 baseline). Today, the challenge is even greater. What was a 10X by 2050 challenge a decade ago has become a 15X by 2050 challenge today, due to sluggish progress over the last decade. What are the implications of this new “climate math”? There are many, but in this paper we start with six that we consider crucial.

Volans 2019

Tomorrow’s Capitalism: The 2020s Leadership Agenda

How does a company become an effective agent of systems change? As part of the Tomorrow’s Capitalism Inquiry, we’re working to distil the best available thinking on this question into actionable guidance
for corporate leadership teams. This publication is a preview of our emergent conclusions.

Volans 2019

Breakthrough Cities: Business Models for Solving Urban Challenges

By 2050, the proportion of the world population living in cities is expected to rise to somewhere approaching 75%. No surprise, then, that many of the global challenges we face today are most urgently manifested in cities. Our goal, outlined in this publication, is to catalyse solutions that address urban challenges at scale, and which can be sustained over time.

Volans 2018

Breakthrough Cities: The Exeter Story

Building a prosperous future will depend on our ability to transform our cities.

Luckily, cities are also our greatest engines of innovation. Unlike companies, which typically begin to favour efficiency over innovation as they scale, cities remain dynamic networks of action and agents of change. But where will the necessary transformation come from?

Volans 2019

Breakthrough Business Models: Exponentially more social, lean, integrated and circular

Tomorrow’s business leaders understand that truly sustainable development is becoming a mainstream priority for a growing number of markets and, in the process, for an ever- extending list of major companies. This publication argues that the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a more radical agenda than most business leaders yet realise.

Volans 2016

The Breakthrough Pitch

The Breakthrough Pitch is designed as a template to help business leaders — including Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) — build and present the case for breakthrough change.

Volans 2017

The Stretch Agenda

The emerging Stretch Agenda moves Boards and C-suites firmly to center stage. This publication provides a sneak preview into the future of leadership, suggesting questions, strategies and narratives for the challenges ahead in the Breakthrough Decade, from 2016 to 2025.

Volans 2015

Breakthrough: Business Leaders, Market Revolutions

Business is increasingly critical in tackling the world’s great environmental, social and governance challenges. And at the heart of business sits the C-Suite, the grouping of senior executives who direct the enterprise. Breakthrough is addressed to them—and to those who advise them.

Volans 2012

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