Blog:

The Awesome Anthropocene Goals …… are actually pretty awesome

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‘Suspend Your Disbelief’ is the strapline for Futerra’s Awesome Anthropocene Goals a set of 20 goals which look to build upon the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, launched in 2015 and targeting significant change through 17 Goals (with 169 specific timebound targets) agreed by 193 countries. Futerra are a sustainable development consultancy working with some of the world’s best-known brands.

 

Futerra are still referring to the AAGs (well I can’t keep writing Awesome Anthropocene Goals!) as a ‘first attempt’ so they are potentially still open to change, but I reckon they are pretty good as they are and definitely worth a look whether from a business perspective or simply as a curious individual. One of the many beauties of the AAGs is they give options for what you can do on both counts.

 

Another beauty of the AAGs is that they draw you in, Goal 2 – Food is a source of Joy, Goal 4 – Everyone’s potential is possible and Goal 11 – Everyone Lives in a Doughnut Community, simply make you want to know and understand more. Described by the authors as ‘wildly optimistic’ the document cleverly puts a piece about ‘change happens’ at the front of the document, and some of the changes are jaw dropping. For example, that we put a man on the moon only 66 years after the first successful plane flight! In short, we can achieve wildly optimistic things as a society, if we decide we really want to.

 

For businesses I think the AAGs could be really motivational. They aspire to things that we would all want to see, and more importantly, that we would all like to be a part of achieving. They can be approached strategically from the Boardroom, they could be the reason someone starts a business, but equally you can engage with the AAGs as a family or individual.

 

Although the name hardly trips off the tongue, the definition presented early in the document makes buy-in relatively easy. Awesome – meaning extremely exciting or impressive, Anthropocene relating to the current geological age (viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on the geological record) and Goal – the object of ambition or effort.

 

Futerra refer to the Anthropocene age, ‘the age of humans’, as potentially being apocalyptic or awesome, they choose awesome. I think we all should.

 

Check it out at

Futerras Awesome Anthropocene Goals

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At Collins McHugh we can help you every step of the way. If you’d like more information, please do get in touch on 0330 223 2965 or email cr@collinsmchugh.co.uk

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