In 2015, the leaders of the world gathered in Paris to discuss one of the biggest challenges we are facing today, global warming. It feels as though we are at a tipping point. The urgency of this matter has reached an unprecedented level.

While they argue over who’s responsible for what, and who should be paying for what, let’s take a moment and think about what this all means for you and me. What will it take to start making a change towards a more sustainable future?
I’m sure we all understand that this is not just a question of energy production and consumption. Because to make changes in the production and consumption of energy we have to un-learn a vast variety of behaviours that over the last centuries have constituted ”normal”. We have to learn new ways of organizing and structuring our communities. We have to educate the future generations to do better than we have. We have to understand how these changes will affect our well being, and we have to understand what the consequences for our well being will be if we do not make these changes.
To tackle these challenges we have to stop thinking in terms of sectors and start thinking in terms of complex systems, or contexts, where all sectors co-exist.

At the SHIFT we want to give you a sneak peek in to our near future.

One aspect of this shared context is technology. It is unfair to think of technology as a separate sector. Technology is the infrastructure of our societies. It is the context within which all have to co-exist. Think about it, how much code are you surrounded by at this very moment? Computers, smart phones, dishwasher, TV, DVD-player (yes, I’m old fashioned). Technology is our common denominator, regardless of which sector we are talking about. That is something that is not about to change. The technology though, it will change. It is changing. Faster than most of us realize.
That in itself is a challenge, but also a great opportunity. At the SHIFT we want to give you a sneak peek in to our near future. We want to show you how this common denominator of ours is developing so that you can start thinking of what possibilities it brings.

Sustainable businesses are the future
We want to both challenge and encourage you to change the way you see the world and your everyday life and work. We want to bring forth visionaries who have chosen not to conform with how things have been done up until now. Because where there is sustainability, there is a future. And you do want your business to have a future, don’t you?

I leave you with the words of John Lewis, the one quote I ask myself on a daily basis: ”If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”