Here is my personal list of the most important global-level events in sustainability last year. This is a very subjective list! The ranking is in the order of the impact I think these stories could have going forward into 2011 and beyond.

What do you think? Join the conversation by hitting reply, or by following the link at the end of this email.

1. Rescue agreement for biodiversity

The UN-sponsored Nagoya meeting on biodiversity accomplished the near-impossible: a global agreement to significantly raise the bar on humanity’s commitment to preserve and protect other species. It doesn’t go far enough, and everything depends on implementation … but setting aside 10% of the Earth’s oceans, and 17% of the land, as part of global biodiversity preserve was about ten times better than the commitments that existed before.

2. Rescue meeting for climate negotiations

The United Nations grabs the second spot in this year’s roundup by pulling off a success in Cancún. Yes, expectations were low after Copenhagen, and the steps forward were relatively tiny, especially compared to what needs to happen if we are to have a chance of stabilizing the climate. But the mere fact that the global negotiating process on climate change is considered back on track — rather than dead in the water and doomed to epochal failure — is a major come-back story.

3. Volatile, weird, dangerous weather all around the world

The third spot in this annual review of top stories goes to Nature — as in, the natural systems of the planet (not the scientific journal). The awesome and deadly floods in Pakistan, the raging fires in Russia, the record-breaking snowfalls in Europe, more floods in Australia, and many other events served to underscore the heartbreaking reality of the changes we are making to global ecosystems — and their unpredictable, volatile effects. Scientists may be professionally cautious about blaming Pakistan’s floods on global warming … but just why was all that unusually super-heated, moist air heading north from the Indian Ocean in the first place, before it smacked into the Himalayas and dumped its load of water? The year 2010 gave us a dangerous foretaste of what is likely to become the norm on Planet Earth in coming decades.

4. The Gulf oil spill

In 2010, the word “Gulf” became linked to “Oil Spill” in a way that replaced its previous link to “War” (as in “the Gulf War” of the early 1990s). BP’s weak and even ridiculous risk-management planning (reliance on dead experts etc.), combined with the usual tendency for big technical things to go occasionally wrong and blow up, created a mega eco-disaster, which launched a media feeding frenzy, as well as a research bonanza (research vessels were as thick as news helicopters in the Gulf of Mexico). The world learned a lot about its dwindling supplies of oil, too, as the media explored just why dangerous deep water drilling was now the norm. Deepwater Horizon not only spilled massive amounts of oil; it spouted the truth about oil drilling in the 21st century.

5. Business “gets” sustainability

While this item is more of a wave than an event, the wave seemed to crest in 2010, as more and more CEOs (though perhaps not BP’s) revealed to more and more pollsters that yes, sustainability was serious and valuable and strategically important. At the same time, more and more of the world’s largest consultancies are now offering (or expanding) sustainability services, which means they see a growing and stable global market. They were also, often, the organizations doing the polling of CEOs, too. (That a smaller consultancy like mine has survived in this maturing sustainability market is something I take as a minor miracle — and a sign that long experience has significant value. Please see the Winter 2011 AtKisson Update, our corporate newsletter, for more on this.)

6. The launch of ISO 26000

While it drew very few headlines, the launch of the International Standards Organization’s “Guidance on Social Responsibility” served as a major indicator that practices once thought to be marginal are now mainstream. Just as ISO 14000 led to the global spread and standardization of environmental management systems, ISO 26000 — although it is not a certification standard — makes it clear what companies and organizations should be doing if they claim to be practicing responsibility in all its forms, from environmental to social. The release of the ISO standard is sure to accelerate an already rapidly spreading practice, and will provide needed clarity and support in those places where “CSR” is not just the norm, but even the law (as it is in Indonesia — see more on that country below).

7. UN decides to go ahead with Rio+20

This story slipped by under the radar for most people, and was suddenly just a fact:  the UN has decided to return to Rio de Janeiro twenty years after the original Earth Summit (formally the UN Conference on Environment and Development). This was not a foregone conclusion:  even the UN itself called the Johannesburg meeting of 2002 (the World Summit on Sustainable Development) something of a disappointment. But now the commitment is made, and the powers are in motion, and the next couple of years will be busy with preparation and reflection. Regardless of whether Rio+20 provides us with another UN-facilitated breakthrough (hope springs eternal!), or ends up being a nostalgic look back at what the original Earth Summit might have been, at the very least it will serve as an enormous focusing lens on sustainability. You can expect the buzz to start early in 2011, and grow and grow.

8. “Chindia” takes center stage

With Europe bogged down in currency problems, and Obama bogged down in the Washington political swamp, China and India seem to be emerging as the surprise global leaders in many areas of sustainability (in nation-state terms). China was the splashiest on the world stage, with its Shanghai Expo focused on “livable cities,” its shiny new 5-year plan (which even includes subsidies for electric cars), its domination of the world market on solar panels … and its new championship position as the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases. India is pushing hard in that dubious emissions competition as well, but it is also getting very serious about sustainability, technology, and economics. Indeed, India may finally do what China previously tried to do (before getting cold feet), and what no other country has actually done:  publish national GDP figures adjusted down for environmental damage costs. Given the momentum they have established coming out of 2010, China and India are without a doubt the countries to watch on sustainability this year.

9. Solar energy becomes cheaper than nuclear

While many headlines about renewable energy grabbed my attention during 2010, this one summed it up best, and established that renewable energy has arrived as the truly competitive solution — at least in some places, and relative to some things. It still has a long way to go to become the default energy option for the planet, especially in the developing world — a goal I still see as centrally important (see my blog post on this, and watch this space for news of a new initiative along these lines).  But outcompeting nuclear is probably even more important than outcompeting coal in the long run, lest we pox the planet with thousands more radioactive time bombs in the name of “clean” energy. I’m not anti-nuclear; that’s a story for another day. But I do believe that the safest nuclear reactor is the giant fusion reactor around which our planet orbits — the sun.

10. The Green Economy takes root in the developing world

In 2010, the president of Indonesia followed the example of South Korea and declared his country to be on the path of transformation to a Green Economy. Billions of dollars and serious policy signals are attached to that political declaration. Egypt, a country where I’ve had the privilege of working this past year, may not be far behind, as it is currently developing its national competitiveness strategy around Green Economy ideas. Mainstreaming the Green Economy is another success that should be credited, in large part, to the under-appreciated United Nations: it has quietly facilitated the process by providing analysis, advice, and a great deal of encouragement to countries willing to consider a major switch in their development strategies. In fact, the United Nations Environment Program is now something like a competitor in the global consulting market described above, with its Green Economy Services division. Go UN!

That’s my take on the biggest sustainability stories from 2010 … but there were many other stories that were wonderful and uplifting, such as 350.org’s global Earth Art exhibit:  it could be fully appreciated only from the perspective of satellites in space. The global movement launched by writer/activist Bill McKibben has managed to seriously raise the bar on what successful global climate activism looks like, both in substance and in symbol, and has imprinted a nerdy scientific conclusion — 350 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere is the only true “safe” level — onto the planetary zeitgest.

And what about 2011? I predict a year of action, action, and more action on sustainability. That’s certainly what I’m going to be working for … and what I’ll be looking for, as I continue to scan the news, blogs, tweets and emails on sustainability this year.

What were your favorite stories in 2010? Join the discussion by clicking over to the AtKisson.com website leaving a comment under this issue of WaveFront … or just hit reply and write us an email.

And from all of us at the AtKisson Group, a happy — and sustainable — new year to you in 2011!

Alan AtKisson, Pres. & CEO

P.S. Don’t forget to reserve your spot in our May 2011 Master Class …
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