Not good enough by four

For decades now, many of us have been doing great work for sustainable development. Yet despite our efforts, and despite unprecedented support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in that same time, the way we humans behave has overall become steadily LESS sustainable. Frustration is rising.

What can be done to turn the tide? The members of Legacy17, with over 500 years of combined experience (!), are contributing by finding and spreading better ways. Here are some examples of how we do it.

1. Raise your ambitions and your impact

The past decades have seen an explosion of brilliantly effective methods, tools, and skills that can help any serious practitioner of sustainable development or social innovation to become seriously effective. Even the best of us can do better.

Our network at Legacy17 is pioneering some of the most effective methods and tools, and we are steeped in the practice of facilitation, change management, citizen and stakeholder engagement, learning, leadership, and more. We’re excited at the prospect of sharing our expertise with you.

Join us in identifying, publicizing, learning and using the most effective methods and tools for the job. If we were all to do that now, the world would already look brighter tomorrow.

2. Scale up, scale out, scale sustainability impact

Innovation is good – and it happens all the time. We humans are by nature innovative, and the support for ‘start-ups’ has exploded in the past decade.

Transformation is harder: it means

• First, being able to spot innovations with truly (and positively) radical elements – something practiced by our members
• Second, supporting those innovations over the threshold to make significant contributions to sustainable development

Join us and our friends in identifying and nurturing the initiatives with truly transformative potential.

3. Pay attention to the good news

Mass media are addicted to bad news. This addiction is itself potentially disastrous: ‘Change happens when there is a balance between dissatisfaction and hope.’ No hope – no energy – no ambition to change. If we only focus on the bad, it’s easy to fall into despair. Paying attention to the good helps to stoke hope and bring about desired change.

The good news is: there IS good news.

Join Legacy17 in locating and spreading information about successful sustainability work, not just as ‘good practice’ but as actual, collaborative learning opportunities.

4. Bring it home

Yes, our problems are now global: there’s nowhere to run. No such thing as ‘away’, no Planet B.

Yet: solutions are by definition local. ‘Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can’. Then raise your impact by making your good news visible, methods accessible, and results scalable. What needs doing, what can you do in your business, home or community?

Legacy17 members can help if you want inspiration, methods, or contacts with like-minded people. Learn more about how to engage with us [coming soon].