Normality has always been something conventional, but it has given business leaders a sense of certain predictability and agency. It has made it acceptable to turn a blind eye to the increasin-gly clearer threats in the business surrounding, related mainly to the condition of the natural environment and the social tensions worldwide. And now we have a pandemic and a range of rapid changes, which have placed the survival of business, of societies under question. Suddenly, all business resources have faced a threat of total obsoletion.
The pandemic has forced a redefinition of the role of business in society on a huge scale. Within just a few weeks, thousands of initiatives were star-ted, mostly in the form of partnerships, to support medical facilities, doctors, patients, but also their families, customers, suppliers. Many institutions organised self-help cooperatives for entrepre-neurs. A number of activities were undertaken by different companies for the common good. Initial-ly, it was all selfless, these were spontaneous acts of kindness, soon transforming into a strategic approach – building a new form of market presence.
For many business leaders it became clear why “business as usual” was no longer possible. Paradoxically, the pandemic facilitated this pro-cess. We’ve experienced first-hand that disasters force a new order on a global scale. Perhaps the pandemic has helped us believe that we’re ac-tually able to cope and deal with any and every disaster. That’s why when new disasters appear on the ho-rizon – this time caused by climate change, busi-ness needs to be much better prepared to absorb the impact. Knowledge about the consequences of climate change for the functioning of business and society is very common. It’s also clear what has to change and how it needs to change – in the area of the power industry, the mining industry, construction, logistics, waste management, etc.
Following the “build back better” approach, many global corporations have been determined to implement solutions from the domains of regene-rative economy, sustainable innovation, positive impact investment, etc. Business is trying to use this difficult time to switch to new forms of activity which will have a clearly positive impact on society and the natural environment, making it possible to reach climate neutrality as soon as possible. The coming years will show whether success in business can go hand in hand with building orga-nisational immunity and readiness to restore eco-systems.
The text is part of the publication "The New Normal. Reality in the times of the global Covid-19 pandemic. A commentary by the faculty of Kozminski University".
