11. Bringing Being in Business
Susan Goldsworthy, affiliate professor of leadership, communications and organizational change
A changing world requires increased concentration on the processing and well-being of employees. In 2025, the passage of “power over” and “game to dominate” to “power with” and “game to prosper” reflects an evolution towards collaborative organizations and focused on the goal that allow people and promote resilience. The combination of emotional security with a desire for exploration, a secure basic leadership will be critical. Companies like the electricity producer and the Alpiq energy supplier and the Dressco asset management company see the advantages.
This approach aligns with the work of the IDG in the five areas of being, reflection, relationship, collaboration and games which are necessary to make real progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Objectives (SDG). The integration of well-being into daily practices will be essential, because our increasingly uncertain global places stressed all employees. Companies will have to balance work requests with initiatives that normalize stress management, mindfulness, breathing and adaptability. By balancing technological advances with an emphasis on what makes us humans, companies will accelerate sustainability transitions and cultivate a flourishing workforce capable of responding to the complexities of the future with a feeling of calm, confidence and creativity.
12. Corporations, social enterprises and communities for sustainability
Sophie Bacq, professor of social entrepreneurship and president of the Coca-Cola foundation in sustainable development
Complex societal challenges require innovative approaches that bring together various capacities and perspectives. The progress comes from deliberate coalitions of actors – societies, government entities, social entrepreneurs and, above all, communities themselves – working together towards shared objectives.
When large companies likeSAP Partners with social entrepreneurs and local communities, they combine complementary forces: companies contribute to scale and resources while social entrepreneurs provide agility and innovation – and, when they authentically engage communities, they provide vital local and comprehensive knowledge. These partnerships can create solutions that are both evolving and contextually appropriate.
Sustainable development cannot be carried out thanks to downward initiatives. We must create spaces where global capacities meet local wisdom, where institutional resources meet community knowledge and where different actors align around a common objective. These collaborations can generate transformative and sustainable innovations.
13. The political dimension of social entrepreneurship
Georgios polychronopoulos, sustainable development researcher
The world has entered an era of persistent and overlapping crises, in particular pandemics, climatic emergencies, geopolitical conflicts, the drop in democracy and economic instability, which collectively put societal stability. In this context, social enterprises – organizations that solve social problems by market -based means – are increasingly adopting a political dimension to stimulate positive social change. This change emphasizes influence on public policies, legislation and societal standards.
For example, Too beautiful to goA social company that fights against food waste thanks to a digital application that creates a market for excess food, recently directed a coalition of more than 30 leaders in the United Kingdom in the food industry to urge the government to impose public reports on food waste. By pleading for policies reform, the organization shows how social enterprises take advantage of political capital to meet structural socio-environmental challenges. This trend highlights an evolution towards the multi-objective organization, where organizations pursue various social results, including political advocacy, to approach the multifaceted nature of complex social and environmental problems. As their political role is developing, social enterprises will likely become critical agents of systemic change in the fight against recurring global crises.