Andrew Winston

Quick note: blog delivery has moved to Substack

Andrew Winston — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 18:19:35 +0000

I’m writing with a short update on how my blog is delivered.

I just moved the list to Substack, which is now where essentially all new posts will be sent from. You should be receiving today a welcome message confirming the change.

If you didn’t see it, please check your spam or promotions folder. To be sure future posts reach you, I recommend adding Substack to your approved or safe senders list.

Thanks for bearing with the extra note—and for reading.

Andrew

The post Quick note: blog delivery has moved to Substack first appeared on Andrew Winston.

A Heroic Year for Clean Energy — With One Exception

Andrew Winston — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:55:51 +0000

[Hi all. As I’ve mentioned, I’m shifting most of this blog to the newsletter platform Substack. The focus and substance stay the same — and for free readers, it’s still simply an email showing up as usual. Posts may come a bit more frequently rather than bundled together, or combining pieces as I’ve been generally doing (and do again today — see more personal note below the article). If you’d rather not receive more emails, you can switch delivery to “Prefer the app” in your Substack notification settings. If you don’t see emails at first, they may have landed in spam or promotions folders. Otherwise, no action is required. I’ll still use this space from time to time, but most new pieces will appear there. Thanks as always for your readership and support — it is greatly appreciated!]

2025 was a heroic year for clean energy, almost everywhere.
In the U.S., it was merely good.

Data through November (via Reuters’ in “8 charts”) nearly locks in some key results for 2025:

The good news:
– China surged. Clean power hit 42% of grid electricity, a record
– China exported a lot of clean tech. About $180B in 10 months: $66B in batteries, $55B in EVs
– Solar’s share of grid power kept breaking records across dozens of countries
– Battery storage jumped globally a lot, even in the U.S. (up 43%), to 100GW added globally

The meh news:
– U.S. electricity got a bit dirtier, going against global trends. Coal-fired electricity output rose 13%. Wind and solar also grew, but policy headwinds mattered. Trying to shutdown a wind farm that was 80% built had impact..

Earlier reports showed global coal and gas use finally flattening. That’s what a real transition looks like. Not everything declining at once, but the old stuff stops growing.

The direction we’re going is clear.

[Image, stock photo]

Fyi, Another message before I shift over to Substack

I just posted this on LinkedIn this morning as we face work after a really hard week in America…

If you’re finding this Monday particularly hard given what’s going on in the U.S., I’m with you.

I know, we’re on a professional platform — yet none of us leave our humanity at the door when we log in. Who we are, how we feel, what we carry with us (which for everyone is a lot, so it’s good to have some grace) absolutely impacts how we work, interact with colleagues, and take care or our responsibilities. If you’re feeling distracted, unsettled, worried, overwhelmed — you’re not alone.

Recent events have piled on quickly, some of them heartbreaking:

– The U.S. executed a dramatic military action (ok, invaded another country) and took out its leader and his wife. A big part of the justification was to get access to oil…oil which apparently even Exxon doesn’t want to pursue.

– A 37-year-old, unarmed woman, Renée Nicole Good, was killed by a federal ICE agent in Minneapolis. It sparked nationwide debates, protests, and more.

– Last night Fed Chair Jerome Powell issued a video saying he recieved a criminal indictment from the Justice Department (which apparently was not too busy blocking local police and DAs from evidence needed to assess the killing in MN).

That was all in the last WEEK.

You’re not imagining it. Across the federal government, powerful institutions and enforcement agencies are being wielded in aggressive and authoritarian ways. My head is spinning trying to orient and figure out what it means for our society, our communities, and our future.

This is heavy, emotional, historic stuff. It’s ok to be scared and distracted. Most of us are carrying more than we pretend at work.

And yet, somehow we have to keep SHOWING UP — being present and aware of all of it and somehow operating in parallel on many things. We have responsibilities to our families, communities, and work colleagues. We can choose to show up with integrity, compassion, and connection.

My wife and I went to a protest yesterday, leaving a gathering of friends early. Today, we’re both at our desks (through one wall) doing our thing. After I stop writing this, I’ll be thinking, researching, and posting about corporate strategy and sustainability, or clean tech, or climate change…

If you’re finding today challenging, I see you.

*A lot more to say about this, but for context, see historian Heather Cox Richardson who says, even though the Supreme Court recently “seemed to limit Trump’s power to use military forces within the United States,” the administration surged 2,000 agents into Minneapolis.

If you enjoyed this post, please pass it on. Subscribe here or to Andrew’s Substack to get all of Andrew’s articles in your in-box.
Follow Andrew on LinkedIn
Please check out my new TED Talk on Courage
Join the Net Positive movement or to expand your learning, check out my new LinkedIn Learning class, two Net Positive online classes, and other executive education offerings.

2603

The post A Heroic Year for Clean Energy — With One Exception first appeared on Andrew Winston.

Facing 2026: Not Numb, Not Frozen, Moving Forward.

Andrew Winston — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 16:52:05 +0000

[Note: I’ll be migrating this writing to Substack and will be posting more there over time. Since you’ve already subscribed to my blog, I’ll add you to the free Substack list as well. As always, you can unsubscribe anytime if it’s not useful. Thanks as always for your support and readership.]

How do we face — and move forward — in 2026?

If you’re working to build a just world, where everyone has enough, the air and water are clean, and the climate is stable, it’s not an abstract question.

And if you’re an American, watching what’s being done in our name, things can feel heavy already.

The year has opened with real disruption and danger. U.S. power is being exercised aggressively. And no matter whatever else the takeover of Venezuela is about, it is most certainly focused on oil.

U.S. energy and climate policy are swinging even harder toward fossil fuels. The administration is fighting the clean-economy transition and trying to slow climate action everywhere.

I’ve tried to be a voice of optimism over the last year, sharing the real progress on clean energy, technology and innovation. But optimism without realism isn’t helpful.

2025 wasn’t easy for the sustainability world. The movement didn’t die (see my year-end wrap up post below)…but the work got harder, and likely won’t get easier any time soon.

I don’t have all the answers, but I do know this: we can’t numb ourselves to things that should horrify us. And yet we can’t let outrage stop steady, effective action. We have to balance day-to-day work with the larger picture.

This means telling the truth, at least to those close to us (at home AND work), and sometimes publicly when we can. It means remembering that speaking up is easier, and works a lot better, if we don’t go it alone.

So how do we face and move forward now?

Together.

Onward!

[Image: iStock, antrey]

If you enjoyed this post, please pass it on. Subscribe here or to Andrew’s Substack to get all of Andrew’s articles in your in-box.
Follow Andrew on LinkedIn
Please check out my new TED Talk on Courage
Join the Net Positive movement or to expand your learning, check out my new LinkedIn Learning class, two Net Positive online classes, and other executive education offerings.

2602

The post Facing 2026: Not Numb, Not Frozen, Moving Forward. first appeared on Andrew Winston.

2025: The Year Sustainability Didn’t Die

Andrew Winston — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:48:34 +0000

[Hi all. Happy New Year. The year ahead of us in the sustainability world will likely be challenging (see my LinkedIn post today). So it’s important to understand what did — and didn’t — happen in 2025. Here’s my annual review, which originally appeared on Fortune.com. In short, sustainability didn’t end, and some things actually accelerated. But leadership has been lacking. We’ll need to redouble efforts to keep things moving in 2026.

Final note: I will be launching on Substack soon. I won’t end my blog right away, if ever, but please check it out. More to come.]

2025 was an extremely difficult year for corporate sustainability, especially in the U.S.

Core priorities – from cutting carbon emissions and investing in clean tech to building inclusive workforces – were under constant attack, much of it from the government. At one point, the administration even tried to stop the construction of a giant offshore wind farm that was 80% done.

Inside companies, sustainability leaders had to keep their heads down. Their departments saw reduced resources and clout, and a handful were shut down. But the biggest story of the year may be that there is a story: the sustainability work continued. In the U.S., talking a lot less about sustainability (“greenhushing”) became the norm.

Still, many adopted some British philosophy: keep calm and carry on … quietly. But looking only at the U.S. gives a warped picture. While headlines focused on the handful of companies pulling back on sustainability, or on a slowdown in clean tech growth, globally, the story was different. The U.S. is not the world.

Part of what kept sustainability on the corporate agenda was the harsh reality of the world’s greatest challenges getting worse. Inequality grew, especially at the very top, where individuals amassed unfathomable wealth (hundreds of billions of dollars) and some corporate valuations hit unreal heights ($4 trillion to $5 trillion).

Meanwhile, climate impacts escalated; political winds don’t change actual winds. For example, part of Los Angeles burned to the ground (at an estimated cost of up to $250 billion) during unprecedented wildfires, historic heat baked India, Pakistan, and the EU, and devastating floods in Texas killed dozens of children. Scientists told us that climate change is “beyond scientific dispute,” at “tipping points,” and “extremely dangerous” (and that the world will blow past the 1.5C warming target). Insurer Allianz issued an eye-popping report that climate change could “destroy capitalism.”

In addition, the world got less democratic and pulled to the right and generally away from the sustainability agenda, making collective action even harder. This puts more pressure on business. And even facing headwinds, sustainability didn’t die. That’s the top story of the year. Let’s look at that and some other big themes.

Against all odds, sustainability keeps going

Reports of sustainability’s death were loud – Bloomberg Businessweek ran a cover story about it – but greatly exaggerated. Yes, a few high-profile companies scaled back some goals. But as the year wore on, the big consulting companies looked past one-offs and gathered real data.

The results were clear and striking. In an Accenture-UN Global Compact survey, 99 percent of global CEOs said they will maintain or expand sustainability commitments, and nearly 9 in 10 said the business case is stronger today than it was 5 years ago. Yet half admitted that they’re uncomfortable communicating progress – a perfect demonstration of the conundrum they face. Other data told the same story: more than 80% of companies increased sustainability investments over the past year (Deloitte), expect to boost spending next year (CapGemini), or are already capturing economic gains from decarbonization (BCG). The Sustainable Supply Chain at MIT found, in its report “Sustainability Still Matters,” that 85% of companies were maintaining or accelerating sustainable supply chain practices. I’m seeing the same in my work with large companies: the ambition remains, even as the messaging gets muted.

China leads a global acceleration in the clean economy

If you only watched the U.S., you’d think clean tech was slowing. But globally, the transition surged. In recent years, nearly all the growth of electricity in the OECD countries has come from renewable energy. But this year, the transition expanded to the developing economies, with enormous growth in solar in India, Pakistan, Poland, and across Africa. In the first half of 2025, global use of coal and gas was actually flat to down, including in India and China (where total emissions fell as well). Globally, renewables passed coal as the world’s largest source of electricity. In addition, electrified vehicles made up 23% of global new car sales in October, even as U.S. sales dropped after the government removed tax incentives.

Behind most of the clean tech explosion is China, which now controls over 70 percent of global manufacturing capacity in nearly every clean tech category. They’re not just making stuff; they’re installing it very rapidly. In the first half of 2025, China added more solar than the rest of the world combined; in May alone, it installed more solar than the U.S. added in all of 2023 and 2024. More than half of new passenger car sales in China are electrified, and electrification of heavy trucks is accelerating now as well, creating a drag on diesel demand. The tipping point on the clean economy is in the rear-view mirror.

The Anti-ESG movement hits DEI the hardest

While the broader sustainability agenda kept moving, some parts didn’t. Companies rushed to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs after the new administration made clear – with an executive order on day one) – that it didn’t want DEI in the government supply chain. The government even threatened to block mergers over DEI policies. Some big brands – Accenture, Disney, Google, Target, and many others – quickly and publicly distanced themselves from diversity goals. Mentions of “DEI” in Fortune 100 company reports fell an astounding 98%. But some backlash followed: minority customers boycotted Target, and Disney, McDonald’s, and others faced pushback from employees and consumers. Some B2B buyers, like the city of London, shifted their business away from companies that had retreated. A small, brave handful of companies stood their ground. Apple pushed back on anti-DEI shareholder resolutions, and Cisco issued a simple statement, “our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary.”

The banks send mixed messages

The collapse of the Net Zero Banking Alliance – which only required non-binding long-term pledges – didn’t bode well. And yet, the central banks raised the alarm about the risk of climate change to the global economy and the European Central Bank said it would include climate change in asset valuations and risk analyses. Some large banks, such as Crédit Agricole and Deutsche Bank, announced major new commitments (hundreds of billions of dollars) to clean tech financing. Global investment in the clean economy is on track to grow to $2.2 trillion this year (double fossil fuel investment), and Millennials and Gen Zers continue to drive demand for sustainable investment options. As they say, follow the money.

Regulatory requirements are in flux

Reporting mandates have helped keep sustainability on the agenda, but the rules are under heavy debate. The EU’s “Omnibus” process sought to “simplify” the requirements, and the EU Parliament seemed to agree. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will likely narrow in scope to cover only companies above €450 million ($500M+) in revenue (and 1,750 employees). And the due diligence law CSDDD could apply only to those over €1.5 billion ($1.7B) in revenue (and 5,000 employees). Additional requirements to report on climate risks and plans are partly up in the air, both in the EU and in California. Other legal signals added to the confusion. A German court ruled against Apple’s “CO₂-neutral” watch advertising, highlighting the increased policing of environmental claims. And in the U.S., a group of state attorneys general tried to sue asset managers for “manipulating energy markets” simply by considering climate risk — a sign of how polarized basic fiduciary practices have become.

AI’s impact is shaping up to be good, bad, and ugly

The good: AI is undoubtedly improving efficiency and lowering emissions, from buildings to transportation to procurement. It will unlock new breakthroughs in energy, education, and healthcare and disease prevention. The bad: the rising need for energy, and what that means for grids and carbon emissions, are legitimate issues. But the efficiency of tech always rises and some say the energy crunch is overstated. Also, AI initiatives at companies may actually be failing, or execs have little or no idea if the spending is paying off (just imagine if sustainability initiatives had that track record). The ugly: Social risks seem to be rising, including job destruction (it’s hard to build a thriving world with people underemployed) and the replacement of human relationships with code.

For me, the biggest unknown is what happens now that anyone can create videos that are nearly indistinguishable from reality. It’s not just about mis- or dis-information, but about crossing a new threshold to not knowing what’s real at all. I have many questions. Like, when there’s no fact base, how do we tackle big shared challenges like climate change or inequality?

U.S. business leaders say nothing – or worse

This was not a year of corporate courage. Early in the year, some major law firms capitulated to government demands about how they operate and whom they represent…and agreed to give free services to support the government’s agenda. Law firms helping to undermine the rule of law was not a pretty sight (and many lost employees). Some clients like Microsoft, sent a clear market signal that wanted to hire law firms with stronger principles. And some firms stood firm, as did, importantly, some key universities.

But the larger trend was accommodation. When the U.S. government strong-armed companies like Intel and US Steel to give up ownership stakes, silence reigned. A business sector that has long rallied “government overreach” stayed quiet, even as the government rounded up citizens and legal immigrants or deployed national guard troops into cities. Instead companies either evaded attention (like avoiding the eye of Sauron in LOTR), or openly courted favor by parading through the White House and giving the president golden baubles. There were a few voices pushing back – a couple of op-eds from former CEOs or anonymous current ones calling the government’s actions Marxist or Maoist. But it wasn’t much of a resistance. Each company may believe that silence is the safest strategy, but the collective effect is a weakening of institutions that strengthen democracy and the economy.

What to look for in 2026

Predicting anything these days is laughably hard, but a few topics will likely rise on the sustainability agenda: growing concern about plastics and health; the limits of greenhushing as a strategy; and the repercussions of AI’s attack on reality, especially as the U.S heads into midterm elections. Misinformation and anti-science hogwash will continue to plague us.

This has been a tough year. But the story of sustainability in this era is one of winning and losing. The battle to put sustainability on the agenda was won – which is partly why the backlash has been so intense. And global investment in the clean economy is awe-inspiring and exciting. But our challenges are still growing, and 2026 will bring both devastating weather events (which are now not “record” but normal) and amazing stories of people rising to the occasion. Where we’ll be by early 2027 is anyone’s guess.

[Image: ChatGPT with my prompts]

If you enjoyed this post, please pass it on. Subscribe to get all of Andrew’s articles in your in-box.
Follow Andrew on LinkedIn
Please check out my new TED Talk on Courage
Join the Net Positive movement or to expand your learning, check out my new LinkedIn Learning class, two Net Positive online classes, and other executive education offerings.

2601

The post 2025: The Year Sustainability Didn’t Die first appeared on Andrew Winston.

Economic Growth Without More Carbon Emissions

Andrew Winston — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 01:52:41 +0000

For more than a century, economic growth meant more carbon. That link is breaking.

Sorry to keep being the bearer of good news, but a new study on global carbon budgets over the last decade (reported in The Guardian) shows real progress:

92% of the global economy has at least partially decoupled GDP growth from emissions
Nearly half of global GDP comes from countries that are growing AND cutting emissions (incl. Brazil, the UK, Norway, Switzerland)
22 countries — including US, Japan, Canada, most of the EU — decoupled long before 2015
A “spectacular shift in China“. From 2015-2023, the economy grew 50% while emissions rose 24%. Over the last 18 months, emissions have flatlined

Ok, big caveats before everyone starts yelling:

Total emissions still rising (1.1% in 2025)
GDP doesn’t measure well-being
Services growing as a % of GDP (decoupling is easier)
Growth is still obsession, which isn’t fully compatible with thriving
Decoupling is NOT the full answer; we have to go faster to true zero

Climate change is getting worse, but this is still great news.

(See discussion about this on LinkedIn)

The $5 Trillion Clean Economy is Growing, No Matter the Headwinds

Andrew Winston — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:35:58 +0000

[Two posts from last week on clean tech. With policy changes, investment has shrunk in the US, but the overall story is still of rapid growth globally.]

U.S. Policy Pullbacks Hurt—But Clean Power Still Leads

Renewables are still dominating new capacity in the U.S., whether policy helps or not.

An interesting snapshot from Deloitte shows the tension:

– Investment down 18% in first half 2025
– And yet, renewables delivered 93% of new capacity (3GW) thru September…with solar + storage making up 83%

Looking ahead to 2026, Deloitte sees a mixed bag:
– more focus on integration of storage
– more “capital discipline”, prioritizing mature assets, less on early-stage projects
– more strategic M&A

So yes…when the gov’t pulls support, investment in the clean economy drops. But renewables remain the fastest, cheapest ways to add power, which the grid needs as datacenter energy demand explodes.

The build-out will continue. US policy just seems designed to make it harder and more expensive.

(On LinkedIn)

The $5 trillion global clean tech market

Clean tech is a $5 trillion business TODAY — and the 2nd-fastest growing sector after tech.

A new WEF-BCG report (“Already a Multi-trillion-dollar Market”) says we’re headed to $7 trillion by 2030.

Other findings:
– China leads by a lot.
– More surprising: nearly 20% of spending is now for adaptation, or “advanced cooling systems, resilient construction materials, and flood management solutions.”

So call it $4 trillion in transition and $1 trillion in dealing with impacts (so far).*

It’s a big, fast-moving market. In other words, a great investment.

[*Side note: This is a perfect example of the problem with GDP as a measure of anything. One-fifth of clean economy ‘growth’ is because we didn’t transition earlier.]

(On LinkedIn)

The EVs are Here to Stay: Will US Automakers Fall Behind?

Andrew Winston — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:00:12 +0000

[Two recent posts around electric vehicles (EVs). It’s a movement that is unstoppable now. The real question is who will lead or even survive.]

Heavy Trucks Are Going Electric

The shift to electric vehicles is not coming — it’s here. China is showing what the transition looks like.

Heavy trucks, once the hardest part of road transportation to decarbonize, are switching fast. (And road freight is 1/3 of all transport emissions).

In China, the world’s 2nd largest trucking fleet…

* EVs hit 22% of new heavy-truck sales in the first half of 2025 (up from 9% a year earlier)

* They’re projected to reach 60% of new sales in 2026

* Electric trucks cost 2-3x upfront…BUT save operators 10-26% over their lifetime through higher efficiency and much lower operating costs

* And battery-swapping networks for trucks are being built

With change this fast, diesel demand and emissions will start to go down (AP says China’s EV trucks are “already cutting oil demand”).

COP30 might stall. Politics might distract. But the market isn’t waiting. On the ground, clean techs are winning fast.

(Discussion on this post here)

Ford’s Problem…

U.S. automakers are in a tough spot — especially Ford Motor Company, which clearly wants to lead in EVs.

Some seemingly mixed signals from the giant (links below):

* A brand new, net zero, 2.1MM-sq-ft headquarters. As CEO Today magazine notes, an HQ is “a physical manifestation of corporate strategy.” A net-zero one is a “talent and culture strategy” and “makes financial sense”.

* A 30% jump in Q3 EV sales (year over year)

* And yet…Ford may kill the F-150 Lightning, the best-selling electric pickup truck in America.

So what’s going on? A major factor: The U.S. Administration eliminated federal EV tax credits and, logically, sales fell. The tech hasn’t stalled — just the policy. The rest of the world is still pushing the EV transition ahead at full speed.

Ford CEO Jim Farley recently put it plainly: “We can’t walk away from EVs…if we want to be a global company, I’m not going to just cede that to the Chinese.”

It’s tough to lead in a global transition when your own market isn’t helping you keep up.

(Discussion on this post here)

The Unraveling of Reality

Andrew Winston — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 16:45:39 +0000

This may sound like an overstatement, but I think we’re at a critical tipping point in human history.

We are losing the ability to tell reality from fiction: any piece of digital media may now be fake.

I was wasting/enjoying a few minutes on Instagram recently, watching incredible videos of dogs saving toddlers from danger. After a few minutes I realized they were TOO incredible — all fake.

(In this screenshot from Instagram, a ceiling fan is falling, for no reason, in a baby’s room and the dog is blocking it — AI dog was fine somehow).

We’re now flooded with images and videos that are nearly indistinguishable from reality. It’s been building for months, but new text-to-video tools available to everyone (like Sora) have pushed it over the edge. Sure, AI videos still have the occasional giveaway (an extra finger here and there), but for how long?

It’s not just that misinformation is easy to create. It’s that we can no longer know if ANYTHING we see is real.

I don’t have anything wildly innovative to say about this yet. I just have questions:

– If we can’t trust anything we see, how do we know what’s real?
– What happens to the nature of truth and fiction? Can they ever be unblended again?
– How do we build or maintain trust when evidence can be faked?
– How does this change how we learn or attain knowledge?
– What does ‘authentic’ mean, when the unreal feels more real than reality?
– Are there any upsides? Maybe it breaks the spell videos have over us (especially Gen Z and younger)? If you know you’re being lied to, even for entertainment, is it still interesting to watch?
– Will there be a backlash, where people want to get together in person much more (since the only way you’ll know if you’re talking to someone is to be standing in front of them)?

As part of my work to understand gigatrends that shape the world, I’ll be watching this issue and commenting more. It impacts so much, including the pursuit of sustainability and climate action — the forces of disinformation have entirely new tools now.

In addition to everything else unsettling in the world, the ground of truth beneath our feet is crumbling. Let’s hope we find a way to find stability.

[A lot of discussion on this post on LinkedIn]

[The main image is of “Tilly Norwood” an AI-generated actress.]

If you enjoyed this post, please pass it on. Subscribe to get all of Andrew’s articles in your in-box.
Follow Andrew on LinkedIn
Please check out my new TED Talk on Courage
Join the Net Positive movement or to expand your learning, check out my new LinkedIn Learning class, two Net Positive online classes, and other executive education offerings.

2529

The post The Unraveling of Reality first appeared on Andrew Winston.

MIT says, “Sustainability Still Matters”

Andrew Winston — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 16:48:44 +0000

[Some news from a few weeks back. This got a lot of discussion and traffic on LinkedIn. Good to see that supply chain pressure for sustainability performance seems to be intact.]

A new study from MIT Sustainable Supply Chain Lab finds…

**Commitment to sustainable supply chains is holding firm**
73% of companies report NO CHANGE (while 15% reduced and 12% increased). This matches other recent studies on sustainability goals.

**Scope 3 is (still) the mountain to climb**
It’s 75% of emissions and everyone (still) lacks great data

**Freight is shifting**
Biofuels, EVs, hybrids, hydrogen are coming — but gaps remain in infrastructure and investment

MIT’s takeaway: “True leaders move beyond intent…embedding it into their core operations”

In a tough environment, holding steady — and keeping sustainability as part of your core — is a win.

A Surreal Career Moment

Andrew Winston — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 15:04:55 +0000

[Please forgive a quick announcement about career news for me. Last week, Paul Polman and I were surprised and honored by our place topping a ranking of global management thinkers. Here’s what I posted the next day, with a video of my short thank you speech, followed by Paul’s take on what this says about the sustainability and net positive movements. I’m also so moved that sustainability is getting this level of recognition.

We owe it to all the work done by people in this field for decades. In addition to all the CSOs doing the hard work inside companies, my intellectual inspirations and thought partners have included (and this can’t be complete) Ray Anderson, Paul Hawken, Hunter Lovins, Donella Meadows, Stuart Hart, John Elkington, Jonathan Porritt, Amory Lovins, Bob Willard, Janine Benyus, Yvon Choiunard, Bill McDonough and Michael Braungardt, Dan Esty, Daniel Quinn, Kate Raworth, Andy Hoffman, Gil Friend, Daniel Aronson…]

My Post Last Week

Last night was surreal — a pinnacle career moment.

My Net Positive co-author, Paul Polman, and I were named by Thinkers50 as the #1 management thinkers in the world.

Below is what I said in my acceptance, mostly in a fog.

Thinkers 50 Accep tance (1 min Video)

In short, besides thanking Paul for his leadership (and being one of the truly great CEOs), I talked about the long road of corporate sustainability from the hinterlands when my mentors and inspirations (I wish I had had the presence of mind to name them all) began working on this decades ago. And I thank all the people working in sustainability for their tireless, upstream work.

But now, sustainability IS mainstream business — even while under attack and even with so much more work to do. The theme of the ENTIRE Thinkers50 2-day event was regenerative business. That was unimaginable 10 years ago.

So thanks again to Thinkers50 for a big vote of confidence for sustainability and recognizing our work.

(Fyi, see some great overviews and pictures of the event on LinkedIn from Thinkers50 and top-ranked big brains Amy Edmondson, Scott Anthony, Amy Webb, Natalie Nixon, and Wendy Smith (who recorded my talk – thanks!))

Paul’s Thoughts

I’m deeply honoured that Net Positive, co-authored with my friend and colleague Andrew Winston, has been recognised by Thinkers50 as the top management idea of 2025.

My sincere thanks to Thinkers50 for continuing to shine a light on ideas that help business serve humanity better, and to the extraordinary thinkers on this year’s list whose work inspires and challenges us all to raise our game.

Net Positive is about reimagining the role of business in society, moving beyond “doing less harm” and toward doing more good. It argues that the only companies fit for the future are those that repair the harm of the past: that restore nature rather than destroy it, pay living wages rather than externalise poverty, and design growth that strengthens the social fabric instead of fraying it. In short, it’s about creating value by fixing the world’s problems, not creating them.

This is not idealism; it is realism of the highest order. In a world of planetary boundaries and social fracture, business as usual is self-defeating. The only viable strategy is one that gives more than it takes, from people, from nature, and from the generations to come.

While this recognition is a wonderful honour, it’s important to remember that legacy is not measured by awards, but by the impact we leave on the world and on others. The true test of leadership is whether we build systems that restore rather than extract and empower rather than exploit.

I regard this recognition not as a summit reached, but as a signal to keep climbing. Ideas only earn their worth when they drive action, when they help us rewrite the operating code of an economy still built on extraction and short-termism.

My gratitude to everyone advancing this agenda.

(I commented on top of this re asking the core question in Net Positive, Is the world better off…)

If you enjoyed this post, please pass it on. Subscribe to get all of Andrew’s articles in your in-box.
Follow Andrew on LinkedIn
Please check out my new TED Talk on Courage
Join the Net Positive movement or to expand your learning, check out my new LinkedIn Learning class, two Net Positive online classes, and other executive education offerings.

2527

The post A Surreal Career Moment first appeared on Andrew Winston.