What sustainability’s future will look like

When a country is well-off, those governing it and those living in it tend to think long-term rather than, in some cases, quite literally, running around trying to put out fires. Luxembourg aims to be in the first category, with its plans to push the circular economic model and strive towards climate neutrality. And that pragmatism is often attributed to the country, but whether those ambitions are always the main driving force is a different story, one that this piece will eventually find out. It comes as no surprise that sustainability has found fertile ground in these lands. Making efforts to ensure that resources are used in a way that won’t compromise their availability for future generations is a sensible approach to long-term thinking. It is also the definition of sustainability.

With the public, private and academic sectors putting in efforts to create a more sustainably functioning country, there is a lot of energy and money put into that goal. Not to mention that these actions will shape the future of our society. The best way to speculate on what that might look like is to take a peek at organisations that are here to stay, like IMS Luxembourg. The members of this not-for-profit network represent 25 per cent of the country’s payroll. The top three of Luxembourg’s biggest employers, CFL, Amazon and Post are all in it, which definitely contributes to that number. "We have been active for 16 years. When we started, we had around 20 members and now we have 200 and it's continuously growing, " says Sophie Öberg, deputy director of IMS Luxembourg. The value for companies engaging in this network is benefiting from the shared knowledge of the collective, making connections or partnerships and taking part in projects.