{"id":136135,"date":"2025-11-03T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/technation.io\/?p=136135"},"modified":"2025-11-03T11:06:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T11:06:02","slug":"what-is-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Drawing from discussions at our Climate<\/span><\/a> Leaders Forum, Tech Nation\u2019s Head of Climate, Sammy Fry, makes the case for a new sustainability narrative to cut through to business and the public.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Rising living costs and fragile supply chains have made it easy to blame \u2018net zero\u2019 for driving up prices and slow economic growth, but the evidence tells a different story. Sustainability isn\u2019t what\u2019s holding us back, it\u2019s what\u2019s holding everything together. So what does sustainability look like today?

At our recent Climate Leaders Forum, hosted in partnership with Octopus Energy, CUR8, and Plan A, sustainability leaders gathered to discuss how to inject fresh momentum into the climate agenda and highlighted the on-the-ground progress being made. The overwhelming conviction from the day was that progress on climate change and nature restoration isn\u2019t stalling. It\u2019s simply evolving.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainability as a Growth Strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A glance at the headlines can easily lead us to believe corporate ESG is retreating, coalitions are dissolving and climate commitments are dead. But beneath the noise, a quieter, more hopeful reality is unfolding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Harvard Business Review<\/em>, over 70% of large global firms have maintained or strengthened their climate targets since 2023, while investment in decarbonisation grew by 18% last year. As Lubomila Jordanova, Co-Founder & CEO of Plan A<\/strong><\/span><\/a> noted at our forum, their clients are not abandoning but embedding their sustainability goals more deeply into their core strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across industry, sustainability is moving beyond experimentalism to profitability. Octopus Energy<\/span><\/strong><\/a> is proving that sustainable innovation and affordability can coexist. Its Zero Bill Homes<\/span><\/a> initiative is creating housing developments that generate more energy than they consume. It is allowing residents to live without paying an energy bill, powered entirely by solar panels, heat pumps and intelligent energy management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, major corporations are investing in insetting projects across reforestation and regenerative agriculture not as philanthropy, but as risk management. These projects protect nature and secure value chains, showing that sustainability isn\u2019t a moral tax on growth, it\u2019s a strategy for competitiveness. The question is no longer \u201cWhat will this cost?\u201d but \u201cWhat are we risking if we don\u2019t act?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Plan A’s Lubomila Jordanova at The Climate Leaders Forum 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Simpler, More Human Sustainability Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Part of the challenge lies in how we communicate. The climate conversation has become buried in acronyms, ESG, CSRD, SBTi, alienating the very people it needs to engage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, our minds are under siege. Short-form content and an endless stream of competing opinions have left us overstimulated but underinformed. The result is paralysis, a population overwhelmed by noise and undernourished by meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, amid this noise, a new movement is emerging. The rise of the Green Party<\/span><\/a> in the UK, now the third largest party by membership, reflects a growing demand for authenticity and hope. As Green Party CEO, Harriet Lamb observed, \u2018people don\u2019t want to be preached at, they want to feel part of something real.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purpose as a Source of Power for Sustainability Leaders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For many, especially younger generations, sustainability already speaks to something deeper. It\u2019s about purpose. People want to work on something bigger than themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet there\u2019s a widening gap between that desire for purpose and the opportunities available to fulfil it. The UK\u2019s clean-energy and construction sectors alone face shortages of more than 200,000 skilled workers needed to deliver the transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why we, in partnership with Octopus Energy, launched Jobs That Matter<\/span><\/a>, connecting young people with apprenticeships, training and career opportunities that directly contribute to the green transition and purposeful careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Stuart Jackson, Co-Founder and CFO of Octopus Energy announcing the launch of Jobs That Matter at The Climate Leaders Forum 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course, none of this will happen without financing the future we want. Capital must move faster toward climate tech, nature-based solutions and carbon removals – the technologies that balance the \u201cnet\u201d in net zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As CUR8<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Chief Scientific Officer, Gabrielle Walker explained, financing early-stage, high-impact carbon removal projects bridges the gap between innovation and scale, ensuring that, as she puts it, \u2018the shovel-ready solutions of today become the backbone of tomorrow\u2019s economy.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future we want, one of healthy communities, thriving ecosystems and resilient economies, will only be realised if we fully embrace it. This isn\u2019t about sacrifice but about opportunity. We must start telling the story of how sustainability is already making life better, powering homes, restoring landscapes, creating jobs and giving people purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insights informed by the 2025 Climate Leaders Forum, hosted by Tech Nation<\/span><\/a><\/strong> and Founders Forum<\/span><\/a><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Drawing from discussions at our Climate Leaders Forum, Tech Nation\u2019s Head of Climate, Sammy Fry, makes the case for a new sustainability narrative to cut through to business and the public. Rising living costs and fragile supply chains have made it easy to blame \u2018net zero\u2019 for driving up prices and slow economic growth, but…","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":136211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insights"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0 | Tech Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Drawing from discussions at the Climate Leaders Forum, Tech Nation\u2019s Head of Climate, Sammy Fry, calls for a new sustainability narrative.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0 | Tech Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Drawing from discussions at the Climate Leaders Forum, Tech Nation\u2019s Head of Climate, Sammy Fry, calls for a new sustainability narrative.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tech Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-03T09:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-03T11:06:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Harriet-Lamb-CEO-of-the-Green-Party-2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1637\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tech Nation\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tech Nation\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tech Nation\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/#\/schema\/person\/506407e599755e1eb1ed58d2cb7704a9\"},\"headline\":\"What Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-03T09:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-03T11:06:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/\"},\"wordCount\":777,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Harriet-Lamb-CEO-of-the-Green-Party-2-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Insights\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/\",\"name\":\"What Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0 | Tech Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Harriet-Lamb-CEO-of-the-Green-Party-2-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-03T09:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-03T11:06:02+00:00\",\"description\":\"Drawing from discussions at the Climate Leaders Forum, Tech Nation\u2019s Head of Climate, Sammy Fry, calls for a new sustainability narrative.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Harriet-Lamb-CEO-of-the-Green-Party-2-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Harriet-Lamb-CEO-of-the-Green-Party-2-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1637,\"caption\":\"Harriet Lamb, CEO of the Green Party at The Climate Leaders Forum 2025.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/\",\"name\":\"Tech Nation\",\"description\":\"The UK network for ambitious tech entrepreneurs\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Tech Nation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Property-1TN_logo_primary-logo_white.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Property-1TN_logo_primary-logo_white.svg\",\"width\":322,\"height\":67,\"caption\":\"Tech Nation\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/#\/schema\/person\/506407e599755e1eb1ed58d2cb7704a9\",\"name\":\"Tech Nation\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62a7cfd1c5c6764077b9f825d369bc7a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62a7cfd1c5c6764077b9f825d369bc7a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tech Nation\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/technation.io\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/technation.io\/author\/marcoff-co\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0 | Tech Nation","description":"Drawing from discussions at the Climate Leaders Forum, Tech Nation\u2019s Head of Climate, Sammy Fry, calls for a new sustainability narrative.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0 | Tech Nation","og_description":"Drawing from discussions at the Climate Leaders Forum, Tech Nation\u2019s Head of Climate, Sammy Fry, calls for a new sustainability narrative.","og_url":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/","og_site_name":"Tech Nation","article_published_time":"2025-11-03T09:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-03T11:06:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1637,"url":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Harriet-Lamb-CEO-of-the-Green-Party-2-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tech Nation","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tech Nation","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/"},"author":{"name":"Tech Nation","@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/#\/schema\/person\/506407e599755e1eb1ed58d2cb7704a9"},"headline":"What Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0","datePublished":"2025-11-03T09:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-03T11:06:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/"},"wordCount":777,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Harriet-Lamb-CEO-of-the-Green-Party-2-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Insights"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/","url":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/","name":"What Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0 | Tech Nation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Harriet-Lamb-CEO-of-the-Green-Party-2-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-03T09:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-03T11:06:02+00:00","description":"Drawing from discussions at the Climate Leaders Forum, Tech Nation\u2019s Head of Climate, Sammy Fry, calls for a new sustainability narrative.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Harriet-Lamb-CEO-of-the-Green-Party-2-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Harriet-Lamb-CEO-of-the-Green-Party-2-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1637,"caption":"Harriet Lamb, CEO of the Green Party at The Climate Leaders Forum 2025."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/what-is-sustainability\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/technation.io\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is Sustainability Today? And Why It\u2019s Time to Rethink the Narrative\u00a0\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/#website","url":"https:\/\/technation.io\/","name":"Tech Nation","description":"The UK network for ambitious tech entrepreneurs","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/technation.io\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/#organization","name":"Tech Nation","url":"https:\/\/technation.io\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Property-1TN_logo_primary-logo_white.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Property-1TN_logo_primary-logo_white.svg","width":322,"height":67,"caption":"Tech Nation"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/#\/schema\/person\/506407e599755e1eb1ed58d2cb7704a9","name":"Tech Nation","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/technation.io\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62a7cfd1c5c6764077b9f825d369bc7a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62a7cfd1c5c6764077b9f825d369bc7a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tech Nation"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/technation.io"],"url":"https:\/\/technation.io\/author\/marcoff-co\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136135"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/technation.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}