It’s Cheaper to Save the Planet than to Destroy It
Last week I attended Lisbon’s Web Summit and the message was clear: the era of "move fast and break things" is finally over. Thank god (or thank crowdstrike’s outage earlier this year.) As we bob and weave our way through an ever-crowded and complex existence, businesses must move with purpose, build with intention, and create lasting value. It’s cheaper to save the planet than to destroy it.
Let’s dive in to what caught my attention…
Innovation, meet Responsibility
Dr. Etosha Cave’s Twelve showcased actual mind-blowing tech that converts CO2 into jet fuel and synthetic materials(!!) Already collaborating with brands like Pangaia, P&G, and Mercedes-Benz, she walked us through how carbon capture could revolutionize manufacturing—imagine sneakers and textiles made from captured carbon, with potential applications extending to extreme environments like Mars and the moon. I’ll be honest, I’m more invested in footwear than space travel but maybe that’s just me.
It also needs to be said that the branding and content behind Twelve should be the benchmark for all futureproofing brands out there. Eco fashion brands take note:
Someone I could’ve watched all day was Max Tegmark from the Future of Life Institute, who delivered an especially cutting perspective on AGI. His core message went like this: we don't need Artificial General Intelligence, and we shouldn't build it until we can guarantee its controllability. Tegmark fairly asserted that our current AI tooling can solve all our needs, making AGI not just premature but potentially dangerous. Considering we’re already living in polycrisis mode, I’d hasten to agree - why add more problems to our problem pie?
Social Commerce is (finally) Coming
The future of commerce needs to shift dramatically, lest it forever be the sea of sameness it is today. In a nutshell, Social commerce will do to e-commerce, what digital did to brick and mortar. And the timeline is for that is predicted to be: 2025.
Tiffany Rolfe, R/GA's Chief Creative Officer, highlighted three key transitions:
From bog-standard grid-experiences to interactive dialogue with consumers
From omnichannel to omnimodal experiences, think format first
From bolted-on solutions to collaborative building with consumers
"Customers want to be heard, not tracked," Rolfe emphasized, challenging brands to ask themselves: "Do you have a promptable brand?"
Content in an AI Climate
According to Adobe, with 45% of digital content going unseen and engagement declining, human creativity has never been more crucial. This was a really common theme across the week. The rise of AI isn't diminishing creativity's value—it's amplifying it. Afterall, as R/GA’s Tiffany Rolfe put it: “GenAI means every brand has access to elevated mediocrity of creative assets.” When it comes to experience design, the key isn't to use AI as a magic wand after-the-fact, but as an "exoskeleton" that enhances human capabilities.
I think we said similar things to ourselves circa the birth social media and look at our TikTok-addicted-selves now. Humans are notoriously terrible at predicting long-term outcomes and while I’m holding onto my radical optimism in the face of generative AIvs. Fashion & Lifestyle, I do have my pessimistic doubts concerning deep fakes, misinformation and standing up to autocrats…
"The best approach with AI is to bake it in, not to hype it up as an add-on. Keep listening to your audience: less what they want and more what they need."
Dan Gardner from Code & Theory put it like so: "We're moving from information technology to emotional technology." His advice for cutting through the noise:
Embrace friction (the right amount makes experiences memorable)
Design for wonder (utility fulfills needs, wonder sparks desire)
Build for relationships (connections are brief, relationships are ongoing)
Again, build and create with community; the greatest Balenciaga moment last year wasn’t a brand-led campaign, it was the Harry Potter GenAI user-generated content. I’d double down on this and highlight Ana Andjelic’s ‘The New Luxury Strategy’ article today, noting that: “The model where a creative director staged presentations of their work for buyers and media has been stretched to its limits, with diminishing returns. No single individual can come up with the completely original, imaginative ideas every few months, consistently, for years. But a whole group of people might.“
Culture Shapes Business
Culture and commerce don’t exist in a vacuum.
Pharrell Williams, the much-hyped main event on opening night (I personally preferred Max Tegmark’s segment but I’m a huge nerd so…) offered his perspective on culture with some highly quotable takes: “Culture is you, and how you connect to others. The ocean is drops, but together they form waves”. Yes. Somewhat awkwardly in conversation with Frank Cooper from Visa (who are now supporting the creator economy and its projected $480 billion value) they noted they’re "dispelling the idea of overnight success. The real story is in the process." and that to succeed “You have to have a tablespoon of delusion.” Noted. Agreed. Commited to the cause.
Don’t wait for a seat at the table. Build your own table, decide what you stand for and decide who gets to sit there with you.
Pin that on your pinboards and manifest it.
To the surprise of literally noone, Gen-Z continues to drive significant changes in how brands connect with audiences, moving away from legacy platforms i.e. Facebook (that is brand new information) and seeking authentic community experiences (must be all the loneliness). But what IS quite interesting is that this shift is particularly evident in social commerce, where platforms like Flip.shop are pioneering creator-first approaches that ban paid sponsorships. I do continue to wish we’d consider some other generations (hello siver spenders!) but otherwise, please join me in being relieved that we’re finally talking openly about how boring the internet has become. Let’s make it better.
Put That Purpose First
Several talks on the topic of building sustainable, purposeful businesses had me nodding along, frantically taking notes:
Transparency First: Circular Transparency's founder, Nina Shariarty emphasized the importance of balancing short-term ROI pressures with long-term sustainability goals. We need to put the planet back on the balance sheet.
Innovation with Impact: Apple demonstrated how accessibility-first design drives innovation and reduces stigmatization, treating accessibility as a basic human right. Did it feel like a mini keynote? Yes. Was it necessary to prompt brands into prioritising accessibility-first design? Absolutely.
Sustainable Fashion: GANNI's co-founder Nicolaj Reffstrup reiterated the brand’s famed claim: "We are not a sustainable brand" as one of their ways to maintain transparency while working toward better practices. Alongside Recover’sCEO Anders Sjöblom, the discussion centred around investing in material innovation and making circular fashion desirable aka my purpose in life. Interested in making this happen? Get in touch!
Let’s Push Things Forward
Can you believe that the year is nearly over already? I can’t. But as we do indeed move toward 2025, successful brands will need to:
Focus on human-centered innovation
Move at the pace of trust, not technology
Master the balance between AI efficiency and human creativity
Build genuine communities rather than just audiences
Now that’s a fair bit of information, so if you only take away one - ok, three - things, let it be this: Whether you're a startup founder, a senior leader, a junior teammate or an established exec, the future belongs to those who can combine tech innovation with genuine human connection and purposeful impact. Those who tell the best stories win. It’s cheaper to save the planet than to destroy it.
It’s not necessarily new, it’s certainly not rocket science but it’s definitely not always easy.