The Leadership Vanguard

Distributed energy resources – renewables, behind-the-meter batteries, flexible grids - will be essential to building a net-zero energy system and providing solutions for the 800 million people that lack access to power.

The IEA estimates that achieving our net zero goals will require annual clean energy investment to triple to $4 trillion by 2030. But amid a cost-of-living crisis, the investment environment is fragile. How might we enable new forms of energy exchange that give communities more control of their energy future and activate prosumers to scale investment?

As the global population is projected to hit 9 billion by 2050, the demand for food is expected to increase 59-98%. The food system is already responsible for 34% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which make this a critical sector to decarbonise and find ways to reduce the impact on land health.

Evolving the way we grow, transport and consume food will be one of the biggest challenges of this century, but how do we move to more local and environmentally friendly production and shift consumer preferences towards sustainable, regenerative and resilient food systems?

The adoption of circular and socially just supply chains continues to prove challenging as businesses struggle with the level of investment and effort required to find ways to amend complex value chains.

But with 16.5 tonnes of plastic going into our oceans each year, and with 73% millennial shoppers saying they are willing to pay more for sustainable goods; how can we investigate and close the loop on material throughputs in supply chains while building economic and social value?

By 2050, the UN estimates 68% of people will live in cities. Cities might only occupy 3% of land, but they represent up to 80% of energy consumption and 75% of global carbon emissions. The World Future Council has promoted the concept of the regenerative city as a space that protects the environment, develops the local economy, and benefits the social and cultural life of its inhabitants.

How might we influence the design and development of the built environment, transportation and logistics systems in this context? How might we shape how humans interact, work and play? And how do cities interface with the natural ecosystems in which they are intrinsically embedded?

An opportunity for emerging/high potential leaders from each partner organisation to develop their effectiveness as system change agents through facilitated virtual learning and development as part of a diverse cohort of like-minded talent.

Leap participants work both independently and in tandem with participants on the Accelerator programme to develop their transition leadership will and skills.

A dedicated online community for both current Leadership Vanguard participants and alumni, designed to maximise collaboration, action and learning.

Reef enables users to network with others, form groups around common interest, complete courses, participate in ideation challenges and access live virtual events.

A facilitated rapid impact ‘sprint’ across 4-6 week, Labs enables rapid collaborative exploration of a specific high-potential commercial opportunity.

In a fully facilitated process, participants form hypotheses about opportunities for positive growth, undertake exploration exercises designed to test them, capture insights and re-orient towards as the opportunity comes into sharper relief. At the end they are able to present their proposition to internal stakeholders or others with greater confidence and surety.