The value of visibility

This is article 5 in the Sustainability Blueprint series. Here is article 4.

This year’s London Climate Action Week centered on the theme of Climate Cooperation in a Fragmented World – a timely reflection of many of the conversations I have found myself having across the sustainability and investment community in recent months. After a year marked by unprecedented geopolitical conflict and renewed questions around energy security, António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, framed today’s climate and energy challenges as “a Tale of Two Crises”, arguing that “on the surface, these crises may seem separate”. Beneath that apparent separation, however, sits a shared imperative to “align prosperity with resilience, growth with sustainability, and opportunity with justice” – a framing that increasingly resonates with me as conversations shift beyond ambition towards implementation.

If those conversations have demonstrated anything, it is that the sustainability agenda is arguably becoming less about setting new ambitions and increasingly about delivering on existing ones. Rather than existing as standalone discussions, climate considerations are now increasingly embedded within conversations about competitiveness, productivity, health, security and long-term economic resilience.

A maturing transition

Perhaps this is where the value of visibility becomes most apparent. It helps ensure that important issues continue to shape business, investment and policy conversations, even when they are no longer dominating the headlines. One recent example is the United Nations’ global Call to Action on methane. Methane is responsible for around one-third of global warming, yet it rarely commands the same level of public attention as carbon dioxide, despite representing one of the fastest and most cost-effective opportunities to slow warming using technologies that already exist. It’s estimated that almost three-quarters of global methane mitigation potential by 2030 lies within the fossil fuel sector alone, highlighting a significant opportunity for practical action that is often overlooked.

A similar shift can be seen in the growing focus on transparency around artificial intelligence (AI). The proposed Artificial Intelligence Environmental Transparency Initiative calls on AI companies to disclose not only the carbon footprint of their data centers, but also their water and land use. As AI continues to scale, bringing greater visibility to water as a strategic resource feels particularly timely. While water underpins ecosystems and communities alike, 71% of nature investment strategies remain focused on land, with comparatively few targeting freshwater or oceans – highlighting another area where greater visibility could potentially unlock greater investment.

The people behind progress

One idea I have found myself returning to throughout my career is that sustainability has always been about people as much as it is about the planet. That felt particularly front of mind for me during Pride Month, when visibility reminds us not only of the importance of being seen, but of ensuring different voices, experiences and perspectives continue to shape the conversations that matter.

Encouragingly, I have seen more of this thinking reflected across the sustainability community, with recent research showing that almost half of companies linking leadership incentives to sustainability goals now include diversity, equity and inclusion measures, reinforcing how sustainability may be becoming embedded within long-term business goals, rather than treated as a standalone initiative.

The same is evident in how we think about the transition itself. Indigenous Peoples account for around 6% of the world’s population yet steward an estimated 80% of its remaining biodiversity. This is despite receiving only around 1% of global climate finance directly. Increasingly, conversations are recognizing that amplifying the voice of local communities and broadening participation – including for LGBTQ+ professionals working across climate and sustainability – is not simply a question of representation, it is fundamental to building more resilient climate solutions. Similarly, greater attention is being given to how social risks can undermine climate outcomes if left unaddressed. There is emerging evidence suggesting that gender-responsive carbon markets can strengthen project quality, governance and risk management.

Looking ahead

As attention turns to New York Climate Week, I will be watching with particular interest how resilience, adaptation and more inclusive approaches to climate continue to shape the industry. If this year’s London Climate Action Week reinforced one thing for me, it is that progress is not always measured by the volume of the conversation surrounding it. Ultimately, the most resilient transition may depend on how effectively we bring together the knowledge, perspectives and leadership needed to deliver it.

This article is also published on LinkedIn. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the opinions of leading Sustainability Thought Leaders, their views do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

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