Ideas summary from the Ideas Dinner which took place on 10 June 2022 in Chamonix, France.

This succinct summary does not do justice to the richness of your idea. It is just destined to remind you of who said what. Should you wish to go into more depth about any of these, access the whole “stock” of ideas from other dinners, relate the ideas to the content of the Monthly Barometer, or, even better, get in touch with the person who originated an idea to discuss it in more detail.

Ideas below are listed in no particular order.

  1. Integrate into the school curriculum greater emphasis on the importance of emotional intelligence. More emotional intelligence improves both self-awareness and self-confidence which in turn favours more empathy and less aggressivity and conflict. (KC)
  2. There are major environmental concerns beyond the developed world that should be recognized as a collective priority. A call to mobilize more efforts to address climate and environmental issues (waste, recycling, etc.) in emerging and frontier markets. (VD)
  3. Mandate a social and emotional school curriculum which will help teach teens and young adolescents the skills to manage and understand their emotions. In return, creating healthier relationships, closer-knit communities and therefore a decline in violence. (RH)
  4. Figures show that the countries scoring higher on SDG (sustainable development goals) have more emphasis on civics and empathy in their education systems. Only through education can sustainability become embedded in a country’s culture. (DH)
  5. We don’t have enough understanding of the notion of natural capital. A way to address this issue while improving the mental and physical well-being of our children is to mandate curriculum for learning outside. (TM)
  6. A movement on the part of social media users calling for a moratorium on all social media activity. This would serve as a means of expressing users’ backlash, forcing the tech giants to come clean about where their ‘red lines’ really lie and give regulators time to catch up. (MAM)
  7. Teach gardening in schools, to enhance children’s appreciation of nature and enable them to reap the emotional and psychological benefits that come from working in harmony with nature. (CM)
  8. There is now an estimated 1 trillion US$ destined to finance the re-building of Ukraine. Why not apply a strict ESG filter to ensure that this vast sum of money only goes to companies operating in a sustainable manner? (CM)
  9. Look at more long-term trends when deciding on asset allocation for investor portfolios rather than short-term focus on the quarterly results. Investors should be encouraged to think long term and deploy their capital accordingly. (MM)
  10. A global carbon tax is never going to happen. Create a system working not from the top down but rather bottom up that identifies and then rewards companies’ incremental changes that mean they are moving in the right direction in terms of their sustainability. (MP)
  11. Force companies to be more sustainable, by linking access to capital on the financial markets to a set of obligatory sustainability criteria.  Non-observance means the company would be unable to raise the funds it requires. (CP)
  12. As challenges abound (societal, environmental, political) and conflate with each other, solving them requires making the right choices and allocating capital accordingly. (SP)
  13. Citing the specific example of energy management in Switzerland (reversing when turbines and dams function to take into account using solar panel generated energy), a call to encourage adaptability combined with new technology to achieve responsible and local solutions to the climate challenges we are facing. (J-M R)
  14. Technology can serve both the good and the bad. There is a need to think harder about how to ensure it is used ethically. By reflecting on and responding to this challenge we will come up with solutions to better control and deploy new technologies. (PW)