Matthew GriffinFounder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
G7 · G20governments advised
850+keynotes
102countries
17codexes
Energy and sustainability sessions forUnited NationsBureau of International RecyclingAVEVAAditya Birla GroupSUEZAZ China
Featured inBloombergThe Wall Street JournalThe Telegraph
Delaine and the team at Management Events hosted Matthew for the second episode of their CXO Series together, where he gave a keynote on "Creating the Sustainable Future". It was a broad look at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and how organisations can use them to their advantage to build purposeful, sustainable businesses and minimise their own impact on society and the planet.
He began with the scale of the challenge. Climate change is fuelling extreme weather, the world's oceans are acidifying and warming, and global biodiversity is diminishing. The global wealth gap shows no sign of narrowing, and global institutions are being undermined.
"The world still faces plenty of challenges, from climate change and social issues to economic ones, but there are ways we can move the dial on all of them."Matthew Griffin, Virtual, October 2021
Matthew then worked through each of the UN SDGs in turn, summarising the problems we face as a society and presenting solutions to every one of them. Organisations can use these as a guide and a template to make their businesses, and the world, more equitable, fairer and more sustainable.
His closing message was that while the world still faces plenty of challenges, from climate change to social and economic ones, there are ways to move the dial on all of them. In three words: People. Planet. Purpose.
311 Intelligence
What this means for your leadership team
Use the goals as a template.
The keynote framed the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a guide for making a business more equitable, fairer and more sustainable. For a leadership team, that turns a broad ambition into a structure you can test your own strategy against. Each goal pairs a societal problem with a set of solutions.
The physical risks are already here.
The session opened with climate change fuelling extreme weather, and with oceans that are acidifying and warming. Our data shows the oceans stored a record amount of heat in 2025, the ninth record year in a row, and that heatwaves, floods, droughts and storms are growing more frequent and more costly. Both are marked Act now.
Expect customers to ask for proof.
Buyers are making suppliers' environmental and social performance a condition of winning business, a trend marked Prepare. Governments are also trying to grow within environmental limits as clean energy investment outpaces fossil fuels. Purpose is becoming a commercial test, not only a reputation matter.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
Which goals does our business affect most, for better or worse?
Where are we exposed to extreme weather or warming oceans?
Could a customer drop us over our social or environmental record?
The trends and technologies behind this session
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
It argues that the UN Sustainable Development Goals can guide how an organisation builds a purposeful business and limits its own impact on society and the planet. The practical step is to map each goal against your operations, then act where your impact or exposure is greatest.
How does ocean warming relate to the session?
The keynote named warming and acidifying oceans as part of the scale of the challenge. Our data adds that the oceans stored a record amount of heat in 2025, the ninth record year in a row. For leaders, that makes the issue a current operating risk, and we mark it Act now.
How does sustainable procurement relate to the session?
The session encouraged organisations to use the goals to build sustainable businesses. Sustainable procurement is where that becomes commercial, because buyers are making suppliers' environmental and social performance a condition of winning business. We mark it Prepare.
How can 311 brief our leadership team on this?
We offer a private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector and run in person first. It turns the goals and the related trends into decisions for your own organisation.
Bring this to your leadership teamA private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. In person first, anywhere in the world.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s session and 311 data.
If Matthew gave this session today
Megatrends and microtrends shaping everything you care about.
The codex explores the hundreds of megatrends and microtrends shaping the world, the context any organisation needs when turning the SDGs into strategy.
