Our philosophy

The drivers of what we see as the third industrial revolution that will be harnessed by Project Genesis are:

• Climate change
• Population growth
• Increasing consumption

These will in turn define the future of the key commodities of energy, water, industrial materials, food and land.

Climate Change

The planet has already warmed by almost 0.8°C since pre-industrial times because of human activity. A further 1.2°C is "locked in" due to inertia in the climate and economic systems. Experts agree that beyond 2°C of warming lays the threat of irreversible changes in the climate system.

To counter "dangerous climate change", emissions of greenhouse gases will have to decrease by up to 60-80% by 2050. This can only be achieved through a fundamental technology shift in the global energy sector, with consequential impacts on material use, water and waste.

Population

By 2050, the UN Population Project median projection forecasts a global population of 9 billion people compared to just over 6 billion people today.

Currently many people have no access to electricity or clean water.

Many of these people will be in emerging middle classes in developing countries such as India and China, and under current trends they will have consumption levels which will have a major impact on the climate, material requirements, water quality and land use.

Consumption

With increasing levels of economic development comes wealth, which leads to increasing consumption. From demand for sustainable housing and industrial growth to meet these linked factors, to more red meat and wheat, most consumption has a negative impact on climate change, material resources, land use and water quality.

The negative environmental impact of a massively growing global middle class will exceed that of population alone unless new products and services are made available to these consumers. Products and services will be needed that have a low or zero carbon footprint that improve both the quality and quantity of water supply, maximise land use and change material resource flows.