Challenging leadership thinking

Challenging leadership thinking

Simon Glynn

Our purpose
Zero Ideas is challenging leadership thinking on climate action.

Many business and policy leaders are acting on climate change today, but there is more activity than impact. Too much of today’s effort is in carbon accounting, reporting, and incremental change. We all know this is not fast enough, but it is hard to break out of the pattern.

Each business is solving for only one small piece of the puzzle, which often won’t work commercially unless the adjacent pieces are in place. So everyone is trying to feel the emerging pace of the market that they can fit into. This responsive market dynamic is efficient for stable markets adjusting to incremental change. But it is a drag on the pace of investment we need to drive more radical disruption.

To act faster, leaders need to think differently. Fortunately, investors are giving them the permission – often even asking them – to do it. But it can’t happen at scale without government policy to support it.

We are here to stimulate that climate leadership mindset among business and policy leaders, through well-researched, clearly argued and freely available research reports. We select and design our research reports to:

  • Expand how leaders think about what they can do in climate.
  • Broaden perspectives and challenge norms.
  • Explore what works, at a whole-system level.
  • Open up the diversity of legitimate solutions.
  • Illuminate the debates we need to have.

We are not here to tell you how urgent everything is and how you just need to go faster.

Who we are
Zero Ideas is a charitable organization founded by Simon Glynn, after consulting to corporate clients since 1990 and on climate issues since 2004. Frustrated by how conservatively most companies are responding to climate today, Simon created Zero Ideas to challenge leaders to think more deeply and radically about what they can and should be doing, and not simply follow the herd through the motions of ESG metrics and disclosures.

Simon’s non-profit clients on climate issues have included CDP, the Carbon Trust, the Climate Group, the Potential Energy Coalition, HM King Charles III, RePlanet, We Mean Business and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

His commercial clients on climate issues have included some of the world’s biggest energy and chemical companies, IKEA in retail, Nucor in steel, and banks across north America, Europe and Asia.

Simon’s writing and observations have appeared in the Financial Times, MIT Sloan Management Review, the Economist, and the BBC World Service.

Simon was a partner and co-lead of climate and sustainability at Oliver Wyman. He serves on the Board of RePlanet. Zero Ideas is not affiliated with either organization, and the views presented on this site are those of the authors as individuals.

Zero Ideas is a Charitable Incorporated Organization in England & Wales. Registered Charity Number 1199593.