Welcome to the latest edition of Prism

Not so many years ago, the popular idea of a business leader was someone who spent most of their time barking out commands and firing people. Fortunately, this stereotype has now largely disappeared. It's a measure of how far business has come - but also how far it still needs to go - that today we feel it is appropriate to dedicate this issue of Prism to the theme of Rethink, Rebalance and Restore, words that would not be out of place in an advertisement for a wellness retreat.

Don't worry, we're not suggesting that our readers take a couple of weeks out in a monastery in the Himalayas. But we do feel that in today's post- COVID-19, climate-challenged and increasingly uncertain environment, leaders do need to step back and reflect on the future of their business in a more profound way: rethinking their purpose and 'raison d'etre' rebalancing priorities and business models to suit changing stakeholder needs, and playing their part in restoring a thriving and sustainable future for society as well as business.

Our first three articles look at different aspects of this. First, how do you go about continuing to grow your business, especially in energy- intensive industrial sectors, while at the same time achieving Net Zero carbon impacts? We propose a framework to assist. Second, we focus on the critically important financial sector, and set out how financial services companies can rebalance their businesses to deliver on their commitments towards better environmental and social governance. And third, we zero in on the endemic challenge faced by businesses today: having made our long-term commitment towards sustainability, how do we actually deliver against our promises? Based on a recent survey, we show how significant the challenges of "walking the talk" are today, and suggest some good practices to accelerate progress.

As well as driving some spectacular healthcare achievements, the pandemic has also highlighted painfully the huge disparities in healthcare access between developed and developing countries. In our next article we analyze the problems and examine what industry and governments need to do to tackle this vital challenge for the future, including some key lessons to be learned from the developing markets themselves that could benefit all of us.

Finally, we turn to two other aspects of our technology-disrupted future. The metaverse is one of the most hyped topics in the business world at the moment. We give our perspective on the likely possibilities for business. In our final article on outcome-based business models, we look at how new technology, together with renewed impetus from sustainability concerns, is taking the shift from products to services to a new level.

We hope you enjoy the issue!