A scarcity of natural resources. The challenge to protect biodiversity and the global climate. Rapid economic growth and urbanisation in Asia and the developing world. Changing demographics and an ageing population. The impact of new digital technologies. Consumer expectations for services, experiences and social interaction. An imperative to innovate. Megatrends are gradual yet powerful trajectories of change that have the potential to throw companies, individuals and societies into freefall. In Global Megatrends author Stefan Hajkowicz identifies these seven patterns of global change and tells a story about how the world will change over the next 20 years. The book captures the thinking of many dedicated scientists and researchers who have devoted their careers to exploring and understanding change. The change heralded by megatrends lies beyond our direct control but not beyond our influence. By getting a picture of how the world is changing and what these megatrends are, we can alter our destiny.

Megatrends of World Politics identifies globalization, integration, and democratization as three key trends shaping the future of world politics and international relations, and demonstrates their effects in today’s global processes. The authors of this book discuss the essence of these three megatrends of world politics, describing their dynamic and non-linear development, and exploring how they manifest themselves. Assessing megatrends of world politics makes it possible to predict further global political development. The authors proceed from several assumptions: (1) megatrends are global – they operate everywhere around the globe, although with different intensity and in diverse forms; (2) they influence and sometimes generate a variety of other trends in today’s world politics; and (3) megatrends are political. The three megatrends — globalization, integration, and democratization — are identified and justified based on these three parameters, then the authors analyze the influence and manifestation of megatrends in various spheres of world politics, including terrorism, transregionalism, communication technologies, migration, pandemics, and subnational regions. This book will be of interest to students, scholars and researchers of international relations and adjacent fields who are studying the trajectories of global development, globalization, integration, and democratization.

This book identifies and describes five megatrends that will define the landscape of the Travel, Tourism & Hospitality industry, with a particular focus on the European context. Humans began travelling on the same day that Homo Sapiens first realized he could walk upright. No boundaries, mountains or cliffs have managed to stop or diminish our insatiable desire to find out what lies beyond the visible horizon. Tourism has enjoyed virtually uninterrupted growth for the past several decades, and the sector has now become the third-largest source of export revenue, after chemicals and fuel, and ahead of the automotive and food sectors. And yet, in its current globalised format, it is exposed to sudden shocks that can swiftly shake up the status quo accelerating the deployment of some megatrends here described. We have all witnessed the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating consequences for the industry. While the number of international tourism arrivals to Europe has soared to over 700 million a year, at the same time we are experiencing a period of deep transformation. Bauman couldn’t have been more accurate or insightful when he coined the word ‘liquid’ in this regard. As an exquisite expression of a civilized, rich and discerning first-world society, travel and tourism are now changing shape and meaning, requiring our business models to adapt. What are the megatrends that will dictate the future shape of our industry’s landscape? Who is the new tourist, if there is one, and what is she looking for? Is the new post-technological era transforming the depth and the very essence of travelling? This book offers a number of visionary insights, as well as operational takeaways.

The rise of conscious capitalism. Coauthor of best-selling Megatrends 2000 investigates corporate social responsibility; finds that significant numbers of companies are placing social, spiritual, and environmental values ahead of the bottom line; and reports data showing that socially responsible practices actually help boost profits. Identifies e

This book highlights what are likely to be the future megatrends in the water sector and why and how they should be incorporated to improve water governance in the coming decades. In this first ever book on megatrends for the water sector, 22 leading world experts from different disciplines representing academia, business, government, national and international organisations discuss what the major megatrends of the future are and how they will radically change water governance in the coming decades.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,3, European Business School - International University Schloß Reichartshausen Oestrich-Winkel (Real Estate Management Institute), language: English, abstract: At the beginning of 2009, the owner of the Empire State Building unveiled his plan to “go green”. The world famous skyscraper was completed in 1931 in New York, USA. The Art Deco building is currently in the midst of a $500m renovation, where $100m of these funds are designated for the green initiative. The green renovations are expected to decrease energy expenditures by 38 percent or $4.4m annually (Jonas, 2009). The example of the Empire State Building is not unique, since increased environmental awareness has affected nearly every industry. Companies across all industries and nations have launched green initiatives in order to improve their environmental performance and in response to the expressed concerns regarding their immediate environment. Currently, corporations compete to adopt and implement sustainable policies. Particularly the role of the real estate industry in reducing the environmental burden is considered to be the most important, as this industry is one of the largest emitters of harmful chemical substances and a major user of natural resources (Nelson, 2007, p. i). However, it is not enough to consider only the ecological aspects of real estate. This is because real estate, as a commodity, has an enormous economical impact. Other dimensions including economic and social aspects must also be examined. The term sustainability unites the three relevant dimensions. Over the last 20 years, bringing environmental protection to the same level as economic development and social concerns, sustainability has become a worldwide guiding principle. Sustainable development takes the future of mankind into account (Grunwald & Kopfmüller, 2006, p. 7). In the context of global challenges, sustainability means ensuring the addressing of future generation’s needs. In contrast to other industries, the real estate industry has been slow to develop sustainable practices. However, today, the idea of sustainability greatly influences actions and motivations associated with the real estate industry. Efforts to create sustainability in real estate are reflected in the names of a large number of the development of building labels, including Green Buildings, Sustainable Buildings, or Zero Emission Buildings. In Addition, more and more developers, architects, engineers, property owners, and lenders consider sustainability issues when planning, constructing, renovating, or living on property.

The future will bring only more megatrends and disruptions. With the guidance of this book, which centers around the authors’ years-of-research-backed high-performance organizations (HPO) framework and includes the unique self-assessment tool Futurize! Diagnosis, business leaders and organizations will be prepared and truly ‘future ready.’ The next two decades will present massive challenges for organizations, as they navigate the need for sustainable development against a complex backdrop of factors such as increasing inequality, resource scarcity, continued globalization, and the ever-increasing speed of technological advancement. This book will help business leaders and organizations set priorities and make decisions so that not only do they honor commitments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, but also become more future ready by: identifying the megatrends and disruptors which impact organizations now and will in the future specifically outlining how those megatrends and disruptors will impact organizations showing how organizations can deal with this impact in practical terms. This book is a must for management teams, aspiring leaders, and professionals and students interested in the future of work, human resource management, and innovation.

Large and persistent inequalities in regional economic performance within countries exist throughout the OECD. The 2019 Regional Outlook discusses the underlying causes of economic disparities across regions and highlights the need for place-based policies to address them. The report makes the ...

This book features a comprehensive foresight assessment, exploring the pressures — threats as well as opportunities — on the global agriculture & food systems between now and 2050. The overarching aim is to help readers understand the context, by analyzing global trends and anticipating change for better planning and constructing pathways from the present to the future by focusing on the right questions and problems. The book contextualizes the role of international agricultural research in addressing the complex challenges posed by UN 2030 Agenda and beyond, and identifies the decisions that scientific leaders, donors and policy makers need to take today, and in the years ahead, to ensure that a global population rising to nine billion or more combined with rising incomes and changing diets can be fed sustainably and equitably, in the face of the growing climate threats.