The decline of financial systems around the world results primarily from the fundamental misalignment of economic and political systems with nature and reality. These root causes receive relatively little attention due to high complexity and low public awareness.

A new website (www.EuropeSystemChange.com) seeks to raise awareness of the critical need for system change and discuss how Europe could model this most important sustainability work for the rest of the world.

The website describes system change approaches developed by Frank Dixon, former Managing Director of Research for Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, the largest corporate sustainability research firm in the world.

In overseeing the sustainability analysis of the world’s 2,000 largest companies for many years, Dixon saw that systemic issues compel all companies to be unsustainable. Companies often can improve profitability and competitive position by lowering negative environmental and social impacts. However, this is only true up to a point. Beyond a certain point, if companies continue to lower impacts while competitors are not, costs nearly always go up relative to peers. If companies move too far along the sustainability path, they will put themselves out of business.

Without intending to do so, modern economic and political systems create conflicts between business and society. These conflicts create a situation where companies must degrade the environment and society to remain in business. Economic and political systems that unintentionally create environmental and social problems are not sustainable. Sooner or later, reality sets in. Environmental and social limits and problems are bound to slow or reverse economic growth.

Short-sighted economic and political systems are the root cause of global financial system declines. Achieving sustainable economic growth that enhances society on all levels requires the development of more enlightened and sophisticated economic and financial systems.

The escalating economic, environmental and social problems seen around the world are the inevitable consequence of flawed economic, political and social systems. Like past human societies, we often don’t see the flaws of our systems because we are too close to them. Diagnosing and improving human systems requires a higher level of thinking "“ systems thinking.

The flaws of economic and political systems have been discussed for many years. But little progress has been made largely due to low public awareness, lack of business involvement and failure to take a whole system approach.

To overcome these barriers to system change, Dixon developed a practical, collaborative system change approach called Total Corporate Responsibility (TCR). The approach combines leading edge corporate sustainability strategies with system change efforts.

Dixon developed the terms Mid-Level System Change and High-Level System Change to segregate system change efforts. Mid-Level System Change is focused on specific industry sectors, stakeholder groups, or environmental or social issues. High-Level System Change is focused on improving overarching economic, political and social systems. There are a growing number of Mid-Level System Change efforts. But the most important sustainability issue, High-Level System Change, is not being adequately addressed.

Nearly all corporate sustainability efforts are focused on about twenty percent of the problem "“ unilaterally reducing negative corporate impacts. However, probably more eighty percent of the unsustainability problem and solution relates to improving overarching systems. Based on his Innovest experience, Dixon estimates that flawed economic and political systems make it impossible to eliminate more than eighty percent of negative corporate impacts.

Sustainability cannot be achieved without a much greater emphasis on improving overarching systems in ways that ensure alignment with nature and reality. Economic and political systems are not aligned with nature in the sense that they compel business and society to degrade environmental life support systems. They are not aligned with reality in the sense that the goal of our systems is to enhance society, but the result it to degrade it in many ways.

Fundamental economic, environmental and social problems only can be addressed effectively through High-Level System Change. TCR provides a High-Level System Change approach called Sustainable Systems Implementation (SSI). SSI is a practical, collaborative, whole system-focused approach to High-Level System Change.

Using SSI, the Europe System Change website text and articles lay out a practical means of addressing the root causes of economic, environmental and social problems in Europe and other regions.

About Global System Change:

GSC was established by Frank Dixon to help businesses, governments and other organizations effectively address sustainability and system change issues. Through TCR, SSI and other processes, GSC helps organizations implement practical, collaborative, profit-enhancing sustainability and system change strategies. Prior to GSC, Frank Dixon oversaw the sustainability analysis of the world’s 2,000 largest companies as the Managing Director of Research for Innovest Strategic Value Advisors. He advises Wal-Mart and other companies on sustainability and has an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

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