Climate risk is no longer a future scenario. It is already reshaping supply chains, economies, and business resilience. In this episode of Sustainable Edge, world-renowned climate scientist Johan Rockström explains why sustainability is no longer about compliance or reputation, but about managing risk, driving innovation, and ensuring long term competitiveness in a rapidly changing world.

Host Joachim Nahem, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder at Position Green, sits down with Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, IPCC contributor, and the scientist behind the Planetary Boundaries framework.

As climate impacts accelerate and businesses navigate growing geopolitical uncertainty, Johan shares why companies must rethink sustainability through the lens of resilience and long term value creation. Drawing on decades of scientific research, he explains why climate is only one part of a much broader systems challenge involving biodiversity, freshwater, oceans, and the stability of the Earth's life-support systems.

Together, they explore how science can help business leaders make better strategic decisions, where companies continue to underestimate risk, and why the transition to a more sustainable economy is becoming increasingly driven by competitiveness, energy security, and resilience rather than environmental ambition alone.

Johan Rockström explains why businesses that understand planetary boundaries will be better equipped to navigate uncertainty, strengthen resilience, and remain competitive as the global economy continues to transform.

• Why sustainability is fundamentally about business risk
• How climate change and planetary boundaries are creating operational, financial, and supply chain risks that boards can no longer afford to ignore.
• Beyond climate
• Why biodiversity loss, freshwater scarcity, healthy oceans, and ecosystem stability are becoming critical business issues alongside decarbonisation.
• Resilience as a competitive advantage
• How renewable energy, diversified supply chains, and systems thinking can strengthen businesses against geopolitical shocks and market disruption.
• The business case for planetary boundaries
• Why understanding environmental limits helps companies make smarter strategic decisions and build long term value.
• The importance of predictable policy
• Why businesses need stable regulatory frameworks to accelerate investment and innovation in the transition.
• The hidden risks leaders overlook
• Why intact nature and healthy oceans remain some of the biggest blind spots in corporate sustainability strategies.
• Innovation through constraints
• How sustainability challenges are driving new technologies, business models, and opportunities for growth.
• From quantity to quality
• Why the next generation of business success will depend less on increasing consumption and more on delivering greater value with fewer resources.

Johan Rockström is one of the world's leading climate scientists and serves as Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). He is an author of the IPCC reports and internationally recognised for developing the Planetary Boundaries framework, which defines the environmental limits within which humanity can safely operate.

For more than two decades, Johan has advised governments, businesses, and international organisations on climate science, resilience, and sustainable development. His work has fundamentally shaped how leaders understand the relationship between environmental stability, economic prosperity, and long term business success.

As climate impacts become more visible and geopolitical uncertainty reshapes the global economy, businesses face increasing pressure to build resilience while remaining competitive. Johan argues that sustainability should no longer be viewed as a separate agenda, but as an essential part of managing risk, driving innovation, and securing future growth.

This conversation offers business leaders a science based perspective on how to navigate one of the defining challenges of our time and why understanding planetary boundaries may become one of the most important strategic capabilities for the decade ahead.

As geopolitical tensions rise and sustainability faces growing scrutiny, some long term investors are doubling down instead of pulling back. In this live episode of Sustainable Edge, Siri Sachs of the Wallenberg ecosystem and Johan H. Andresen of FERD explore how resilience, competitiveness, ethics, and sustainability shape investment decisions in a world where uncertainty has become the new normal.

Siri Sachs and Johan H. Andresen share how family ownership structures can enable long term thinking and why sustainability remains deeply tied to resilience and competitiveness, even in a more fragmented global landscape.

Learn about:

• Long term investing in uncertain times Why some investors continue backing large scale green transitions despite market volatility and political uncertainty
• Sustainability and competitiveness How climate investments are increasingly viewed as essential for future industrial strength and resilience
• Risk taking and transformation: Why family owned businesses can take longer term bets that public markets often avoid
• Purpose beyond profit: How responsibility, social impact, and ethics influence investment decisions and talent attraction
• Engagement versus exclusion: Why active ownership and supplier engagement can sometimes drive more meaningful change than divestment
• AI and ethical leadership: How investors are thinking about the opportunities and risks tied to artificial intelligence and autonomous systems
• Regulation and execution: Why predictable frameworks matter, but overregulation can risk slowing competitiveness and innovation
• The future of Nordic leadership: How collaboration, trust, and long term ownership models could help shape a more sustainable economy

Siri Sachs is a Board Member at Wallenberg Investments and part of the sixth generation of the Wallenberg family. The Wallenberg ecosystem includes foundations, industrial holdings, and global companies such as ABB, AstraZeneca, Ericsson, and SEB. Her work focuses on long term ownership, competitiveness, and ensuring that investments contribute to future resilience and innovation.

Johan H. Andresen is the Owner and Chair of FERD, a family owned investment company focused on long term value creation and social impact. Under his leadership, FERD transformed from a tobacco business into a diversified investment platform with holdings across industry, technology, and sustainability focused ventures. Johan has also chaired the Ethics Council of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, helping shape ethical investment practices for one of the world’s largest funds.