Trends Identified
Recycling
In a context of increasing global awareness over the adverse environmental effects of improper handling of waste, European waste management is becoming increasingly complex due to growing waste generation and number of waste streams needing tailored management routes. It is thus challenging to improve the efficiency of the use of natural resources (e.g. “turn waste into resources” in a circular economy approach) and, ultimately, improve the environmental sustainability of current waste management strategies. Science-based evidence is nonetheless available showing that, from a life cycle perspective, significant environmental benefits can be achieved through higher rates of reuse, recycling and energy recovery. This is reflected also in several EC Directives. However, to identify cost-efficient and environmentally sound recycling options and set up waste-type specific targets for optimal recycling rates, adapting life-cycle based methodologies and applying them in a consistent way across high priority waste stream is required. Equally, it will be required to take into account also the social and economic aspects of waste management in a systematic manner.
2015
Preparing the Commission for future opportunities - Foresight network fiches 2030
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Increasing focus on resource efficiancy and climate change
In a global marketplace, "green" may well become the new global language. Worldwide, the pace of legislation and policy initiatives focused on green issues is clearly picking up Between July 2008 and February 2009, for example, 250 climate-change regulations were enacted globally as governments, both emerging and developed, hastened the implementation of policies to support clean technologies (cleantech). Mandatory standards on efficient energy consumption, biofuels, vehicle emissions and eco-labeling are going into effect in greater numbers than in previous years.
2010
Business Redefined - A look at the global trends that are changing the world of business
EY
Sports' online revolution
In a splintering media landscape, live sports have managed to retain their appointment viewing status. But with the likes of ESPN, BT and Sky now reporting some declines for their sports broadcast audiences, it’s clear that even sports are no longer immune to the ‘cord-cutting’ phenomenon. How serious could this digital disruption be and how should the industry respond?
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
2016 campaign hacking
In a survey conducted a few weeks before Trump took the oath of office, most Americans believed that Russia was behind the cyberattacks against Democrats during the 2016 presidential race. Roughly seven-in-ten Americans (72%) who had heard of these allegations said Russia was definitely or probably involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign, while 24% said Russia was probably or definitely not involved.
2017
Key trends shaping technology in 2017
Pew Research Center
Conscientious objectors rise up in the workforce.
In a tight labor market, professionals can afford to have principles. It’s starting with Google, always a bellwether of corporate culture, where in the past few months, employees have spoken up against the company launching a censored service in China, forced it to back out of a contract with the Pentagon and staged a walkout to protest sexual harassment in the workplace. “Employees at these companies are no longer going to stand for leadership doing things they just don’t believe in,” Ross Martin, Blackbird CEO, says. This instinct is particularly potent among Millennial and Gen Z workers, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman notes. “This idealism has opened a generational rift between managers and our younger protégés, who can sometimes be strident,” he says. “But their passion is one of the main reasons I’m excited about the future: The people just entering the workforce now will become the conscience of the corporation.”
2018
50 Big Ideas for 2019: What to watch in the year ahead
LinkedIn
Real or replica?
In a world of growing mistrust, where tech is presenting us with curated social media, fake videos, voice assistants and virtual entities, people are re-evaluating who is real and who is not.
2019
Trends 2019
Mindshare
New modes of travel, improved health and longevity, and the ability to travel through time top the list of futuristic inventions Americans would like to own
In addition to capturing the public’s attitudes toward specific inventions or future outcomes, we also offered them the opportunity to tell us—in their own words—which futuristic invention they themselves would want to own. Based on their responses, many Americans are looking forward to a future in which getting from place to place is easier, more comfortable, or more adventuresome than it is today. A total of 19% of Americans would like to own a travel-related invention of some kind, including: a flying car or flying bike (6%), a personal space craft (4%), a self-driving car (3%), a teleportation device (3%), a jet pack (1%), or a hover car or hover board (1%).
2014
US views of technology and the future - science in the next 50 years
Pew Research Center
Social innovation
In addition to technological, product, process, organizational and marketing innovations, social innovation answers to pressing social demands that require the combination of actions coming from the market, the public sector and the civil society. Social innovation delivers results that are positive for economic and social cohesion (cf. new social problems, vulnerable groups, gender discriminations), create new social relationships and foster collaborative economy. Social innovation addresses societal and environmental challenges while improving collective wellbeing. Social innovations are particularly relevant in times of crises and budgetary constraints.
2015
Preparing the Commission for future opportunities - Foresight network fiches 2030
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Mind the information and skills gaps
In addition to the fault lines developing geopolitically, CEOs are working to bridge the gaps in their own capabilities. Organisations are struggling to translate a deluge of data into better decision making. There is a shortage of skilled talent to clean, integrate, and extract value from big data and move beyond baby steps toward artificial intelligence (AI). One of the more striking findings in this year’s survey was the fact that — despite billions of dollars of investment1 and priority positioning on the C-suite agenda — the gap between the information CEOs need and what they get has not closed in the past ten years.
2019
22nd Annual global CEO survey
PWC
Data Privacy Will Adopt a Risk-based Approach
In an age when WikiLeaks has become a household name, every business leader is right to be even more paranoid about data privacy. Just as leading organizations now realize there is no such thing as 100 percent IT security, so complete data privacy is being exposed as a myth. In one study, the Wall Street Journal assessed and analyzed the cookies and other surveillance technology that companies use on the Internet. The study found that the nation’s 50 top web sites on average installed 64 pieces of tracking technology onto the computers of visitors, usually with no warning. A dozen sites installed more than a hundred each. 9 It will not be enough simply to accept the reality of data leaks. It will require very proactive responses from organizations to understand the risks surrounding the use and misuse of personal data. And it will require constant vigilance because things are changing so fast.
2011
Accenture Technology Vision 2011
Accenture