Two snapshots reinforcing systemic thinking and responsibility

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the concept of sustainable development through the lens of two United Nations (UN) publications, Our Common Future (1987) and the 25-year update Resilient People: Resilient Planet (2012). The analysis attempts to highlight how sustainable development requires a systemic understanding and this in turn necessitates an imperative of responsibility. To reinforce its case, the paper highlights how sustainable development has never been about saving the environment and to think so is naıve. In the final analysis, the paper outlines how a systemic understanding is a key concern for organisational leaders and in turn a responsible understanding of humanity’s entwinement with, rather than separation from, all that surrounds us. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a discussion paper that weaves together existing literature. Findings – The aim of the paper is to reinforce systemic thinking and an imperative of responsibility. Practical implications – The arguments offered highlight how systemic thinking and the associated responsibility that comes with this view are necessary for realising sustainable outcomes. Originality/value – Weaving together and reinforcing arguments that highlight systemic thinking and responsibility.