Our view into a future of possibilities.
10 soft predictions for a sustainable and socially fairer tomorrow.
It's not another trend report. We promise. Rather, our predictions are a selection of observations and future visions of possibilities. Sustainability will be overtaken by regeneration and regulations will become changemakers. They are therefore impulses that will gain relevance tomorrow and make a difference the day after tomorrow. And the question of what role design plays in making a difference.
When Climate Complexity becomes Climate Clarity.
Making impact visible is not trivial - but it is certainly not magic. It doesn't take PowerPoint escapades full of acronyms, tables with more columns than explanations or a truckload of academic bubble buzzwords to illustrate the impact of social and sustainable measures. On the contrary: the greatest impact comes from simplifying the complex.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), EmpCo and the Green Claims Directive are just some of the new directives that add a layer of complexity to the good cause. And this complexity needs the counterpart of simplification and emotionalization. It needs stories. Numbers that are given a face. Images that arouse emotions. How do you translate carbon capturing into simple language? And what is a visual example of CO2 emissions? To do this, we increasingly need to use images and equivalents from people's lives. Every year, our company saves the amount of CO2 that 50,000 cars consume over 10,000 kilometers. We have a connection to cars and a feeling for cars. Making impact tangible means speaking the language of those I want to reach. In the company. Outside the company. Or even in private.
However, the key to access lies not only in language, but also in attitude. Transparency and accessibility create trust. A study by Gallup shows that 20% of employees in companies are more committed when they understand the purpose and impact of their work. And according to a study by DEBA, only 28.5% of employees in Germany consider the climate commitment of their company management to be credible.
If you want to make an impact, you have to make them feel it. In numbers. In pictures. In stories. Why? Because people trust numbers, internalize images and reproduce stories. And it is precisely these stories that bind people to companies and make them the mouthpiece of all our efforts - without any advertising budget.
Impact Report
Use (real-time) data from your reports and make it visible – as a website, in a virtual space, or as a PDF.
ESG - three letters, the metronome of the future. For the C-suite, ESG is no longer “nice to have”, but “need to act”. According to a sustainability study by Union Investment, 78% of institutional investors take ESG criteria into account when making decisions - a clear paradigm shift.
Startups will also feel this change. The future point in financing rounds will no longer only be made with strong ideas and, to be fair, mostly unpredictable financial forecasts, but rather with the credibility of how environmental, social and corporate governance become the differentiating factors. ESG indicators are therefore becoming deal-breakers - and the deciding factor in financing decisions. Sustainable ETFs such as the MSCI World SRI Index also show the way - responsibility will be the driving force behind returns in the future. And so ESG factors will also set the pace for decisions in the future - it signals to investors that a company is thinking long-term, minimizing risks and maximizing the scope of opportunities.In addition, ESG measures will gain weight in company valuations. Banks and fund managers will then increasingly assess risks and opportunities through ESG glasses. This means that a strong ESG strategy is not a cost factor, but a competitive advantage - it opens doors where pure profit targets could close them.
But ESG is more than just a theoretical guideline. It is an attitude. It shows who has the courage to think beyond today. Those who believe in a world that is more than quarterly figures. ESG is the new ROI - the return on integrity. And the harmony of ROI lies in the triad: Planet, People, Profit. Companies that understand this not only create success. They create the future.
Return on Integrity Strategy
Consider where, within ESG, you go beyond the minimum requirements and integrate it as a core component of your new business model.
Sustainability preserves what is. Regeneration gives back what is missing. And this is precisely what is becoming the new business model. Green is now getting a new coat of paint and is increasingly growing out of the ideological corner onto the entrepreneurial stage. Net zero is therefore no longer just a regulatory obligation, but a springboard for innovation and competitive advantage. It is becoming more of a starting signal than a home stretch.
Companies are increasingly recognizing that regenerative approaches not only serve the planet and people, but also their own profits. In future, nature will no longer be seen as a resource - we will enter into a co-creative partnership with nature. Nature-based solutions - from CO₂-binding forests, the renaturation of rivers or the promotion of biodiversity to regenerative agriculture - are no longer a niche topic or the preserve of woolly sweater activists. According to Deutsche Bank, the global market for ESG investment solutions is set to exceed the 100 trillion dollar mark by 2030. And the UNEP expects 32 million new jobs to be created by nature-based solutions (Nbs) by then.
One example: Patagonia. This brand probably demonstrates like no other how profitability can be in harmony and interaction with ecological efforts. They create value that no discount could ever deliver.And the supply chains? They become the playing field for real competitive advantage. Studies show that 70% of consumers worldwide look for sustainable practices when buying. Green pressure has now found its way into many more living rooms.
But regeneration is more than just a field of tension between the organic boom, plant-based and zero waste. Regenerative economy is the sum of many renewable particles. It combines a circular economy, the preservation of biodiversity, creates socially just and welfare-oriented economies and involves local communities.
Conventional business models will be obsolete in the future and regeneration will become the new business. Regeneration as a business is an invitation to bring entrepreneurial sustainability into a symbiotic harmony of planet, people and profit. The future will belong to those who give back more than they take. Seeing nature as a stakeholder. It will belong to those who place people at the ecological center of their economic goals.
Regenerative Business Models
How can you regeneratively diversify your current business model and transformatively develop an entirely new one? We’ll show you how.
But maybe the challenge lies in execution – finding the right business model, aligning the existing and new models, or simply lacking the time? With our Venture Sprint, we can take things to the next level, identifying innovation potential and opportunities for sustainable and regenerative business models.
Accessibility has long been a compulsory exercise and is now becoming the main game changer. The new Accessibility Act is putting inclusive design in the spotlight. Inclusive design and the overarching umbrella term DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) are leaving the niche and can now finally play on larger stages.
In the EU alone, more than 87 million or more than 25% of people live with disabilities - and they are a huge economic force. Companies that make their products and services inclusive not only win new customers, but also secure a leading position in a rapidly growing market.
Inclusion therefore becomes a competitive advantage. Inclusion attracts people. Studies show: According to McKinsey, companies with higher ethnic and cultural diversity are 36% more likely to be more profitable than average. Diversity is not only good for your image, it also pays off economically. And it brings innovation. Products that are designed to be inclusive are often better for everyone - not just for people with disabilities. Lowered kerbs or Microsoft's Adaptive Controller: innovations developed for people with disabilities and limitations - used by so many more. Inclusive design thus becomes a bridge builder and shows that technology can connect.
The dynamics are also changing internally. Companies that take DEIB seriously create a working environment that enables a sense of belonging. And belonging increases productivity: 56% of employees say that they perform better when they feel heard and valued.
Accessibility therefore means more than ramps and subtitles. First and foremost, it is our ethical obligation and inner attitude, which must be deeply rooted in the foundations of our corporate culture. Only then will we be able to create innovations that arise from intrinsic motivation rather than actual money motivation.
Inclusion is therefore not the little stepsister of innovation, but the head of the family of our future cooperation. For more us than me and more all than some.
Inclusive Innovation by Design
See inclusion as an opportunity rather than a barrier and drive inclusive innovation, for example, through a co-creative design sprint – becoming a trailblazer in the process.
The cloud is not a small cloud, it weighs heavily. When data prints CO₂, it creates an invisible tower of emissions. Today, the IT sector consumes more energy than many countries and more than global air traffic. 4% of global CO₂ emissions - that's the price we pay for our clicks and streams. However, if the technical requirements for AI show - the trend is rising.
It's time for change. How? Make sustainable UX the pilot for our efforts to create a more sustainable digital world. Fewer unnecessary loading times, smaller data volumes, clearer user journeys, focus on the essentials. Click by click and swipe by swipe, we can save CO₂. This not only saves server costs, but also a lot of CO₂. Decarbonization doesn't start where dark clouds of smoke come out of chimneys, but in the design.
The figures speak for themselves: according to Helix Media, a sustainable website can consume up to 80 % less energy. And that adds up. Not just for the planet, but also for the bottom line.
A lean website saves as much electricity per year as a refrigerator - for every 10,000 visitors. And the math works out: Less energy means lower server costs. Sustainability meets profitability. Sustainability becomes the engine of profitability. Do we really need 4K videos or five fonts? Does every piece of information have to be on the first page?
It's time to rethink digital solutions. Not bigger, but better. Not faster, but more meaningful. Minimalism and sustainable design are the embodiment of a new digital responsibility.
Sustainable bytes - this is not renunciation, but sustainability through reduction. Users benefit from a clearer page structure, customers close deals faster thanks to a clear design and IT costs no longer break through the cloud cover. Because the cloud of tomorrow belongs to those who start making it lighter today.
Sustainable UX Strategy
Develop a sustainable digital strategy – from a web audit to technology selection and design optimization – to seamlessly combine sustainability and profitability.
Excited for a sustainable future?
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Innovation was an exclusive club for a long time. With admission control. Today, however, innovation happens where doors are open. Where ideas collide, perspectives rub shoulders and partnerships grow. Welcome to the era of open innovation or the Intentional Industry Intersection.
Volatility and complexity are the breeding ground of today's economy. In most cases, challenges can hardly be solved alone but require systemic thinking and consistent overlapping of expertise. Where challenges affect us all, how do we want to develop exclusive solutions? Climate change, digital transformation, global crises - these challenges are too big for one person alone. Together replaces alone.
Collaboration, especially in conservative and traditionally less innovative industries, is becoming a game changer. We are breaking out of our blinkered peripheral vision and opening up to an all-round view. This makes complexity tangible and solutions more tangible.
Open innovation means that tools and technologies are no longer intended for the select few, but are accessible to the masses. The democratization of innovation makes every good idea possible - no matter where it comes from. The advantages are obvious: faster prototypes, shorter innovation cycles, greater impact. And not to forget: The energy that is created when people with passion and different perspectives sit around a table.
When a healthcare company collaborates with a tech start-up, new approaches to digital diagnostics emerge. When a bank cooperates with an environmental NGO, new approaches to sustainable finance are created.
The future belongs to those who share. Knowledge, resources, visions. Open innovation is less an open day and more an eternal invitation to achieve greater things together. It is an attitude. Open, courageous, interdisciplinary. If you want to grow, you have to think outside the box. The best ideas are waiting - outside. Let's open doors and invite them in.
Collaborative Innovation Hubs
Launch cross-industry innovation hubs and connect with startups, experts, and professionals from other industries – locally or within digital communities.
Work was yesterday. Meaning is today. Employees want more than a salary and a football table. They are looking for a contribution that is greater than themselves. The feeling of making a difference. Work-life blending means that the boundaries between everyday working life and private life are blurring. Values and needs are merging. Welcome to the age of employee volunteerism and the economy of meaning.
Studies show: according to Stepstone, 65% want to know how important sustainability is in the application process. Furthermore, 64% of female employees expect their employer to be socially or ecologically committed. And a YouGov study shows that 34% of respondents achieve their job satisfaction through something meaningful. Companies that tend to operate in more conventional sectors in particular are thus offering female employees an attractive opportunity and positioning themselves as more purpose-oriented than they might traditionally be. Volunteering strengthens loyalty, motivation and productivity. Employees who are allowed to volunteer are up to 28% more committed and less willing to change jobs. A clear plus for employers who have understood that purpose is not just a passing trend in the wind, but a clear competitive advantage.
Salesforce gives every employee 56 hours a year for volunteering. Patagonia sends teams to protected areas to actively save the environment. And this creates something that cannot be measured in any KPI: pride. Pride in one's own contribution and in the employer who has opened up this space of opportunity.
Sustainable volunteering is therefore more than just an initiative. It turns employees into ambassadors. It turns work into meaning. And companies into role models. Because those who sow meaning reap meaning.
Volunteer Culture
Develop a culture and a work model that enables your employees to volunteer in a way that works for both sides – through mutual time investment.
Sustainability targets are often so ambitious that they seem overwhelming. Climate neutral by 2030, net zero by 2050, scope 1, 2, 3 - all important and all a long way off. The problem with this? What employees can't grasp, they can't move. But what if the big things start small?
Sustainability in morsel form. Sustainability has to taste good. It has to be portioned in such a way that every employee can take a bite. According to a PwC study, companies that translate their major climate targets into clear micro-actions increase their probability of success by 32%.
The idea is simple: divide the big goals into small, achievable steps. As we all know, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. And this is exactly where the key lies. Research shows that people are more likely to take action if they can see and feel the successes. Psychologists call this the “goal gradient effect” - small steps motivate people more than distant goals.
An example: a company with the goal of reducing its CO₂ emissions by 50% can break the goal into clear stages. Quarterly targets, such as reducing business travel by 10% or optimizing the vehicle fleet by 15%. Every interim target achieved is a visible success - for the team, for the vision.
According to a study by PwC (2021), companies that operationalize sustainability goals through “micro commitments” - i.e. tangible, clearly defined measures such as annual CO₂ reductions - are 32% more likely to achieve their long-term climate goals.
Great menus start with small amuse bouches. And so micro actions also ultimately create macro change.
Something to think about in between and perhaps as an impulse for our first exchange.
What happens when the next flood comes? When the storm paralyzes the power grid? When the supply chain breaks because roads are under water? We live in a time of constantly increasing extreme weather events. A time that knocks on our door every day and reminds us of the reality we are confronted with. The reality is that more than half of the world's GDP - around 44 trillion dollars - is directly or indirectly dependent on nature (WEF, 2022). And at a time when nature is changing, companies need to have a plan without being left without a plan - climate resilience is the key word here.
Plan B is therefore becoming our new Plan A. Plan A is our systemic roadmap, our preparedness for the next extreme weather event. The next drought, the next flood or the next supply chain split in two. This means diversifying supply chains, making production facilities weatherproof, analyzing risks and acting early. We need to think in terms of future scenarios before reality scenarios catch up with us.
In future, new supply chains will not be a series of rigid chain sliders but elastic bands. Companies must rely on multiple sources of supply, local production and dynamic logistics. Urban manufacturing, circular economy and last mile concepts are some of the many triggers.
Resilience is thus becoming the new seal of quality. The label that certifies companies' future viability, crisis resilience and long-term planning. Companies that diversified their supply chains during the pandemic were able to act again more quickly - and gained market share while others were still struggling for economic breath.
Our new pacemaker is now nature. We should listen carefully so as not to miss our cue. This is the only way to create a sensible orchestration of our entrepreneurial activities.
System Mapping
System Mapping is a method for visualizing dependencies and complex networks, enabling the development of more resilient alternatives.
Knowledge is the most powerful resource in the world - and artificial intelligence is probably our most powerful access to it. Nevertheless, there are countless regions where knowledge and schooling are barely accessible or teachers are not available. 13% of the world's population lacks formal education, 71.7 million children do not go to elementary school and women and girls worldwide spend 200 million hours a day fetching drinking water.
million hours a day fetching drinking water. Time that is missing for their education. Time for their independence.
But what if we democratize knowledge? Make knowledge accessible in the most remote regions? 7.3 billion people own a cell phone and 5.5 million people have access to the Internet. This at least lays the foundation for the democratization of knowledge.
And what do we build on top of that? Personalized learning islands made up of AI agents. They can teach students the basics, respond to individual learning needs and be available around the clock - even in the remotest corners of the world.
And as we know, it's usually the mix that makes the difference. Technology will not be the sole driver of democratized knowledge - it needs a methodological framework. Blended learning provides a wonderful playing field of opportunities to combine technology in the form of AI agents, with local teachers and self-learning. Imagine a virtual teacher who explains grammar, corrects math problems or answers questions about biology - supplemented by local teachers who understand the cultural and social context or encourage you in emotional intelligence and critical thinking. This is a new form of symbiotic learning in which technology scales knowledge and people empathically individualize.
Another advantage of AI agents? They adapt. Your learning speed. Your level of education. Your understanding of the language. If you don't understand explanations, they will rewrite them for you. Without any judgment.
In regions with poor infrastructure, an AI agent on a simple smartphone or tablet can open up whole worlds. With text-to-speech functions, translation services and adaptive learning paths, education becomes barrier-free and accessible. Your background will hopefully no longer determine your future. Equal opportunities will prevail and education will be rethought as a human right.
Education will no longer be the privilege of a few, but the opportunity of many.
AI by Design
AI is often used as an end in itself, yet it holds vast untapped potential. Through design sprints, these opportunities can be unlocked and shaped within 5 to 10 days.
And as always, the reflex kicks in: sit it out or get involved. Instead of rushing into pseudo-solutions, our Design Sprint uncovers sustainable innovation potential that creates real value for your business future. In 10 days, we develop and validate digital solutions that could shape your next 10 years. Want to learn more? Book a no-commitment call with us and let’s explore the possibilities together.
Y-si is a life-centered design studio with a focus on Planet & People, which bolsters companies in creating imaginative images of tomorrow, holistic experiences and ventures for regenerative futures.
