With global markets across all industries collapsing, we need to transform markets to being powerhouses for sustainable products able to withstand disruptions and shocks. Here, I give 10 concrete steps to do just that.

1. 10 Steps We Can Take TODAY to
Make Markets for Sustainable
Goods and Services
A p r i l 2 , 2 0 2 0
Photo credit: Robert Alexander / Archive Photos / Getty Images

2. THE WORLD’S MARKETS ARE AT AN INFLECTION POINT
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Ø Markets around the world are collapsing at an
accelerating rate
Ø Air travel, fossil fuels, milk, real estate, and
automobiles are markets in a state of crisis
Ø “Sustainability” in this moment may mean
“keeping the lights on” – but we must look ahead
Ø Markets need to be rebuilt so they are
sustainable and more resilient to shocks
Ø Wyoming Asphalt Sour – a dense oil used to
make pavement – is an example of a market in
negative territory
Ø A negative market means producers
PAID people to take their product

3. THE SOLUTION: A SUSTAINABLE MARKET
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Ø In my forthcoming book –
Transformative Markets – I define a
sustainable market
Ø Every market that creates a
sustainable good or service shares 5
traits
Ø Examples of sustainable markets
include:
Ø Solar and wind energy
Ø Shoes made from recycled plastic
Ø Battery powered cars
Ø Local agriculture that produces
healthy, affordable food

4. THE SOLUTION: A SUSTAINABLE MARKET
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Ø Transformative Markets is the first
book to analyze how market actors
create sustainable markets
Ø A sustainable market comes together
very quickly when four set of actors
collaborate
Ø When they do not collaborate, the
market either fails or does not scale
Ø We must accelerate the collaboration
to scale up sustainable markets

5. 1 0 I D E A S
T O C R E A T E
S U S T A I N A B L E
M A R K E T S

6. 10 IDEAS TO ACCELERATING SUSTAINABLE MARKETS
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Idea #1: Embrace the Influence of Networks
Ø The world we live in today is shaped
by networks
Ø Networks are how ideas are shared
and innovations are brought to reality
Ø Market creation is an open-source
effort, not something to be done in a
silo and disconnected from others
Ø To quickly build a sustainable market,
find a trusted partner and collaborate
Ø A trusted actor in sustainable markets
is one who is transparent,
collaborates with others, and is
innovative in their thinking
The 10 Most Trusted Actors in Sustainable Markets
Taken from Transformative Markets

7. 10 IDEAS TO ACCELERATING SUSTAINABLE MARKETS
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Idea #2: Better Define What is “Sustainable”
Ø To become a more sustainable
society, we need better reference
points for what is sustainable
Ø Sustainability goes beyond a
company or a country
Ø We must understand the impacts of
production and consumption on
society – ecosystems, human health,
communities
Ø We must stop valuing our present self
over our future self
Ø Excessive consumption and pollution
are signs of disregard for the future
Idea #3: Better Public Policy
Ø Public policy has a critical role in
establishing guidelines for sustainable
markets
Ø The Texas wind power market took off
quickly because policymakers created
a framework for investors and
entrepreneurs to make and invest
with confidence
Ø The Private Sector must do more to
work with the Public Sector to create
industry-wide sustainable markets
rather than markets that only
advantage a single company

8. 10 IDEAS TO ACCELERATING SUSTAINABLE MARKETS
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Idea #4: Capacity Building in Start Ups
Ø The most immediate way large
companies can help in today’s global
crisis is to invest in the capacity of
startups and small companies
Ø Small, startup companies have
sustainability ingrained in their DNA
Ø They need help transforming their
products and ideas into something
bigger
Ø Investing in a small company allows a
market to scale more quickly
Idea #5: Engage with Consumers
Ø More than any other time in human
history consumers are desperate for
ideas to make the world better
Ø Consumers want to be engaged by
companies and encouraged to take
action
Ø One example: Alibaba has rewarded
more than 500 million consumers for
making an environmentally-friendly
purchase decisions (such as opting out
of using plastic bags when shopping)
Ø The reward: 100 million trees planted
by Alibaba in recognition of the actions

9. 10 IDEAS TO ACCELERATING SUSTAINABLE MARKETS
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Idea #8: Move to a Circular Economy
Ø A circular economy is a system of
resource utilization where things are
made through reduction, reuse, and
recycling
Ø An example is Timberland’s
partnership with Omni United, a tire
manufacturer, where Omni shreds old
tires and Timberland uses the
recycled rubber in its boots
Ø If society is to truly be sustainable –
consuming resources at a rate in
which they can be replenished – a
circular economy is the only way
forward
Idea #9: Focus Where Impact is Big
Ø Transform 3 areas of the economy
where the impact can be the greatest:
1. Energy – global CO2 emissions from
the energy sector in 2018 were 33.1
gigatons (one gigaton is the
combined weight of 100 million
African elephants)
2. Agriculture – this sector is the largest
producer of methane and nitrous
oxide – two compounds that trap heat
in the atmosphere
3. Clothing – it takes 715 gallons of
water to grow the cotton needed for a
single t-shirt (sadly, not a typo)

10. 10 IDEAS TO ACCELERATING SUSTAINABLE MARKETS
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Idea #10: Reimagine the Corporation
Ø Corporations have been, and will
continue to be, the heart and soul of
the global economy
Ø Corporations have made products
that transformed billions of lives for
the better
Ø The world has changed - we are living
on a planet that can no longer sustain
us
Ø Corporations must now change and
see themselves as contributing to all
of society, not just shareholders
“Profit is not itself a business
purpose. Profit is a condition for—
and a result of—achieving a
purpose. The purpose might be
making cars, delivering products,
disseminating information, or
many other things. If a business
substitutes making money for
purpose, it will fail at both.”
- Martin Wolf, Financial Times, December 11, 2018

11. TRANSFORMATIVE MARKETS
At the dawn of a new and pivotal decade, Transformative Markets
is required reading for anyone confident – or concerned – about
the role of corporations in creating a more sustainable planet.
- Angela Bonarrigo, Principal, Bonarrigo and Associates
Sustainability is more than getting better relative to yourself. In
this ambitious book, Ludke explains what sustainability really
means, the distinctions between sustainable and unsustainable
markets, and the role of all of us in transforming markets to
support a truly sustainable future.
- Cory Searcy, Professor, Ryerson University
In his new book Transformative Markets, Ludke makes enormous
progress in defining what sustainable markets are, and what they
are not. Transformative Markets should be on every CEO’s
reading list.”
- Andrew Sullivan, Partner, Hudson Pacific
Published by New Degree Press, Transformative Markets will be
available as a Kindle ebook on April 14, with hard copies soon to follow

12. 10 Steps We Can Take TODAY to
Make Markets for Sustainable
Goods and Services
A p r i l 2 , 2 0 2 0
Photo credit: Robert Alexander / Archive Photos / Getty Images
Robert Ludke
rludke@ludkeconsulting.com
202-445-9345