2020 was the year that changed our understanding of the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has, and continues to disrupt forever we way we live, work and travel. At the same time, the latest report from the IPCC confirms the dire state of the impact of climate change: we face a world of increasingly violent and more frequent weather events with shocking consequences for people and economies. Finally, the science is now telling us clearly that our biodiversity, the bedrock of life on earth, is fragile and in crisis.
The lecture will provide fresh thinking on how issues of nature, people and society can be embedded in decision-making. It brings a new perspective by beginning with the socio-ecological issues and asking how we might account for them, rather than beginning with the existing structures and asking how nature and society might fit into them. This comes at a time when there are rapidly increasing expectations for businesses to demonstrate a commitment to addressing some of the biggest challenges of our age: climate crisis; increasing inequalities; and massive biodiversity loss.
Professor Bebbington will examine whether a new way of looking at these issues will mean that they can be addressed more effectively and how the institution of accountancy will need to adapt to do that.
The talk will be followed by a practitioner response and a chance to ask questions.
The event is in our long-established series of annual PD Leake lectures and is free to view.