During autumn 2022, we published publications on megatrends on our LinkedIn pages. We highlighted the megatrends presented in the report published by SEB, which affect our everyday lives now and in the future.
The megatrends raised by SEB were:
- More efficient production chains - Automation, robotics and the Internet of Things are emerging as future trends.
- The intersection of technology, biology and healthcare - Artificial intelligence will become the most important colleague of doctors and biologists.
- Accelerating digitalization - Traditional sectors, such as grocery stores and education, are also moving online.
- A dispersed workforce – An increase in freelance and remote work.
- Globalization in reverse - The idealization of self-sufficiency and domesticity increases production locally
SEB's megatrend listing focuses heavily on technological development and the resulting solutions. The change accelerated by the pandemic was also strongly highlighted in the megatrends.
Sitra's megatrends 2023
The world is changing at an accelerating pace. The recent megatrends for 2023 published by Sitra describe the overall picture of changes through five themes, which are nature, people, power, technology and economy.
Contrary to SEB's report, Sitra's megatrends focus on nature, whose current state affects everything.
1.
Nature's carrying capacity crumbles, which pushes us to change in many different areas: the climate is heating up, the complexity of nature is decreasing, natural resources are being consumed too much and the amount of waste is increasing. Ecological reconstruction is in a hurry. The availability of critical materials needed in industry is decreasing, so the uncertainty related to resources, for example, can be alleviated by developing substitute materials and increasing the recycling and reuse of materials.
2.
Growing up well-being challenges. The aging and diversity of the population, changes in working life and general uncertainty about the future increase mental health problems and people's endurance is put to the test. Decreased exercise and unhealthy lifestyles can be seen as an increase in diseases. Human health is linked to the health of the rest of nature.
3.
The struggle for democracy is getting tougher, because societies are put to the test as crises pile up. The centralization of power during the global pandemic has moved more strongly towards civil society, as Russia's attack on Ukraine has awakened citizens to a crisis of democracy. The rule-based world order is shaking and the influence of information is exacerbating the atmosphere.
4.
The competition for digital power is accelerating, because technology is increasingly present in people's everyday lives. More data is collected and used more and more. With that, new customized services can be developed for both companies and individuals. At the same time, there is a battle for the rules of the game in the digital world, the resources required by new technology and the development directions of technology. The data economy is growing, health technology is becoming more common, the uses of synthetic biology are expanding and renewable energy is becoming more common.
5.
The foundation of the economy is cracking. The global increase in inequality and the ecological sustainability crisis create the need to reform the economy. Class differences are growing, extreme weather conditions are increasing and the collapse of the services provided by nature are eroding the economic conditions. Responsibility has moved to not only environmental issues, but also human rights issues, people's well-being and improving the state of nature.
The circular economy is becoming a necessity, and it is not only recycling, but also new business models and services such as sharing, renting, repairing and reusing. The debate about the direction of the economy is accelerating and it is driven by nature's carrying capacity.
Responsibility guides future choices
There are many similarities in Sitra's and SEB's reports. Sitra's report, however, emphasizes the nature aspect more strongly, which makes responsibility an increasingly important trend in future decision-making.
The challenges seem great, but a different kind of future is possible. With both reports, digitization appears to us as a solution that allows us to develop more sustainable solutions.
At the moment, we are building our future and we can already see that change is already underway. Especially with Sitra's report, we understand that we are helplessly behind in terms of sustainable development - the change should have started years ago.
