Adolescents represent 16% of the global population of 8.2 billion, yet we give little attention to the opinion of the world’s youth when it comes to issues that directly impact their future. Today’s youth will inherit the worst consequences of global warming and the political decisions of today’s leaders, and on that basis alone deserve to be given a seat at the table.

In the last few years, Swiss watch brand Breitling has made some substantial strides when it comes to sustainability. Just after the end of 2025, it will have made the industry-leading move of having phased out mined stones in favor of lab-grown diamonds from carefully selected suppliers (which are less damaging to the environment, traceable, and support community-based value chains) becoming the first major luxury watch manufacturer to make this transition. It complements some of the other initiatives Breitling has undertaken in recent years, such as launching the world’s first fully “traceable” watch (the Super Chronomat Automatic 38 Origins) in 2022, and its ongoing commitment to sourcing gold from artisanal and small-scale mines. Spearheading many of these changes is Aurelia Figueroa, Breitling’s Chief Sustainability Officer, who recently became a Villars Institute board member.

As the son of student doctors working and volunteering in Africa in the mid-1980s, Thomas Crowther spent his first birthday camping in the middle of the Sahara Desert. It was a foreshadow for a career working in the field of ecology and biodiversity: as he says, “I’ve never had a moment’s thought about what I was going to do with my life. And while I didn’t think I’d become a professor, I knew for sure it would be something nature related.” After doing his post-doctorate at Yale, his research has encompassed estimating the number of trees on Earth and mapping the distribution of soil organisms, while driving major conservation efforts such as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, in a mission to prove our deep reliance on nature. Tom is also the founder of Restor, an online platform supporting thousands of community-led restoration projects around the world, and which in 2021 was a finalist for the Royal Foundation’s Earthshot Prize for providing ecological insights, transparency and connectivity to conservation and restoration efforts across the globe. Named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, he joined the Villars Institute Board in 2024 to advance nature-focused solutions to both the climate and biodiversity crises.

If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Fix It. The results of an historic scientific health check of the planet were unveiled during Climate Week 2024 in New York, indicating that Earth’s systems remain at risk. This was the first in a series of annual updates on the status of each planetary boundary. “By quantifying the boundaries for a healthy planet, we provide policy, economics and business with the tools needed to steer away from unmanageable risks," said Johan Rockström, PIK Director, Pioneer of the Planetary Boundaries Framework and Co-Founder of the Planetary Guardians. As one of the most resource-intensive sectors, the steel industry sits at the nexus of these boundaries from carbon emissions and freshwater use to air emissions and resource consumption. Notably, iron and steel production accounts for around 8% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making decarbonizing this sector a core focus in mitigating climate change. To align with global climate goals and achieve a net-zero energy system, the sector needs to reduce its emissions by at least 90% by 2050.

Pour Thijs Biersteker, artiste écologique primé, l’art peut vraiment changer le monde. M. Biersteker a collaboré avec le Villars Institute pour sa nouvelle œuvre, Memories of the Melted, qui a été présentée en avant-première au Montreux Jazz Festival.

Qu’il s’agisse du papier fait à partir de pollen ou de parapluies capables de prévoir la météo, associer de profondes connaissances de la nature avec des machines peut accroître l’intelligence humaine et montrer la possibilité d'une pensée systémique et [pourquoi elle est importante pour notre avenir](https://villarsinstitute.org/fr/posts/systems-leadership-why-it-matters-for-our-future).

Villars Institute sat down with two leading ecopreneurs who will be leading the flagship course this coming August to learn more about their own backgrounds and what we can expect this summer.

Le Minerva Project et Le Villars Institute sont les pionniers d’une approche innovante de l’enseignement aux jeunes et apprenant.e.s adultes sur la manière de relever les défis systémiques.

At the Villars Institute Summit 2024, Lord Malloch-Brown was invited to deliver the 3rd Villars Institute Distinguished Lecture. He shared invaluable insights, drawing from his vast experience, on the challenges and opportunities shaping the geopolitical and multilateral context, and the pivotal role of communities, coalitions and connections on the critical pathway to progress and prosperity within our planetary boundaries. Below is a transcript of his insightful lecture.