Corporate taglines usually fade with haste. Remember that Accenture stands for “Accent on the Future”? Or, to pick on myself, that in 2019 the Liberal Democrats thought “Stop Brexit” would win the UK general election?

EY recently launched “Shape the future with confidence”. And while you could glance and wince at the apparent corporate jargonness – and a hidden desire to match The Simpsons in shaping future events (more on that later) – for two reasons the accountancy turned broad-business-services provider might be onto something. Two reasons that might tap into the subconsciousness of change. I hope EY genuinely does embody the ambition and approach that could underpin its new tagline.

Both reasons – setting new standards others follow and helping companies and governments overcome confidence barriers – ring especially true for the fight against the climate and sustainability emergency.

To set a new bar others follow, we must show that sustainability works for everyone, everywhere.

Critical Mass for Sustainability was founded on the idea that proving sustainability unequivocally works on all environmental, social, and economic fronts might help trigger the positive tipping points and systemic change needed to pull politics, consumer behaviour, and business into alignment with the Paris Agreement and all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

But the achieve that change, a critical mass needs to move first and be that proof. Setting the new bar that policymaking, industry, and all people can move towards with confidence.

My central call to action in a past market analysis of the sustainability consulting, technology, and services sector was for the most ambitious firms to move first and be a part of that critical mass. Services firms exist at the centre of companies, value chains, and vast ecosystems – with enormous spheres of influence over their clients and partner organisations. Why not push the boundaries of ambition throughout those systems?

But often in sustainability, as in all forms of business change, there remains a confidence hurdle that goes beyond showing a return on investment (ROI) on paper.

The speed and scale of change demanded by sustainability makes overcoming subconscious confidence hurdles especially vital. And difficult.

I wrote about the confidence barrier to all forms of business change last year. Whether it’s the energy transition or digital transformation, most companies and sectors need a level of confidence that can’t be achieved by numerical analysis of ROI alone.

A consistent theme of any change conversation is a need to see and know what works. That means case studies, client references (if you’re a services provider), and collaboration throughout ecosystems. Collaboration between competitors, across supply chains, with regulators, and side-by-side with experts from academia to industry. Building trust and confidence in shared or transparent goals between all partners.

We’ve inherited quite the budget crunch from President Trump

Some future gazing seems obvious when it eventually happens. Some, like The Simpsons predicting Donald Trump’s election victory 16 years in advance deserve more credit. (People have already found images of President Lisa Simpson in a purple suit resembling one worn by Kamala Harris…)

I hope EY’s approach to shaping the future is intentional and proactive. Especially when it comes to sustainability. EY and all services firms with such spheres of influence need to find a new level of ambition. They should leverage their client, partner, and all ecosystem relationships to find and amplify what works on all environmental, social, and economic fronts. Finding the coalitions of the willing who want to be part of a critical mass and systems change.

Setting the new standards others can follow with confidence.