“Access to clean water, healthy food, sustainable energy and effective medicine will become increasingly critical over the next few decades. Yet the global prognosis does not look good unless we can learn to harness technology in new ways. Globalization, unsustainable resource demands and increasing environmental impacts mean we can no longer rely on 20th century technology approaches to deliver 21st century technology solutions.”
That's according to Andrew Maynard, director of the University of Michigan Risk Science Center. The World Economic Forum, which is holding its annual meeting this week in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, published a paper co-authored by Maynard and Tim Harper, director, CIENTIFICA Ltd.
Maynard says sustainable progress is more dependent than ever on technology. The paper examines the challenges and opportunities of developing and using emerging technologies within an increasingly complex and interconnected society. It specifically addresses actions needed to help translate new technology into solutions to global challenges.
With the average lifetime of a company on the Fortune 500 estimated at less than 30 years, the impact of technology on business has never been greater. At the same time, businesses are under increasing pressure to be sustainable.
In the paper, Maynard and Harper recommend that governments, industry and academia act on seven fronts, including increasing access to intelligence on new technologies; building new partnerships and engaging more effectively with stakeholders; re-examining how innovative ideas are translated into solutions; and rethinking the process of global technology governance.
Maynard is also the chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies. The Word Economic Forum 2011 annual meeting takes place Jan. 26-30.