The pandemic helped to disrupt “fast tourism”, grounding travel and providing an impetus for renewed change towards slow, sustainable and experiential at the heart of its recovery strategies.

The conscious travel proposition is one that balances the needs of local communities and environment with tourism.

Ongoing environmental impacts as a result of climate change coupled with the surge in demand for nature based tourism will require government, business and stakeholders to collaborate on new management and business plans for nature, based on biodiversity, culture value and wellness. The solution is to design tourism that regenerates and protects nature.

There is an urgency to manage natural areas in a similar way to how we would manage art galleries or museums.

For example Governments will need to develop strategies that designate visitor access based on their national park and reserves “biodiversity and cultural value”.

As business interest in nature deepens decisions need to be made regarding how we achieve the right balance and how do we do this? New research that places an economic and wellbeing value on “blue (water) and green (forest)” areas will help to drive this change.

The overnight closing of doors for restaurants during the pandemic provided food for thought for business and for others an opportunity to work in the new paradigm.

Take away options resulted in simpler menus, locally sourced made to order menus resulted in reduced food waste and cut overheads all of which are environmentally and economically better for business. The disruption of change provided an opportunity to rethink the hospitality business proposition and build in strategies for resilience. One such change was to redesign venues for natural ventilation, which reduces energy consumption whilst also, reduces risk of transmission of disease.

Food supply shortages and environmental impacts are helping to design menus for seasons and localisation in order to reduce reliance on complex and costly supply chains that rely on long distance transport and storage. The environmental upside being less food miles and more localised food security. This means the customer benefits from fresh food that hasn’t undergone months of refrigeration or storage. Business wise there is more control over supply and quality with the addition of “farm to plate” or locally grown restaurant propositions.

Lockdowns also forced people to cook at home which in turn has undoubtedly helped to value the hospitality profession as well as engage more people in food and waste. The opportunities are appetising, restaurants that are B Certified by design are on the menu, for example a hatted restaurant in Norway, Restaurant Rest that is founded entirely on wasted food.

Environmental impacts of climate change are driving change in the way we design and build. Enormous amounts of resources, materials, water, and energy are exploited, processed, and consumed for the execution of a work and limited to the useful life of buildings.

Civil construction is the human sector that consumes the most natural resources and uses energy intensively. Inefficient production processes exacerbate this impact, considerable displacement of supplies, and excessive waste during various other stages of construction. Whilst this change has been emerging for some time it going full circle.

If we stand any chance of averting climate change we must start with our buildings. New business models are emerging that design backwards looking at how materials will be disposed of first. The challenge for business is to conceive buildings in new ways and to have multiple purposes. Building is looking along its supply chains to ensure these relationships are built to last.

Read - Mirvac unveils industry-first apartment made from waste glass and textiles.

One of the challenge business faces is how to be inclusive with technology so that we don’t discriminate between different sections of the population. There needs to be options and ways for our customers to access services and products. Once again the pandemic bought some of these realities home for customers and exposed the vulnerabilities of those that could not afford technology devices or hadn’t had the education or access to them.

"While we can expect Covid-19 to continue changing the way we use and rely on the internet, the prevalence of digital technologies and connected devices will continue helping organisations remain afloat, an unthinkable feat 20 years ago. In a post-Covid-19 world, many companies will likely continue operating remotely to reduce real estate costs and boost productivity. After all, why would a company require employees to commute for hours when they could use that time more efficiently?

The remote work trend began well before the pandemic, but Covid-19 has accelerated it multifold. The work-from-home model opens expansive opportunities for economic growth, global talent recruitment, job creation, and, eventually, improved human prosperity and well-being. However, the inherent risk of this model is that those who are not able to access the internet (today, approximately half of the world’s population) will be even more disenfranchised than before, and the issue of universal internet access will become even more important than it is now.

After 2020, there is hardly a chance we will ever return to doing business the old-fashioned way. Like it or not, the Great Reset is real, and it is happening right now in front of our eyes. Let us make sure that it brings about a better, happier, and fairer world for everyone."

Forbes, Feb 17, 2021 - The Internet: Overcoming Current Challenges to Increase Digital Transformation

Slow fashion has emerged as a look that’s here to stay. The closure of factories in places like China and India (home of fast fashion) during the pandemic provided designers with the opportunity to go local and focus on smaller production schedules with an emphasis on quality over quantity. While production costs are higher designers are seeing the benefits of producing at home and that more customers are willing to pay for conscious clothing and legislation is emerging to support the change.

Business is looking to forge partnerships with nature and waste to create circular economies.

We are seeing unlikely yet wonderful collaborations between wasted fishing line and swimwear designers becoming the norm.