This podcast is based on a column written by Susana Quintás, Non-Executive Director, and it’s a reality check for anyone still clinging to the idea that “global cooperation will sort itself out”. Spoiler: it won’t.
The era of cosy multilateralism is fading fast, replaced by something sharper and more transactional: selective cooperation, powered by national self-interest and strategic advantage. Translation: countries still collaborate, but only when it suits them, and they’ll change partners mid-dance if the music shifts.
In this new world, international relations look less like diplomacy and more like a competitive scramble for the essentials: critical minerals, data, chips, grids, ports, undersea cables. And the biggest battlegrounds are exactly where the money is: AI and green energy. That rivalry isn’t background noise anymore, it’s shaping regulation, supply chains, and corporate risk in real time.
For businesses, this means the old governance playbook is officially out of date. When regulatory swings, supply shocks, and geopolitical friction collide, you don’t need “a bit more risk reporting”. You need a strategic redesign: decision-making that’s faster, clearer, and built for a world where assumptions expire quickly.
And sustainability? Susana’s argument is deliciously blunt: it’s no longer a reputational accessory, it’s structural. It affects continuity, costs, and whether your operations can keep running when the world gets awkward.
The punchline is hopeful, but demanding: the winners won’t be the loudest or the luckiest. They’ll be the ones who master intelligent collaboration: choosing partners with intent, aligning with values that hold under pressure, and building resilience without pretending the world is still neatly stitched together.
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