About Future-Fit
- What is Future‑Fit Foundation?
Future‑Fit Foundation is a UK-registered charity which creates free guidance to help businesses build a better world. We develop and promote the use of the Future‑Fit Business Benchmark. You can learn more about us here.
- What does the term “Future‑Fit” mean?
“Future‑Fit” means operating in a way that doesn’t harm people or planet. This involves reaching minimum thresholds of performance across a range of social and environmental issues. These thresholds have been translated into 23 Break‑Even Goals which every business must strive to reach.
- What is the Future‑Fit Business Benchmark?
Systems science tells us how our economy must be transformed if we are to meet everyone’s needs and live in harmony with nature. The Future‑Fit Business Benchmark translates that science into principles, goals, indicators and guides to help any business play its part in getting us there.
By providing a clear destination to aim for and the means to steer toward it, the Benchmark helps businesses do three things: set the right environmental and social ambitions; embed those ambitions into day-to-day decisions; and mobilise stakeholders to help achieve those ambitions.
Find out more about the Benchmark here.
- Is the Future‑Fit Business Benchmark a reporting tool?
A company may use the Benchmark to improve its reporting, but that is not its primary purpose: there are already too many reporting tools and frameworks, and no business is asking for more!
- What are the Break‑Even Goals?
Each Break‑Even Goal represents a minimum threshold of performance for a specific environmental or social issue, ranging from eliminating harmful emissions through to paying a living wage. The 23 Break‑Even Goals together mark the line in the sand which every business must strive to reach, to be sure it is in no way slowing down progress toward a just and regenerative future.
Find out more about the Break‑Even Goals here.
- What are the Positive Pursuits?
The Benchmark’s 24 Positive Pursuits identify the full range of outcomes a business may deliver to help speed up society’s progress toward a just and regenerative future. Their purpose is to guide thinking about how best to create a positive impact for people or planet, be it from products and services, operational improvements, engagement activities with suppliers and communities, or via philanthropy.
Find out more about the Positive Pursuits here.
- How does Future‑Fit relate to the SDGs?
In 2015 the UN launched a shared vision for humanity: 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which serve as a call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. At their heart, the SDGs are about fixing how our economy operates. By pursuing future-fitness, all businesses can make credible positive contributions to the SDGs, while simultaneously working to ensure that they aren’t inadvertently undermining progress elsewhere.
See how the Break‑Even goals and Positive Pursuits map onto the SDGs here.
- How can my company disclose its progress toward future‑fitness?
Progress and context indicators have been created for each of the Break‑Even Goals, offering a way for companies to both assess and communicate where they are on their journey to future-fitness. The Positive Pursuits can also be used to help a business to credibly talk credibly about any socially beneficial or environmentally restorative action it is taking.
- How can my business obtain assurance on its progress toward future‑fitness?
The ‘self-assessment plus independent assurance’ model is tried-and-tested for financial reporting, and the same approach can be used when disclosing progress against the Future‑Fit Business Benchmark. Companies may have their calculations assured using the global ISAE 3000 standard by any auditor. Guidance for companies on how to avoid common assurance pitfalls can be found in each Break‑Even Goal Action Guide and in the Implementation Guide.
Growing the movement
- How can I get involved with Future‑Fit as an individual?
If you are an individual who is interested in supporting and learning more about the Future‑Fit movement, you can join our Changemaker Community to access additional Future‑Fit resources, including tools, templates, recorded webinars and discussion forums.
- How can I help others become Future‑Fit?
The Future‑Fit Business Benchmark is a public good which anyone is free to use, including for consulting purposes. Some advisors want to give clients the confidence that they really understand how to apply the Future‑Fit approach, which is why we created our optional Accredited Advisor program. If you’d like to find out more please get in touch.
- Can I request a Future‑Fit speaker or representative for an event?
Members of our team are happy to speak at events. Please contact us to submit a request and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Future-Fit Brand and Materials
- Can anyone use the Future‑Fit materials?
Yes! The Future‑Fit Business Benchmark is free for any business to use to understand its holistic impacts on society and the environment, and to begin assessing, measuring and managing progress toward a flourishing future for all. All content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License and may be used accordingly.
- How should I use the Future‑Fit brand?
The term “Future‑Fit” should only be used in the context of reaching the Break‑Even Goals. For example, “Our intention is to become a Future‑Fit Business by 2030”, or “We’re Future‑Fit with respect to our emissions”. Please refrain from saying you are Future‑Fit if you are not genuinely at that point.
The term “future‑fitness” should be used to indicate the pursuit of becoming Future-Fit, and should not be capitalized. For example, “The future‑fitness of our products is very important to us”.
The terms “Future‑Fit” and “future‑fitness” are always hyphenated.
The term “Future‑Fit” and the Future‑Fit logos are registered trademarks, not for use on other websites and presentations without express consent from Future‑Fit. Partners are permitted to use dedicated logos to indicate they are part of the global Future‑Fit community. If you have any concerns that Future‑Fit materials are being misappropriated, please get in touch.