A new digital platform was launched yesterday (7 October) by a coalition of major organisations to make ‘sustainable living the new normal’ and ‘scale up sustainable innovation and inspire action’.

The non-profit editorial platform, called Collectively, has been developed by sustainability group Forum for the Future in partnership with VICE Media, VIRTUE and Purpose, off the back of the World Economic Forum, which highlighted that more needed to be done to help accelerate sustainable ways of living.

Several major businesses – including Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company and Marks & Spencer – sponsored the initiative, which now has the backing of nearly 30 companies, including Google, Facebook, PepsiCo, and Nestlé.

Aimed at young people (aged between 18 and 30), the site is populated with daily news stories, sustainable practices, technologies and design ideas to promote positive thinking about sustainability and encourage and inspire others to take up more green behaviours and practices. It utilises design-led content with a relaxed, humorous editorial voice to appeal to ‘Milennials’, those born on the brink of the 21st Century.

The platform’s audience will also be encouraged to submit ideas for the channel around a series of themes that will be regularly refreshed such as ‘Future Foodies’ and ‘The Smartest City’. However, the developers have said that only ‘highly-engaging stories’ with ‘the potential to create positive change’ will be featured.

Collectively’s ultimate aim is to try and make ‘more sustainable living the new normal’.

‘Together we can achieve much more, much faster’

Speaking of the platform, Will Gardner, CEO of Collectively, said: “Encouraging people to choose to live, work and play sustainably on a scale that will genuinely make a difference is one of the world’s biggest challenges. We hope to change that through Collectively. It’s a place to share stories, inspire each other and create the change we need to see in the world. We want to change the way we think about sustainability – by making sustainable living feel relevant and rewarding.

“Collectively brings together some of the world’s biggest brands, non-profits and leading social entrepreneurs because we believe that together we can achieve much more, much faster.”

Jonathon Porritt, Founder, Director & Trustee of Forum for the Future and member of the Collectively Board of Directors, added: “Despite efforts by NGOs, governments and business, sustainability still suffers from an image problem. Yet day after day the most creative minds in the world are thinking and building new solutions to the world’s most pressing problems - in a way that is simple, accessible and desirable. And more and more young people are already demanding these solutions.

“Collectively is an exciting new opportunity to genuinely change the mood music on sustainability. Amplifying and scaling up the innovations and ideas that will shift us to a more sustainable future, now. We want as many voices and opinions on Collectively as possible. Join us, share your stories, and help us bring sustainability to life.”

Forum for the Future said it will be monitoring the progress of the platform, by:

• ensuring ‘sound governance processes’ are in place (with oversight from Porritt);
• ensuring that the platform content represents ‘robust and ground-breaking examples of sustainable innovation that signpost towards positive future change’; and
• encouraging other NGOs, and the broader sustainability community, to get involved and share their stories through Collectively.

Watch the video below to find out more about Collectively.