Forging a sustainable future: Insights from the 'Leaders 2050 x Climate Fresk' workshop

Young people play a vital role in driving climate action. Their energy, creativity, and determination position them at the center of efforts to tackle the climate crisis. As future leaders, they will be instrumental in delivering net zero, yet their voices are often underrepresented in the climate debate. 

So, what happens when you give them an interactive game that vividly demonstrates the intricate cause-and-effect relationship that characterises climate science?

This question came to life during an inspiring evening at the “Leaders 2050 x Climate Fresk” workshop, where we brought together young professionals from a diverse range of different industries and sectors at our Copenhagen office. The aim was clear: to deepen their understanding of climate science and collaborate on actionable strategies for sustainability initiatives.

Climate Fresk is an interactive game that distills complex climate science into an engaging experience. To gamify otherwise hard to grasp scientific processes, participants worked together to form their own ‘Fresk’, or mural, that demonstrates the cause-and-effect relationship of the key scientific elements that contribute to anthropogenic climate change, all sourced-on data from the most recent IPCC reports.

The participants were led by four certified Climate Fresk facilitators from the Leaders 2050 committee, that helped to guide the discussions that eventually formed each group’s Fresk mural. Following a debrief of their murals and relevant climate impacts, the groups were tasked to propose actions – across personal, business, and governmental levels – to further classifying them based on the scale of climate impact and difficulty of implementation. The key take-aways at each level are outlined below:

Personal efforts: Individual actions were emphasized, such as adopting sustainable diets, mindful consumption, and shopping second-hand. Personal advocacy was also highlighted as a key driver for change. 

Business directives: Focused on integrating sustainability into corporate culture, promoting responsible production, extending product lifespans, and encouraging green practices to influence the wider industry.

Government initiatives: Stressed the importance of policies for large-scale impact, including aligning with EU taxonomy, establishing carbon taxes, and phasing out fossil fuels to drive systematic change.