Future First Insight, News September 1 2021
What is Future First Thinking?
Share
Would you rather lead, or follow? It’s an age-old question, but one that has never been more pressing than now, a time when the ways in which we live and work have been radically redefined and when global climate emergency requires us to take action. It’s a decision that can make or break a business. It’s also a question that guides our work at Green Rock, from smart strategy and early tech adoption to the companies we choose to tell stories with. We work future first.
At Green Rock, we want to lead, not follow; we call this Future First thinking. We don’t want to sit around waiting for the future to happen, we want to embrace it – with open arms and innovation. Future First thinking means having a purpose, taking the initiative to make the changes and evolve before other businesses, rather than being dragged to the finish line and getting lost in the crowd. Most importantly, when it comes to Future First Thinking, sustainability is our Northern Star.
“We hear ‘sustainability’ discussed a lot, but it’s more than a buzzword, it’s more than plastic bags in the ocean, and it’s more than greenwashing,”
“it’s about a future that is inevitable. I think we can take inspiration from previous people in the world who saw an inevitability, saw that future, and if it didn’t exist, created it”
Simon Green, Founder
Think Apple, Netflix, Tesla. Or challenger brands like Finisterre, who have not just gone carbon neutral, but carbon negative.
Future First Thinking is not only critical for our planet but critical for businesses that want to stay relevant: “We want to work with people who agree that this is where the future of the world is going, where the future of our industry lies, and where the next generation is looking to. We want to talk to the tomorrow people.”
According to Green, one popular misconception is that sustainability means cutting back – ‘less of this’ or ‘less of that’ – but it can also mean opportunity. Green Rock VCS (Virtual Creative Solution) – our pioneering cloud-based video editing technology, the UK’s first – is the perfect example. It lets editors all over the world work on a project simultaneously from a remote location. In the words of some who have used it already: “This is going to completely disrupt the industry”.
Green Rock VCS improves workplace flexibility and places sustainability front and centre. On average, London’s Post Production sector produces 1,562,500 kg of CO2e per month, while the carbon impact of daily commuting per person in the post industry is 28.35kg/m of CO2e.2 The VCS drastically cuts these numbers, meaning it’s good news for us and good for the climate.
“A production colleague recently told me that he was excited to get ‘back’ to Soho,” says Green. “But I don’t think we should be talking about going ‘back’. At Green Rock, we’re interested in moving forwards.”
As well as our in-house strategy and technology, Future First Thinking guides Green Rock on the businesses that we want to work with. Take XPRIZE, the LA-based foundation that runs multi-million-dollar prizes to spur innovation that will make the world a better place. The Elon Musk Foundation sponsored the $100M CARBON REMOVAL XPRIZE to create a technology that can remove CO2 from the atmosphere by the gigaton, beginning to undo the effects of climate change. We worked with the XPRIZE Foundation to tell that story, quadrupling the target audience of 18-24-year-olds in the process.
When it comes to working with other businesses that are purpose-led, we fundamentally understand that three principles are key to meaningful purpose: integrity, authenticity, and longevity.
The next step is to connect that purpose with audiences. This is where Green Rock’s Future First Storymaking comes in:
“There are a lot of organisations out there who are already doing the right things but they’re not talking about it in the right ways,” says Green. “Actions speak louder than words, but the best way to share those actions is through great storytelling.”
Future First Thinking is about doing what is required of us when it comes to protecting the planet; it’s also the answer to becoming the kind of business that shapes the future – the future of how we choose to live, work, and spend. Purpose equals longevity. So, ask yourself again: Would you rather lead, or follow?
Want to know how Green Rock can help your business be a future first story maker, then drop us a line futurefirst@greenrock.tv or to experience the future of virtual remote editing then try out Green Rock VCS and book a free demo here.