Prosperity Within Planetary Boundaries

What if the biggest upgrade we need isn't another product, app or sustainability report, but the economic system itself? In this episode, serial entrepreneur and impact investor Stefan Krook returns to Corporate Unplugged to share his vision for the Laghum Economy – a market economy redesigned for a world of 8 billion people living within hard planetary boundaries. Drawing on decades building purpose-driven companies like Kivra and the GoodCause ventures, Stefan explains why even the most innovative circular business models are still swimming upstream against a tax system that makes work expensive and nature almost free. He unpacks how shifting taxes from labour to resource use – applied at the point of consumption – could flip the script, so that repair, sharing, circularity and durability become the natural winners rather than costly exceptions. Stefan also shares the personal crisis that led him from optimism about purpose-driven companies to questioning the rules of the game, and how that journey brought him back to Stockholm School of Economics as its first Practitioner in Residence. Together with Vesna, he explores what this transition would mean for CEOs, policymakers and citizens – and why innovation always follows the brief the system gives us. On today's podcast, you will learn: Why pricing nature – not labour – is the missing systemic lever in today's economy. How a tax shift could turn green premiums into green discounts. Why even the best impact ventures struggle when prices send the wrong signals. What CEOs can realistically do beyond voluntary sustainability initiatives. How a Laghum Economy could shape everyday life for the next generation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.