RONALD HEISTER
World’s Pioneer in Human Sustainability Advisory | Creator of the Real Human Goals | Cultural Voice of Conscience | Boardroom Visionary | International Speaker | Author
Human Sustainability
Maybe the most urgent question for the future isn’t: Can we save the planet? But rather: Are we willing to save ourselves?
A Historic Double Disruption
We are living through the greatest upheaval in human history; a major disruption shaking the very foundations of society:
- Debt: Global debt exceeds $324 trillion (270% of global GDP). That means $195,000 per person in the US, $88,000 in the EU, and $30,000 globally (IMF).
- AI: By 2030, 60–80% of jobs could be transformed, replaced, or eliminated by AI and automation (University of Amsterdam, Forbes).
For centuries, work gave people structure, purpose, and identity. If work disappears on this scale, humanity risks not just economic collapse, but a collapse of meaning itself.
The Consequences
This disruption accelerates a massive transfer of wealth upwards, rising costs of living, and new systems of digital control. Europe alone has spent over €800 billion on war, while everyday life for ordinary citizens becomes more fragile. We are entering a time of digital governance, programmable money, and centralized oversight. The cost is not only financial. It is human: shrinking agency, growing fear, and deep division.
Remembering Who We Are
If millions lose not only their work but also their sense of worth, the only way forward is to go inward. We are not merely workers or data points. We are consciousness packed in the flesh of human beings. The disruptions we face are earthly. The solutions we need are heavenly. What is missing in today’s debates is the forgotten sustainability: human sustainability.
As the Aboriginal proverb reminds us:
“We are all visitors to this time, this place. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then to return home.”
Saving Humanity, Not Just the Planet
The Real Human Goals: A Compass for Humanity
To meet this moment, I developed the 17 Real Human Goals. They are inspired by the Armor of God (truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and Spirit) and eternal sources of wisdom, protection, and inner strength.
Human Sustainability Framework
The Real Human Goals form the vision and heart of the Human Sustainability Framework that I developed, which also includes:
- Human Fulfillment Indicators (HFIs): measuring dignity, trust, and resilience.
- Human Sustainability Monitor: tracking progress in human terms.
- Humanity Footprint: moving beyond carbon to measure real human impact.
This in addition to the UN’s SDGs, which focus on systems and resources, this framework focuses on the missing dimension: the sustainability of humanity itself.
From Vision to Practice:
Pioneering Human Sustainability Advisory
We created this framework because human sustainability seems absent from the UN’s agenda and overlooked in ESG strategies. We are the first in the world to offer a Human Sustainability Framework as a practical tool for organizations and businesses. It does not replace ESG, it completes it by adding the human dimension: values, dignity, trust, and moral resilience.
For those with eyes to see, this may be the only way out of the disruptions we face, the path that restores not only systems, but the human spirit itself (John 12:40).
- For employees: it brings resilience, clarity, and renewed purpose.
- For leaders: it builds true modern stewardship, rising above competition and becoming guardians of both Earth and humanity.
“Sustainability is not just about the planet. It’s about humans. And when humans are aligned with who they really are, everything changes. So lets go From KPI to HFI, from Carbon Footprint to Humanity Footprint.
