In less than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic effect on humankind. The question is, can it have a positive impact on human behavior and society for years to come?

History is replete with examples of positive developments emerging from some of the darkest chapters of life. The cholera outbreaks of the 1800s, for example, spurred the reimagining of great cities, from the tree-lined boulevards of Paris to Central Park in New York City. The 1918 influenza epidemic gave rise to the concept of public health and modernized the delivery of health services throughout the world.

Will there be similar positive outcomes from COVID-19?There already are. If you think about the changes in human and societal behavior that have taken place over the past year, these developments could have major implications on healing the global economy and addressing inequality if we work to sustain them.

Inclusion through digitalization

Digitalization in a wide array of industries from healthcare to education to agriculture and financial services would probably have taken place without the pandemics social distancing requirements. Now, leaps made in teleconferencing, telemedicine, education-tech, and fintech in 2020 are likely to have huge implications for productivity, the global economy, and the ability of lower-income consumers and households to access essential services. This can have a profound impact on reducing economic and healthcare inequality.

The impact of working from home

As social distancing requirements forced offices to temporarily close or reconfigure, many companies have been pleasantly surprised by how productive their employees have been while working from home. This has led to speculation of what office life could be in a post-pandemic world. Will we return to our cubicles or will companies continue to be flexible in allowing employees to work from home?

The answer to this question could have far-reaching ramifications:

Putting the urgency in ESG

The global pandemic reminds us that we are all affected by our society and environment. As such, it has given a greater sense of urgency to deal with environmental and social issues the E and the S in ESG.

Our responsibility in 2021 is to make sure it does. The private and public sectors will be working together throughout the coming year to implement the largest vaccination program in human history. Its important that governments, businesses, communities and investors find a way to build on the successes of this unprecedented effort to save lives and livelihoods as we move beyond COVID-19 and turn to an even bigger challenge: Saving the planet.

Vikram Gandhi is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, where he developed and teaches HBS first course on impact investing Investing: Risk, Return, and Impact.

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How the COVID-19 pandemic can be the push forward that the planet needs - MarketWatch