SustainAbility, Net Impact and G20

Reagan National 1   Reagan National 2

The G20 summit was still in session in Washington, D.C., as I came out through Reagan National Airport.  Had to fly to Detroit before heading across to London, but trip made widly worth while by conversation on the plane with Alicia Diaz, a lawyer, who I started talking to because she had a copy of David McCulloch’s wonderful biography of John Adams.  I continue to work my way through Mrs Lincoln, which I am enjoying hugely.

Had largely spent the week in DC, for a SustainAbility AGM and Board meeting, including joint sessions with the team and a delightful dinner at a restaurant that only serves relatively local food, albeit noise levels were almost industrial.  When I first arrived, I snuck in visits to the National Gallery of Art, to take a look at Calder’s giant mobile, and then to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.

Then took Amtrak to Philadelphia on Friday afternoon, to speak at the Net Impact ‘The Sustainable Advantage’ conference at The Wharton School.  My session was titled ‘Unreasonable People: The Role Entrepreneurs Play in Shaping Tomorrow’s Markets’.  Chaired by Virginia Barreiro, New Global Ventures Global Director at the World Resources Institute, the panel session also involved Agnes Dasewicz, COO at the Grassroots Business Fund, and Ben Powell, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Agora Partnerships.  I began early road-testing of my thinking around the emerging ‘Phoenix Economy’, the focus of a possible new book I’m working on.  Wonderful reaction to the session from the several hundred MBA students and similar that took part.

Calder mobile   Lindbergh’s Spirit of St Louis, Rutan’s SpaceShipOne and Yeager’s X1   Dark Star, Predator et al   Mark Lee and Sophia Tickell in SustainAbility’s DC office    Bottled carrots in restaurant   Table setting – with Mark and Geoff in background   Meghan and Kate