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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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Novo Nordisk BHAG session in Copenhagen

John Elkington · 23 August 2014 · Leave a Comment

NN1

Screen on floor of the first session

NN2Geodesic roof eyes the proceedings

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Geoff Kendall facilitates a table

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Derek’s badged

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Values etched in glass

NN6Values on wheels

Flew to Copenhagen on Thursday evening, for a stakeholder session yesterday – exploring where Novo Nordisk might head next in its sustainability thinking and ambitions.

Arrived very late at the Phoenix Hotel, but luckily found Polly Cortice just checking in – and joined her and Jonathon Porritt for a delightful supper.

The full session the following day was facilitated by Rob Cameron and Geoff Kendall of SustainAbility. In introducing myself up front, for the outsiders and the Novo Nordisk people, I said I had realised the previous evening that I had now worked, off and on, with Novo Nordisk for 25 years.

In 1989, the company’s then-president Mads Ovlisen invited Julia Hailes and I in to do an early environmental audit of the company, in the wake of the publication of The Green Consumer Guide, which had caused problems for the industrial enzymes side of the business.

The company has changed profoundly since, spinning out its enzymes business, rechartering itself around the Triple Bottom Line, and growing like fury. and the growth looks set to continue. In the next 9 years, for example,  it is set to grow from just over 40,000 people to around 60,000.

But the values we were impressed by way back in 1989 remain largely unchanged – though various of the external stakeholders wondered how Novo Nordisk can reconcile further growth (which will drive it up the ranks of global pharmaceutical companies) with its values.

In the afternoon, the Sustainability Committee, which Lise Kingo chairs, joined us for an animated – and animating – discussion. The proceedings were subject to the Chatham House Rule, so much of the detail must remain under wraps until Novo Nordisk publishes the results.

On the flight back, I finished off Helen Macdonald’s wonderful book, H Is For Hawk. Quite simply, it is superb – and deeply intertwined with T.H. White’s The Goshawk, which I read in my early teens (though I confess I failed to realise then just how much abuse White unwittingly did to his hawk.)

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Introduction

I began this blog with an entry reporting on a visit to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, on 30 September 2003. The blog element of the website has gone through several iterations since, with much of the older material still available.

Like so many things in my life, blog entries blur the boundaries between the personal and the professional. As explained on this site’s Home Page, the website and the blog are part platform for ongoing projects, part autobiography, and part accountability mechanism.

In addition, my blogs have appeared on many sites such as: Chinadialogue, CSRWire, Fast Company, GreenBiz, Guardian Sustainable Business, and the Harvard Business Review.

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About

John Elkington is a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. He is currently Founding Partner and Executive Chairman of Volans, a future-focused business working at the intersection of the sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation movements.

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john@johnelkington.com  |  +44 203 701 7550 | Twitter: @volansjohn

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