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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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Hitting the Ground Running in Santiago de Chile

John Elkington · 3 November 2014 · Leave a Comment

 

My visit trailed a few days back in El Mercurio
My visit trailed a few days back in El Mercurio

Met off the plane from Sao Paulo at Santiago airport by Fernando (Nilo) and Carol (Huber) of Recycla and Recyclápolis, and driven in their Mitsubishi all-electric greenmobile to the Grand Hyatt hotel, where I am to stay while in the city. Along the way, Fernando gave me a copy of the profile that the ‘Economía y Negocios’ section of El Mercurio, the main newspaper, published a few days back, on 31 October.

Great to see Fernando again, who I first met some years back in Davos, and who Pamela (Hartigan) and I profiled in our 2008 book The Power of Unreasonable People, translated into Spanish as the not-quite-catching-the-sense-of-the-title El Poder de la Locura.

After I had a shower and more or less caught my breath, we went on to a lunch hosted by Nicolás Eyzaguirre, senior partner at Claro & Cia, the leading legal firm that has been supporting Recycla’s activities – including helping set up Fernando’s new foundation, Recyclápolis.

Sculpture in reception of Claro y Cia's HQ
Sculpture in reception of Claro y Cia’s HQ
Weighed in the scales of justice ...
Weighed in the scales of justice …
And here are some of the old lambskin-bound tomes in which the law was originally laid down
And here are some of the old (I think) lambskin-bound tomes in which the law was originally laid down

Next, we drove across to the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, to meet the Provost, Guillerme Marshall Rivera, and to scout out the setting for tomorrow’s main Awards event. Wonderful cases of exhibits celebrating the university’s history in different sectors, with the communications cabinet catching my eye and camera lens. Following considerable interest (and pressure) from students, the university is now paying much more attention to the sustainability and social innovation agendas.

Recylápolis banners on the front of the building
Recylápolis banners on the front of the building
While all's calm inside
While all’s calm inside
Part of the communications cabinet
Part of the communications cabinet

Then we went on to the Palacio de la Moneda, which I recall seeing photographs of when the coup against President Salvador Allende took place in 1973. He still stirs emotions, it seems. Carol and I wait in the square while Fernando has mysterious forms signed.

Then back to the Grand Hyatt, for a reception in the gardens behind the hotel, ahead of the event this evening. There I meet Marc Lorenz, General Manager of the hotel, who turned out to be probably the most engaging General Manager of a major hotel I have ever encountered.

Statue of Salvador Allende
Statue of Salvador Allende

Having seen the location where Allende committed suicide, or was killed, depending on your source, my often-overly-dramatic brain conjured suitable links when a bottle of 2010 vintage Palo Alto wine I had been presented with, and which had then kindly whisked away to be held for me later, crashed to the ground – and spilled its bloody treasures every which way …

Another bottle was promptly conjured up. Am particularly intrigued to taste it, because it manages to blend no less than five grapes: “Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Merlot and Petite Sirah.”

The damage is done
The damage is done

Then back into the hotel for the main event of the day, a public lecture which I focus on the ‘Power of Unreasonable People’. Very lively discussion afterwards, followed by conversations with some members of the audience. Then Fernando, his wife Tere and I have a Japanese dinner in the hotel. Then, with an early start tomorrow at the British Ambassador’s residence, I decide to call it a day.

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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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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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