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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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Covestro, Giacometti, China, SSX And Steve Jobs

John Elkington · 18 October 2015 · Leave a Comment

Photo of Alberto Giacometti by Henri Cartier-Bresson (via Wikipedia)
Photo of Alberto Giacometti by Henri Cartier-Bresson (via Wikipedia)
Shell Foundation 'mural'
Shell Foundation ‘mural’
Sun sets over London town
Sun sets over London town

Quite a week, though not quite up to the one to come. Great Shell Foundation conference in Docklands on Monday. Theme: ‘Accelerating the Growth of “High-Impact” Markets to Serve Low-Income Communities.’ Caught up with a number of people I hadn’t seen for ages, but also met some fascinating new folk, including some at the reception later in the evening on the 30-somethingth floor of their Canary wharf tower, overlooking the wonders of London, the Thames and a setting sun almost worthy of the Impressionists.

Richard Northcote, who will play a pirate in  his daughter's end-of-term pantomime - against skull-and-crossbones wallpaper in Workshop Coffee, Clerkenwell
Richard Northcote, who will play a pirate in his daughter’s end-of-term pantomime – against skull-and-crossbones wallpaper in Workshop Coffee, Clerkenwell
A Futerra blackboard making its mind up
A Futerra blackboard making its mind up

Wednesday included a great session with Richard Northcote and Stefan Koch of Covestro, c/o Futerra. Then, later in the day, a trip across to the National Portrait Gallery for an exhibition of the work of Alberto Giacometti, always one of my favourite artists. Invitation followed on from a conversation I had had in a car home (after the Crowd event dinner covered earlier) with Andrea Sullivan of Bank America Merrill Lynch, who are sponsoring the exhibition.

Elaine and I had to race around the exhibits after the speeches, though am utterly determined to go back, in order to be away in time to get to Notting Hill and a quite stunning dinner hosted by Peter Wheeler, now of the Nature Conservancy. It featured readings by a long-time friend, Jeanne-Marie Gescher, from her new book, All Under Heaven: China’s Dreams of Order (Kaduna House, 2015).

On Thursday I chaired an ‘away day’ session with the Admissions Panel of the Social Stock Exchange, working through how we best manage the growing number of applications to SSX. Then a dinner with SSXAP members around the corner from the Royal Exchange.

Yesterday, Saturday, was flat out getting speeches done for next week, when I give 6, and my diary takes me to places as diverse as Ely, Rome and Bristol.

Today, am just off a Skype call with Peter-David Pedersen, a conversation beamed directly into a Tokyo conference of next generation leaders who are now part of NELIS – which stands for Next Leaders’ Initiative for Sustainability. In my comments, I drew on some of the work we did some years back around the idea of a Future Quotient.

And then, this evening, thanks to an invitation from Gaia, it’s off to a premiere of Danny Boyle’s new Steve Jobs film, ahead of a week that I can hardly bring myself to think about …

Jieying's lilies bloom
Jieying’s lilies bloom

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

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