Ely, Rome, Bristol: A Week Flies By

Quite a week, all told. It started with my chairing a kick-off plenary session for the Critical Mass event at the Royal Institution. In the wonderful Faraday Theatre.

My panellists on the theme of ‘Achieving Critical Mass’ were Antony Bugg-Levine (CEO, Nonprofit Finance Fund), who kindly informed the audience that I was “a legend,” Marcelino Castrillo (MD of business banking at RBS), Diana Verde Nieto (CEO of PositiveLuxury.com, where I am on the advisory board), Rodney Irwin (responsible for WBCSD’s sustainability reporting program) and Jan Owen (CEO, Foundation for Young Australians). Great audience interaction.

Then back to office to prepare for upcoming speeches, followed by a Guardian event featuring Bill Bryson at the Emmanuel Centre in the evening.

Next day, off  by train to Ely and then, with Mark Barthel, across to a huge mushroom farm that supplies Tesco. We were there for an advisory board meeting, but it was a great opportunity to peer back through the supply chain. Very professional and welcoming operation.

Lise Kingo’s last meeting, now that she has taken over the UN Global Compact. And great to see her old company, Novo Nordisk, a long-time Triple Bottom Line pioneer, taking the No. 1 slot in a ranking of 100 CEOs, with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos tumbling down the rankings.

Then picked up by car and driven to Stansted for flight to Rome. Driven by Martin Ott of Green Air Cars (“a premium car service that doesn’t cost the Earth”) – and for the duration of the trip we talked about everything from climate change and his use of hybrids and, potentially, Teslas, through to 20th century aviation, including the first (piston-powered) Comets, Mosquitos and (his favourite) Hurricanes.

Then a much delayed RyanAir flight to Rome, arriving well after midnight, after which I headed across to the hotel – waking early for a breakfast meeting with Michael Meehan, who now heads the Global Reporting Initiative. Next, across to Enel’s HQ for the Future of Sustainability Reporting event, kicked off by Enel CEO Francesco Starace, who was very impressive indeed. Will be mentioned in my next round of blogs.

Did a lively  panel session moderated by Nelmara Arbex, including speakers such as professor Enrico Giovannini of the University of Rome and Greenpeace Italy executive director Giuseppe Onufrio. Intrigued by Amy Zalman’s keynote: she is CEO and president of the World Future Society, based in Washington, D.C. Happily, it looks as if she will be through London in a few weeks.

Then a dangerously fast car (not my choice) out to the airport and back to London, for an early start on Thursday morning, when I did a panel session for the Social Stock Exchange in the Dutch Hall in the City. Lovely building and great conference venue. Panel moderated by Dorothy Maxwell and included people like Nick Robins (who I worked with some 20 years ago, currently with UNEP), Daniela Saltzman of the Generation Foundation, Tomás Carruthers (CEO, Social Stock Exchange) and Iain Richards (head of responsible investment, Columbia Threadneedle Investments).

Thence to Paddington for the train to Bristol, European Green City of the Year, 2015, where I was chairing two panel sessions at their business summit. My panel featured Craig Sams (co-founder of firms like Whole Earth Foods and Green & Black’s, and now involved in a locally based biochar firm, Carbon Gold), Nina Skorupska (CEO of the Renewable Energy Association) and Frits Verheij (DNV’s director of Smart Green Cities).

We ran the session twice, then attended a session featuring Sir Randolph Fiennes (highly polished, but it’s a wonder he’s still alive). Called on by Jon Dee to do a filmed TV panel discussion for Sky News in Australia, then a feedback session on the day’s sessions, where I was on stage with Bristol Mayor George Ferguson.

He repeated the thought that had struck me in an earlier discussion session after the première of Danny Boyle’s new Steve Jobs film last Sunday – that just as Jobs encouraged the world to ‘Think Different,’ we should encourage the world to ‘Think Bristol.’ I can see why it appeared!

Next a dinner ahead of the following day’s City Leadership Summit, featuring a wonderful talk from Tim Smit of The Eden Project. He spotted me working ahead of that, partly because the noise in the bar was so intense, and noted that I was one of the hardest-working people he knew.

A case of the pot and kettle, I think.

Then on Friday morning, I followed George Ferguson onto the stage to do a keynote based on the theme of a GreenBiz blog I did a while back, encouraging CEOs and Mayors to work together to address climate change.

The fourth speech in the series was by Lord Rees, the Royal Astronomer. First time I had a chance to talk to him properly. He gave me a personalised copy of his book Our Final Century, inserting by hand the question-mark after the title that he says his UK publishers chose to omit.

And then, finally, onto the train back to Paddington, enjoying the sight of the Uffington Horse along the way. Worked on a background note for Covestro ahead of a call with them on Monday. A sense of wonder as Sam and I talked at a Paddington café, with a wayward pigeon tearing at left-over food, that I had made it through the week.