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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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UNGC In NYC, Then VERGE In Santa Clara

John Elkington · 25 September 2016 · Leave a Comment

Bertrand Piccard, Solar Impulse co-pilot, speaks at UNGC event
Bertrand Piccard, Solar Impulse co-pilot, speaks at UNGC event
Lise Kingo listens as Andrew Winstow (left) moderates and Erik Rasmussen (right) speaks
Lise Kingo listens as Andrew Winston (left) moderates and Erik Rasmussen (right) speaks
Justin Trudeau speaks at UN Private Sector Forum
Justin Trudeau speaks at UN Private Sector Forum
Amip Shah of HP speaks at VERGE on Triple Bottom Line and Internet of Things
Amip Shah of HP speaks at VERGE on Triple Bottom Line and Internet of Things
Fist Bump 101, with Joel Makower
Fist Bump 101, with Joel Makower
After I've been filmed
After I’ve been filmed
Birds on wires on Lawrence CalTrain station, headed north
Birds on wires by Lawrence CalTrain station, headed north (me)
Car blaze en route to SFO airport
Car blaze en route to SFO airport
Inside SFO
Inside SFO

Week started in New York, where the city was on high alert following a bomb attack. Reminded me of when we went to the World Economic Forum summit in NYC early in 2002, shortly after 9/11.

Spoke at the UN Global Compact event ahead of the Private Sector Forum, launching our new Project Breakthrough platform and website. Thrilled with the way it has all come together.

Interested to hear people like Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau, film-maker Richard Curtis and actor Ewan McGregor speak.

Then out to JFK for slight to SFO. A joy to find myself sitting alongside photographer David Maisel, whose work I had long known and admired. Enjoyed a 5-hour conversation ranging across multiple dimensions.

VERGE, in Santa Clara, also turned out to be a joy. I took part in a panel on the Internet of Things, chaired by Chris Coulter of GlobeScan, then the next day did a plenary session alongside Joel Makower. Significant moment in the middle of the session where Joel offered a fist-bump, and I didn’t take it up due to cultural gaps. We did a 101 later.

Have been reading Ramez Naam‘s brilliant sci-fi trilogy (Nexus, Crux, Apex), so if you had asked me who I wanted to meet ion the Bay Area he would have been high on the list. We spoke immediately after his speech – and he came up to compliment me after ours.

Am leaving for Copenhagen tomorrow morning, so no time to elaborate, but other highlights included a visit on my last day to (Google) X, where I met Sarah Hunter. Also had a fascinating session with Globality, including co-founder Joel Hyatt.

Yesterday, Saturday, I took the CalTrain up to Millbrae, where Ian Keay picked me up. After also picking up his wife Alda (Angst), we drove in their BMW i3 electric car to Mission Bay and The Ramp restaurant. Two Anchor Steam beers and magnificent fish and chips.

Then they drove me out to SFO, past a blazing car, for the flight back to London.

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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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