• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

  • About
    • Ambassador from the future
  • Past lives
    • Professional
      • Volans
      • SustainAbility
      • CounterCurrent
      • Boards & Advisory Boards
      • Awards & Listings
    • Personal
      • Family
      • Other Influences
      • Education
      • Photography
      • Music
      • Cycling
    • Website
  • Speaking
    • Media
    • Exhibitions
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Reports
    • Articles & Blogs
    • Contributions
    • Tweets
    • Unpublished Writing
  • Journal
  • Contact
  • Show Search
Hide Search

UBQ: Tel Aviv After 58 Years

John Elkington · 20 April 2017 · Leave a Comment

Beachfront in Tel Aviv
A panorama
Points of view
Vista from in front of the Dan Hotel
Sweetmeats
Feeling the buzz
Sam takes a group picture outside the UBQ factory
Tie on skip handles
View from the top of Azreali Towers, where we had dinner

Sam and I flew in last night (Tuesday), direct from Heathrow. I spent much of the flight reading Ari Shavit’s astonishing book, My Promised Land, lent to me by Richard Roberts. Greeted at the airport and steered through immigration, we were driven across to the Dan Tel Aviv. Remarkably insightful account of the world I briefly touched on when we took a brief family holiday from Cyprus in 1958.

We were soon taken under the wing of Chris Sveen, Chief Sustainability Officer of UBQ Materials – and, apparently, the first CSO in Israel. He has lived in many countries, from Colombia to Denmark where he now lives, but his knowledge of the country’s history and of Hebrew proved tremendously helpful as Israel unrolled its beauties, mysteries and horrors.

Our first full day involved a fascinating session with the top team of UBQ Materials. We are subject to a non-disclosure agreement, but I can report that the collective intelligence and humour was very striking. In the evening we were taken to the restaurant on top of the Azreali Towers, with a fine view of an extraordinary computer game being played out on the facade of City Hall. On our way back, we stopped off to watch – and Sam soon took control of the keyboard and had things in overdrive.

Sad to have missed out on meeting Professor Oded Shoseyov, whose father just died. He chairs the UBQ Scientific Advisory Board – and has a mind-boggling science CV. Take a look at his TEDxJerusalem talk here. One thing I learned was that his PhD was on the flavours and aromas associated with wines. He also has his own winery, Bravdo.

Afterwards, we were taken around Jaffa at night, which was a stunning contrast to Tel Aviv proper. The main port of entry, apparently, for the cedars of Lebanon bound for Solomon’s temple. I could almost see Richard the Lionheart cruising by in search of safe landing grounds, though the main historical figure seemed to be a statue (or at least large figurine) of Napoleon. Who probably had similar interests.

Today we were driven 90 minutes either way to the kibbutz where UBQ’s factory is located, in the Negev. We were challenged to spot where the desert began and the cultivated land ended – almost impossible without a trained eye. Much discussion of how the need for irrigation – and for micro-irrigation in particular- drove the development of the country’s plastics industry.

UBQ is still in stealth mode, but I can’t wait for the wraps to come off – a gloriously cutting edge clean technology story, in the most unlikely of sectors.

Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

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.

Recent Comments

  • PATRICK DICK on Reminder of Glencot Years
  • Milton Marino Gómez Ortiz on Tickling Sharks
  • John Elkington on Green Swans A “Must-Read”

Journal Archive

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.

Contact

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

John Elkington

Copyright © 2025 John Elkington. All rights reserved. Log in