Business Declares Launches

‘We are a group of business leaders, who want to accelerate action on the climate emergency and we are working on a voluntary basis. We have set up a not for profit company to run Business Declares as a campaign to the end of 2020. We welcome help and volunteer support from all those who support our aims.‘

So begins the Business Declares campaign, which we launched earlier today at the ICAEW (Institute of Chatered Accountants for England & Wales). A tremendously engaged and supportive atmosphere, with a standing room only audience. In kicking off, I held up a copy of this week’s astounding Financial Times front page, to underscore the point that the business mode on change is itself changing

Afterwards, some 30-40 of us travelled across to Westminster by bike and Tube to take part in the climate protests. A wonderful spirit abroad, with agitation but great good humour. Amazing what Greta Thunberg has managed to kick off. Later, headed home to do a call and continue the final stages of the book.

A wake-up moment for me this morning was when Stephanie Biden of Bates Wells (who are Volans’ lawyers) explained how they had got to the point of declaring a climate emergency. She noted that they had concluded that there were two necessary steps, rather than one: (1) to recognise the Climate Emergency and, (2), to declare what steps they planned to take in response. For me, it was if the clouds had parted.