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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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Business Declares Launches

John Elkington · 20 September 2019 · Leave a Comment

Business Declares launch at ICAEW: me, Fiona Ellis, Simon Pickering, Charmian Love,
Safia Minney, Kate Sandle and Louisa Harris

‘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

The FT’s call to action
And mine
Fiona and Kate in Business Declares Emergency getups

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.

Carpe diem: As we walk past the Lord Mayor’s car, Andrew Medhurst hands the mayoral entourage Business Declares information
Protestors about to collide with …
… this, though it passed off amicably enough
Not sure if it’s a media or security helicopter …
Passing the Houses of Parliament … with our house on fire

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.

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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.

Contact

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

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