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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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Westward Ho!

John Elkington · 17 October 2021 · Leave a Comment

Equine sculpture
Hammered in coins make up the “turbans”
Elaine, Toby and Jennifer
Walking in the woods

Don’t do this at home. Elaine and I tried eating yew berries – or at least their golden flesh – this afternoon. But we made REALLY sure to spit out the seeds – even one can be fatal, apparently. Delicious, though.

We were visiting a friend from seriously long ago, namely the early 1970s, when we lived together just off Belgrave Square, in Elizabeth Street. Toby Greenbury and his wife Jennifer. Joyous visit and great walk in their wood/arboretum.

Saw lots of birds, but was very taken by what I think was a wood warbler, the first I have knowingly seen.

Almost certainly this will have been the last longish trip for our Volvo V70, which we have had for well over twenty five years.

The new London ULEZ air quality zone means that it would incur tough daily penalties from the end of the month.

But there’s one thing I won’t miss about the car, much as I have loved it. There’s some sort of energy drain somewhere that means the battery runs down fairly quickly. No-one has been able too find out what or where it is, but the RAC has replaced the battery 3-4 times over recent years.

When I gave a TEDx talk in Glasgow last week, I mentioned the car and the fact that the ULEZ development meant that Elaine and I were planning to do without a car for a while, to see how that goes. Having had car for forty five years now, that’s going to be some sort of Rubicon.

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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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