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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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Model Y Brings Swift Into View

John Elkington · 18 June 2023 · Leave a Comment

For some weeks now I have failed to post because WordPress has stopped accepting images in my posts. Am trying to sort. But am now trying an image-less post given that something slightly momentous happened yesterday. Here is how I described it to my colleagues Laura and Louise:

Dear Laura and Louise,

Unlike my father, I have never been a car junkie, but the (Tesla) Model Y we took delivery of yesterday – in not-entirely-romantic Staines – has quite simply blown my mind away.

Everything about it is spectacularly well designed – and it is a joy to ride.

Because it was handed over with a low charge, we have also now had experience with supercharging it – on the way back into London along the M4 – which was a relative doddle, once we had worked out how to plug the thing in.

So, both Elaine and I want to thank you both for your Herculean efforts to set up our salary sacrifice scheme. We appreciate how challenging it was at times, but sense that the Y will be liberating.

This morning, for example, we went to Pen Ponds in Richmond Park. We were surprised to see that the heronry on one of the islands seemed to have been bulldozed and replaced with expanses of exposed gravel. I said to Elaine that it looked as if they had been trying to dislodge the herons – then, later, I stumbled on the real story. One of nature restoration, regeneration, almost literally in our own backyard.

As we sat by the larger lake, I saw my first swift of the year – they are remarkably scarce – and grebes, schooling fish, and a range of damselflies and dragonflies, including a broad-bodied chaser that landed just in front of our feet to sun itself.

All in all, a wonderful reminder of how much we have missing on our doorstep for two years without access to wheels.

Having missed our beloved Volvo V70, snatched from us ULEZ (a scheme with which I wholeheartedly approve, despite its impact on poorer motorists, which I believe should be better compensated for), the hole in our hearts has been superbly bridged : )

Thank you, thank you’ll etc.

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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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