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Following today’s zouk ventures AGM at The Lanesborough, I walked up to the US Embassy in a slight drizzle this evening to see the film Frogs: The Thin Green Line, with Sam (Lakha) and YingLi (Guo). Met the director, Allison Argo of ArgoFilms, before the film began, and asked the first question from the audience when the discussion began.  A very powerful account of the plight of amphibians worldwide, with a particular focus on the chytrid fungus, which I covered in a blog entry on 4 February 2006 and again on 1 January 2008. Made eating the popcorn they served a little harder than usual.

Harvey Nicks 1 Harvey Nicks 2 Harvey Nicks 3 Harvey Nicks 4

Spent the day at the Lanesborough Hotel, at Hyde Park Corner, a few buildings along from where SustainAbility used to have its office.  This was the AGM for Limited Partners and Advisory Board members for zouk ventures.  

Last night, walking from Sloane Street station to Daphne’s for a zouk dinner, I managed to slightly lose myself, even though I know the area quite well, having lived there many years ago – and then collided with Professor Alexander Zehnder, who I last saw at a SAM session in Switzerland almost a decade ago.  We guided each other in.

Among the companies reviewed today were Gas Turbine Efficiency (GTE), Nanotron Technologies, Orb Energy (which I visited in Bangalore some years back), SiC Processing, Solarcentury, Sulfurcell Solartechnik, Trilliant and Triton-Format.

Before walking back to the US Embassy for a the showing of Frogs: The Thin Green Line, I took a quick spin around Knightsbridge, where, once again, I was forcefully struck by the Harvey Nichols windows. Then back through Hyde Park, where I took a closer look at the Cavalry memorial, which I hadn’t really looked at before – with its St George and the dragon. Struck me that the air force pilots were the WWII equivalents of the cavalry.

Shot by Maggie Peter in full flow Jodie and Geoff in midst of a later session

This morning I went across to SustainAbility to do a session with the full SustainAbility team, with people having flown in from Switzerland, India and the US.  Right at the beginning, Maggie (Brenneke) stole my camera and shot some pictures from the front, one of which is shown here. When it came to our session, John Schaetzl, SustainAbility’s Chairman, interviewed me on how to engage CEOs and other C-suite folk.  A very lively discussion, followed by lunch and then cycled back to Bloomsbury Place for a series of meetings.

Capybara Nick and Charmian

Started the day in Docklands, at HSBC, with Charmian and Nick Robins, who I first worked with way back in 1994.  He heads the HSBC Centre of Excellence on Climate Change.  Was very much struck to see a giant capybara on the wall of the room where we met. Fascinating, provocative discussion of various aspects of climate change, including the extent to which it is usefully tackled in the current round of government stimulus packages.

Image wall in HSBC reception Image wall 2 Image wall, 3

Idaho Quartz Circle, 1992

A week or two back, Tell Muenzing sent me this photograph of a Richard Long sculpture at the offices of Value Partners in Milano – entitled ‘Idaho Quartz Circle’, dated 1992 and using 54 stone slabs.

Astonishingly similar to the device on the front cover of our just-launched report, The Phoenix Economy.

Was particularly interested to read the profile of Long in today’s Observer Magazine.  Particularly liked the spirit of the quotation at the end of the piece, that begins: “I guess I’m an opportunist, really. I go out into the world with an open mind, and I rely to a degree on intuition and chance.”  Pretty much exactly my approach.  

And that’s what we’re planning with the next round of our Phoenix work, this time working much more closely with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The fact that there are 54 elements in Long’s CIrcle suggests the next steps for us: building out our Phoenix 50 to a series of longer lists of innovators and entrepreneurs.  More anon.