Journal

GreenBiz just published my blog on the busking incident on the South Bank, covered in an earlier post.

Recent days have whizzed by as I chaired the latest Social Stock Exchange Admissions Panel session, the first to be attended by the new SSX Chairman, Colin Melvin; a session on Friday with Nissan’s sustainability team, by internet link to Tokyo; working flat out on Saturday to finish review draft of our new report for the Business & Sustainable Development Commission; and, on Monday, yesterday, an intensive session with Human After All, the agency who are helping us with the development of our branding and web platform for our UN Global Compact program.

In the midst of all this, I finished Ramez Naam’s Nexus and, pulse racing, plunged instantly into the second part of the trilogy, Crux. Then physio this morning on my knee which has been giving me grief for years.

Caught South African Airways flight to Joburg on Sunday, arriving early Monday. Bracingly cold. Did the keynote for the South African Green Building Council’s 2016 Convention. Noted that every day should start off with poetry, after the convention was launched with an opening act by the young poet Mbali Vilakazi. Her theme: #UnderConstruction. Mine, you could say: #UnderReconstruction.

Talking to her afterwards, she spoke of cross-pollination – at which point I gave her my card, with title. Her tweet:

great human, this man @volansjohn. i was describing what i do as cross pollination when he gave me his card: ‘chairman and chief pollinator’

Then, later, took part in a lively panel session facilitated by Kura Chihota and featuring Sithole Mbanga, Werner van Antwerpen, Kevin James and Terri Wills.

Amazing weather through the days, lightning storms where I could watch the forks of electricity searing into the city. A great one-hour-turning-into-four-with beer-and-wine-and conversation with Gary Kendall. Ex-Exxon, ex-WWF, ex-SustainAbility, now Netbank here in South Africa.

Am reading Ramez Naam’s Nexus on the flights – gripping. Can see many elements of that future a-coming. Elements of Utopia and dystopia scrambled.

Out to Heathrow for a filmed interview with Covestro CEO Patrick Thomas, as part of our evolving Project Breakthrough for the UN Global Compact. Our Atlas of the Future friends are fielding a 2-camera team, which is wonderful.

Patrick was brilliant, Richard (Johnson) doing the interview, and Richard (Northcote) updating us on his adventures as part of the support tea for the Solar Impulse 2. Then I was interviewed – and then Richard J and I headed back to Bloomsbury for our planned Garden Party, with rain thumping down as we left the Heathrow Express.

To start with, people crowded into our office space, which was nice as it gave me a chance to have a proper sit-down chat with people like Hannah Jones of Nike and her wonderful son. I still treasure the bloodied, axe-dented Crusader figure he gifted me a few years back.

Then we moved out into the garden – and the numbers continued to grow. Lovely evening, great spirit, and nice wines too, thanks to Jacqueline (Lim). Elaine and I stayed way later than we intended, my exit facilitated by Amanda (Feldman) offering to stand in for me when it came to the tidying away.

Up early and across to King’s Cross, where I met Julie Hirigoyen on the train north to York. She runs the UK Green Building Council, so a great opportunity to catch up – particularly ahead of my GBC ZA Johannesburg trek next week.

We were doing a session with the sustainability team of Sir Robert McAlpine. Their CEO had been meant to be with us in the Royal York Hotel, but the day before the news had broken that he was leaving the company – after just 15 months as McAlpine’s first non-family CEO. Inevitably, some agitation in the Force, but was assured that the next CEO would be selected in part on his/her embrace of the sustainability agenda.

Then back south to Bloomsbury Place and a session with Sam on what’s coming up next. Fairly took my breath away, but some wonderful platforms and opportunities out there …