Journal

Monday, Monday

John Elkington · 18 November 2013 · Leave a Comment

London Stock Exchange and then Sustainable Brands

Before opening the Exchange: Toby Heaps, photographer, Mark Makepeace, Paul Avery

Went first thing to the London Stock Exchange, for launch of CK Capital’s latest benchmarking survey of stock exchanges in relation to corporate sustainability disclosures. Corporate Knights co-founder and President Toby Heaps was joined by Mark Makepeace (Chief Executive of the FTSE Group) and Paul Avery (Head of Investments, Aviva Investors).

The actual opening of the Exchange was a little less dramatic than I had expected, with a photographer taking lots of photograps of the guests clapping on a balcony overlooking a large blue ball representing the trading. Felt slightly weird, but it may have been symbolic in some wider way.

Then on to Sustainable Brands conference to do a plenary session with Marie-Claire Daveu of Kering, on sustainability as a driver of brand innovation. Then back to Bloomsbury Place to begin the working day.

Blood, Gore & Slaughter

John Elkington · 15 November 2013 · Leave a Comment

Generation Investment Management’s CEO Sustainability Summit

David Blood opens the event John Kao and piano Stairwell at St Pancras Hotel Ditto Jochen Zeitz in sustainable consumption session Ditto And ditto again Al Gore and Sir Jony Ive in the last session

A quite remarkably interesting couple of days with Generation, kicking off with a dinner at the Natural History Museum’s Darwin Centre last night, where, among many other conversations, I had a great catch-up with Bill McDonough.

Then today across early to the St Pancras Hotel for the CEO Sustainability Summit proper. For more on Generation’s latest thinking, including on how stranded asset risks should be incorporated in financial analysis, see here.

Can’t go into detail, but a real privilege to be involved in these two events — and I particularly enjoyed two of the plenary sessions today, one with John Kao (who did a brilliant session on creativity and who I would meet later) and Apple’s wizzard designer Sir Jony Ive. I asked Sir Jony a question in the final session about supply chain issues – and found his answer persuasive.

Great to spend some time, too, with Jochen (Zeitz). The book is coming along.

Thrilled to be told by Josh Tetrick of Hampton Creek Foods that my writing had an influence on his move into the field years ago. I had read about their work on egg substitutes in Wired or Fast Company, and was thrilled to learn a bit more about what they are doing. Also, with his permission, brought back a couple of jars of Sriracha Mayo, which among other things is Vegan, Gluten-free, Egg-free, Cholesterol-free, Soy-free and Lactose-free. And yet, I’m told, is delicious. The taste of sustainability. Can’t wait.

(Initially posted this blog without explaining the title. David Blood, in his introduction to the event, mentioned that in addition to the Blood and Gore surnames of the founders, there had been — I imagine playful – thought of adding in someone with the surname Slaughter. But, sensibly, they stuck with Generation.)

Large Hadron Collider comes to London

John Elkington · 14 November 2013 · Leave a Comment

Science Museum’s new exhibition

The hottest place on Earth Warning sign Detail of one of the many whiteboards and pinboards in the exhibition Cross section of an important part, but don’t ask me which A moment in time The Collider remined me of a stained glass rose windown in a cathedral Cartoon Wanted: Schrödinger’s Cat, dead and alive Higgs boson’s place in the puzzle The champagne bottle that popped when the news came in Shadows on the way back to the Tube

Elaine and I made our way across to the Science Museum this morning for a relatively early start — and a private tour of the Large Hadron Collider exhibition. Stunningly interesting and, in places, beautiful. One of the most fascinating exhibitions I have ever visited and a wonderful introduction to some of the very human sides of this great exploration into the very essence of the universe, alongside the mind-boggling science.

We had missed the discussion between novelist Ian McEwan and physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed, and the sessions with Peter Higgs and Stephen Hawking, but I emerged from the museum feeling that the world was illuminated in new ways — a sensation aided and abetted by the angle at which the late autumn sun was intersecting our mid-November reality.

Slightly Lagged

John Elkington · 10 November 2013 · Leave a Comment

But relishing the Fall

En route to Richmond Park In the Park, sweet chestnut litter Back in Barnes

I always say I don’t get jet-lag, but after all the jetting back and forth of recent weeks, to South America and back, and then to North America and back, I confess I have felt a little displaced since getting in to Heathrow yesterday. Still, a walk in Richmond Park this afternoon worked wonders, with wonderful fall colours, croaking deer and brilliant sunshine.

Breakthrough, Take 4: Evergreen Brick Works & CityWorks

John Elkington · 9 November 2013 · Leave a Comment

The citizen’s eye view of Breakthrough cities

Evergreen Brick Works garden, with part of leaning chimney on right Evergreen, smiles Peter (Love), John (Brodhead), Geoff (Cape) Chairs In session, Aaron on right Discussion One wall, of four walls that were seeing similar activity Roofscape Reception (detail) Bridge Graffito

Our final Toronto session was out at the Evergreen Brick Works, an extraordinary reclamation project that is greening the quarry and brickworks that produced most of the bricks used to build the city. Astronishing project. Find out more about the story here. This really is an extraordinary social enterprise: can’t wait to go back and take a proper prowl around. Wonderful to see a little of Char’s father Peter, too.

This last event in our Toronto series focused on cities and was orgnaised by Evergreen CityWorks, led by John Brodhead. They had convened a group of perhaps 20 Toronto citizens to explore issues related to the city, and to Breakthrough urban innovation. Having originally trained as a city planner at UCL, I felt I was coming full circle.

A fascinating session, and I was sad to have to leave part-way through to take a cab into the city for an interview with CBC. Luckily Char made it across — her youngest son Peter has been ill (and this would prevent her and her sons flying back for over week, as events would turn out) — for the afternoon part of the session. We were both inspired to think how we might use similar processes in our wider Breakthrough work, hopefully working alongside our Canadian friends and partners.

But thrilled to have the opportunity to have a wonderful lunch, with a delicious craft beer (it was Friday) with Evergreen co-founder and Executive Director Geoff Cape. Afterwards, he and I took a rapid walk around some of the site, allowing me to snap some of the facilities and the space still to be developed.

Loved the graffiti, including one of what may have been a wolf, which was appropriate since a mental image that came to mind at one point during the citizens’ panel session, at a moment when there was something of a existential outpouring on the proliferation of choices in our consumer societies, had been that of a howling grey wolf.

Tim Smit of the Eden Project, a member of the Volans Advisory Board, kept coming to mind as I talked to Geoff, so I put them in touch as soon as I got back to London.

Artwork in CBC building CBC

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