Interesting day, kicking off with a Volans session with Sam Lizars, across in Harp Lane, working out where we want to head next. Then a wonderful dinner across at the Four Seasons Hotel, Park Lane, with Zouk’s AGM the following day. Enjoyed the dinner tremendously and learned a good deal about electric vehicles, battery technology and the like at the AGM event.
A slightly frenetic trip to Canada in the wake of their election, where Justin Trudeau managed to squeak back in. First north of Montréal to a QG100 strategic retreat at the Estérel Resort. Beautiful weather outside, though belting down with rain when I headed back to Montréal. My car didn’t arrive, so I hitched a lift south with some delightful Mexicans: Emilio Cadena, Yoelle Rojas Quintero and Alejandro Mendoza of Grupo Prodensa. Had met – and liked – them already at the QG100 event, which made it easier – but very much enjoyed their company as we sped back citywards.
While in Montréal, Lorraine (Smith) took me to a fascinating exhibition of Haida art at the McCord Museum, after which we walked through the library of McGill University, where Elaine’s father, Stanley, studied before WWII.
Then I flew to Edmonton, where there was snow and the signs by the road showed a temperature of -11 degrees C. Was speaking at a major event, SPARK 2019, organised by Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA), exploring ways for the fossil fuels driven province to migrate towards new forms of energy. ERA are a major funder of clean technology. But as I had arrived at Edmonton airport, I got an email from one of the CEOs I had met the QG100 event, asking if (1) I had arrived in Alberta yet, and if so, (2), whether I had been lynched yet? Actually enjoyed myself, even if part of the process was a bit like telling turkeys about incoming Christmas, and learned a lot.
Then back to Montréal, where I stayed overnight, then walked across to Lorraine’s apartment via the waterfront. There I spotted both Moshe Safdie’s ‘Habitat’ complex across the water (which I was fascinated by in the late 1960s/early 1970s, particularly when doing my M. Phil. At UCL in city planning. And then, also across the water, I spotted Buckminster Fuller’s dome (now called The Biosphère) – which I had forgotten was in the city. Stunning.
Fascinating brunch with a range of Lorraine’s friends, including at least one Mohawk, before heading out to see a hydroponics farm, La Boîte Maraîchère) in driving rain (luckily it is indoors), and then on to airport.
Spoke at the World Pension Summit today, held at the Louwman Museum, an extraordinary tribute to the age of the private motor car, and organised by Pensions & Investments. The dinner on the first day was held at the M.C. Escher Museum, somewhere I had always wanted to visit – and which we could wander around at our leisure. A reminder of what an extraordinary mind his was.
After taking part in a Volans salon on the role of Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) in the 2020s, I head off to Dusseldorf for the K-Fair, Europe’s biggest plastics exhibition. Clear that the industry feels under growing pressure, as it should. Spoke at a Covestro event alongside Lise Kingo of the UN Global Compact and Covestro CEO Markus Steilemann. I had interesting meetings with Markus and his new Chief Commercial Officer, Sucheta Govil, while there.
Easy to see why people find plastics so obsessively interesting, but they feature as one of my ‘Black Swan’ case studies in the new book, Green Swans, due to be published by Fast Company Press in April 2020. Few sectors are now in more urgent need to exponentially evolving Green Swan solutions.
Speaking of which, I dropped in on UBQ Materials’ stand – which was throbbing with people. Their carbon-positive plastics have come on by leaps and bounds, offering multiple colours and all made from domestic garbage. They sent me a coat hanger made from UBQ, to use at the Swedish Fashion Council conference I was meant to be speaking at in Stockholm, but that was cancelled at the very last moment, the day before I was meant to travel.
Spoke at the Clean & Cool ‘Stronger Stories’ event at the PwC building on the Embankment, in a session chaired by Cathy Runciman of Atlas of the Future.
Every so often in my life, things seem to go into warp speed, for better or worse. That has certainly happened in the past few weeks, with the diary suggesting that another acceleration is imminent: Germany, Holland and Canada incoming.
Am currently shaking off a bad dose of flu, unsure whether I picked it up in all the air travel this month or whether it came from the 4-way flu jab I had a couple of weeks back as I walked back from somewhere through Fleet Street. Either way, let’s say I haven’t been feeling myself this week.
Still, am also much buoyed by the early responses to my requests for what the publishers cheerfully call “advance praise” for Green Swans. Quite (American sense) moving, some of the comments on the book.
Otherwise, here are some of the things that have been keeping me busy since the last entry – with visits to Amsterdam to speak at the GIIN Investor Forum, Finland to chair the first meeting of the new Neste Sustainability & New Markets Advisory Council, to Copenhagen (to speak at Deloitte’s ‘Dinner on the Edge’ – losing an aircraft engine along the way and having to swap planes at Heathrow – and then, the next morning, to a UN Global Compact breakfast on the future of the restaurant sector), a speech at the London Business School for Michael Norton and a fascinating group of Chinese alumni of the CK Graduate School of Business (speaking alongside Howie Frumkin, head of the Wellcome Trust’s Our Planet, Our Health initiative), and then, on Friday, across to the London Stock Exchange, very early for me, for the launch of their new Green Economy Mark and Sustainable Bonds Market.
Here’s what they say about the LSE initiatives: The Green Economy Mark recognises listed companies with 50% or more of revenues flowing from environmental solutions, while the Sustainable Bond Market (SBM) incorporates new Sustainability, Social and Issuer-Level Segments. These initiatives are designed to support issuers implementing sustainable business models, and investors who are increasingly focusing on environmental products and services supporting the transition to a low carbon economy.
A case of serendipity, the LSE one: was invited by our neighbour Stewart Lloyd-Jones and his partner Tamara Gehring, who works for the LSE.
Delighted to keynote the B Corp Summit in Amsterdam, at the Muziekgebouw. Around 650 attendees, including Sabine Oberhuber, who it was wonderful to catch up with overlooking the water. The Green Swans concept went down a storm. As it did the following day, 24 September, when I was in Brussels, keynoting the SDG Forum in The Square conference centre.
Interesting panel session followed this second keynote, moderated by Annabelle Van Nieuwenhuyse, the Belgian presenter, with (Baron) Pieter Timmermans (CEO of the Belgian Confederation of Industry, FEB), Launy Dondo (UK Belgian Youth Delegate for Sustainable Development), Marc Leemans (Chairman of the Christian Union, a trade union) and Nicolas Van Nuffel (Perspective 2030).
Timmermans could hardly have been more unreconstructed, effectively arguing that industry only creates solutions, not problems. It was almost as if he was trying to be a caricature. At one point he said that Green Swans “might fly, but if they are not fed and watered they will die.” Well, yes. Happily, though, the youth, union and think-tank panellists were all powerfully aligned with the Green Swan agenda. But a perhaps timely reminder of just how far we still have to go in some quarters.
‘We are a group of business leaders, who want to accelerate action on the climate emergency and we are working on a voluntary basis. We have set up a not for profit company to run Business Declares as a campaign to the end of 2020. We welcome help and volunteer support from all those who support our aims.‘
So begins the Business Declares campaign, which we launched earlier today at the ICAEW (Institute of Chatered Accountants for England & Wales). A tremendously engaged and supportive atmosphere, with a standing room only audience. In kicking off, I held up a copy of this week’s astounding Financial Times front page, to underscore the point that the business mode on change is itself changing
Afterwards, some 30-40 of us travelled across to Westminster by bike and Tube to take part in the climate protests. A wonderful spirit abroad, with agitation but great good humour. Amazing what Greta Thunberg has managed to kick off. Later, headed home to do a call and continue the final stages of the book.
A wake-up moment for me this morning was when Stephanie Biden of Bates Wells (who are Volans’ lawyers) explained how they had got to the point of declaring a climate emergency. She noted that they had concluded that there were two necessary steps, rather than one: (1) to recognise the Climate Emergency and, (2), to declare what steps they planned to take in response. For me, it was if the clouds had parted.
Our autumn campaign has taken off with a bit of a bang. But, first, Elaine and I went across to a wonderful gathering on Thursday 12th at CDP to discuss next stages with fund-raising for the proposed Amulet memorial to Tessa Tennant in the City of London.
And the following day, Friday 13th, we went across to the Kochs (the good ones, not the bad ones), just the other side of Barnes Pond, to hear Mike Koch talk about his new book on his life as a wildlife vet in Africa. Called: Through My Eyes. Self-published and he’s hard to find on the internet, but a glorious, landmark publication.
At the weekend, while we were walking across Barnes Common, we watched as the wind stirred the ribbons on the plane tree that has been re-purposed as a memorial to Iris Goldsmith. Normally such memorials make me uneasy, including the vast mountains of plastic-wrapped flowers outside Kensington Palace when Princess Diana died, but in this case the effect is wonderful. A wind-powered tribute. Rather as if people are talking all around, with the ribbons picking up the zephyrs.
Then across to Copenhagen on Monday to speak at Dansk Industry (Confederation of Danish Industry)’s annual business summit, this time on the theme of the Green Transition. The event was attended by the country’s new Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, who I found impressive; the Crown Princes and Princesses of Denmark and Sweden; and some 1,300 CEOs and business leaders. Was told by several people that my speeches here in February helped put wind in the country’s sails.
The scale of what Denmark now aims to do collectively is breath-taking. To reduce carbon emissions by 70% below 1990 levels by 2030. Various speakers admitted they didn’t yet know how to achieve this, but the level of ambition is admirable and encouraging.
In my speech, I linked one of Denmark’s favourite sons, Hans Christian Andersen, to my evolving theme of Black Swans, Ugly Ducklings and Green Swans. As a test-run for the book, due to launch in January 2020, it seemed to go very well.
Then, on Wednesday 18th, after I flew in from Copenhagen, Louise (Kjellerup Roper) and I went across to the Royal Society to listen to Bill McDonough at an event hosted by Tim Smit and the Eden Project. Glorious meeting of the tribes, though at times uncomfortably warm.
And ringing around my head all week have been the words on the yellow banner wrapped around the September 18th edition of The Financial Times, shown below. I first caught sight of it as I walked into the Copenhagen airport lounge – and my immediate reaction was that it was one of those milestone moments when you actually see the world starting to tilt and pivot.
