Journal

Another whistlestop week, ahead of flying to Oporto tomorrow – and then on to Lisbon on Monday. Interviews continue for the new Volans Executive Director, with some excellent candidates.

Meanwhile, the normal rhythm continues, as with a Social Stock Exchange Admissions Panel session on Tuesday afternoon at the We Work building at 1 Primrose Street, Spitalfields.

But a strong sense of change in the air, everywhere.

Among many other things, we began work this week on a new project for Novartis. On Wednesday alone, I spoke in the morning at an International Council for Mining & Minerals (ICMM) event in Westminster, at One George Street; then raced back to the office to greet and talk to a Japanese study tour, interested in learning lessons from the London Olympics for Tokyo’s impending Games; had my second session with Emily Cavendish in Harley Street; then went across to 125 Finsbury Pavement to launch the latest version of the Future-Fit Foundation‘s business benchmark.

Then on to dinner at L’Anima Café with an interesting group, including the three speakers from the panel I chaired: Chris Davis from The Body Shop, Sue Almond from Grant Thornton; and Susanne Stormer from Novo Nordisk.

As I headed home, I discovered I had left my iPhone at the Future Fit event, having been asked to do a short filmed interview – and left it where I thought it wouldn’t interfere with the mike. Third time I have abandoned it so far this year, though the ‘Find My iPhone’ service is astoundingly helpful. Went across to retrieve it on Thursday morning.

With Elaine still away with Hania in Bordeaux, Thursday evening was a dinner at Sea Containers on the south bank, hosted by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Love how they think. Great conversation with their President, Fred Krupp, overlooking the Thames. Meanwhile, Gayle Olivier, a relatively new recruit to the Volans team, took my place at a Unilever event, just across the river.

Other projects under way at the moment include a 3-city initiative with Innovate UK, which is focusing on Newcastle, Nottingham and London. More on that anon.

Today’s Sunday Times runs a story about BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham, whose Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch I switch on whenever I can. He is calling on the website Etsy to ban sellers from trading seahorses in such trinkets as paperweights, pendants and photo frames. The newspaper notes easy’s declared commitment to create a “sustainable future”.

Have long loved seahorses, as indicated by my purchase of an Royal College of Art student’s mega-print over a decade ago. It now seems to have gone AWOL from the office, but lives on in photographs – including one done for a Magnum book many moons ago by photographer Paolo Pellegrin.

Note to self: must find out more about Project Seahorse.

At the same time, wildlife has been in the air this week. Among other things, I attended the latest session of the WWF Council of Ambassadors, held in 66 Lincoln Inn’s Fields. Apparently, this was once the equivalent of 10 Downing Street.

Great to see one slide showing the Daily Mirror front page from 1961 which helped launch me on my environmental career.

Recently in the news after his travails with BA en route to Greece (see 15 September entry), our friend and colleague Geoff Lye sent us a sequence of video shorts this week showing his Herculean efforts to liberate trapped shoals of sea bass in Spain. The video of the sea bass taking a run up the newly formed channel is a glory. A true breakthrough.

Today marked the last day for one of our team members, Lauren Cervino. Originally from New Jersey, she has been the utterly dependable anchor for our Carbon Productivity work – and will be very much missed.

Her reason for stepping back looms large in the photos above. Volans has been a fertile environment over the years: I think this is our seventh pregnancy. One of the joys of such organisations is the spreading diaspora of alumni around the world. Our version of the ripple effect.

Across to Cambridge this afternoon with Richard Roberts to take part in a Cambridge Union debate on climate change. Have written a column for GreenBiz on the proceedings, so will post that when it goes live. A wonderful learning opportunity, as they say.

A black tie event, ish, and four speakers per side. (Dame) Fiona Reynolds – who was slightly shocked to see me on the opposing side – led the charge for the “cool the planet” team, while I led off for the “warm the economy” team.

My starting point was that we had been presented with a false dichotomy, in that we have to grow the sustainable, regenerative parts of the economy ultra-fast, while putting the unsustainable bits in the deep freeze.

Late in the day, I had learned that the three other speakers on my side were climate sceptics. Rather than pull out, after all the efforts the students had put into organising the debate, I told the three that I profoundly disagreed with them – and that I would be saying so. Wisely or not, they asked me to start for “our side”

Unusually, I suspect, I ended my comments by saying that the audience should listen to our sceptical three very carefully indeed. And if they argued growth without due care and attention on the climate side, I recommended, they should vote for Fiona’s side.

There were some interesting voices from the floor arguing for abstention, on the basis that we had been presented with a false choice, but – after the session overran and Richard and I had to be scooped out and into a taxi to catch the late train home – the “warm the economy” side apparently went down in flames, something like 95% to 5%.

Have since sent the three a number of links to continue their education, including this one on the uncanny accuracy of the world’s first climate change model, now aged 50, and this one on the work of Robert Jay Lifton. But am not holding my breath.