Volans

We are proud to have conducted the #trade #association analysis of Unilever's Climate Policy Engagement Review, which has been recognised by InfluenceMap as the most robust corporate review to date – scoring 100% with the company ranked second, scoring 57%. Unilever has now become the first company to publish a corporate #climate #policy #engagement review in-line with expectations, as clarified by the CA100+ process and investor groups like UN PRI and articulated by the Global Standard for Responsible Climate Change Lobbying. We call on companies to follow Unilever’s lead and challenge their trade associations to ensure alignment with science-based policy and political action in line with their positions: https://lnkd.in/esJPxGqS Rory Cronin Fiona Duggan Patrick Fernando Uzcategui Thomas Lingard Rebecca Marmot Paul Matthews Read more: https://lnkd.in/du7ra9Ru Louise Kjellerup Roper John Elkington Richard Roberts Cami Daeninck Harriet Ayliffe Mark Roper

This month's #Volans #Book #Club will be featuring the fantastic Scilla Elworthy, renowned peace builder, author and three-time?Nobel Peace Prize nominee. This session will focus on some of Scilla's powerful ideas around peace-building and leadership and delve into some of her groundbreaking work with organisations like Peace Direct and Oxford Research Group. ???Date:?27th November ???Time:?17:00-18:30 GMT ???Location:?Online, sign up here: ?https://lnkd.in/djX8d5nB John Elkington Louise Kjellerup Roper

?? The recording of #Volans #Book #Club session with Natalie Bennett is now available to view and share here: https://lnkd.in/dCc6t95i ??? For our next Book Club session, we will be welcoming Dr Scilla Elworthy, a three times Nobel Peace Prize nominee for her work with Oxford Research Group, Founder of Peace Direct, and Co-Founder of Rising Women Rising World. Register here: https://lnkd.in/djX8d5nB Louise Kjellerup Roper

Delighted to have hosted Natalie Bennett - one of the two Green Party Members at the House of Lords - this week for our monthly #Volans #Book #Club session. It was great to hear about Natalie’s journey into politics, joining the Green Party in 2006, and delve into some of the Green Party principles. Natalie explained the Green Party’s focus on sustainable growth, fair resource distribution, and recognising contributions beyond paid work. The conversation also discussed the challenges of implementing universal basic income (UBI) and the importance of meeting societal needs without prioritising economic growth. The recording of the session will be going up on our website next week. If you haven’t already, we strongly recommend picking up a copy of her book, "Change Everything: How we can rethink, repair and rebuild society”. ??? For our next Book Club session, we will be welcoming Dr Scilla Elworthy, a three times Nobel Peace Prize nominee for her work with Oxford Research Group, founder of Peace Direct, and co-founder Rising Women Rising World. ? Sign up here:?https://lnkd.in/djX8d5nB Louise Kjellerup Roper Natalie Bennett

Wednesday is budget day in the UK. If you're interested in a thoughtful reaction to it - particularly what it means for climate and nature - I suggest the Volans book club with Baroness Bennett is the place to be on Wednesday evening.??

?? Join us on October 30th for #Volans #Book #Club with Baroness Natalie Bennett. With less than 2 days to go, hear from Louise Kjellerup Roper what she plans to discuss with Natalie. Natalie is a former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and one of the two current Green Party peers of the House of Lords. As a passionate advocate for social justice, environmental sustainability, and progressive politics, Natalie brings a unique and inspiring perspective to tackle the challenges of our time. Join the conversation: ???Wednesday 30th October ???From 17:00-18:30 GMT ??Sign up?here: https://lnkd.in/di6jdAD5 Louise Kjellerup Roper John Elkington

I never imagined I’d see an Inspirator shuffling tarot cards on stage. But it all makes sense when he’s an Ambassador of the Future! At the SUSTENLANDIA CEO Forum organized by Ambasada Sustenabilit??ii ?n Romania and The CSR Agency, John Elkington made his first appearance in Romania with a live, impromptu fortune-telling session. It was unforgettable! Here’s a recap of John’s brilliant talk, “Are You Future-Proof? The 3Rs: Responsibility, Resilience, and Regeneration.” If you ever have the chance to see him live on stage, don’t miss it - it’s a must! Key highlights from John’s talk: * Responsibility, Resilience, and Regeneration are the 3 core principles that must guide our efforts. * Sustainability isn’t just a choice. It’s a lifelong commitment. This is a very long journey, a way of life. * The “Golden Days” are still to come. Young people often say they wish they’d been part of the “glory days” of sustainability. John’s response is simple: “We haven’t yet had those days. The next 10 to 15 years will be both incredibly exciting and frightening. The future is daunting, but not without hope.” * Patience, resilience, persistence, and a paradoxical sense of urgency are essential. Lasting change will demand these skills. Now is our chance to steer things in the right direction, and we should take it. * Education matters at every age. This is our moment to act and build bridges between generations, cultures, and communities. Learning isn’t just for the young. Older generations are critical decision-makers as voters - they need to be involved in conversations that foster understanding, not pressured to change. * CSRD and ESG aren’t enough. They’re just stepping stones. Ask yourself: who is actually using these reports and how? Regeneration needs to reach deeper. * Our biggest challenges include misinformation, disinformation, polarization, the lack of collaborative culture, and uncertainty around the impact of AI. Regeneration brings enthusiasm, but how much are corporations truly contributing? Real action is needed to transform society, not just cosmetic changes. * Paradigm shifts shake up our worldview. Companies need to innovate and become “green swans,” symbols of positive transformation. Market redesign will be key to making this a reality. * A small amount of greenwashing might be tolerable, but repeated offences are a huge problem that undermines trust. * Eco-activism bridges generations. We need to be mindful of the “angry brigade” and ensure protests are peaceful. John’s advice for youth: reach out to people who aren’t like you, who may think very differently. Find new forms of engagement, new friendships, relationships, and conversations. * Impact can sometimes be hard to measure, but impact discipline and commitment matter even more. Congrats on a legendary event Drago? Tu?? Mihaylov, Grosanu Oana, Theodora Dumitric?, Adina Vulcan, Claudia H?ncu! Here’s to many more inspiring editions of SUSTENLANDIA to come!

?? This week our CEO, Louise Kjellerup Roper, delivered a keynote for the Europe Investment Fund’s annual Ugly Duck gathering in Luxembourg - the largest gathering of Venture Capital, Private Equity and Private Credit funds in Europe. "Investing in regenerative solutions, is the key to building a #sustainable #future"

Fantastic to have hosted our 2nd annual Climate Leaders Forum at the UK House of Lords this week, alongside David Over. Ahead of COP16 and COP29, we brought together a range of sustainability leaders, climate tech founders, industry bodies, policy makers and journalists to focus on sustainability implementation and the levers that we need to push and pull to effectively achieve net zero. We were first joined by Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, who set the context for the current state of the world, with a solid dose of realism, followed by optimism on the ever increasing efficiencies and downward cost curves across solar panels and battery developments, and how we have had a decade long revolution of technological possibility. It was brilliant to then hear from Hannah Jones, CEO of the The Earthshot Prize and long term sustainability leader and Founder of Volans, John Elkington. They emphasised the evolution of corporate sustainability from compliance to a strategic imperative. There was specific emphasis on data-driven decision-making, storytelling and how sustainability should be integrated into roles of the entire leadership team. Our roundtable discussion explored 11 different topics pertaining to sustainability leadership. This included: ?? Measuring and Reporting Impact, Chaired by Ben Knight (MIEMA, CEnv), Leonardo ? Navigating Energy Policy, Chaired by Alyssa Gilbert, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment ?? Circular Economy, Chaired by Ben Dixon, Systemiq Ltd. ?? Nature and Biodiversity, Chaired by Jenny Poulter, Volans ?? Innovating and Scaling Solutions, Chaired by George Darrah, Systemiq Capital ?? Carbon Markets, Chaired by Joe Cruttwell, Patch ?? Stakeholder Engagement, Chaired by Elizabeth Corse, DisCom ?? Supply Chain Sustainability, Chaired by Mark Hodgson, Earthbase ?? Sustainable Finance, Chaired by Tony Greenham, British Business Bank ?? Navigating Shareholder Pressure, Chaired by Georgia Stewart, tumelo ??? The Responsibility of Technology, Chaired by Sophia Kesteven, Tech Zero We heard about the Crown Commercial Service’s work on Government procurement for net zero and the leading work they are doing with CSOs, from Joe Tilley. We concluded with Brennan Spellacy, CEO and Co-Founder of Patch and Helen Avery, Director at the Green Finance Institute, covering the intricacies of the carbon removal market and the importance of transparency and quality assurance to restore trust. A common thread though-out the event was the emphasis and mechanisms at hand to protect and restore nature. A huge thank you to Patch, Systemiq Ltd. and Systemiq Capital for supporting the event, and to the London Tech Week and Tech Nation team, Freddie Slade, Brad Mulvey, Ailsa Taylor Mealings and Marianne Hoemke. We will be publishing a report, following this event soon.

Tomorrow at 5pm, S7 will be joined by John Elkington, Pia Heidenmark Cook, and Tariq Fancy for what we hope will be a candid conversation about the state of the sustainability movement. How are we actually doing, and what needs to happen to break through to real-world progress on impact? Moderating this event (which will take place at The Conduit Oslo and online) is S7 founder and managing partner Rick Wheatley. ? An experienced challenger of leadership teams, Rick loves helping business leaders break out of old thinking to make new kinds of moves in service of a safer, saner world. In his two decades of supporting leadership teams through change, he has drawn on an eclectic yet weirdly consistent background – from scout and military officer to leadership development nerd, impact advocate and, most recently, off-grid living enthusiast (the latter being an experiment to explore this question: how much do we actually need to live comfortably?). Rick founded S7 with a vision of a world in which businesses that help the world forward outperform the ones that don’t. Leveraging its team′s long experience as leadership, strategy and sustainability consultants as well as its systems- and design-thinking-informed approaches, S7 helps leaders drive transformation in their teams and organisations – in line with the health of the environmental, social, political and geopolitical systems in which they operate. Join Rick and our special guests at The Conduit Oslo or online! For more information and to sign up for online attendance: https://lnkd.in/ecHzqsbR For in-person attendance, spaces at the Conduit are limited, so make sure to secure yours now! -?Conduit members: Sign up using the Conduit portal: https://lnkd.in/dqTxNFi9 -?Non-members: Sign up using this link https://lnkd.in/drAkHJr4 #Sustainability #FromRecessionToReset #StakeholderCapitalism #CorporateResponsibility #SystemsChange #Greenhushing #RegenerativeBusiness