Sustainability Scribbles

Notes from a day of sustainability conferencing at the Edie Sustainability Leaders Forum

Tuesday 4th Feb, 2020 - London

Here are some of the standout themes and messages from Day 1 of the Edie Conference, noted either for their frequency of coverage throughout the day or for their cut-through impact.

If you were in attendance, please add to the themes, especially given different break-out workshops. Keen to hear what others took from the day.......

1. Act Now

We are already too late, so don’t take any prisoners, no procrastination allowed. Act now for change.

2. Electrification

Buzz word of the day. It’s here and now and we must embrace it, from cars to home and business heat pumps.

3. Visioning

For many this is hard but we must envision the world we want to create. In the words of the wonderful Mary Robinson, “Imagine the world we must be hurrying towards: a cleaner, healthier, fairer world, with us leaving no-one behind. Truly transformative. Entering a new reality.”

4. Climate Justice

A concept delivered with passion and proof points by both Mary Robinson and Jim Skea from IPCC. As the latter said, “The world is not a just place. This is an opportunity to readjust and rebalance.”

5. Net-Zero Targets

No surprise that this was the focus of much debate. Amazing to feel the momentum building here. The challenge though is to deliver this in quality, not just quantity. Great to be offered toolkits to support SMEs to deliver from www.pledgetonetzero.org.

6. Generosity

Inspiring to hear so many sustainability leaders leading for their industry not just their own business. This shone through particularly in the panel discussion with Erin Meezan from Interface.

7. Off-setting

Again a hot topic. Clear advice and some consensus that this is a good thing if used to counter the issues we don’t currently have solutions to resolve. In the words of Annika Ramskold from Vattenfall, “It shouldn’t replace other possible action. Never ever an excuse for not doing the utmost to decarbonise.”

8. Pragmatic Collaboration

A focus on pragmatic collaboration in order to keep up urgent momentum and pace of change. Advice to use collaborations choicefully - for the biggies where the investment will pay back versus other quick wins that could more easily and effectively be landed by business independently.

9. Environmental Diplomacy

All eyes are on COP26 in Glasgow but also a cry for action from business to fill policy gaps.

10. Transparency & Accountability

Never has it mattered more, from the partnership case study of Tesco and WWF to develop a sustainable shopping basket to the sourcing of soy and zero-carbon target setting. This is the bedrock for the evolution of sustainable business.

Thanks to Edie and some fantastic speakers. Ending where Solitaire Townsend started the day, "This is a decisive decade. We are the people who are going to handle this. This is happening on our watch. We have to put forward the answers and the action. That's what this room is about. There are hundreds of thousands of solutions in this room. Let's hear the plans, not just the challenges. Let's move from a dialogue of problems to a dialogue of solutions."