Events

As the world peeks beyond the COVID-19 crisis and Joe Biden’s administration takes up residence in Washington, D.C., humankind faces an existential challenge:

How do we reignite the global economy while prioritising infrastructure investments that slow the march of climate change?

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On 21st January 2021, we hosted a ‘fireside chat’ to discuss this question with John Elkington, a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable capitalism, and the bestselling author of books including “Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism.”

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Topics we tackled included:

• Bold action versus incremental improvements

• What we can learn from feminine leadership

• Why youth activism matters

• The future of education

• Bridging the rural-urban divide

• Harnessing collaboration and collective entrepreneurship

• The digital technology opportunity … and dilemma

• The spread of the Regeneration meme--and implications

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A fireside chat with John Elkington, Founding Partner at Volans. Hosted by Acre's Catherine Harris, Head of CR & Sustainability (North America) and with guest interviewer, Heather Clancy, Editorial Director for GreenBiz.

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About John Elkington:

John Elkington, Founder & Chief Pollinator at Volans, is one of the founders of the global sustainability movement, an experienced advisor to business, and a highly regarded keynote speaker and contributor, from conferences to advisory boards.

In 2008, The Evening Standard named John among the ‘1000 Most Influential People’ in London, describing him as “a true green business guru”, and as “an evangelist for corporate social and environmental responsibility long before it was fashionable”. In 2009, a CSR International survey of the Top 100 CSR leaders placed John fourth: after Al Gore, Barack Obama and the late Anita Roddick of the Body Shop, and alongside Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank.

John has addressed over 1,000 conferences around the world. He was a faculty member of the World Economic Forum from 2002-2008. He has served on over 70 boards and advisory boards. John has won numerous awards and is the author or co-author of 20 books. The 20th book was published in April: Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism (Fast Company Press).

Twitter:@volansjohn and @volanshq.

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About Heather Clancy:

Heather Clancy is an award-winning journalist specialising in transformative technology and innovation. She started her reporting career on the business news desk of United Press International, and her articles have appeared in Entrepreneur, Fortune, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times.

Clancy was the launch editor for the Fortune Data Sheet, the magazine's newsletter dedicated to the business of technology. She co-authored the Amazon best-seller for entrepreneurs, Niche Down, How to Become Legendary By Being Different.

As editorial director for GreenBiz.com, Heather chronicles the role of technology in enabling corporate climate action and transitioning to a clean, inclusive and regenerative economy.

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About Catherine Harris:

Catherine has been recruiting Senior Sustainability Executives and Non-Executives for over 9 years. Prior to Acre, Catherine worked for a boutique search firm with a focus on the charity and public sector.​

Catherine also sits on the board of Future-Fit Foundation, a non-profit offering tools to help investors and business tackle key Sustainability and climate change issues. With a passion for board diversity and appointing exceptional leaders at board level, she is also co-author of The Social Board, a paper exploring how to engage board members on key ESG and Sustainability issues.

Catherine completed a Master’s at Kings College London in Sustainable Tourism, Development and the Environment in 2001, with a focus on standards and benchmarking in the tourism sector.