John Elkington: Ambassador from the Future

Businesses committed to sustainability and those campaigning for more sustainable business need to listen better to people frightened by the pace and extent of change brought by the sustainability transformation. Why do they believe that transformation could harm them, their families, or their communities? Chris, David, and Mark use this episode to explore why this is important and some of the ways it might be done, and they reflect also on learnings from the recent GreenBiz conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

In this episode, Mark, David and Chris speak with Santiago Gowland, CEO of Rainforest Alliance(RA). They discuss Santiago’s remarkable history from his time working inside leading companies such as Unilever and Nike to his present role leading the RA. The conversation then covers the systemic change needed to create a more sustainable world with an emphasis on the connections between producers, brands and consumers. Check out the Rainforest Alliance’s We’re All In campaign: https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/were-all-in/

In this episode, David chats to Rob Doepel, EY UK & Ireland's Managing Partner for Sustainability. David and Rob talk about helping senior leaders in client companies to grapple with new business challenges and become more sustainability-literate. They discuss how sustainability professionals need to be generous, change-agents and able to lead beyond authority. This episode is one of two, recorded in collaboration with Anthropy at the 2023 Anthropy summit.

https://www.ey.com/en_uk/people/rob-doepel

In this episode, David Grayson talks to Paul Drechsler, who currently chairs the UK chapter of the International Chambers of Commerce. He is a former CEO and has chaired a number of corporate, charity and business representative organisations. They discuss Paul’s growing sense of awareness of the excitement of business, the power of business as a force for good and the transformative power of business from working in Brazil, India, Pakistan, USA as well as the UK. Paul has a particular passion for tackling inequalities and the potential of education to transform people’s life chances. This episode is one of two, recorded in collaboration with Anthropy at the 2023 Anthropy summit.

linkedin.com/in/paul-drechsler56

Gain insight on what mattered most from 2023 and what will shape the sustainability field in 2024 by listening to this "2024 Year in Preview" panel discussion. Mark, David, and Chris are joined by Jane Nelson, Founding Director of the Corporate Responsibility Initiative at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Louise Kjellerup Roper, CEO of Volans, and Sonia Ruiz, CEO of NOIMA Sustainability Strategies. Hear the group tackle topics from climate, nature, advocacy, and equity, through elections and geopolitics, all through the lens of what and why will determine sustainable development progress in the 12 months ahead.

In this episode, Chris, David and Mark speak with João Paulo Ferreira, CEO of Natura, about the company’s unique and remarkable sustainability journey, the current state of sustainable business, and what is yet to be done in the coming years. 

In this episode, David and Chris speak with Bart Houlahan, co-founder of B Lab and one of the most important change agents in corporate sustainability over the past decade. Bart shares his journey of B Lab and the progress of the B Corp movement to date and what we can expect in the future. 

John Elkington is a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable capitalism, an experienced advisor to business, a highly regarded thought leader and keynote speaker, a bestselling author and serial entrepreneur. Currently, he is a Founding Partner of, and Chief Pollinator at, Volans, where he works with business leaders to effect change that will not only benefit people and the planet, but help future-proof organisations for decades to come.

John focuses much of his time and energy on the past and the future, but always with the intention of bringing lessons from yesterday and tomorrow into the worlds of today. In this episode, Chris and David dove into John’s extensive sustainability journey, and explore the many contours of the sustainability agenda.

In the latest episode, Chris and David are joined by Karen Pflug, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ingka Group, the holding company that represent over 90% of IKEA’s retail operations.  

After exploring Karen’s career journey, that has her recognized as one of the Top 100 global CSOs, they dive into the fascinating world of Ingka Group. As the largest retail franchisee IKEA, they work very closely with IKEA design and development teams to connect over 650 million customers in 31 markets around the world via their stores and online shopping experiences.

Ingka Group doesn’t just want to sell furniture – they want to deeply understand people’s lives at home to help encourage more healthy & sustainable living. Their flagship research studies on climate action and equality help this purpose-led company bring the outside world in, which they leverage via coalition building, advocacy, collaborations, partnerships. 

Anthropy is a major three day gathering for leaders. It grew out of the fusion of ideas for a UK ‘Davos’, a ‘Glastonbury of Good’ and a national ‘Ted talk’. In the latest episode of All In - The Sustainable Business Podcast, David Grayson speaks with the organization’s Founder, John O’Brien, and Lucy Knill, Managing Director, who explain that Anthropy is in fact none of these but will combine the best aspects of thought leadership, creativity and inspiration together, in order for senior leaders and influencers from across the country (and the world!) to share and be encouraged to play their part in shaping our national narrative.