5 Things for Friday
Every Friday I write an email. Actually, I sometimes manage more than one email but not all emails are created equal.
The email that matters isn’t very complicated. It consists of five things that I’ve read that week that I think other people might be interested in.
It is, naturally, heavily biased to my own opinion of what is interesting. It also started life as a work thing so there is often a lot to do with sustainability (in its manifold guises). But I think sustainability is interesting so that kind of works for me.
I’ve now managed a dozen issues and to mark this arbitrary milestone I thought I’d try something new. Rather than letting the past versions languish in the forgotten recesses of Outlook, I’d thought I‘d keep a record of them here.
I’ve uploaded all the past editions and each week I’ll add the new 5 things.
You never know, you might also find some of these things interesting too.
Enjoy.
C
Issue #1
(12 October 2018)
Hello all –
Welcome to my latest idea.
For as long as I’ve been at Accenture (a really long time) I’ve received an email, late on Friday afternoon, which listed out all the times Accenture had been in the news that week. It was called something cryptic like Accenture in the News. In this brave new age of reduced email, it seems to have disappeared. I miss it. I never actually read it (obviously) but it was a great reminder that the week was done and it was time to go home.
Inspired by the absence of this old friend I’ve decided to start sending out a weekly email of my own. It isn’t going to complicated. It’s intended as a quick summary of five(ish) things I’ve seen, perhaps even read, during the week that I’ve found interesting. It’s mostly going to be sustainability related (for obvious reasons) but I might occasionally get distracted by something else.
Here goes. I hope you enjoy.
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What is half a degree between friends…
IPCC Report on the effects of a planet that is 1.5 degree warmer than pre-industrial levels doesn’t not make for comfortable reading. The bit about what 2 degree looks like sounds like a Roland Emmerich film. It was the subject of intense political “scrutiny” in the final stages but even despite that the warnings are stark. A warmer planet is fundamentally not a happy place and we do not have a lot of time to make the changes required. You can read the summary here and some of the media coverage here, here, here or here
Our meat-free future…
Also out this week was a report into the impact that our meat-laden food system have on the planet. Spoiler alert — not good. The authors of the study highlight the need for a massive shift in consumption patterns, not the mention a transformation in the way food is transported, distributed and packaged. The Guardian (obviously) did a useful write up of the key findings and appeared to be inspired by the thoughts of our very own Rebecca Caseby on the subject
Apparently fire tornados are a thing now…
Just in case you were feeling overwhelmed with all the good news, this feature on the forest fires that ravaged California this summer should bring you back down to earth. It is powerfully evocative account of the unimaginably awful experience of being in the way of the most devasting wildfires ever recorded.
Is this sustainability gig sustainable…
GreenBiz have published their annual State of the Profession report. I haven’t read it all yet but the headlines are encouraging. In their words “the profession continues to evolve from its tactical origins of reporting and stakeholder engagement to that of business strategy, change management and on-the-ground execution”. Sounds good to me. But the race is not run (see above) and there is a rightfully called out danger of complacency. As is pointed out in the summary: “world-changing initiatives funded by the winners of market capitalism do heal the sick, enrich the poor and save lives. But even as they give back, elites generally seek to maintain the system that causes many of the problems they try to fix”. I guess fixing that is FY19’s challenge…
Anyone for 37 million new jobs…
The good people at the Grantham Research Institute at LSE have published the first edition of a new investor guide as a result of their “Investing in a Just Transition” project . The project led by a joint effort with Harvard’s Initiative for Responsible Investment and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). It attempts to outline how investors can help ensure that ambitious climate action has positive economic and social impact. They point to a potential economic gain of US$26 trillion through to 2030, along with a net employment gain of 37 million jobs. But it is not obvious that these benefits will flow automatically or equitably, which creates the need to ensure the gains are shared equitably and the transition is just. Fingers crossed.
Issue #2
(19 October 2018)
Afternoon everyone –
Welcome to Issue #2.
First-off, thank you to everyone who took the time to read last week’s inaugural issue. Special thanks to those who let me know that they found it useful / informative / life-affirming / annoying / poorly spelt / lacking polish. All feedback is useful feedback. You can send me some more here.
Here are five more things I saw, liked, and (sometimes) read this week.
Enjoy.
— — — — — -
Don’t worry everyone, Bill’s got a plan
You’ll remember last week’s majorly depressing IPCC report, the one where the world “discovered” that we’ve got the epochal equivalent of 20 minutes to fix this whole climate meltdown thing. Well I have good news. Everyone’s favourite 90s super geek, Bill Gates, is coming to the rescue. He has a neat, five-point plan. He also has a great fact about cows.
Climate change, what climate change?
Not everyone is so convinced that this whole fundamental change to every aspect of our planet’s most complex system is such a biggie. Close followers of the paprika-in-chief will have seen that he’s skeptical. Perhaps these pesky, truth-obsessed, annoyingly rigorous scientists have some sort of nefarious agenda. Thankfully the nice people at Bloomberg made a graph so he didn’t have to read all the long words.
Like normal finance, only faster, and greener
I was reminded this week that we’re still waiting to hear back from our beloved Government on what they think about the Accelerating Green Finance report published in March. It looks at all the ways (there are lots) in which the UK can put itself at the centre of this growing industry. Should warm the hearts of Brexity optimists everywhere. I’ve also attached a longer write up I did after joining one of the working groups.
Our very own Gemma Baker recently published her thoughts on how companies can market their products more responsibly, using Nike’s bold new campaign as her hook. It’s an enviably concise look at a complex issue and certain thought provoking. If you read right to the bottom you’ll also see my response.
Ain’t no party like a socially responsible, Green Party…
Finally, some good news for all fans of fringe, leftish political movements. Apparently “green” parties are on the rise. Something to do with being outside the mainstream but not thoroughly objectionable — kind of like pre-Coalition Lib Dems. The celebratory tone seems slightly premature given they haven’t actually won anything but watch this space.
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