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Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Base 2010: Day 2
Unexpected pleasure last night - steady on - an organic/biodynamic wine tasting session hosted by Sommelier of the Year 2009, Laura Rhys. None of this swishing and spitting nonsense either - not a drop of this wine went to waste. With two young kids, I've got out of practice of handling drink on an empty stomach, so afterwards I had a quick dinner and retired to my room with a lemonade and a book...
No ill effects this morning, so I went running again, this time over to the Thames Barrier and its park before coming back over the Victoria Dock Bridge (see pic - and, yes, I did run up the stairs).
First up this morning was Ed Miliband MP, UK Climate Change and Energy Secretary. Like his brother before him, he was very clued up as to the issues and fairly honest about Government efforts. I say 'fairly' as I asked him how he squared his excellent Copenhagen "Martin Luther King didn't say 'I had a nightmare'" line (which he repeated here) with his department's 'nightmare fairy tales' TV adverts. He said it had been cleared by the Advertising Standards Agency when they had in fact criticised one or two elements. Tut tut. His answer was a bit evasive too, saying we needed to warn of both the dream and the nightmare.
Mid-morning I delivered the 'Three Secrets' presentation to a small-ish but very responsive audience - great questions (remember you can see a previous version of this here). I followed this with a lengthy discussion over coffee about the Green Executive with Earthscan, then some chats in the VIP enclave - I'm finding some of these conversations more rewarding than the formal sessions.
But I did break out again to go and see Vince Cable, Lib Dem shadow chancellor and the most respected politician in the UK. I knew he had worked for Shell, but I didn't realise he had participated in the Brundtland Report or an early international political investigation of climate change. He was very realistic on the impact the recession was having on sustainability and sketched out some ways of getting back on track, particularly making the EU Emissions Trading Scheme work as it should. But he had some gloomy things to say about the state of the economy and the consequences.
Another great day!
Labels: base 2010, seminar, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 18:00
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Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Base 2010: Day 1
The first thing I saw this morning was the sight of two swans skimming low over the Royal Victoria Dock outside my hotel window - the dock is so huge I at first assumed it was the Thames itself. I went for a jog and found that just outside the immediate and somewhat sterile bubble of the Excel conference centre and its cluster of hotels and restaurants, the real East End of London is alive and well - fishmongers unloading their vans, small chemical works and some old traditional mills - all with a rough around the edges charm.
The Base 2010 event itself is very well organised, but the organisers were dwelt a blow by the gods of transport, and the first session by Bjorn Stigson (of WBCSD) had about three times as many people in it at the end that at the start. There was a surreal moment jsut before kick-off where I realised I was surrounded by dozens of people all leafing through my book. Stigson gave a very clear view of the enormity of the task ahead of us.
I'm trying to ration the sessions I attend to avoid powerpoint overload, so I keep retiring to the funky little VIP area with its air-hostess hostesses (it's sponsored by Qatar Airlines), leather furniture and complimentary food and drink.
The second session I went to was about the business case for sustainable development. There were some great contributions from Paul Turner of Lloyds TSB, John Elkington (founder of SustainAbility), Stephen Howard of Business and the Community and Peter White of P&G. Interestingly in the latter, when the executive in charge of sustainability, Bob McDonald, was promoted to CEO, he insisted on keeping the sustainability portfolio. There were so many quotable lines from this talk I can't put them all in this post, but several will be added to the Green Executive, but it was (guess who) P&G's "no trade offs" approach to sustainability that stuck in my mind - great product AND great environmental performance, never 'OR'.
After lunch I facilitated a round table discussion on, again, the business case for sustainability. We had a great conversation based around my model and how it applied in different cases - from finance to plastic bags by way of legal services. Who would have thought that there was a distinct market for legal advice on renewables?
After that I retired for a glass of red wine from the Qatar ladies (it's tough at the top) and to write this. More tomorrow!
Labels: business case, seminar, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 17:26
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Three Secrets Book Launch Video
Here's a lengthy extract from the Newcastle book launch for The Three Secrets of Green Business. We'll be upgrading the site this month to find this video and at at least one other a permanent home here. But in the meantime - enjoy!
Labels: gareth kane, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 07:00
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Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Time for a change...
... if you've squeezed every efficiency out of a system, but you still aren't where you want to be, then you need to change the system!Secret No 3 of The Three Secrets of Green Business is about making a series of huge leaps to align your systems and processes towards sustainability while making continual incremental improvements in between. The latter will only take you so far before you have to make another huge leap.
The key is in making sure each leap will lead to the goal and not up a cul-de-sac. I use 'backcasting' with clients to make sure all leaps forward take you in the right direction.
Backcasting will help you decide what to do. Another big strategic question is what are we not going to do? The best organisations kill off products, services and processes which are holding them back. That takes real guts.
Labels: backcasting, environmental strategy, sustainability strategy, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 11:17
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Monday, 1 March 2010
Low Carbon Business Seminar - 10 March 2010
It is continuing to be a busy year for events and conferences.Next week finds me at the Low Carbon Best Practice Exchange in Birmingham leading a round table on developing a long term strategy.
The week after I'll be doing a round table on the business case for sustainability and a seminar on The Three Secrets of Green Business (with book signing session after) at the Base 2010 conference in London (if you want a 20% discount, check out TLCA #25).
There are also negotiations going on about another couple of events, but I'm having to balance client needs vs speaking to wider audiences.
Labels: base 2010, low carbon best practice exchange, seminars, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 09:58
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Monday, 8 February 2010
London Book Reception (& other book stuff)
Another successful, if smaller, reception for The Three Secrets of Green Business in London last Thursday night. A slightly different mix of friends, colleagues, business folk, journalists and interested others showed up. Thanks must go to LBi for providing the venue, and publishers Earthscan for their contribution to refreshments and for tidying up afterwards (as I was dragged off for a celebratory Brick Lane curry).Interesting questions again - the killer being "in what timeframe should companies act?" That's a really hard one to answer as some sectors can re-invent themselves in a couple of years if not months (eg smart phones, web 2.0) whereas others take decades to transform (eg the energy sector). I usually suggest to clients that they aim to transform themselves over a 5-10 year period, as I find this to be far enough in the future to consider major changes, but not so far ahead that people make unrealistic assumptions about technology. The guy who asked the question pointed out that in Japan 30 year planning is perfectly normal and suggested that's what we should be pursuing in the West. I'll have to mull on that one as it asks all sorts of questions about culture differences.
I also found time in London to interview Jim Hagan, CSR supremo at GSK, for The Green Executive, and have a meeting with the organiser of the Business and Sustainable Environment (BASE) conference in March. I'll be doing a couple of sessions at the latter and I hope to be able to offer a discount to partners and subscribers to The Low Carbon Agenda.
It was really nice to find 5 minutes to drop into Blackwell's on Charing Cross Road and see The Three Secrets on the shelves for the first time (although I had to remind myself that they didn't belong to me despite having my name on the cover). Blackwell's had 4 shelves of green business/CSR books, so the competition is heating up. As an aside, now I'm in the market, I've decided that it would be a conflict of interest to review similar books here in the future - particularly as I can be a rather harsh critic. So book reviews will be limited to books related to business and sustainability but which have a different focus.
Lastly, the local press did a nice piece on the book (and me) on Saturday.
Labels: books, seminars, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 09:45
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Friday, 29 January 2010
Newcastle Book Launch Report
The launch of The Three Secrets of Green Business went really well last night. A nice mix of friends, family, clients, business partners and interested others in the audience - some of them bought copies too (see pic for a satisfied customer). We had some very intelligent questions in the Q&A so all in all it was a great event. Thanks to Newcastle Business School for hosting and to Dr Ron Beadle for chairing - Ron stepped in at the last minute even though it was his birthday, so I was very grateful.We've taped the presentation and will be putting excerpts up here in due course. Don't forget there will be another one in London on 4th Feb. RSVP if you would like to attend.
My other good news is that the BASE 2010 conference has made a bulk purchase of the book - one for every delegate. I'll be doing a signing there and possibly a seminar. If your organisation would like to make a similar bulk purchase (which can include a company logo), the details are here.
Labels: seminars, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 14:55
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Wednesday, 6 January 2010
London & Newcastle Book Launch Receptions
I'm delighted to announce that we'll be holding another reception to celebrate the publication of The Three Secrets of Green Business, this time in London. The event will be hosted by digital marketing/technology agency LBi, to whom we are very grateful. The details for London are:
Time: 6-8pm
Date: 4 Feb 2010
Location: Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London, E1 6RU (click here for a map)
Don't forget the Newcastle event:
Time: 6-8pm
Date: 28 Jan 2010
Location: Newcastle Business School, City Campus East, Newcastle upon Tyne (click here for a map)
During both receptions we'll have some mingling and drinking followed by a short presentation by yours truly followed by more mingling and drinking! RSVP - you are welcome to bring a guest, but please let us know for the numbers.
Labels: gareth kane, seminars, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 12:06
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Sunday, 3 January 2010
Happy New Year!
Looking back, 2009 was a brilliant year for Terra Infirma. We worked with some great new clients like the NHS, Aker Solutions Ltd, Middlesbrough Council and Innovation Scout, while continuing working with long term clients like the EU and the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme. We had our rebranding exercise to polish up our image and installed a new phone system. And our turnover kept growing, despite the ongoing recession (we also spent more on the business than ever before).Personally, my big story was the birth of Jimmy, my second son. Coming a close second was the publication of book #1, The Three Secrets of Green Business and getting about half of #2, The Green Executive, written as well. I also launched the Green Gurus website and added profiles of 10 environmental pioneers. Hint: this could just possibly become book #3 - you read it here first.
Looking forward to 2010, we're starting with the book launch at Newcastle Business School on 28 Jan (e-mail us for details or to book a seat), and, to be confirmed, one in London soon after. As mentioned, I hope to have The Green Executive finished by June. Or July. Hopefully. Which means a publication date of Spring 2011. We are also planning to have some quality new content on the website in the Spring of this year. And of course, the Low Carbon Agenda will continue to provide unique insights, news and tips for free throughout the year - this month we'll be looking at peak oil before going on to low carbon strategy development and leadership.
The wider sustainability picture will almost certainly move on rapidly through 2010. OK, Copenhagen was a flop - or a 'Klimafarce' as the Danish press dubbed it - but it did show that the world was serious about taking on this issue - and at a Premier level, not just lip service from environmental ministries. Proactive businesses will continue to move ahead of the pack, green spending will continue to rise (as it has through the recession) and laggards will fall further behind as they lose business to greener rivals. The big questions that remain are whether the economy will be rebuilt as green as everyone claims it will be, whether green technologies will go mainstream (solar PV, electric vehicles, smart grids et al) and, here in the UK, whether the result of the general election will have any effect on this.
So what are your green goals for 2010? You could sign your organisation up to the 10:10 campaign, you could set up a staff committee, you could appoint a director level staff member to lead on green. You could set an ambitious target, develop your strategy or develop a new green product. Whatever it is, if you need some assistance, you know where to find us!
Labels: green executive, green gurus, news, terra infirma, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 21:05
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Wednesday, 16 December 2009
So now I'm an author
Yesterday I got my consignment of my first book, The Three Secrets of Green Business. So now I'm officially an author - something I have wanted to achieve since I was about 12 years old - although back then it would have been derivative swords and sandals nonsense rather than trying to save the world. I am genuinely chuffed with it and am glad to see it pulling away from a major rival in the Amazon rankings. If I was going to sum up this book in three words, I would say punchy, practical and provocative. Personally I get bored with business books which are just a compilation of theory and case studies - I want advice, guidance and hints and tips that tell me how to do what I want to do from someone who has been there and done it. I brought these principles to The Three Secrets and I hope readers will appreciate them.
BTW, if you're not a subscriber to The Low Carbon Agenda, then check out the Free Resources page here this afternoon as this month's issue has a whole load of goodies relating to the book.
Labels: low carbon agenda, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 07:00
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Monday, 16 November 2009
Advanced notice - 20% off The Three Secrets of Green Business
So, I seem to have survived two of the three big events of this autumn - the birth of young Jimmy and the rebranding of the company. The third is of course the launch of my first book, The Three Secrets of Green Business on 18 December. If you want a discount on the purchase price then sign up to the Low Carbon Agenda (using the form on the right) as the December edition will have details of a discount, expected to be 20%. I am also in negotiations for a formal launch in January in Newcastle upon Tyne, but the details have not yet been finalised.I am also doing a session on "Sustainability in the Service Sector" for the Service Network on 11 February - location and details to be confirmed closer to the time.
Labels: terra infirma, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 09:43
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Monday, 12 October 2009
Forthcoming new arrivals...
I'm taking break from doing the final proof edits on The Three Secrets of Green Business. This is extraordinarily tedious, but I have found one big clanger so it is necessary. Despite the tedium, I'm getting really excited. I'm organising a launch event in January - more details when I have them. In the meantime, the Green Executive is really starting to shape up and I hope to get the first draft to the publisher early in the new year.Also coming soon is the new branding, website and Low Carbon Agenda. Just the final tweaks to go, but looking very good indeed.
Part of me worries that all this excitement is displacement activity to distract me from yet another impending new arrival. My second child is due on 1 November, although his mother's maternal vibe is that this one could be early. So if this blog suddenly goes quiet, it probably means I'm up to my elbows in nappies again and/or taking no 1 son to the park. I intend to take two weeks semi-paternity leave - keeping things tapping along but not running any workshops or intensive pieces of work.
It's all so exciting!
Labels: holiday, low carbon agenda, terra infirma, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 09:50
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Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Press Release: The Three Secrets of Green Business
PRESS RELEASEEmbargo: Immediate
Contact: Gareth Kane, Terra Infirma Ltd, 0191 265 7899, gareth@terrainfirma.co.uk
Publication Date Confirmed for The Three Secrets of Green Business
A new book, The Three Secrets of Green Business, by leading Green Business expert Gareth Kane will be published by Earthscan on 18th December. The book presents a framework for companies to proactively prepare themselves for the low carbon economy, ready to exploit the new opportunities and avoid the pitfalls.
“It is clear that a new industrial revolution is starting” said Gareth “the question for every business leader is whether they want to surf the green wave or be left floundering out of their depth.”
The Three Secrets of Green Business contains guidance on everything from simple waste minimisation measures to advanced product design techniques. It is packed with hundreds of hints and tips to make green business a reality.
The book is available for pre-order from Amazon or the Earthscan website.
Labels: press release, terra infirma, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 07:00
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Wednesday, 2 September 2009
The summer's gone...
Well it's September, it's wet and we are extraordinarily busy. As well as our existing projects and clients, we've been employed to do some very exciting new work for the Design Council and Innovation Scout. The latter is a new venture by entrepreneurs Nick Devitt and David Townson to identify unmet business opportunities to stimulate innovation and we're contributing opportunities in the Low Carbon Economy.On top of this, I've got edits to do for The Three Secrets of Green Business and I've got some exciting new interviewees for its sequel, The Green Executive. And then of course I'm still working on new entries for Green Gurus - deep ecologist Arne Naess is likely to be the next profile. The rebranding process continues and the new website is looking really good - it will makes much easier to find what you are looking for than at present.
If you've been on holiday and haven't read the last edition of The Low Carbon Agenda, then I advise you do - it's called Low Carbon Jujitsu and is about how to deal with difficult people. These are probably the most powerful techniques I've revealed on TLCA - and you get them for free!
Labels: green executive, low carbon agenda, terra infirma, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 10:28
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Saturday, 1 August 2009
We are Three!
Terra Infirma is celebrating its third birthday today! In those three years, we've worked with hundreds of businesses and public sector organisations ranging from the third biggest organisation in the world (the UK's National Health Service) to micro-businesses and solo entrepreneurs. While I'd be lying if I said the recession hadn't made things frustrating sometimes, we're finding there are plenty of people out there who realise that sustainability is the future.
And there's an exciting and challenging year ahead. We're bringing new clients and partners on board as we speak, the Three Secrets of Green Business is out in December and I'm planning to have the manuscript of book#2 (working title "The Green Executive") finished by this time next year. We also have plenty of other exciting ideas working their way towards fruition.
I'm off on holiday to the (hopefully) sunny Yorkshire Dales for a couple of weeks, so things will go a bit quiet on the blogging front. If you want more to read in the meantime, check out Green Gurus which now features the godmother of the modern environmental movement, Rachel Carson. I'm taking books by EF Schumacher, Arne Naess and David Pearce away with me, so they're in the pipeline along with economist Herman Daly and climatologist James Hansen. And don't forget, there's always the back issues of "The Low Carbon Agenda"...
Wishing you a great holiday period, back soon,
Gareth
Labels: green gurus, holiday, terra infirma, three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 09:23
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Friday, 10 July 2009
The Three Secrets of Green Business is on Amazon!
My book is now on Amazon - for pre-orders only, I'm afraid.The Three Secrets of Green Business by Gareth Kane
More details and another way of pre-ordering on the Earthscan website.
Labels: three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 11:50
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Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Sneak preview...
Coming soon...
Labels: three secrets of green business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 10:53
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A highly accessible, practical guide to those who want to introduce sustainability into their business or organization quickly and effectively.
