Challenge, don’t choke
I've been asked again this week how certain sustainable supply chain ideas fit into a particular procurement framework. As I'm bureaucracy-intolerant, I always have to...
Is there a Hype Cycle for Clean Tech?
Jul 1, 2013
I was at an European Parliament event on low carbon vehicles last Friday at the new Gateshead College campus adjacent to the Nissan factory. It...
8 Ways to Bring Creativity to Sustainability
Apr 22, 2013
Oh, look, it's Earth Day! And it was Earth Week just last week when I was bemoaning this rash of me-too, unoriginal thinking. Don't worry,...
Innovation, Failure & Sustainability
Jul 23, 2012
It is one of the most repeated clichés in business: The man who never made a mistake never made anything. Sustainability requires innovation, innovation implies...
Book Review: Mad Like Tesla by Tyler Hamilton
Jun 7, 2012
As soon as I walked into the meeting room, I knew I had made a mistake. The huge table was at least 6 inches deep...
Green Technology: It’s the S-Curve, Stupid
May 2, 2012
When I were a lad in the late 1970s, I dreamed of having my own computer. In my room. I would lie awake at night...
Are smart phones now driving dematerialisation?
Feb 3, 2012
I have always been sceptical of the argument that multi-function devices like smart phones are eco-friendly by avoiding the need for a stack of equivalent...
What Kodak’s demise tells us about cleantech
Jan 23, 2012
Poor Kodak. You couldn't make it up. A classic brand invents a great new technology (digital photography) but decides it would cannibalise their own products,...
There’s no such thing as too much renewable energy
Jan 20, 2012
There were stories in the press this month about £1.2m worth of 'constraint payments' made to Scottish wind farms over Christmas to not generate electricity...
Need Sustainability Inspiration? Don't Operate in a Vacuum.
Nov 23, 2011
When James Dyson invented the bagless vacuum cleaner, the idea didn't come out of thin air. Famously he saw a vortex system for capturing dust...