History
I've been passionate about sustainability since before it was even given that term, with my eco-awakening happening in the mid-80s.
My first direct engagement was in 1987 when I designed a wind turbine. However it never made it off the design page, much less turned in anger, and I realised pretty quickly that I was never going to be an engineer.
Then in 1989, just two weeks after my 18th birthday, I proudly put my first ever cross against the Green Party in that years European Parliament election. I was already very interested in politics, and partially inspired by their comparative success in that election (they received 15% of the votes; but due to the electoral system, no seats) I became increasingly engaged with environmental issues. This culminated in me doing a Masters in International Relations focusing on the global environmental governance, with my dissertation focused on the politics of the ozone layer.
At a much slower pace than my realisation regarding engineering, it dawned on me that politics and policy both wasn't going to be a career for me. Furthermore it appeared to me that for all the good intentions of NGO/pressure groups, there wasn't much progress happening except in some very specific areas (e.g. banning CFCs) .
Business impact
What my studies did demonstrate to me was that business can have a massive impact positively. For example my research found that DuPont, the world's largest manufacturer of CFCs, realised they could make more money out of the replacement chemicals, so they pushed the American government to get a binding global agreement. This increased the likelihood of a global agreement many fold, and led to the Montreal Protocol banning CFCs.
This finding in the mid-90s about DuPont and CFCs was great for my dissertation, but not so great for my motivation. This is because it confirmed my cynical belief that because business at that point overwhelmingly failed to see the value of “being green”, there was unlikely to be much progress environmentally.
So began my 10 years in the wilderness environmentally. This time wasn’t wasted however, as I focused on my other passion; people. In that period from the mid-90’s to the mid-00s, I had roles which took in a very people-centric view of the world, including skills such as customer service, management, marketing & PR, business development and training.
PeopleProfitPlanet
In 2006 I realised I could combine these people skills with my passion for the planet, as finally business was realising there was a profit opportunity in being green. I therefore launched my specialist behavioural change consultancy PeopleProfitPlanet, and within a few months of my launch, the extremely influential Stern Report on the economics of climate change and M&S’ game changing “Plan A” were both unveiled.
Based in Leeds, I worked with over 40 different organisations, most of them large well know ones such as Allianz Insurance, East Riding NHS, Parcelforce and Enterprise Rent-a-Car, traded through the difficult circumstances of the global recession, and in 2012 sold the business to a London headquartered consultancy. I worked for them for 2 years, and then had a period freelancing before taking a position at the well regarded consultancy, Carbon Smart in early 2015. In the spring of that year I authored the Empower Change guide and was delighted to receive many glowing testimonials for it.
Inspiring Sustainability
I realised in late 2015 that independence suited me, but kept the great relationship I had with Carbon Smart, becoming an associate, focused on engagement and communications. This has led to me working with a number of interesting clients, such as Brunel University, British Film Industry, Weil LLP and Suffolk County Council. I now work with clients via my own brand, Inspiring Sustainability.
My first direct engagement was in 1987 when I designed a wind turbine. However it never made it off the design page, much less turned in anger, and I realised pretty quickly that I was never going to be an engineer.
Then in 1989, just two weeks after my 18th birthday, I proudly put my first ever cross against the Green Party in that years European Parliament election. I was already very interested in politics, and partially inspired by their comparative success in that election (they received 15% of the votes; but due to the electoral system, no seats) I became increasingly engaged with environmental issues. This culminated in me doing a Masters in International Relations focusing on the global environmental governance, with my dissertation focused on the politics of the ozone layer.
At a much slower pace than my realisation regarding engineering, it dawned on me that politics and policy both wasn't going to be a career for me. Furthermore it appeared to me that for all the good intentions of NGO/pressure groups, there wasn't much progress happening except in some very specific areas (e.g. banning CFCs) .
Business impact
What my studies did demonstrate to me was that business can have a massive impact positively. For example my research found that DuPont, the world's largest manufacturer of CFCs, realised they could make more money out of the replacement chemicals, so they pushed the American government to get a binding global agreement. This increased the likelihood of a global agreement many fold, and led to the Montreal Protocol banning CFCs.
This finding in the mid-90s about DuPont and CFCs was great for my dissertation, but not so great for my motivation. This is because it confirmed my cynical belief that because business at that point overwhelmingly failed to see the value of “being green”, there was unlikely to be much progress environmentally.
So began my 10 years in the wilderness environmentally. This time wasn’t wasted however, as I focused on my other passion; people. In that period from the mid-90’s to the mid-00s, I had roles which took in a very people-centric view of the world, including skills such as customer service, management, marketing & PR, business development and training.
PeopleProfitPlanet
In 2006 I realised I could combine these people skills with my passion for the planet, as finally business was realising there was a profit opportunity in being green. I therefore launched my specialist behavioural change consultancy PeopleProfitPlanet, and within a few months of my launch, the extremely influential Stern Report on the economics of climate change and M&S’ game changing “Plan A” were both unveiled.
Based in Leeds, I worked with over 40 different organisations, most of them large well know ones such as Allianz Insurance, East Riding NHS, Parcelforce and Enterprise Rent-a-Car, traded through the difficult circumstances of the global recession, and in 2012 sold the business to a London headquartered consultancy. I worked for them for 2 years, and then had a period freelancing before taking a position at the well regarded consultancy, Carbon Smart in early 2015. In the spring of that year I authored the Empower Change guide and was delighted to receive many glowing testimonials for it.
Inspiring Sustainability
I realised in late 2015 that independence suited me, but kept the great relationship I had with Carbon Smart, becoming an associate, focused on engagement and communications. This has led to me working with a number of interesting clients, such as Brunel University, British Film Industry, Weil LLP and Suffolk County Council. I now work with clients via my own brand, Inspiring Sustainability.
