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May 16, 2017

Cambodia Travel Diary

17 April 2010

Last Saturday, I headed to Cambodia with my mom and dad. Siem Reap is a bustling town, totally geared for the tourist trade, but without having lost its agricultural and cultural roots. I felt very relaxed among the people, dusty roads, scooters and market stalls. Our visit to the various Angkor Wat temples was fascinating. They are just as one imagines jungle temple ruins should be.

We had a very informative guide, who was very patient with our endless picture taking and videoing. My favourites were the two temples that were returning to nature, with trees growing throughout the crumbling complexes and roots clinging to the remaining walls. We also had a hot hike through the jungle to an area where a rocky river bed had been carved.

The only pity, for both Thailand and Cambodia, was that we were too early for the rainy season. As a result, the temperatures were scorching (over 35 or 40 degrees most days and over 25 most nights), the landscape was not very green, the rice paddies were still dust bowls and the waterfalls were hardly more than trickles. Despite this, it was an incredible 2 weeks or so, with many amazing sights and rich experiences.

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May 16, 2017

Brazil Travel Diary

31 July 2010

I am loving being in Rio. I guess it has to do with the warm weather, the beach and the surrounding mountains. It all feels more natural and relaxed. I can see why it has a reputation for ‘fun in the sun’. I write this from the botanical gardens. They are a real oasis of green and shade. I walked this morning from the hostel and around the lagoon (Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas), as far as the gardens. The path around the lagoon (which is more like a lake) is about 7.5 kms and a great favourite for walkers, joggers, bikers and skaters.

The amazing thing about Rio is that almost wherever you are, there is the backdrop of the giant stone edifices that are the mountains surrounding and interspersing the city. Often, there is also the sight of water, beaches and forests. That is not to say there is a shortage of concrete. This is a city of about 9 million people. But the buildings and the people are embedded in natural beautiful surroundings. The Tijuca Forest, of which the Botanical Gardens form a part, and which extend to the top of the Christ mountain, is the largest urban forest in the world.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that people don’t hassle or hustle you. There are a few hawkers and traders on the streets and beaches, but they are very passive. I’m sure I’m imposing stereotypes, but it feels like everyone just ‘gets’ that there’s more to life than work and money. Of course, Brazil has had at least a decade of strong economic growth, so I’m sure that helps. I’m also sure that the millions who still live in favelas are far from content, even if things are improving.

The cafes here are also interesting. First, there are more juice bars than coffee shops, which makes sense in a place where the temperature seldom drops below 15 degrees. But also, the cafes are so unpretentious – scruffy even. Just small holes in the wall and plastic chairs on the pavements. It’s almost as if the important thing is the people, the company and the food/drink, not the trappings.

I should mention that I am competing with buzzing things for my drink, which is called Guarana Antarctica, a classic soda in Brazil made from berries from the Amazon. There is certainly no shortage of buzzing, biting things in Rio, and it must be worse the closer to the tropics and the rainforest you get. Yesterday’s tour was breathtaking. I count myself so fortunate to have the opportunity to see such beautiful places in the world.

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May 16, 2017May 16, 2017

Australia Travel Diary

14 February 2010

Well, I’ve been in Melbourne a couple of days now – finally over the jetlag. The flight from London via Hong Kong is a bit of a marathon, and with an 11 hour time difference, it’s not surprising my body clock was confused.

I am staying in a student complex, about 30 minutes outside the city, and about 15 minutes from the La Trobe campus. It’s a matchbox size single room with a bed, sink and toilet/shower (the toilet is actually in the shower cubicle!). What more does a guy need?

I’ve had two short trips into the city. First, on Thursday, I visited Leeora Black, Director of ACCSR, and took a lovely stroll through the Royal Botanical Gardens. There’s some great, funky architecture down town. Friday was just a quick trip in to apply for a passport renewal.

Friday to Sunday, I was teaching at La Trobe Graduate School of Management – the first half of a 6 day module on Business in Society, as part of a Masters in Responsible Business. They are a great bunch of students – a mixture of managers, local government officials and academics.

The La Trobe campus is vast, with large expanses of green space. I keep seeing “beware of the kangaroo” signs, but I haven’t seen any yet (maybe they can’t read?). There is a nature reserve right next to the campus, which I look forward to visiting.

Today, I head off to Sydney for a couple of days, where I will be teaching a 1-day workshop for the University of New South Wales on “Creating Change through Social Responsibility”. I should have a day or so to be a city tourist as well, before heading back to Melbourne.

I’ll be staying in Bondi with Samantha Graham, an old friend who studied with me at the Centre for Human Ecology in Edinburgh about 15 years ago. She is now a mum & sustainability educator at Stormlight Consulting. It’s great how these connections live on over time and space.

18 February 2010

This week, I flew to Sydney to deliver a workshop on “Creating Change through Social Responsibility” for the University of New South Wales’ Centre for Social Impact. I also gave a talk on “The Future of CSR” at a CSR Sydney evening event, kindly hosted by David Morrisey.

I was fortunate enough to be given a place to crash for 3 nights by Samantha Graham, a colleague from my days at the Centre for Human Ecology in Edinburgh, where we both did our Masters. Both Sam and her partner, John Talbott, also lived at the Findhorn Community for many years.

Findhorn is an ecovillage in the north of Scotland, which I visited twice (in 1994 and 1995). It was a source of great inspiration, as an example of living in harmony with nature and with an intentional spiritual purpose. Like so many others, I first heard about it through Paul Hawken’s book, The Magic of Findhorn – the same Hawken who wrote subsequent classics that have been equally leading-edge, like The Ecology of Commerce, Natural Capitalism and Blessed Unrest.

As it happens, Sam & John’s flat overlooks Bondi Beach, so I was treated not only to their wonderful hospitality, but also spectacular views across the bay.

On my “tourist day”, I visited the New South Wales Art Gallery, where I was most taken with the Aboriginal art painted on flattened bark. There is also a fantastic sculpture outside, comprised of two 20 ft matches – one burned and the other not. Apparently, it is a commentary by the artist of the transience of life.

I also walked around Darling Harbour and took the ferry to Manly, which allows great views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. All in all, my impressions of Sydney (which has strong echoes of Cape Town for me) is of a city where they have got the work-play balance just about right.

This laid back lifestyle (which Sam captured in a nutshell as “too much sun”) is probably also why Australia has been so slow to take issues like climate change seriously (despite years of drought), but that’s the subject of another blog.

20 February 2010

Yesterday, at the invitation of Leeora Black, Director of the Australian Centre for CSR (ACCSR), and sponsored by La Trobe Graduate School of Management, I gave a keynote address on “Leadership for social responsibility” at the ACCSR conference in Melbourne. The conference theme was around ISO 26000 in a post financial crisis world.

What are my impressions so far? I sense a huge frustration among people working in CSR in Australia. The biggest reasons cited are an unsupportive (some even say backward) government policy environment, and the negative lobby power of Australia’s two biggest industries – extractives (mainly mining) and agriculture.

After about 10 years of severe drought (and even fatalities from runaway bush-fires in Victoria last year), it is hard to understand why climate change is not right at the top of government and business agendas. But perhaps that is testimony to the power of vested interests in the status quo.

Also, the opposition party is scoring cheap political points by calling everything to do with climate change a tax, to be avoided at all costs. They fail to mention that (according to the Stern Review) it may cost 1% of GDP now, but it will cost 20% of GDP later if nothing is done. So they are happy to tax the future 20 times as heavily, in order to get quick votes today.

I did hear one other explanation for why the take-up of CSR in general, and climate action in particular, is so lacklustre in Australia. “There’s too much sun”, said my friend and sustainability consultant, Samantha Graham. By which she meant, Australians are too laid back about life. They are eternal optimists who believe that things will get better sooner or later.

To be fair, there is some really progressive work going on in stakeholder engagement and social impact management among the mining companies (more about that another time). Meanwhile, why worry about disaster scenarios for 2050 when the sun is shining, the skies are blue and there’s a cracking footie (or rugby or cricket) game on?

CSR-what? Surf’s up!

27 February 2010

Last week, I went to an exhibition of Australian sculptor, Ricky Swallow, at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. His work is quite simply sublime (although his affection for skulls makes some of it disturbing at the same time).

Encouragingly, Swallow is a self-taught wood sculptor, relying on persistence rather than formal training. Asked about his talent, he says: “You’ve either got some sort of gift for it or you haven’t. I’ve always thought it better to be a pirate than an expert in any medium; it’s better to find your own attitude within it.”

I have an inexplicable emotional affinity with wood carvings and it remains one of my unfulfilled ambitions – to learn the craft myself. I can’t yet tell whether I have “the pirate within”, but in the meantime, I am more than happy to be inspired by the art of others, such as Swallow.

6 March 2010

This past week, I have been sampling the best of Melbourne – from art to football, academia to social enterprise. Last Saturday, Bob Kochen too me to an Aussie rules football match (St Kilda v Sydney). It was surprisingly easy to get the hang of, and great fun to watch, made more exciting because it was a close match – the Saints won by a single point.

Still on the sporting theme, I went to see the movie, Invictus. It brought back some strong memories, as I thought back to that tense and magical time in South Africa’s history. I was in Johannesburg at the time and apprehension and ecstasy were palpable. I found the first half of the movie – which gives some insight into Mandela’s mind – more captivating than the rugby-dominated second half.

On Sunday, Leeora Black and Bob Kochen took me out to the Dandenongs (a mountainous area on the outskirts of Melbourne), to visit the William Ricketts Sanctuary. As a self-confessed sculptophile, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. The clay sculptures of aboriginal people emerging from rocks and trees in the forest are breathtakingly beautiful. It was also interesting to learn how Ricketts’ art was inspired by a deeply spiritual eco-animistic philosophy.

As if I hadn’t been spoiled enough, yesterday Kate Hardiman went with me to a Ron Meuck exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. Mueck is a super-realist sculptor who messes with your mind by changing the scale of his (mostly human) pieces. Hence, a giant (maybe 20 foot) newborn baby and a miniature (2 foot) old woman in the foetal position. Really fascinating!

It hasn’t been all play and no work. On Friday, I gave a presentation at an event on responsible business organised by Victoria University, sharing the platform with Colin Higgins (Vic U), Neil Birtchnell (Transfield Services) and John Prince (Social Compass). Colin then took me to meet Shanaka Fernando, founder of the social enterprise Melbourne restaurant chain, Lentil As Anything (I will blog separately about Shanaka).

Apart from the delights of Melbourne’s sights and citizens, I also experienced all four of its seasons yesterday – from sunny blue skies to a freak hail storm in the space of a few hours. I ended up spending a wonderful afternoon in St Kilda, then wondering back in the rain through the memorial park and along the Yarra river.

7 March 2010

Recently, I had the good fortune to spend some time with Shanaka Fernando, founder of the Melbourne based restaurant chain, Lentil As Anything. Shanaka is one of those rare pioneers who are prepared to live by their convictions, flaunt social convention and challenge the status quo.

After a failed stint as a Buddhist monk in his home country of Sri Lanka (he fell in love with a nun and got kicked out), he came to Australia and dabbled in law studies. It wasn’t fulfilling, so he gave it up to travel on a shoestring around the Third World for six years, learning about culture and community along the way. When he returned to Australia, Shanaka started a business importing saris made from recycled fabrics, which made him enough money to start his current social experiment – Lentil As Anything.

I call it a social experiment, because the business goes beyond simply being a social enterprise. Like other social businesses, Lentil As Anything embraces the entrepreneurial spirit while it “seeks to have a significant, positive influence on the development of the community”. But there is something more unique, more challenging, more sublime and more subversive – because it gets to the heart of human nature and the essence of Western capitalism. I am talking about generosity and money.

Through Lentil As Anything, Shanaka is trying to foster a culture of generosity. What would happen, he wondered, if there were no prices? What if people only paid what they could afford, or what they thought the food was worth, or what they were inspired to pay? Is there enough generosity left in Western society to run a viable business on the principle of giving and sharing, rather than profit maximisation? Would the ‘free rider’ problem kick in, with people taking advantage of the ‘free’ food?

According to Shanaka, all kinds of interesting things happen when people are faced with ‘the magic box’ – the treasure chest that people can place their donations in as they leave. A few (very, very few) take advantage. Some, who genuinely can’t afford to pay, offer to chop vegetables or do dishes. Others make their own assessment of what is a fair price to pay. Some are quietly generous, while others make a theatrical gesture of placing their donation in the magic box.

But it goes beyond the money. Other unexpected things happen too. As you look around, you notice that this is not a ‘people like me’ experience, where you are surrounded by those from your own socio-economic or ethno-cultural strata. Lentil has succeeded in mixing it up, cutting across traditional divides. And because of the philosophy of the place, you may find a wealthy businessman striking up a conversation with a subsistence artist.

When you nurture these kind of creative connections, it is a potent recipe for innovation, for rediscovering what it means to be human. Shanaka insists that Lentil is first and foremost about good food (interestingly, vegetarian food, because that is the most inclusive, making concerns about halal or kosher or meat-based preparation irrelevant). But it is clearly more than that. It is an invitation to restore our faith in the essential goodness of humanity and the wholesome nature of community.

What, you may ask, has all this to do with CSR? Well, I believe it is entrepreneurs like Shanaka that are at the forefront of the CSR 2.0 wave. If we subject Lentil to the 5 tests of CSR 2.0, it scores well: 1) Is Lentil creative? (yes), 2) is it scalable (not sure), 3) is it responsive (extremely), 4) is it glocal (yes, it thinks globally but acts locally), and 5) is it circular (mostly, yes, local production and recycling are part of the philosophy and practice).

Even on scalability, Lentil gave me pause to think about what I mean by that. If we accept the ‘Long Tail’ approach to scalability (popularised by Chris Anderson), Lentil doesn’t have to go from 4 to 40,000 restaurants to be scalable. It could be that 10,000 independent restaurants – inspired by a similar philosophy – pop up all around the world and turn the generosity experiment into a global movement.

As the world recovers from the Age of Greed that culminated in the global financial crisis, it is refreshing to be reminded of the rightful place of money in society. Money is always a means to an end; never the end in itself. Melbourne – and indeed the world – would be a poorer place if brave experiments like Lentil As Anything were allowed to fail. Let us make sure that, in the battle of generosity versus money, generosity wins hands down.

15 March 2010

My time in Australia is up. I am now flying to Singapore. The five weeks seem to have flown by, jam-packed with stimulation. The ‘shared learning’ approach worked out extremely well, and included delivering the keynote speech at the ACCSR annual conference, teaching the Business in Society course at La Trobe Graduate School of Management, running 1-day workshops for ACCSR in Melbourne and the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and giving talks at Banarra (a Sydney based consultancy) and Victoria University (in Melbourne). I also managed to capture numerous video interviews with CSR experts of various flavours, which I am sharing through CSR International.

The social and cultural side has also been great. Although confined to Sydney and Melbourne, I feel like I have gotten to know both cities a bit and tasted some of their delights, by visiting the attractions (Sydney harbour, Melbourne gardens), strolling along the beachfronts (Bondi, St Kildare), looking in on the galleries (National Gallery of Victoria), cheering on the sport (Aussie rules football) and soaking up the music (Bennett Lane jazz). It has also been a time of making new friends and acquaintances, some of which I expect to last into the future, or at least be revived when I return. Speaking of which, I am pleased that La Trobe wants me back to teach again next year. I expect I will oblige.

17 January 2011

Arrived jet-lagged in Melbourne. 3 am and I’m bright as a button. Well ok, more like an unpolished, brass button ;-). Will try to sleep now.

24 January 2011

Finished a weekend of teaching (Fri 6-9pm, Sat & Sun 9am-4pm). Tiring, but rewarding. I enjoy the interaction with the students and the challenge of making the content engaging and informative. I took a few days to get over my jetlag last week, so my productivity was not great. This week will have to be far more productive, as Indira arrives on Saturday, and most of next week will be a no-go for work.

I am staying in a spacious self-catering room at Rydges Bell City in Preston. So far, I have not been tempted to go out, or even to swim or test out the gym. Mostly I’ve been reading (really enjoying Pillars of the Earth) and watching the Australian Open Tennis. I feel I must take advantage of this time alone to work on my personal projects (website, diary, art, writing) but I haven’t had the energy or motivation so far.

It has been wonderful to have blue skies and sunshine for a few days, although it is raining today.

25 January 2011

Saw my first wild possum in a tree last night. Today is a holiday down under – Australia Day (or Invasion Day as the more cynical call it).

31 January 2011

Enjoyed the Melbourne Immigration Museum & a stroll thru the Botanical Gardens. Still pretty scorching, but at least not 38 C like yesterday Heading off on the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne today. 36 degrees C so will be grateful for aircon. Will probably overnight in Apollo Bay.

2 February 2011

Apollo Bay, Australia. After driving down from Melbourne yesterday, Indira and I have spent a glorious night at the Kookaburra Cottage just outside Apollo Bay. The cottage is everything you would hope for – overlooking the sea and in the shadow of a hill, where herds of Shetland ponies graze; a river running through and forests flanking; an 87 year old cockatoo called Cockadoolie, who says, Watcha doin’?’ and ‘See ya later’; free roaming chickens and 3 cats (we also spotted a fox on the hill); beautiful wild cockatoos – white with bright yellow crests, and blue and white parakeets; wooden benches made of driftwood; all manner of artistic installations – crazy paving, pebble cairns, dream catchers, carvings, stained glass, old wagon wheels, rusty horse shoes and weather beaten saddles, not to mention all the luxuries of a log cabin with fireplace, Jacuzzi and gnarled wooden writing desk overlooking the ocean.

Yesterday, we drove at a leisurely pace down the Great Ocean Road, stopping at Anglesea Bay to swim, and numerous other spots to take pictures, including an amazing flat rock formation (seemingly volcanic), called Cathedral Rock. We have the same rocks here at Apollo Bay, with cracks and bubbles and honeycomb erosions that make exquisite patterns. As Indira said, ‘No wonder some people believe in God’.

We were up in time for a sunrise stroll along the beach, after a deeply restful sleep, soothed by the rhythmic roar of the ocean waves and the crackle of the fire. The owner, a spritely woman with grey dreadlocks, has owned and built up the cottages over the past 30 years, with the help of her son and daughter. She told Indira (as they went down to the herb garden to collect fresh mint for her tea) that this is a place of healing. I don’t doubt it. I feel replenished after less than 24 hours. We also came away with lots of ideas for Mountain View Cottage. Maybe one day we will add to the dream that Mom and Dad have already begun.

3 February 2011

Melbourne. Yesterday, we drove to the Twelve Apostles, which are spectacular rock buttresses that have separated from the mainland limestone cliffs. Then we went to a temperate rainforest where a ‘skyway’ bridge has been constructed through the tree-tops. At its highest, the viewing tower is 47 m, while the walkways (including a cantilever ‘arm’) reach 33 m. In one section of the forest, realistic-looking dinosaurs have been hidden alongside the path. On our way back along the Great Ocean Road, we were delighted to see a wallaby on the side of the road, and some koalas in the eucalyptus trees. They truly are the cutest things ever, and they make the strangest growling sound, we think to mark their territory. Apparently, they sleep most of the time because the eucalyptus leaves are so low in nutritional value. So, all in all, an amazing two days. And all the better to be sharing the experiences with Indira. These good memories will be a deep well to quench us in the years ahead.

4 February 2011

Melbourne is getting the fringe effects of Cyclone Yasi – lots of rain, some flooding .. and on the news, they assure “we’ve seen it all before”.

7 February 2011

After our Great Ocean Road road trip, we went to the Yarra Valley, a beautiful drive through vineyards and forests, and on to the Healesville wildlife sanctuary. We discovered that koalas make the strange grunting, growling noise to signal their presence to females during mating season and to warn off other males. At the sanctuary, we had a chance to see a koala up close. I never knew that they have a double thumb for better grip. We also saw a platypus – much smaller than I had expected, but also rather lovely. One kangaroo was lying on its side, with its arms folded and looked for all the world like a model posing in a beach scene.

Apart from these trips out of town, we have also gone into town, first to City Square for a drink, where we listened to a wonderful live band called Joys Soul; then to Chinatown, where we had a delicious dinner – rather appropriate as it was Chinese New Year (last night). Today, we will head to Victoria market, then have drinks with some of the La Trobe staff, before driving to the airport for Indira’s evening flight. It has been a real treat to have her here for the past 10 days, and we have seen some great sights. Now, it is back to serious work for us both.

8 February 2011

Presented a workshop at Victoria Uni yesterday on governance & leadership. Tonight, I help to launch the ACCSR State of CSR in Australia report.

14 February 2011

A weekend of teaching, but enjoyed a pre-season Aussie rules football live match on Saturday. Also a Japanese summer festival at Docklands.

16 February 2011

Giving input to a workshop today at Melbourne Law School on The Future of CSR. Can changes in corporate law redefine the purpose of companies?

17 February 2011

En route Melbourne to London via Singapore. It has been a good four weeks in Australia – a good change of weather and of scenery and of activity. Indira’s visit was a highlight, seeing beautiful sights beyond the city.

9 May 2014

On my way to Melbourne from London via Singapore for a week with the good folks of Deakin University, as part of my Adjunct Professorship.

14 May 2014

Looking forward to presenting at the Deakin MBA CSaRO alumni event on Creating Shared Value: Revolution or Clever Con?

15 May 2014

End of a productive week in Melbourne, with a PhD roundtable, faculty seminar on sustainability leadership, alumni talk on shared value, meetings on collaborative research, as well as seeing a few sites over the weekend.

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May 16, 2017May 16, 2017

Armenia Travel Diary

21 November 2009

Armenia has a proud and long history, being the first country to be a state-declared Christian nation (in 301 AD). It has all the characteristics of a small nation (3 million) that has suffered many conflicts and yet managed to hold onto its identity.

Both Armenia and Georgia retain the imprint of their communist past, but the people seem to have (for the most part) moved on. It’s almost as if the building still stands, but has been completely renovated and redesigned. The State is most visible now in the excessive presence of the traffic police, as if the exercising of authority had to find an outlet somewhere.

In the short time I was there, I had a chance to explore the Cascades – a real treat for a scultophile like me. Here too, there are stories. One is of a flower-seller who every day used to give free blooms to the beautiful women who passed on the street. As a tribute to his generosity, when he died, the city erected a statue of him.

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May 16, 2017

UK Travel Diary

4 August 1992

Arrived in London. To follow: Campervan Tour of UK with Kathleen, Mom and Dad – included Canterbury, Winchester, Stonehenge, Bath, Tintagel, Lake District, Findhorn, Sherwood Forest, Stratford pon Avon.

18 August 1992

By way of first impressions, Findhorn was somehow different from my expectations, although exactly what I had expected I can’t say. Nevertheless, I come away feeling impressed. Findhorn seemed to me a healthy, innovative, spiritually centred living and working community. All evidence pointed towards a creativity and openness of spirit at work, and certainly a willingness to experiment and change as the community evolved. Developments of particular interest included eco-housing projects as well as a number of business initiatives. In general, I believe the Findhorn experiment, and others like it, will be increasingly important as the search for alternative living styles begins to mushroom in the near future.

May 16, 2017

Malaysia Travel Diary

23 October 2016

Borneo, Malaysia. As night falls, the surrounding Borneo tropical rainforest has come alive with noise – most notably the trill of frogs and the rhythmic pulse of cicadas. I am with Indira and nine others on the Sabah study tour of the Emerging Leaders Dialogue Asia (ELDA). Yesterday, after we delivered our workshop on transformational leadership, our group flew from KL to Kota Kinabalu, where we were welcomed for dinner in the beautiful family home of Jasmine, an ELDA alumnus. We enjoyed a mini-feast of banana fritters, pomelo and langsat (a bit like lychees but more delicious), while listening to the inspiring story of Barefoot College, which trains village grandmothers to be solar engineers.

This morning we set out from the Cititel Express hotel at 5.30 am and met the management team of Forest Solutions Malaysia in Kota Marudu. After a short presentation by Li Ling and Glen of their sustainable forestry approach – which is a ‘mosaic’ model of commercial timber plantations mixed in amongst protected secondary rainforest – we were given a tour of one of their plantation conservation areas (Coupe 7 Block 7), including the Kolibambang Nursery where we are overnighting.

While it is always disturbing to see rainforest being cleared, it is not old growth, virgin forest (i.e. it has been logged numerous times before) and the hybrid approach may create the economic incentives needed to stop logging tropical hardwoods from the rainforest in favour of the higher yield commercially grown trees. Having patches of plantation in between the natural forest (they clear around 65%) also allows some migration of species and avoids large scale clear felling.

25 October 2016

This morning I am sitting in a bamboo gazebo next to the river at Camp International’s volunteer centre in the village of Bongkud. We arrived here in time for lunch yesterday and then walked up to the kindergarten that is being built and did some token volunteering – an hour or so of painting and chopping out a concrete floor. In the evening after dinner, a dozen or so local children performed traditional dances. We were then invited to try their bamboo dance, which is a bit like hopscotch between parallel bamboo poles that are being smashed together.

All of this is part of Camp International’s Borneo volunteer programme, which is extremely well organised and integrated into the village community. Two things that impressed me most were the passion and commitment of the local Borneo managers and workers, and the strong, yet humble, hands-on leadership of the village chief. I was a bit concerned about dependence on Western charity (volunteers), but it seems they do also work on building self-reliance by creating livelihoods in eco-tourism and other areas.

Last night we slept in one of the traditional bamboo long houses, which has 10 adjoining rooms raised on stilts and with open windows. It was a real treat to fall asleep to the sounds of crickets and the flowing river, although some were less impressed with the local rooster that began his wakeup call long before sunrise. Once again, I feel so privileged to be able to experience these diverse places and to meet inspiring individuals from around the world.

26 October 2016

We had a fantastic few days travelling around Sabah, meeting inspiring people and seeing beautiful places. I am now writing to the soundtrack of the rainforest: the screech of cicadas, the chorus of frogs and the roar of the river running by. We have just returned from a short walk through the forest to a thundering waterfall, where we took a refreshing dip in the natural pool and had a power shower under the waterfall. This is a stunningly beautiful place called Mahua, about 1.5 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu.

Yesterday after breakfast at Camp Bongkud, we drove to Mount Kinabalu and listened to a presentation by the director of the protected park (and World Heritage Site) about the terrible earthquake of June 2015, which killed four guides and 14 tourists, including school children. We also visited the family of one of the mountain guides who had lost his life. Indira and I would love to return and do the 2 day (overnight) hike to the summit.

28 October 2016

Yesterday we visited Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, a marine conservation area around five islands off the coast of Kota Kinabalu. I was surprised that the islands were inhabited and developed as resorts. Unfortunately the inherent conflict between people and conservation was all too evident, with litter on the beaches and in the ocean, waste water effluent flowing into the sea and destruction of the corals by tourists. There was also a small (3m x 3m) net under one of the jetties with a dozen or so large fishes and sharks on display, supposedly for educational purposes. Unsurprisingly and sadly, the park’s tour guide said the marine park had not increased biodiversity, but rather only slowed its destruction.

On the positive side, the islands are beautiful and some attempts are being made to offer lower impact tourist activities. For example, there was an underwater glass tunnel for viewing fish in their natural habitat, and solo submarines, which look like a cross between a diving bell suit and a motorbike, from which tourists can view the corals and marine life. There are also low impact activities like a zip line from one island to another, which we had fun testing out. At one of the resorts, on Gaya Island, we heard about Inner Peace, a company that trains rural women to enter the spa tourism sector.

In the afternoon we were hosted by SWEPA (Sabah Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals Association) and heard a presentation about the Barefoot Solar Project, which trains village grandmothers to become solar engineers. There are so many positive aspects to this case, as it breaks barriers and stereotypes around gender, age and education (the ‘solar mamas’ are also illiterate), while introducing renewable technologies to rural areas and ensuring there are people with the necessary skills to maintain and fix the solar lights if they break down.

This morning we visited KPJ Sabah, a private hospital chain. Apart from showing that a Malaysian company can deliver world-class healthcare services for the wealthy, there was not much to be inspired by.

2 November 2016

Our study tour ended with a presentation by the Sarawak Economic Development Agency, where our group of a dozen of so was joined by HRH Princess Anne. The next day, each of the seven study tour groups delivered a 30 minute presentation of their findings to a panel which included HRH.

Our Sabah group shared our insights across five themes:

Tensions in sustainable development, which I presented, together with Jereme, focusing on the cases of Forest Solutions and the Marine Conservation Park;
Challenges and barriers, covering transparency, infrastructure and overdependence, with the positive case of Barefoot Solar;
Education and empowerment, showcasing St Martins School, which trains pupils in vocational skills like tourism and hairdressing, Inner Peace Spa, and Mahua Rainforest Paradise;
Women as sustainability leaders, referencing SWEPA and the Solar Mamas; and
Leadership traits, co-presented by Indira, focusing on vision, humility, tenacity, passion and collaboration.

Our presentation was very strong, striking a balance between informing, critiquing and inspiring. I concluded with four messages, saying:

We came knowing that in the West we have failed to find a sustainable path to prosperity and wellbeing;
We came with many questions and found many answers that informed, challenged, entertained and even surprised us. For example, we didn’t know that Malaysia was the 3^rd largest producer of solar panels in the world in 2014;
We came from diverse backgrounds and countries and discovered strength in our diversity, not only in the team but also in the communities and organisations we met; and
We came as emerging leaders ourselves and were delighted to find a strong crop of emerging leaders in Asia, Malaysia and Sabah.

I finished by thanking HRH, ELDA, Adrian (the chair), Kishore (the organiser) and Boon (our study tour group leader), saying that we arrived as curious students and are leaving as inspired friends.

Over the final two days I had three opportunities to speak directly with Princess Anne and was impressed by her easy, down to earth manner, and her probing questions and comments, especially during the day of presentations.

We left Kuching having formed some wonderful new friendships with our study tour group members. We are hopeful that there may be opportunities for follow up work in Micronesia and New Zealand.

Yesterday we visited BB, a large scale clothes recycling factory, which processes about 600 tonnes of used clothes a month, mostly from Australia, which it redistributes for sale around the world. It is a good example of closing the loop, although worker conditions could be improved (70% are migrants working 12 hour shifts six days a week for minimum wages). We were told this is standard practice in Malaysia.

We return to Cambridge enriched by fresh experiences, cultural insights, new friendships and shared memories. So it goes and so we grow.

May 16, 2017

South Africa Travel Diary

25 January 2016

As I write, I am seated at a beautiful rough wooden table, in a Bush Villa at Botlierskop in the Western Cape, some 20 km inland from Groot Brak River, just past Mossel Bay. The veranda, with two half-egg shaped, latticed swinging chairs, looks out through some trees onto a small lake (watering hole).

On the opposite bank, a herd of a dozen or so Waterbuck have been browsing, while a cormorant dries its wings, perched on a protruding branch in the middle of the water. Nearby, on the bank in front of our villa, hadedas are rooting around, and a pair of kiewiets are piep-piep-pieping. There are muddy spoor of what is most likely Cape Buffalo, and the occasional view of vervet monkeys on the tin roof of the adjacent villa.

Now, I hear the spit and crackle and hiss of the fire outside, where soon we will barbeque our dinner. Inside, the furnishings are sumptuous, with four-poster beds, veiled in white net curtains, and animal skin rugs on the floors. And yet, I realise, the real luxury is the tranquil setting; the feeling of being cocooned in nature and soothed by its lullaby sounds.

Besides the idyllic setting, it is made special by being with Indira and Dorian. For Dori, it is his first visit to South Africa and his first ‘safari’ type experience. And for Indira, it is a deepening of her connection with this land, its people and its wildlife.

Earlier, on arrival at the reception, we watched as two tame, yet free-ranging, lions walked towards us from a hill opposite. It was such a moment of pure joy that it brought tears to Indira’s eyes. Seeing her moved by nature so deeply makes me happy. Tomorrow, we will do a morning game drive and then walk with the lions, which will be a thrilling first for all of us.

27 January 2016

Yesterday, we awoke to find a rhino on the grassy bank opposite our villa. It appeared to be resting, although it got to its feet when it heard us. The immense bulk and prehistoric look of the animal makes it an impressive sight to behold. It was joined a few minutes later by two more rhinos, which had come down to the water to graze.

At 7 am we set out on our 3-hour game drive with Richard, our guide. The reserve is divided into several fenced enclosures to keep certain species and herds apart. For example, the Burchell’s zebras are kept separate from the once endangered Cape Mountain zebras, to prevent interbreeding. The lions, which all seem to be rescued or hand-raised, also have their own enclosure in which they are fed. Fortunately, all the fenced areas are large and allow the animals to roam freely.

During the morning, we saw a wonderful variety of wildlife, including impala (red and the rarer black), bontebok, lion (an impressive male called Chris and two females), elephant (a forty year old bull, with a younger male and a small calf; apparently the matriarch had died from a stroke recently), five giraffe, five rhinos, a big herd of kudu, zebras (Burchell’s and Mountain), blue wildebeest and some waterbuck.

A few new things I learned were that the white line under lions’ eyes is to help reflect light into their eyes at night, thus enhancing their nocturnal vision, while the opposite is true for waterbuck, which have a white line above their eyes to reflect light away, especially from the water surface. I didn’t know how to differentiate a Burchell’s from a Cape Mountain zebra (the former has white socks and the latter has the remnants of a dewlap, like Kudus). Also, I never watched a giraffe chew the cud, swallow it and 5 seconds later regurgitate a new cud. Because of their long necks, the whole process is more visible that with other ruminants.

After the drive and checking out, we went on a 45 minute ‘walk with lions’. Our pair were both lionesses and one was a white lion. The lions actually walked ahead, flanked by their four handlers, while we followed a safe distance behind, with our guide. One of the handlers occasionally throws some meat, to keep them incentivised. Although it was a special experience to walk with these big, beautiful cats, it felt at the same time a little contrived and unnatural, as if the lions were being made to perform for us.

After leaving Zorgfontein/Botlierskop, we headed up the Garden Route, stopping for lunch at Cocomo restaurant in the Wildernis, where we also took a dip in the nearby ocean. Next we stopped at Knysna Heads to take Dori to the viewpoint, before driving on to our chalet at Storms River Mouth. Dinner was a simple affair of eggs on toast and soon we were drifting to sleep to the lullaby of waves crashing against the rocky shore.

This morning, we walked a short loop in the forest and then to the suspension bridge and across and to the top of the opposite hill, before having an extremely brief swim – literally diving in and clambering out – in the Storms River Mouth and the bay near the restaurant. In both cases, the water was achingly cold, far more like the Atlantic than the Indian ocean. Both Indira and I lost our glasses, apparently by diving in with them on, although neither of us remembers doing so. This afternoon, we plan to do the 3 km coastal rocky walk past the cave and to the waterfall, where we will once again brave the freezing waters.

28 January 2016

Last night, we watched the sunset over the ocean, to a symphony of crashing waves. Later, after an Amarula coffee at the restaurant, we gazed in awe at the Milky Way overhead, so clear against the inky black sky. In the morning, we rose early (6.30 am) for a walk, before making our way to the Elephant Sanctuary just outside Plettenberg Bay.

Here, we had the surreal experience of walking with three elephants, each with their trunk in our hands. It is always such a privilege to be close to these gentle giants. The weight and strength of their trunks was incredible to feel, as first Thandi, and then Amarula used their prehensile trunk tips to hold the four fingers of my right hand during the walk. I must admit that I prefer seeing the elephants wild rather than tame and trained, but these hand-reared orphans seemed well treated.

Further along the N2, we stopped at the Coral Tree for coffee and pancakes, and then at Buffelsbaai (Buffalo Bay) for a swim, some excellent body surfing and lunch. Tonight, we will be back at Mountain View Swellendam, before heading into Cape Town for our final day, which will include taking the ferry to Robben Island and the cableway up tot the top of Table Mountain.

26 June 2016

After my 4 days teaching at GIBS and meetings with KPMG and Gautrain on Monday, I attended a talk by Unilever CEO Paul Polman on Tuesday morning. His knowledge and conviction easily convinced me that he is every bit the global sustainability leader that he appears to be. Indira arrived later the same morning and on Wednesday we had meetings for Migrant Entrepreneurs Network and a lovely dinner with Richard and Robyn.

On Thursday 23 June we flew to Durban where we met Mom and Dad and drove to our eco-lodge near Hluluwe. It is a nice spot nestled among the trees, with friendly staff and small splash pool. Although there is no wildlife officially on the property, warthogs and antelope (like red duiker) slip under the fence from the surrounding game reserves. There are also leopard that cross the grounds at night and vervet monkeys that move through the trees in the late afternoon.

Despite the idyllic setting, we spent the first few days coming to terms with two pieces of unwelcome news. First, I did not get the Atlanta job and second, Britain voted to exit the EU. Even so, we are starting to relax after our hectic 5-week spell of work and travel. Yesterday we went for a 7 km walk alongside the nearby lake, which has dried up, and had a very pleasant late lunch at The Fig Tree restaurant. Today we did an extended self-drive in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park and were lucky enough to see elephant, rhino, giraffe, buffalo, warthog, impala, nyala, red duiker, wildebeest, zebra and an eagle.

29 June 2016

Yesterday was mom’s 70^th birthday. After a leisurely morning around the camp, we went canoeing on Muzi Pan. We saw hippos about 20 metres away, as well as flamingos, pelicans, egrets and pied kingfishers. It was quite windy on the lake, so we go a good 2-hour workout in beautiful surroundings. Canoeing was a perfect activity, as it brought back memories for my parents of their younger days in Zimbabwe.

In the evening, we enjoyed a specially prepared dinner at the Eco-lodge, with a mushroom and potato soup for starters, salad and mixed vegetables for mains and a carrot cake (with 7 and 0 candles) for dessert. Two of the staff treated us to Zulu singing and dancing, after which we gave Mom her presents: earrings from Mexico (with pyramids and the sun and moon in Paua shell) and a Book of Jeanette, which we created online and printed.

This morning on our walk along the reserve fence line, we saw nyala and vervet monkeys. Every night, I have been woken by the cries of bush babies (aye-ayes) in the trees around the cabin. It is wonderful to sleep to the sounds of crickets and wake to the singing of birds. In these ways, the body and soul are refreshed.

2 July 2016

Flying back to a disappointing pro-Brexit UK after an adventurous break in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

One of the stories our canoe guide, Themba, told us was how the Zulu believe that a soul must always be brought home after death. He showed us a particular tree, with hooked thorns, which is used by sangomas to retrieve lost souls if a person dies somewhere other than their homestead. Little did we know that the story would very nearly apply to us (Indira and I) a few days later.

Two days ago, we went to DumaZulu cultural village for a tour of traditional living and a show of Zulu singing and dancing. Indira found it interesting and I was moved, as ever, by the powerful drums and melodies. We were also delighted to record a short birthday message from one of the young Zulu men to Khayam, as well as a song of good wishes (‘Halala’) from a group of Zulu men for the Into the Park Festival. In the afternoon, we joined a river boat cruise and were treated to numerous sightings of hippos, crocs and wildlife on the banks, as well as a classically spectacular African sunset.

Yesterday, our final day of holiday, we decided to return to Sodwana Bay, joined by Mom and Dad, who were celebrating their 49^th wedding anniversary. As before, we swam in the waves, suntanned on the beach (despite a gusty wind) and went for a long walk along the shoreline. We decided to swim a second time before driving back to The Fig Tree near Hluhluwe for lunch. The waves were bigger than previously and the tide seemed stronger, but this only made it more fun. Indira and I were near one another and quite far out among the waves, enjoying ourselves.

Then, suddenly we noticed that we were no longer able to touch the seabed in between waves. Also the rip-tide (undertow) was dragging us further and further from the shore. I shouted to Indira that I was heading back to the shore, then quickly realised that my efforts were futile; the current was too strong. As panic set in, I saw to my dismay that Indira was also in trouble. After struggling with the tide and the waves for some time, my feet unexpectedly felt sand in between one set of waves. I could hardly support my own legs, but relief flooded my consciousness as I knew we were going to survive.

Even now, days later, we are still dealing with the trauma and trying to make sense of the swirling thoughts and emotions. We feel foolish (for underestimating the risk), humbled (by our own feeble strength), in awe (of the immense power of the ocean), grateful (for a chance to live on) and more deeply connected (knowing that we probably saved one another from a terrible fate).

Reflecting now, I don’t know how close we came to drowning, but it certainly felt dangerously close. Analysed in the cold light of day, it is clear that panic and loss of hope were the greatest threats to our life in those moments. If we had just focused on staying afloat, or swimming across the current, or even allowed ourselves to be pulled out beyond the waves by the rip-tide, we would most likely have had the strength to swim back in further along the shore, or to tread water or float while waiting to be rescued.

By battling against the current in panic, we were exhausting ourselves to such an extent that we might have been pulled under and not had enough strength to keep fighting. Similarly, by believing that the situation was hopeless – that all our efforts were in vain and we would be swept out to sea beyond rescue – we increased the likelihood of psychologically (and therefore physically) giving up.

These are powerful insights, but I never want to go through another experience like this to test whether we’ve learned the lessons well. Right now, it is enough to celebrate living. My motto will be: life is good. No matter what challenges and struggles we might face, it is good to be alive.

May 16, 2017

How changing sustainable production could take us to Mars

First published by World Economic Forum, 4 January, 2017.

In September 2016, SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced that we could have human missions to Mars as soon as 2022. One side effect – apart from pushing the frontiers of space travel – is that it will challenge us to design and perfect various systems of sustainable production. The reason is quite simple: Mars is a barren, hostile planet, where all life support systems – from food and water to air and energy – will need to be artificially made and sustained, mostly using the limited resources the crew take with them.

In essence, what Musk and his space cadets will be trying to do is replicate what nature already does for us here on earth: creating an intelligent biosystem that can endlessly reuse or recycle resources in a way that allows life to survive and, ultimately, to thrive. This is the same idea that underlies the philosophy of sustainable production – albeit that the motivation and applied context is different – and it is by no means a new idea.

1960s and 1970s: recognising limits

In the 1960s and 1970s, a growing cadre of concerned scientists, economists and activists began warning us of the dire impacts of the exponential growth in our consumption of resources and the associated proliferation of toxins, waste and pollution. This included the likes of: Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, 1962; Barbara Ward, author of Spaceship Earth, 1965; Buckminster Fuller, author of Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, 1969; and the Club of Rome, authors of the ground-breaking Limits to Growth study, 1972.

Ironically, “spaceship earth” thinking is exactly what Elon Musk and SpaceX are going to have to apply on Mars. It recognizes the fact that we live with limited resources on one planet that acts as a “metabolic, regenerating system”, as Fuller described it, or a “living, self-regulating organism” in the words of NASA scientist, James Lovelock, who named this the Gaia theory.

Unfortunately, we have been living (and hence producing and consuming), as if we were in a “cowboy economy”, rather than a “spaceman economy”, according to economist Kenneth Boulding. The cowboy, Boulding explained in 1966, is “symbolic of the illimitable plains and also associated with reckless, exploitative, romantic, and violent behaviour”, while the spaceman represents the recognition of the earth as “a single spaceship, without unlimited reservoirs of anything, either for extraction or for pollution.”

The logical conclusion of accepting such a world of limits is, says Boulding, that humanity “must find its place in a cyclical ecological system which is capable of continuous reproduction of material form even though it cannot escape having inputs of energy.” Walter Stahel, an architect and industrial analyst, added meat to the bones of Boulding’s vision by proposing, in a 1976 report to the European Commission, a “closed loop” approach to production processes. He called this “cradle to cradle” and developed it further through the Product Life Institute, which he founded in Geneva.

At the same time that these concerns and philosophical ideas were gaining traction, a more pragmatic solution was also emerging. At the World Energy Conference in 1963, Harold Smith proposed looking at a “cumulative energy concept”, which laid the foundations for life cycle analysis/assessment (LCA). In 1969, Coca-Cola extended this idea by assessing the resource and pollution impacts of different beverage containers. This emergent methodology became known as a Resource and Environmental Profile Analysis (REPA) in the US and as an Ecobalance in Europe.

1980s and 1990s: rethinking production

In the 1980s, while LCA gained momentum, a related concept called industrial ecology emerged. It was popularized in 1989 in a Scientific American article by Robert Frosch and Nicholas E. Gallopoulos, in which they declared: “Why would not our industrial system behave like an ecosystem, where the wastes of a species may be resources to another species? Why would not the outputs of an industry be the inputs of another, thus reducing use of raw materials, pollution, and saving on waste treatment?”

Industrial ecology, therefore, proposes that businesses should not only look at the life cycle impacts of individual products of individual companies, but also look for ways in which to link up with other businesses to minimize their impacts. The Danish industrial park in the city of Kalundborg is a classic example, where a power plant, oil refinery, pharmaceutical plant, plasterboard factory, enzyme manufacturer, waste management company and the city itself, all link together to share and utilize resources, by-products, energy and waste heat.

Meanwhile, life cycle assessment was becoming so popular that, in 1991, eleven state attorney generals in the US expressed concerns that the method was being used to make misleading green claims. This concern, together with pressure from elsewhere in the world, led to the development of two LCA standards as part of the International Standards Organization (ISO) 14000 series: ISO 14041:1998 on Life cycle assessment (goal and scope definition and inventory analysis); and ISO 14043:2000 on Life cycle interpretation.

Another concept that was gaining popularity around the same time was cleaner production, promoted by institutions like the OECD and UNIDO and resulting in the UNEP Declaration on Cleaner Production in 1998, in which they defined cleaner production as “the continuous application of an integrated, preventive strategy applied to processes, products and services in pursuit of economic, social, health, safety and environmental benefits.” To support its application, UNEP and UNIDO collaborated to set up a global network of National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs) in the 1990s.

2000s and 2010s: a new industrial revolution

In the new millennium cleaner production continued to spread, receiving further endorsement at the UN’s 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2010, UNEP and UNIDO also revived the NCPCs with the launch of a Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production network (RECPnet), with 41 founding members. This reinvigorated the practice of eco-efficiency, which the World Business Council for Sustainable Development had been championing since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It also introduced decoupling as a goal, referring to the need to delink economic growth and environmental degradation.

The EU government meanwhile began working with business to create product roadmapping as a way of systematizing the application of LCA in different industries. This culminated in the adoption, in 2003, of the EU’s Integrated Product Policy (IPP) to promote conducting LCAs with a view to potential policy interventions. Two familiar products with diverse impacts were chosen by the EU to demonstrate IPP: one was a mobile phone, put forward by Nokia; the other, a teak garden chair from Europe’s largest retailer, Carrefour.

While these multilateral efforts were going on, sustainable production really began to catch the imagination of business after architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart published their book, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, in 2002. The cradle to cradle concept evolved from Braungart’s earlier work on lifecycle assessment with Germany’s Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA), in which he grew disillusioned with the limitations of LCA.

Working with McDonough and applying their intelligent design insights to products and processes, they proposed a circular model of production in which there are continuous flows of biological nutrients (i.e. any renewable materials that can harmlessly go back to nature and be regenerated) and technical nutrients (i.e. any non-renewable, or manufactured materials that are not biodegradable, but remain useful if returned and reused in the production of products).

The future: towards a circular model

Today, “cradle to cradle” has been adapted, promoted and mainstreamed as a circular economy approach, which relies on sustainable production as a key link in the chain. The way I like to describe it is that we are now moving from an old industrial model, in which we take, make, use and waste, to a new “syndustrial” model (designed for industrial and ecological synergies), in which we borrow, create, benefit and return.

In the old linear industrial model, business and consumers take, make, use and waste. We take by depleting non-renewable resources and over-using renewable resources, and by striving for limitless economic growth. We make by producing any products and services that the market demands and persuading customers to buy and consume more. We use by buying more than needed, leading to over-consumption and by individually owning what could be shared. Finally, we waste by turning consumed products into trash and pollution and by creating toxins and impacts that harm people and nature.

By contrast, in the new circular “syndustrial” model, in which we design for industrial synergy, business and consumers borrow, create, benefit and return. We borrow by conserving all natural resources and increasing renewable resource use; and we create by designing and making products with no negative impact and innovating products with positive impact.

For example, Novamont, as an Italian producer of bio-based plastics and biodegradable plastics, has adopted a renew and refine strategy. Among their clients are the global coffee company Lavazza, which now sells compostable coffee capsules that Novamont have produced, which biodegrade within 20-40 days. Similarly, BioGen in the UK has a renew and restore strategy, producing renewable energy (biogas) from food waste and then using the waste slurry as bio-fertilizer, which has been shown to produce higher crop yields when compared with chemical fertilizers.

In the new “syndustrial” model, we benefit by extending a product’s life, by repairing and reusing and by leasing and sharing. We return by using end-of-first-life materials to recreate the same products and to create new products.

For example, Caterpillar, the heavy machinery company, has pursued a reuse strategy through their Remanufacturing Centre in South Africa (the second largest in the world), which is designed to rebuild “as new” CAT components for 20-60% less than the cost of replacing with new parts. Similarly, Dutch aWEARness in the Netherlands is one of the first textile companies to make fully “circular” clothes, thus demonstrating a true recycle strategy. For example, their WearEver suits are made from 100% recyclable polyester, which can be turned back into a suit at least 8 times, giving a total life for the materials of 40-50 years.

Tetrapak in Ecuador is part of a reinvent strategy, whereby beverage packaging waste is being upcycled by an independent company into a range of high quality products, such as corrugated roofing, furniture, tabletops and jewellery. Similarly, REDISA in South Africa is managing the recovery and reprocessing of 70% of waste tyres in South Africa into a variety of rubber and steel products, while creating more than 3,000 jobs.

These examples are all featured cases in a forthcoming documentary called Closing the Loop, due for release in 2017. By adopting and scaling these new business models, we can achieve a transformative sustainable and social responsibility, which focuses its activities on identifying and tackling the root causes of our present unsustainability and irresponsibility.

Citation and download

Visser, W. (2017) How changing sustainable production could take us to Mars, World Economic Forum, 4 Jan.

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May 9, 2017May 16, 2017

Synergy: The Driver of Integrated Value in the New Nexus Economy

First published by HuffPost, 10 April, 2017.

We are at a unique moment in history, when five economic trends are coming together into a Nexus Economy that is rapidly transforming our world for the better.

Source: Wayne Visser (2017) Nexus Economy Framework

The Resilience Economy includes all the defensive expenditures and investments that lower risks in society, from property insurance and health and safety controls to flood defences and emergency response training. The Stockholm Resilience Centre defines resilience as “the capacity of a system, be it an individual, a forest, a city or an economy, to deal with change and continue to develop. It is about how humans and nature can use shocks and disturbances like a financial crisis or climate change to spur renewal and innovative thinking.” As we enter a period of greater turbulence, we expect the resilience economy to grow as a strategy to survive and thrive.

The Digital Economy includes all the technological expenditures and investments that increase connectivity and intelligence in society, from high-speed internet and The Internet-of-Things to MOOCs (massive open online courses) and artificial intelligence. The increased use of digital technologies could add $1.36 trillion to total global economic output in 2020, according to a recent study by Accenture and Oxford Economics (that’s the same size as the whole South Korean economy). The World Economic Forum calls this the Fourth Industrial Revolution and describes it as a “blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres”, which is growing exponentially.

The Access Economy includes all the expenditures and investments on shared services that increase efficient utilisation of assets, resources and capacity, from car-sharing (like Zipcar) and “couch surfing” (Air BnB) to entertainment streaming (Netflix) and crowdfunding (Kickstarter). The access economy (a term promoted by Harvard Business Review to suggest that customers increasingly want utilitarian value from accessing benefits from a product or service, rather than social value from intimate exchanges) is also known as the sharing economy, peer-to-peer marketplace, or collaborative consumption. PwC estimates the access economy may be worth $335 billion by 2025.

The Circular Economy includes all the expenditures and investments that decouple economic growth from environmental impact by ‘closing the loop’ on resource and energy flows, from waste recycling and biodegradable plastics to renewable energy and biomimicry designs. The circular economy draws on an evolution of concepts and practices since the 1960s that include ‘spaceship earth’ thinking, eco-balance, life cycle analysis, industrial ecology, industrial symbiosis, cleaner production, eco-innovation and cradle to cradle. In the book Waste to Wealth, based on analysis by Accenture, the circular economy opportunity is valued at $4.5 trillion by 2030.

The Wellbeing Economy includes all expenditures and investments that increase human health and happiness in society, from stress-relief practices and life coaching to plant-based diets and solutions to social diseases (like crime, inequality, suicide, domestic violence). There are various national indicators that have been created to demonstrate the limitations of economic growth as an indicator of progress in society, by measuring human wellbeing instead, such as the Social Progress Index, the Happy Planet Index and the OECD Better Life Initiative. As we become more conscious of the health impacts of lifestyle, consumerism, diet and pollution, the wellbeing economy is set to grow rapidly.

Each of these economic trends have spawned an aligned business strategy in response to the opportunities that they represent. Each on their own is a strategy for future-fitness.

Source: Wayne Visser (2017) 5-S Synergies for Creating Integrated Value Framework

A Safe Strategy is one in which our organisations, communities, cities and countries do not damage our health and wellbeing; rather, they minimize our exposure to toxins, sickness, disease and danger, allowing us to feel physically and psychologically secure. The test question is: to what extent does your organisation protect and care for us, i.e. your stakeholders? Keywords are: healthy, secure, resilient. Example indicators include: occupational health & safety, toxicity, risk, and emergency preparedness.

A Smart Strategy is one in which our organisations, communities, cities and countries use technology to better connect us to each other and allow us to share what we value most, and facilitate more democratic governance by allowing us (as customers or citizens) to give direct, immediate feedback. The test question is: to what extent does your organisation connect and empower us? Keywords are: educated, connected, responsive. Example indicators include: connectivity, access to knowledge, and R&D investment.

A Shared Strategy is one in which our organisations, communities, cities and countries address issues of equity and access by being transparent about the distribution of value in society and working to ensure that benefits are fairly shared and diversity is respected. The test question is: to what extent does your organisation include and value us? Keywords are: fair, diverse, inclusive. Example indicators include: value distribution, stakeholder participation, and diversity.

A Sustainable Strategy is one in which our organisations, communities, cities and countries operate within the limits of the planet by radically changing resource consumption and ecosystem impacts, with a shift to renewable energy and resources, closing the loop on production and moving to a low carbon society. The test question is: to what extent does your organisation protect and restore our environment? Keywords are: renewable, enduring, evolutionary. Example indicators include: externality pricing, footprint analysis, and renewability.

A Satisfying Strategy is one in which our organisations, communities, cities and countries produce high quality services that satisfy our human needs, as well as enabling a lifestyle and culture that values quality of life, happiness and other indicators of wellbeing. The test question is: to what extent does your organisation fulfil and inspire us? Keywords are: beneficial, beautiful, meaningful. Example indicators include: quality standards, levels of satisfaction, and happiness.

Source: Wayne Visser (2017) Strategic Value Creation Matrix

When an organisation, community, city or country pursues one of the 5-S strategies, they are making themselves future-fit. There are four strategic value-creation options available: singular, focused, diffuse and integrate value.

Singular Value is when an organisation focuses on one of the 5-Ss as its strategic goal, but does so in an incremental way. This means they will have a management system (objectives, targets, programs, KPIs, reporting, audits, etc), but they are content to make a marginal contribution on the issue. The potential for synergy is low, because they are only focused on one S. For example, a chemicals company may decide that a Safe strategy is key for their success.

Diffuse Value is when an organisation focuses on multiple of the 5-Ss as strategic goals, but does so in an incremental way. This means they will have a management system, but they are content to make a marginal contributions on the issues they have prioritised. The potential for synergy is high, because they are looking to leverage more than one S at a time. For example, a mining company may decide that a dual Safe and Sustainable strategy is key for their success.

Focused Value is when an organisation focuses on one of the 5-Ss as its strategic goal, but does so in a transformative way. This means they will have a disruptive innovation approach, and they will only be content with rapid, scalable change on the issue, especially within their industry. The potential for synergy is low, because they are only focused on one S. For example, a food and agricultural company may decide that a Shared strategy is fundamental and they wish to completely transform the lives of farmers in their supply chain.

Integrated Value is when an organisation focuses on multiple of the 5-Ss as strategic goals, but does so in a transformative way. This means they will have a disruptive innovation approach, and they will only be content with rapid, scalable change on the issues, within and beyond their industry. The potential for synergy is high, because they are looking to leverage more than one S at a time. For example, an electric car company may adopt an integrated 5-S strategy that takes Safe, Smart, Shared, Sustainable and Satisfying to a completely new level of performance.

The way in which Integrated Value manifests – when more than one of the 5-S strategies is applied simultaneously in a transformative way – is through synergy, which American professor Russell Ackoff described in his studies of purposeful organisations as “the increase in the value of the parts of a system that derives from their being parts of the system”. We know this more commonly by the catchphrase: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Synergy is the driver of the new Nexus Economy and will be the key to competitiveness in the coming decade.

Citation and download

Visser, W. (2017) Synergy: The Driver of Integrated Value in the New Nexus Economy, HuffPost, 10 April, 2017.

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April 24, 2017

Escape

When the clocks
Have all stopped
When you’re stuck
Out of luck
Waiting and weary
For something to happen …

You’ll know that the show
Can go on
With crazy dreams
And incredible schemes
Freshly invented
To shatter the frozen rhyme
Of time

When you’re bored
In a box
When you’re trapped
Tightly wrapped
Wishing and wanting
To make your escape …

You’ll find that the mind
Can burst free
Into dazzling vistas
And remarkable twisters
Newly discovered
To explode the prison case
Of space

Book

Seize the Day: Favourite Inspirational Poems

This creative collection, now in its 3rd edition, brings together favourite inspirational poems by Wayne Visser. The anthology takes us on a journey through the peaks and troughs of life, celebrating the indomitable human spirit.. It includes many old favourites like “Poets Must Be” and “Chasing the Blue”, as well as brand new poems like “The Writer” and “Making Ripples”. Sages through the ages wisely say: / Carpe Diem – seize the dawning day / Oh, would that I could assuage that thirst / But the day conspires to seize me first! / With the hurry and scurry / Of home’s frantic flurry / And the hustle and bustle / Of work’s tangled tussle. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.