The Sustainable Futures Report

Let me start by telling you that the Wednesday Interview next week is a discussion on the future role of electric vehicles. Don't miss it and do let me know what you think. That's about all for this week - yes, really - because in January I am going to concentrate on developing the website, raising the social media profile and developing the deal for patrons... 

Yes it's the Sustainable Futures Report for Friday, 24 December 2021, Christmas Eve. Nothing new here. I thought you'd like to take the time to catch up on some of this year's episodes. 55 episodes went out this year, all still available on line as both text and audio at sustainablefutures.report. I'm Anthony Day. I wish you a Merry Christmas and I'll see you next year.

In this week's Wednesday Interview from the Sustainable Futures Report I talk to Alex McCallion, Director of Works and Precinct at York Minster. The present building has been on this site for over 800 years. Its continued existence is due to the care of generations of artisans and craftsmen across the centuries and the work continues today. Alex explains some of the challenges and opportunities in...

 Is  carbon neutral the same as net zero? Also this week, How to spend $1 trillion, behaviour change against climate change, and converting Nature to a financial instrument.

It sounds too good to be true. Just pay to plant a few trees and you can travel as far and as frequently as you like. I admit, I was very sceptical when I first met Christian Møller-Holst whose business is based on making business trips not just carbon neutral, but net zero. Here's how Christian explained it to me.  

It's not just about greenwash this week; I'll also talk about the Climate Change Committee's reaction to COP 26, the future of the Cambo oilfield, why it might be a good thing for the environment that Allegra Stratton has resigned and rubbish in Romania.

Can Covid help us solve the climate crisis? This week I'm talking to authors Graeme Maxton and Bernice Maxton–Lee about their new book. It's a very wide-ranging discussion and I think you'll find it interesting.

This week I look at some of the consequences of global warming which have hit North America and China this year. It's getting colder, as winter takes over the northern hemisphere. Is Russian gas the best way of keeping Western Europe warm?   And here in the UK, are there political changes afoot? And if there are, how will that affect our progress towards net zero?

This week I'm talking to Michelle Marks about how one part of the world is starving while another part is wasting food. Michelle is a sustainability consultant. She's owner of Coral Mountain and founder of Speak Carbon, an organisation dedicated to raising carbon literacy through training.

If you want to know what Greta Thunberg or David Attenborough or Alok Sharma thinks you only have to open a newspaper or go on line. What about the rest of us? After all, we're all in the front line. I've collected a few comments. And what about the Insulate Britain protestors? Nine of them are in jail. A motorist responds.

The Wednesday Interview with Jenny Bailey, guiding children to become environmentally aware and responsible.  And Green Jumper Day - something you can get involved in on Friday.

Well it's over. Where are we now, now that all the delegates have gone home from Glasgow and COP26 is finished? I'll start with a review of comments in the press and close with a conversation with a colleague who actually went to Glasgow.              

In this week's Wednesday Interview Mattias Axelson of the Stockholm School of Economics describes a variant on the Circular Economy.

Greenwash, Offsetting and James Lovelock's warning of Gaia's Revenge. Should we reconsider Personal Carbon Allowances, and is there really an Anti-Solar Panel that works in the dark? And for something completely and utterly different check out SteelHaven.info  

The Wednesday Interview Sunshine is everywhere and it's free! Let's not waste a drop. Veeral Hardev of Ubiquitous Energy explains one way of making the most of it.

So we're in the last chance saloon! Who would have thought it? Maybe anybody who has been listening to the Sustainable Futures Report for the last 14 years. But let's accentuate the positive.  

A conversation with CEO Ian Riley.

COP26 – the Big Issue Seeing as COP26 has made the front cover of The Big Issue magazine the message must really be getting through!  

Ori Ben Ner, CEO of SupPlant, explains how software can help farmers get the best out of every last drop of water. 

Before looking at prospects for COP26 and other sustainability news, let's remember Sir David Amess MP, who lost his life last week while serving the public.

An interview with CEO Christian Kroll

Empty shelves, queues for petrol, rocketing gas prices. Will these short term crises take  the eyes of world leaders off the COP26 ball?

David Hanney, CEO of Alpkit, describes how his company builds sustainability into all aspects of the business.

COP26 and Insulate Britain. These are the two key issues I'll discuss today. I'll also tell you about plans for extra editions of the Sustainable Futures Report, coming soon.

The role of social impact bonds and impact accounting in meeting the challenges of the climate crisis. If we can make organisations accountable not merely for their handling of risk and profit but also for their impact on the environment, investors and consumers can support those having a net beneficial effect and reject those which do more harm than good.