Get set for Green Strategy 2010
Green business initiatives launched today can lead to a competitive advantage tomorrow, and Green Strategy 2010 is aimed at helping executives find creative ways to get such efforts going.
As we’re working with the team at Green Strategy 2010 (also the people behind Green Monday), Greenbang readers can get £100 off the price of their tickets to the 10 November event. (Simply book your place and use the code GBANG100 when prompted. For more information, call 44 20 3137 1728 or email info@greenbusinessevents.co.uk.)
The all-day conference — set to be held at Dexter House, Tower Hill, London — will focus on the theme of “Strategic Innovation” and will feature a number of heavy-hitting speakers, including:
- Yvo de Boer, special global advisor on climate change and sustainability at KPMG International and former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
- Sir Roger Bone, president of Boeing UK Ltd;
- Dermot Blastland, group sustainable development director of Tui Travel, Europe’s largest leisure travel company;
- Seamus Keating, CFO of Logica and the Green Investment Bank;
- Richard O’Rourke, group vice president and managing director of Timberland;
- Neil Carson, chief executive of Johnson Matthey;
- Gregory Barker MP, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change at DECC;
- Horst-Tore Land, director of Ecomagination for GE International;
- Jeremy Greenwood, managing director of Lafarge Readymix;
- Allard Castelein, vice president of environment for Shell International;
- David Walker, environmental sustainability director for PepsiCo;
- and many more.
With the UK’s Carbon Reduction Commitment, Feed-In Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive, many companies have woken up to the opportunity to really drive down costs – and sometime take on new business models. And with all these policy instruments comes a growing interest in the plethora of technology these firms are going to have to familiarise themselves with.
Green Strategy 2010 attendees will have the opportunity to meet over 100 heads of sustainability who are working to drive down carbon dioxide emissions in their operations (and beyond). Among the companies that will be represented are Allianz Insurance, BAE Systems,Cisco Systems, E.ON, Google, Hewlett Packard, Kyocera Mita UK Limited, Marks and Spencer, Nokia Siemens Network, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Reed Elsevier, Royal Mail, The Carbon Trust, UBS and Virgin Management Ltd.
Group Sustainable Development Director
Tui Travel
Dermot Blastland has been Group Sustainable Development Director of TUI UK & Ireland since September 2007, following the successful merger of TUI Tourism (incorporating Thomson Holidays) and First Choice Holidays PLC.
TUI Travel PLC is Europe’s largest leisure travel company and one of the largest in the world. In the UK and Ireland, the combined business will serve more than 7.5 million customers every year and employ more than 19,000 staff. TUI UK & Ireland also has a combined fleet of 82 aircraft, making it the UK’s third largest airline. Its retail business consists of 928 shops nationwide.
Among many other accolades, TUI UK & Ireland was awarded consecutive Co-operative Travel Star Awards in 2008 and 2009.
Dermot was recently acknowledged by the Travel Foundation, where he was a trustee until January 2010, as being “a great leader for the industry [who] has put his money where his mouth is by making TUI one of the industry’s leading lights on sustainability.”
“In five years’ time,” he says, “I’d like to think that we won’t be discussing sustainable tourism at all: it will just be part of the way we do business.”
Dermot was one of the first to begin that discussion. It was in the early 1990s that he initiated research into destination sustainability. A decade on, in 2001, First Choice Holidays was a key signatory at the launch of the United Nations-backed Tour Operators Initiative. At the same time, it was also a key participant in the Sustainable Tourism Initiative process initiated by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
It was Dermot who persuaded the other major industry players to sign the Sustainable Tourism Initiative charter. The main outputs were the Travel Foundation; and the Federation of Tour Operators Responsible Tourism Committee. Dermot was a trustee of the former and a director of the latter.
Under his leadership, First Choice Holidays became the first operator to roll out Travelife and the first UK big operator to produce report publically on Sustainable Development. FCH was also the travel industry’s Foundation Corporate Partner of Sustainable Development think tank, Forum for the Future, with whom Dermot and the company have worked closely since 2001.
Dermot continues to be responsible for Sustainable Development on the TUI Group Management Board, driving progress across each market worldwide across the Group.
Before his current role as TUI UK & Ireland Managing Director, Dermot held positions as Managing Director of the Mainstream Sector of First Choice Holidays PLC; Managing Director of First Choice Holidays and Flights, Ski, Lakes and Mountains; and President of Signature Vacations – First Choice’s Canadian Division.
Prior to joining the company in February 1988, he was Commercial Director at Thomson, and subsequently Managing Director of Portland Holidays.
- Seamus Keating
Chief Financial Officer
Logica & Green Investment BankSeamus Keating
Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director Executive Committee memberSeamus has been Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board since February 2002, having been its Director of Group Finance since 1999. He came to Logica from Getronics, where he had been Finance Director of its Olivetti Solutions business. Prior to that, he had been Finance Director of Olivetti’s UK operations, having joined its finance function in 1989.
- Richard O´Rourke
Group Vice President & Managing Director
TimberlandRichard O’Rourke is Group Vice-President & Managing Director of Timberland Europe and Global Distributors.
Richard started his career in 1971 with a 2 year Management Trainee Programme at Harrods whilst continuing his studies at the College of Distributive Trades. During his 19 years with Harrods he developed through a variety of roles, including Department Controller-Womenswear, Assistant Buyer-Childrenswear, Buyer for Sports Equipment and Clothing, to become Section Merchandise Manager for the entire Leisure business and finally Project Director responsible for the store’s special projects related to space planning and merchandising.
In 1990 Richard joined Timberland as the first Managing Director for the UK, responsible for overall management of the UK business and establishing the brand. He oversaw good sales growth, raising of brand awareness, the introduction of a clothing range and expansion into Ireland and Scandinavia. He took on his current role in 1998 which as well as overseeing growth and development of all business units within Europe and from 2000 includes the responsibility for new markets in Africa, South America, Australia, Middle East, Russia and India through Distributor partners.
- Neil Carson
Chief Executive
Johnson MattheyNeil Carson joined Johnson Matthey in 1980. He was appointed Division Director, Catalytic Systems in 1997 after having held senior management positions in the Precious Metals Division as well as Catalytic Systems in both the UK and the USA. Neil was appointed to the board of Johnson Matthey as Managing Director, Catalysts & Chemicals in August 1999 and additionally assumed board level responsibility for Precious Metals Division in August 2002. He was appointed as Chief Executive in July 2004. He is currently a non executive director of AMEC. He was Chairman of the Sustainable Consumption and Production taskforce and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership.
- Gregory Barker MP
Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change
DECC
- Horst-Tore Land
Director Ecomagination
GE InternationalDr. Land is currently serving as Director Ecomagination of GE International. He has responsibility for the ecomagination initiative of GE in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Before joining GE, Dr. Land has been serving as President & CEO of PEMEAS Fuel Cell Technologies, a leading alternative energy company created by him in 2004 through a venture capital backed spin-off. PEMEAS was acquired by BASF SE in December 2006 and Dr. Land integrated the business into the global operations of BASF.
His previous experience includes senior management positions at chemical and life science companies like Celanese, Aventis and Hoechst. Dr. Land obtained a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Philipps University of Marburg (Germany).
- Jeremy Greenwood
Managing Director
Lafarge Readymix
- Allard Castelein
Vice President, Environment
Shell InternationalAllard Castelein joined Shell in the Netherlands in 1987. For the first couple of years he held roles in trading, sales and marketing. From 1992 he lived and worked in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom in various roles in marketing, planning, consultancy, business development and general management.
Allard returned to The Netherlands in 2002 to join the executive board of the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij, a Shell-Exxon JV. In 2003 he became Commercial Manager for Shell’s European Upstream business. In this role he led a major re-organisation and change management program involving Shell’s European Upstream businesses.
Since mid 2009, Allard is the Vice President Environment for Shell. He leads the Environment function and is accountable for strategy, standards, controls and strategic partnerships.
Born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands in 1958, Allard graduated in medicine at Erasmus University. He holds non executive and advisory positions with the World Environment Centre, the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association and The Netherlands 2028 Olympics bid.
Allard is married to Simone and they have 2 children. He is interested in world affairs, politics and sports. He keeps fit by running, playing golf, skiing and long distance skating on frozen Dutch rivers and lakes.
- David Walker
Environmental Sustainability Director
PepsiCoDavid Walker, Director of Environmental Sustainability, is responsible for supporting strategies to reduce energy usage, optimize water efficiency and minimize greenhouse gas emissions across PepsiCo’s international Food and Beverage businesses.
Mr. Walker has extensive field and headquarters experience within PepsiCo, including roles in Manufacturing, Productivity Improvement and Plant Management.
Mr. Walker currently manages several Environmental Sustainability programs for PepsiCo. These include: “ReCon” – a site-level Resource Conservation Capability Building Tool; the PepsiCo Partnership with the Earth Institute at Columbia University; the Global Metrics Program for International PepsiCo and the Sustainable Engineering Guidelines initiative promoting Green Design within the company.
In addition to work at PepsiCo, Mr. Walker is a member of the steering committee of the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER), and is the team leader for the development of sector guidance for the standard reporting of GHG emissions in the industry.
- Paul Hohnen
Founder
Sustainability StrategiesPaul Hohnen is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading moderators of high level sustainability events. Drawing on his 30 year experience as a diplomat, environmental strategist and CSR consultant to business, Hohnen brings together a deep knowledge of global sustainability policies, practices and players, which he combines with the interviewers skill of getting the best out of speakers and audience alike. Forums he has chaired include the annual United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) business and industry conferences (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009), the annual CSR Conference of the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House, London) (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009), UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Green Industry conferences, and the 2009 Club of Rome International Conference
- André Veneman
Director of Sustainability
Akzo NobelAndré Veneman joined AkzoNobel in January 1999 as Corporate Health Director and was appointed Corporate Director Sustainability in 2003. He represents AkzoNobel on international organizations such as World Business Council for Sustainable Development, UN Global Compact, World Connectors and World Resources Institute. In the Netherlands he is chairman of the IDH Advisory Board (Initiative Sustainable Trade), member of the Executive Board of the Europe China Institute and member of the Advisory Board for the Amsterdam Climate Initiative.
- Russel Mills
Global Director of Energy & Climate Change Policy
Dow ChemicalsRussel Mills is the Global Director of Energy & Climate Change Policy for Dow Chemical. He is currently based at Dow’s European headquarters close to Zurich in Switzerland. Most of his career has been in market development, technology exploitation and global business management. He has also worked in consolidating acquisitions, setting up new businesses and managing Joint Venture operations. He is a physics graduate of Oxford University.
Mills has been working in the chemical and related industries for over 30 years. Regular job moves have taken him to the USA, UK, and the Netherlands and on several occasions to Belgium and Switzerland. Recent job assignments have included the Global Business Director role for the Cargill Dow bio-polymers joint venture, a secondment to European chemical industry associations, and leading the development of technology cooperation and government PPPs strategies for Dow in Europe.
Mills participated in the High Level Group on Competitiveness, Energy & Environment set up by the EU Commission in 2005, has represented the company at numerous energy and climate fora and chairs a number of key initiatives in this area on behalf of the global chemical industry.
- Anne Larilahti
Head of Sustainability
Nokia Siemens NetworkAnne Larilahti is Head of Sustainability for Nokia Siemens Networks. Together with her team she is responsible for a variety of issues related to corporate responsibility, such as environmental affairs, social performance as well as understanding the relationship between ICT and economic growth and the implications it has for societies and corporations.
Previously, Anne headed the Envrionmentally Sustainable Business program at Nokia Siemens Networks. Together with a group of experts around the company she was looking at combining company’s solutions and services with environmental issues, building an offering that took into consideration both the company’s impact on the environment as well as the normal financial requirements or business.
Anne joined Nokia in 1996 and has since held various positions in marketing and business development. She has gained experience both from mobile phones and networks parts of the company working in Finland and in the Netherlands. Anne has also worked as Head of Strategy and Market Development in Nokia New Growth Markets team, attaining insight into social and ecological issues in developing countries.
Anne holds an MSc (econ.) degree from the University of Tampere, Finland. Outside the office she engages in alpine skiing, running and reading.
- David Kennedy
Chief Executive Officer
Committee on Climate ChangeDavid Kennedy became the inaugural Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change in August 2007. In this capacity he has focused on setting the vision for the CCC, delivering the first advice required under the Climate Change Bill, and overseeing corporate development of the new organisation.
Before this David was a Director in the Office of Climate Change where he led a cross Whitehall review of EU ETS. He also worked as Director of Strategic Analysis at the former Department for Trade and Industry, where he led economic analysis of nuclear new build, CCS demonstration, renewable energy targets and competitiveness impacts of climate change policy, energy and emissions projections.
David has also worked for three years at the World Bank, where he led on regional energy strategy for the Balkans, as well as for six years at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, where he worked on structuring infrastructure transactions and policy design to improve the investment climate. David has a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics, where he was also a Research Fellow.
- Suzanne Baxter
Group Finance Director
Mitie GroupSuzanne joined the Board of MITIE in April 2006 as Group Finance Director. Suzanne previously held a number of commercial and operational roles with Serco Group plc. Suzanne holds a seat on the Opportunity Now Advisory Board, and is also a member of the Finance and Risk Committee of BitC.
Earlier thus year Suzanne was awarded the ICAEW Inspiring Confidence in Business Award at a prestigious award ceremony. The FDs’ Excellence Awards, supported by the CBI, are designed to recognise exemplary Finance Directors. Suzanne has worked tirelessly since joining MITIE four years ago, leading and influencing the Group’s corporate responsibility and sustainability agenda. She has worked closely with Ruby McGregor-Smith, Chief Executive, to develop a strategy that emphasises the importance of environmental credentials to commercial success.
- John Bessant
Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
University of ExeterOriginally a chemical engineer, John has been active in the field of research and consultancy in technology and innovation management for over 25 years. He is currently holds the Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Exeter University. In 2003 he was awarded a Fellowship with the Advanced Institute for Management Research and was also elected a Fellow of the British Academy of Management. He has acted as advisor to various national governments and to international bodies including the United Nations, The World Bank and the OECD.He is a regular speaker at corporate events, conferences and centres such as Cranfield, the Irish Management Institute and the Scandinavian Management Institute. Consulting clients include Toyota, Novo-Nordisk, Lego, Morgan Stanley, Coloplast, Corus, Danfoss, GSK, Grundfos, Hewlett-Packard, Kumba Resources.
He is the author of 15 books and many articles on the topic and has lectured and consulted widely around the world. His most recent books include ‘Managing innovation’ (awarded the ‘best book’ prize by the European Association for Creativity and Innovation) and ‘High involvement innovation’ (both published by John Wiley and Sons).
- Bob Simpson
Head of Technical Development
ASDABob has been an ASDA colleague for the past 16 years. In his ongoing and successful career at ASDA, he has served in various capacities and teams in the Retail Development department. Over the years, he has worked with the new stores, renewals and change management teams. In his current role, as Head of Technical Development, Bob oversees all technical disciplines within retail development including architecture, sustainability, energy and mechanical and electrical engineering. He has helped achieve Walmart’s ambitious sustainability goals ahead of deadlines and also defined ASDA’s next stage in sustainable development by devising a comprehensive energy efficiency programme.
- Andy Gouldson
Director
ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and PolicyAndy Gouldson has nearly 20 years of experience working on a wide range of issues relating to environmental policy and management. He is professor of sustainability research, and from January 2006 to June 2009 was Director of the Sustainability Research Institute, at the University of Leeds. He is currently a Director of the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy and is leading a project on the prospects for a low carbon, climate resilient regional economy for the Centre for Low Carbon Futures.
Andy is an inter-disciplinary environmental social scientist whose work combines aspects of geography and environment, politics and policy, economics and management and science and technology studies. His main area of expertise relates to the influence of different forms of policy and governance on businesses, on economic development and on the relationships between environment, economy and society.
Prior to joining the University of Leeds in January 2006, Andy spent 10 years at the LSE, and for the last 7 years he has been a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and has been Editor of the journal Environmental Policy and Governance (formerly European Environment) since 1991.
- Richard Ellis
Head of Corporate Social Responsibility
BootsRichard has spent the past 30 years working for a range of Companies on all aspects of the CSR agenda.
The early part of his career was spent in Banking before becoming involved in CSR after the Inner City riots of the early 1980s. After this involvement he held CSR related positions at HSBC, TSB, British Aerospace and ran his own CSR consultancy for five years In 2003 he joined Boots and became responsible for all the Company’s CSR activities. Following the merger between Boots and Alliance UniChem and the subsequent Private Equity Buy Out he was appointed into his current role.
- Simone Mann
Managing Director
Commercial Group
- David Metcalfe
CEO
Verdantix
