‘These Young Minds’ in collaboration with the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, organized an event ‘Bridging the gap between Sustainability and the Board’ on the 20^th October 2011 at University of Oxford. Business leaders and renowned academics participated in the event and shared their views on what makes a business environmentally sustainable and profitable. Speakers included; Martin Chilcott (CEO 2degrees network), Harriet Kingaby (Futerra), Mike Barry (Head of Sustainability, M&S), Ian Bowman (Director, CSR Siemens), Dr Mick Blowfield (SSEE, University of Oxford) and Richard Smith (Sustainability Manager, BBC). Rupert Younger (Director of the Centre for Corporate Reputation at the University of Oxford) chaired the event.

This event was in reaction to a recent survey by the Carbon Trust which revealed that over 90% of UK business decision makers believe there is an opportunity that could be explored from the ‘green economy’, while 31% believe that a profit could be made by harnessing this opportunity. The big question is: ‘how can this be achieved?’. 

Speaking at the occasion, Martin Chilcott, CEO 2degrees network, revealed that the role of the Chief Sustainability Officer in a corporation is strategic. He emphasized the importance of the CSO collaborating with other key board members while helping to shape corporate vision. By explaining the practical ways for CSOs to engage the board, he further accentuated the strategic importance that Chief Sustainability Officers can play in helping their business achieve a competitive advantage.

Alim Abubakre, founding Executive Director of ‘These Young Minds’, highlighted the need for businesses to take the opportunity to explore unusual strategies in the present turbulent times. These innovative strategies will help develop the immense potential that sustainability offers.

Also present was Richard Smith, Sustainability Manager at the BBC, who shared insights on how he works with production staff at the BBC to help make their programmes in a more sustainable way.  Furthermore, he shared his experience developing a carbon calculator ‘Albert’ which is designed to work out the environmental impact of producing a programme. ‘Albert’ is now being shared with the rest of the TV industry through a partnership with BAFTA. 

Through his keynote entitled ‘Building the Foundation by the Roof’, the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Siemens, Ian Bowman, also explained the implementation process of sustainability in his company. This process was executed across all Siemens subsidiaries, which are present in 190 countries.

Harriet Kingaby from Futerra put special emphasis on the use of social media to reach targeted stakeholders, and 'make sustainable development so desirable it becomes normal'. She also explained how social media and sustainability development share common core principles, demonstrating along the way how select businesses have successfully understood these principles and implemented change for the better.

In the same vein, Mike Barry, the Head of Sustainability Marks and Spencer’s, highlighted important issues facing all businesses in transforming sustainability into better value for customers, whilst still making profits. In his words; "Customers ask, why should I pay more for a product that hasn’t exploited the planet and its people?" His response, "Sustainability should be a given."

Mike Barry went on to explain that the process of sustainability involves careful coordination of all stakeholders involved, from the boardroom down to the suppliers and customers and major businesses should take the lead in navigating through this opportunity.

In addition, Mick Blowfield of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, challenged the audience not to follow the status quo, which places emphasis on short-time corporate performance; in order to achieve sustainable objectives ‘perfecting the process’ should be the focus.

As the final session of the conference, Rupert Younger, Director of the Centre for Corporate Reputation at the University of Oxford, chaired a stimulating panel discussion on the state of sustainability within the field of business and academia which sparked an interesting debate among the panel members consisting of all speakers. The event concluded with participants unanimously agreeing that all corporate stakeholders must work together towards conceiving and implementing sustainability strategies.

Harriet Kingaby summed up the success of the evening: “The event was fascinating, with a high level of discussion from both panel and audience. ‘These Young Minds’ organised a lively evening which I am glad to have attended."

At the end of the event, the audience received a complimentary copy of “Corporate Responsibility” by Michael Blowfield and Alan Murray courtesy of the event sponsors, Oxford University Press. Other sponsors of this event include CSRwire and Lowcarbon.com.

These Young Minds

These Young Minds

These Young Minds is a service based social enterprise that provides an all inclusive platform for all stakeholders in the area of corporate responsibility through high powered conferences which will explore areas of partnership and achieve innovation.

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