Come and hear from leading sustainable finance experts about their exciting work in international climate change projects, sustainable banking and Socially Responsible Investing.

Sustainable finance is topical right now.  In the aftermath of the global financial crises, everyone seems to be trying to make finance more sustainable. But what are the upcoming trends and initiatives out there that really stand to make a difference?

An essential event for aspiring and existing sustainability professionals!

Scott McGregor – CEO, Camco

offers an overview on the international sustainable finance market, drawing on its global clean energy projects in the US, the UK, China, Africa, Russia and SEA

Karl Schultz – Executive Chairman, The Higher Ground Foundation

a longtime player in the climate change, finance, and development space, will discuss his organisation’s vision, plans, and work to date to unlock sustainable finance for climate adaptation.

Naomi English – Head of ESG Consultants & Client Services, MSCI

covers an introduction to Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), specifically how the industry has evolved as well as how investors are integrating sustainability into their investment decisions and the major challenges and opportunities they face.

Carey Bohjanen – Independent Consultant

has a great story to tell and share her experience from a current project on setting sustainable banking principles for Nigeria. She previously held posts at Sustainable Finance Ltd and PwC.

The event promises to draw an eclectic crowd and the networking afterwards is not to be missed!

VENUE: The Horniman at Hay’s Galleria, London, SE1 2HD (off Tooley street, 2 Battle Bridge Lane)

EVENT SCHEDULE :

6:30-7:00 – Registration

7:00-7:45 – Presentations

7:45-8:00 – Q&A

8:00-9:00 – Networking

Applications will be accepted until April 22nd, 2012 followed by elections on April 25th.  The successful candidates will transition responsibilities with the current leadership team in May and assume full responsibilities after the June 2012 event.

COMMITMENT & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Voluntary posts with a minimum of 1 year, and maximum of 2 years, commitment with opportunity for re-election
• Dedicate 3-5 hours per week
• Participate in monthly leadership meetings in Central London the first Wednesday of every month (evenings) and an annual Leadership Retreat
• Attend and support the delivery of monthly NILP events on the second Wednesday of every month (evenings)
• Lead the planning of 2-3 events per year
• Volunteer to lead projects/support ideas to continue the growth, thought leadership and impact of Net Impact London Professional

The Leadership team members all participate in the planning and coordination of the monthly events.  In addition, 3 team members also take on the following responsibilities:

Chair

• Lead the Leadership Committee meetings
• Responsible for ensuring the delivery of events and activities via the Leadership Committee members
• Liaise with Net Impact Central

Secretary

• Responsible for the taking of minutes and the distribution of all papers for Leadership Committee and General Meetings
• Maintenance of the Membership list and administration of Membership

Treasurer

• Responsible for the NILP budget and accounts

ELECTION PROCESS

You must be a paid Net Impact member in order to apply.

Between now and April 22nd, 2012 please announce your candidacy by completing the six lines below and emailing it to london@netimpact.org.uk with the subject line “Net Impact Elections – YOUR NAME”.

Position Applying For:

For questions please email london@netimpact.org.uk

Join us for our Spring Social this April, where we will be playing a game to discuss some of the biggest sustainability challenges we face now and in the future.

Participants will engage in discussions to come up with suggested solutions, which will be presented to the rest of the group. We will be looking for feasible ideas in terms of scale and implementation! All presentations will be scored by other participants, and the winning group with the highest number of points will receive a prize.

Key reasons not to miss our Spring Social:

• Discuss some of the biggest sustainability challenges and possible solutions
• Meet like-minded people and build your network
• Meet the candidates for the 2012/2013 Net Impact London Professional Leadership team

Timeline:

6:30 – 7pm         Welcome and registration

7:00 – 7:15pm         Round one – brainstorm main challenges

7:15 – 7:35pm         Round two – switch groups and pick one challenge, discuss possible solutions to this challenge

7:35 – 7:45pm         Prepare and practice pitch

7:45 – 8:00pm         Groups pitch ideas to the rest of the group

8:00 – 8:10pm         Scoring and winner announced

8:10 – 8:15pm         Introduce NILP Leadership Team candidates

8:15 – 9:00pm         Networking

Location: The Horniman at Hays Galleria, Tooley St, London, SE1 2HU

The London 2012 Olympics have been designed to be the most sustainable Olympics to date. From planning to execution, London 2012 aims to align with the ‘One Planet Living®’ concept.

Is that true? Is it possible ?

A couple of weeks ago LOCOG sparked controversy by granting the contract to print Olympics tickets to Weldon, Williams & Lick of Fort Smith, Arkansas. The tickets will be shipped 4,500 miles to the UK to be distributed to ticketholders afterwards. Lawrence Webb, UKIP’s London Mayoral candidate, branded this decision “a kick in the guts to British firms”. According to London 2012, 95% of the contracts are going to local businesses. But what about the international community ? Or should Olympic Games benefit only local communities ? …

The Olympics is the major global event setting examples for business practices. The above questions are important ones but they are definitely not the only ones to ask.

Please join us in March to ask your questions on the London 2012 Olympics sustainable legacy to decision-making and stakeholders:

• Felicity Hartnett, Sustainability Partnerships Manager, London 2012
• Richard Jackson, Head of Environmental Sustainability, University College London
• Samantha Heath, CEO, London Sustainability Exchange
• David Smith, Community Organiser, London Citizens

Attend this event to learn about the challenges involved in making this global event sustainable, engage in dialogue with our speakers and form your own opinion about London 2012′s sustainable legacy.

EVENT SCHEDULE :

• 6:30-7:00 – Registration
• 7:00-7:40 – Debate
• 7:40-8:00 – Q&A
• 8:00-9:00 – Networking

ABOUT OUR DEBATERS:

Felicity Hartnett, Sustainability Partnerships Manager, London 2012
Felicity Hartnett is an experienced corporate responsibility manager grounded by a strong commercial background and an in-depth business and cultural understanding of FTSE 100 companies. A strategic thinker, principled, and able to see the big picture through processes and relationships, Felicity delivers pragmatic solutions across all levels of business. Felicity is a confident communicator and leader of disparate teams, she is adept at project managing and reconciling everyday challenges into practical action. Felicity has worked across the corporate responsibility agenda from values to ethics to reporting and communications

Richard Jackson, Head of Environmental Sustainability, University College London
Richard has extensive experience delivering sustainability projects and is currently leading the development and implementation of environmental sustainability strategy at UCL. Before taking this position he led the team responsible for delivering the Olympic Delivery Authority’s Environment & Sustainability objectives between 2005-2011. Prior to this, Richard worked for London Development Agency and as a Senior Policy Adviser on Energy and Climate Change for CBI.

Samantha Heath, CEO, London Sustainability Exchange
Samantha Heath joined London Sustainability Exchange as Director in September 2005, and brings a wealth of experience in delivering sustainable development in London. She is a member of the London Sustainable Development Commission, and held the position of co-chair from September 2004 – October 2005. A qualified construction engineer, Samantha worked for 10 years in the construction industry before moving into London politics. She has been a Member of the London Assembly, and served as its Deputy Chair in 2003-4. Before moving to London Sustainability Exchange, her most recent post was as Sustainability Manager for Future London, the capital’s regeneration centre of excellence.

David Smith, Community Organiser, London Citizens
Dave Smith is the Lead Housing Organiser for London CITIZENS – a broad-based alliance of civic institutions including as schools, trade unions, faith-based organisations and charities – which for 15 years has pioneered Community Organising across the UK.  He is currently seconded to the East London Community Land Trust, where he serves as Executive Director, which was established in 2008 and is set to become the first ever urban CLT in the United Kingdom.  Prior to working for London CITIZENS, Dave worked for the Barack Obama primary and general election campaigns, and prior to that the British Council.  He holds a degree in Social and Political Sciences from King’s College, University of Cambridge.

Image: anankkml / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Now that 2012 is in full swing many of you are probably in the midst of re-evaluating your career goals. Whether you are looking for a promotion or trying to break into the Sustainability field your skills have to be presented in the right way in order for you to move to the next level. This event is great for all career levels with a special emphasis on those looking to make a transition within their company or industry. The core focus will be on market insight and providing you with the practical tools to get ahead. We have lined up some great speakers for this career workshop:

Shannon Houde – Walk of Life Consulting – Shannon Houde, MBA, is founder of Walk of Life Consulting, the first international career coaching business focused solely on the environmental, sustainability and Corporate Responsibility (CR) fields.  She also launched and currently runs the Acre Career Coaching service for leading sustainability recruitment company, Acre Resources. Shannon has mentored and trained professionals in the field of CR for more than 10 years with a focus on matching personal values to career paths, writing CVs as marketing tools, and interviewing with impact. She combines a wealth of knowledge from 15 years’ managing cross-cultural teams and CR projects in Asia, Europe, North and South America, in non-profit, corporate and entrepreneurial environments across diverse industries including at Barclays, Deloitte, and WWF.

David Metcalfe – Verdantix – David is the CEO and a founding director of Verdantix. He co-leads the fact-based, forward-looking research conducted by Verdantix analysts that helps energy, environment and sustainability executives to gain competitive advantage through sustainability. David was previously Senior Vice President at Forrester Research, the NASDAQ-listed technology and business research firm. Prior to joining Forrester, he was Head of Analysis and Forecasting at BT Group. He is a co-author of the award–winning book “Negotiation Analysis” published by Harvard University Press.

Event Schedule

Congratulations to the quiz winner Connie Low!!

Our ‘hot topics’ break-out discussions, covered the following topics:

Climate Change: Is it a Personal, Political, or Private Responsibility?

There was much debate on our group about who needs to take responsibility for dealing with climate change. Several people thought it was the responsibility of the Government, and noted legislation was the way to get things done, plus holding responsibility for the State should also mean taking responsibility for the environment. Several others however argued that whilst the Government should be responsible, they are not doing enough about it. Canada pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol was cited as one timely example of this. In that case, thought our group, businesses and individuals themselves need to step up. It was pointed out that in the past, lobbying to the Government was instrumental in getting the Government to act. It was also noted that individuals do need to play a role in this as well, and that we should all be looking at our own actions before transferring the blame to someone else.

Was the Durban Climate Change Conference A Success? 

The consensus was ‘yes’ mainly because the US, China, India and Europe agreeing at all was a surprise, and it is pretty much unprecedented within the climate change agenda.  Members in the discussion had insight into the US delegate’s experience of negotiating at the Durban conference.  Apparently the US had their bluff called when China, much to people’s surprise, pushed for international agreement.  Bowing down at that point would have been majorly embarrassing, and so the US and others decided to agree.

To recap, the conference resulted in 1) extension of the Kyoto Protocol for additional 5 years period which otherwise was going to expire in 2012; 2) Agreement to establish a $100 billion Green Climate Fund to aid developing countries and;  3) Agreement to seal a new legally binding climate treaty by 2015 including developed and developing countries, with agreement to implement it by 2020.

There have been criticisms that the outcomes didn’t go far enough (we appear to be hurtling toward at least 2 degrees global warming, which may stabilise at an increase of 4 degrees or more). However, given the loggerheads that have existed to date between the large negotiating countries, agreement was perceived to be a good thing.

The social stock market: Good or bad for business?

We had a great discussion and our conclusions were that the social stock market is a great idea but only if there are ways to monitor the quality of the companies involved and that the market did not become too segregated from the regular market. It should be a place that companies aspire to rather than something seen as “something for small eco companies”.

Is Microfinance Sustainable?

We were divided in our consensus as to whether or not the Microfinance industry is sustainable, as we agreed that Microfinance has made a positive impact with assisting people to build assets and improve their living standards. However, over the past year there has been certain events that have resulted in negative headlines and somewhat tarnished the reputation of Microfinance. We discussed whether or not the industry should provide other product types (such as education and health services) and if governments should be involved in establishing a regulatory framework when they too provide Microfinance services. At the end of our conversation we came to the conclusion that for the industry to evolve the exorbitant interest rates in order to guarantee a return for investors needs to be addressed and that MFIs should conduct credit checks on potential clients to prevent over indebtedness.

The aftermath of Fukushima: Is the Demise of Nuclear a Lifeline for Renewables?

Despite recent moves by Germany and Switzerland to phase out nuclear from their energy mix the group felt that this would not directly propel Renewables forward.  There are still fundamental challenges to be solved around grid parity, the point at which the levelized cost of generating electricity from Renewables is equal to the price of buying power from the grid.  In addition the intermittent nature of renewables (wind, solar PV) limits its ability to provide base load energy.

On the positive side developments in molten salt storage technology have allowed solar energy to be produced for 24 hours straight.  Future advances in renewable storage coupled with smart grid solutions to manage the distributed renewable assets will help boost investment in the coming years.  In conclusion the group consensus is no, nuclear’s demise is not renewables lifeline.

Thanks to all who participated, and to our Net Impact London Professional leadership team members for facilitating the discussions.

Come celebrate the New Year with Net Impact London Professional.  This social event will be focused on networking, discussion of hot topics in sustainability, and a sustainability focused pub quiz.  We will be breaking out in small discussion groups to discuss the hot topics so please vote for your prefered topic when you register.  Topics include: Was the Durban Climate Change Conference A Success?  Is Microfinance Sustainable?  The Aftermath of Fukushima: Is Nuclear’s Demise Renewables Lifeline? Climate Change: Is it a Personal, Political, or Private Responsibility?  The Social Stock Exchange, Good for business?

This is a great opportunity to learn more about Net Impact, network with others and hear about our upcoming events in the new year. Nibbles will be served and alcoholic drinks are available for purchase at the bar.

18:30-19:00 – Registration
19:00-19:45 – Hot Topics Discussion
19:45-20:15 – Sustainability Pub Quiz
20:15-21:30 – Networking

PS – We have the room reserved at the back of the pub behind the curtains

(Photo credit: Sarunyu_foto – www.freedigitalphotos.net)

“40 skills a swapping, 21 Net Impacters Networking, 10 Mixtape songs a singing, 3 mince pies eaten (by me), 2 speakers speaking, one Christmas tree…”

That’s the song-based summary of Tinsel, Time and Treats event run by Net Impact, London earlier this month. The event brought together professionals from a range of sectors for a festive gathering and for Spots of Time and fellow social enterprise Ecomodo, a chance to share what we get up to. Both of our organisations are about giving and sharing; for Ecomodo it’s about making lending and borrowing everyday objects, skills and spaces easy, and for ourselves at Spots of Time it’s about making it easy for people to give small moments of their time to provide fun activities to benefit others in local communities.

What Tinsel, Time and Treats really demonstrated for me was the abundance of skills and talents that everyone has. Often these lie beneath the surface, easily forgotten in the everyday rush. I found someone who I could practise French with, two ladies who wanted to take me up on some piano lessons and a famous French onion soup recipe all in an hour!

And with this year’s festive season coming alongside an ongoing economic crisis finding new ways to share skills and give our time is increasingly important. At Spots of Time we’re hoping that 2012 can see us grow what we do to reach across London and get people giving time who might never have done so before. It might be just sharing a cup of tea but for us it’s about widening the circles of people you share meaningful moments with and recognising the importance and value this can have. Ultimately we hope that in the same way social networks have scaled and grown in a way that people didn’t initially imagine, that using these very technologies the ways we share and give time can grow too.

We’d love network members to get involved – you can book a time to volunteer at http://spotsoftime.org.uk/ Or if you know an organisation that might be interested in hosting Spots of Time volunteers , or you work for a company that would like to get involved then do get in touch with phillippa@spotsoftime.org.uk

Phillippa Banister
Spots of Time

Please join Net Impact London Professional for a fun filled evening of giving and good times. This event will be focused on networking and getting to know colleagues in the CSR professional community. Rather than buying a gift, everyone is encouraged to bring an item that they already own or a card with your contact info and a service that you could share with someone. For example, if you are graphic designer, you could offer 30 minutes of design time. Or, if you have a bunch of eco-friendly light bulbs, bring one to share with the group. During the evening our friends from Ecomodo and Spots of Time will share their experiences and help us facilitate the gift and skills exchange game!

Spots of Time - Phillippa Banister, Community Manager - Phillippa has experience of grassroots community building work in rural Cameroon and with the homeless in Bradford.  She is a recent graduate from the prestigious Forum for the Future Masters programme and as part of this has completed projects with Unilever, Fairtrade Foundation and Flintshire County Council. She completed an undergraduate degree in Drama and English and likes working on organic farms.

Ecomodo - Tracy Currer, Co-founder - With twenty years experience designing interactions between people and products, Tracy believes the power of design can find the common ground between the way the mass public want to live and the changes we all must make to create a more sustainable future. Her latest venture, Ecomodo, an award winning social enterprise, helps people consume less, whilst enjoying rich, fulfilling and social lives. Enabling people to share everyday goods, skills and spaces, Ecomodo is recognised as a pioneer in the emerging global market of collaborative consumption. Winner of the 2010 Green Award for the Best Use of Online Media, Ecomodo adopts a combination of gifting, micro-enterprise and fundraising to provide a unique motivation model.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about Net Impact, network with others and learn about our upcoming events in the New Year. Refreshments will be served! Mulled wine will be on sale for £1. We ho, ho, hope to see you there!

PS – Please note that the Hub Islington is a walk up and does not have an elevator.

(Photo credit: Naito8/Freedigitalphotos.net)

In the CSR world, we strive to improve things by giving our time and talents in a way that makes business smarter, faster, more effcient and most important – sustainable. Some of us work at large companies that provide grants and others work at small start ups that build communities. No matter where we work, we are all supporting a common goal and giving of ourselves and our talents.

This year, Net Impact London Professional is hosting a holiday networking event to help share all of the great skills that we use on a daily basis. Maybe you work for a consulting company and you can offer an hour of time to a startup. Maybe you are a start-up entrepreneur who could offer advice and encouragement to someone thinking of starting their own venture. Our hope is that this exchange allows Net Impact members to share their skills and build relationships in the CSR community.

Please join us on the 14th of December to take part in this exciting event: http://london.netimpact.org.uk/event/tinsel-time-and-treats/

PS – We’ll be joined by representatives from Spots of Time and Ecomodo (which just received a nice article in The Sunday Times)