Net Zero Festival: In conversation with John Elkington

James S Murray
clock • 1 min read

VIDEO: Godfather of sustainability and Volans co-founder speaks to BusinessGreen's James Murray about creating a new, more regenerative form of capitalism for the 21st century

Widely regarded as the godfather of sustainability in business and management, John Elkington's long and influential career in green business began long before some of today's leading proponents were even born.

He isis the co-founder of ventures such as Volans, Environmental Data Services and SustainAbility, and just ahead of lockdown published his latest book - Green Swans: The Coming Book in Regenerative Capitalism - which makes the case for a new form of capitalism for the 21st century in order to stave off the risks of disruption. 

Ahead of the world's first Net Zero Festival hosted recently by BusinessGreen, editor in chief James Murray sat down for a wide-ranging conversation over Zoom with Elkington, touching on his long and influential career in sustainability, the risks and opportunities of the net zero transition ahead, and his concerns that economic downturns and increasingly disruptive climate impacts could lead to significant geopolitical shifts and global conflict. The interview can be viewed in full above.

All of the panel debates, keynote speeches, and presentations from the world's first Net Zero Festival - which took place over three days from 30 September featuring hundreds of top speakers from business, politics and academia - are now available to watch again on demand through the Net Zero Festival website.

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