“When the intent is there the rest will follow. These three days have been a laboratory of intent.”
These were the thoughts of Leo Johnson at the close of the SLOW LIFE Symposium, reflecting the importance of outcomes and plans of action. But how exactly is this achieved?
“We brought a group of people together who are primarily solution-makers, people who know how to change things and get transformation,” explained event chair Jonathan Porritt. “We started very broad, narrowed down, and in this final session we got to a set of outcomes that people can continue to act on for the next year.”
One of these results is in the area of marine conservation. Johan Rockström, Executive Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, proposed what he called the Big Ten Initiative. “The global fishing industry operates as roving bandits. But they are controlled by just ten companies.” In partnership with economist Pavan Sukhdev, Rockström pledged to “invite these companies to a Soneva-style dialogue under the banner of CEOs for a sustainable world. Companies demanding a lion’s share will work far better as a club.”
Even closer to home is how to make the travel and tourism industry more sustainable. Pioneers in this field include Sonu Shivdasani, CEO of luxury resort company Soneva, and business leader Jochen Zeitz, co-founder with Richard Branson of The B Team. They discussed plans to bring more CEOs to the table through targeted events, with Zeitz setting a target of “proving by 2020 that the sustainable model of tourism has a net positive impact on business.”
This would provide a model to scale up. Participants agreed that such efforts can only reach a global level by tapping the huge potential of China. Peggy Liu, chairperson of Chinese NGO JUCCCE, told participants: “Many of you have issues that need to be amplified in China, and I’m offering an environmental gateway.” With the support of Leo Johnson and Daryl Hannah, plans were made to lead up to the 2015 UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris in a way that ensures China is at the table.
Hannah also raised the question of messaging. “We need to catalyse global consciousness through a shift in communication,” she said, “and I want to offer myself as an active enabler.” On day two, Pavan Sukhdev had talked of “time bombs” waiting to happen if global sustainability is not achieved. Following this up today, Adam and Jessica Sweidan of Synchronicity Earth pledged to facilitate the creation of a “bomb disposal timeline plan” - a “wire map” of Rockström’s nine planetary boundaries that will captivate broader audiences, identify the deadlines and concentrate minds.
Now the real hard work starts.