James Gifford

On Tuesday 21st September I met James Gifford, Executive Director of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI). A very talented Australian man and the driving force behind one of the world’s most popular and fastest growing responsible investment organisations, I admit to being slightly nervous, but was soon put at ease by his relaxed and friendly attitude. He clearly works extremely hard to make the UN PRI as big as it can be and has a real passion for pushing the Principles to their potential.

The aim of the UN PRI is to engage signatories (mostly pension funds, asset owners and institutional investment managers) in integrating environmental, social and corporate governance issues (ESG) into all of their investment decisions. Once signed up, they must take action and regularly report their progress. Any investment projects or areas are thoroughly scrutinised and The Clearinghouse department of the UN PRI holds online seminars (webinars) and conferences where signatories can discuss reports of unfair treatment of local workers in developing countries by transnational corporations, organisations where gender inequality has been an issue, environmental disasters or their investments into certain fisheries.

There are many similar lists of principles from various banks and investment houses, but it is the UN PRI that arguably holds most weight today. The UN PRI office in England is based in Shoreditch, London, around the corner from my office. It also has offices in New York and is expanding into other countries and markets around the globe.

Effectively, the aim is to have the most money possible going into worthwhile and sustainable projects and corporations (rather than unsustainable versions), to ensure a positive future for our planet and its people. Here, money has a big voice and by voting with their investments, the signatories are making a big statement to corporations who do not take ESG issues seriously.
Signatories currently include Standard Life, Teachers' Retirement System of the City of New York and the Royal Mail Pension Plan (bearing in mind that the Royal Mail is the largest private employer in the UK), whilst potential future signatories are continuously being identified, approached and engaged.

There appears to be increasing acknowledgement that ESG issues can significantly affect investment portfolio performance. The UN PRI is in a period of rapid growth and looks to be dominating the responsible investment space, whilst the Principles themselves are voluntary, aspirational and doing a world of good.

Pear tree

In spirit of the sharing associated with Transition Town foraging groups, which also help ensure that good food does not get wasted, I offer my pears to you! If you are passing through Islington soon, the pear tree in my back garden, photographed today, is at optimum bloom and has plenty of pears ripe for the picking...mmm I can smell a pear crumble coming on...

Roots and Shoots

My eco trail got 790 views!

Roots and Shoots was one of the buildings I viewed on the Saturday as part of the eco-architecture trail and they gave us a tour. It boasts rain-water harvesting (the rain flushes the toilets), solar photovoltaic panels (any extra electricity needed is sourced from Green Energy and any surplus made is sold back to the grid), solar hot water and sheeps wool insulator as well as sustainably sourced building materials.

It is currently an education and training centre for biodiversity and conservation, which is aided by its ‘green roofs’, planted roofs and quite frankly flourishing wildlife garden. Apparently mini tulips grow on the gravel roof in spring where trapdoors spiders and wasps and other creatures live too.

I hope all 790 of you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Oliver Heath

On the first of this month I met with the legend of sustainable architecture and design that is Oliver Heath, at London’s fashionable Hoxton Hotel. I was so excited to meet him that actually I spilt my cup of tea, to which he promptly responded by whipping out a bunch of tissues from his bag and mopping it up before I had noticed what had happened: ‘it comes from having 2 young daughters I’m afraid’ he said. Oliver’s charm is warm and welcoming and I could instantly see why he has been so successful in his career, with too many television, national newspaper and Grand Designs Live appearances to mention.

After a post-graduate degree in Architecture from the acclaimed Bartlett school at UCL, his company Heath Design has undertaken a number of interesting projects, including the design of Islington’s Green Living Centre, Virgin Atlantic HQ and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Mixing modern architectural innovation and natural, sustainably-sourced materials, whether eco exhibitions, events, museums, domestic or commercial interiors, everything Heath Design touches reeks of stylish classicism, whilst being an inspiration for our low carbon future.

The impression I got was that Oliver does not like to sit still for long and always has several exciting projects on the go. His most recent book, Urban Eco Chic is out in paperback now and available in 6 languages. If you're not quite as lucky as those who get given a signed copy (eh hem, myself), then it can be ordered off EcoCentric, the online design store that Oliver started a few years ago.

After being one of the main presenters and designers on Changing Rooms, his new TV programme, Dream Homes, comprises fifteen 1-hour shows due to air on Discovery Travel and Living from 4th October at 9pm, every day of the week. He is set to be the Energy Savings Trust spokesperson for the forthcoming Energy Savings Week (25th-31st October), on the theme of Taking Control (of your home’s energy use). He has also recently done work for Ikea, The Future Of Kitchens.

I honestly do not know how he found time for it in amongst all the ideas, schemes and tasks that permeate his everyday life, but Oliver has recently finished the retrofitting of his own home in Brighton. I particularly enjoy the foot pedals instead of kitchen sink taps to stop you wasting water. There is to be an article about it in the Property section of this week’s Sunday Times (Sunday 19th September).

A font of eco design knowledge, a wealth of sustainable style, a colourful career peppered with a rich tapestry of projects; all of these things, as well as modesty and magnetism, make Oliver one of the most fascinating people I have ever met.

My Sustainable Architecture Trail

Dates: Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th September 2010
Cost: Free

Yes, the Pope is coming to London and Pakistan is playing England at Lords, but most importantly, the week end of my Eco Trail is here! I have organised this in my capacity as a volunteer for Sponge and here are the details:

This exciting eco trail has been designed as part of Open House London to give you a rich flavour of sustainable architecture, responsible materials, retrofitting and various architectural attributes such as rainwater harvesting, light maximisation and solar panels.

There are hundreds of buildings featured in Open House London that have sustainable elements, but we have chosen a few of these to showcase a variety of features whilst being in close proximity to one another in the South East.

A suggested trail, with all the information about building entry times and features can be found on the Sponge website here. You are free to tailor your own eco trail to include an eclectic mix of interesting buildings and walk or bus between them at your leisure. We hope that you find it inspiring!

Beliefs underlying our industrial growth

1. The fear of scarcity- we need to accumulate to be safe.
2. Consumption is seen as positive progression.
3. More=better and economic growth is intimately linked to the cultural view of social standing.

Togetherness

More learnings from my transition training week end...yeah man...

It is important to consider that it may suit some people not to be involved and we must allow for our differences. We are currently living in an individualistic culture, but future conditions are likely to shift us into a place when it is both easier and beneficial to work, live, eat and sing together. Imagine if you suddenly had no money whatsoever and absolutely nothing of worth- suddenly, we need each other! Struggles are not the group failing, it is the group growing.