Author: Jim McClelland

Sustainable Futurist, Publisher, Editor and Journalist, Jim McClelland is also a regular Speaker and Chair on the events circuit, Strategic Media Consultant and the Curator at sustmememagazine.com. His interests include: Clean + Green, CSR, Built Environment, Smart Cities and Swarm Theory.

Investment: ‘Future of Infrastructure’ in The Times

New writing… Pleased to say I have had another article published in The Times newspaper, as part of a special Raconteur report on the Future of Infrastructure.

The piece explores how rising interest in responsible investment, which considers environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors , has transformed the conversation in the infrastructure sector. For major projects seeking funding it pays to get ESG right – in fact, getting it wrong can prove highly problematic, maybe even fatal.  Whilst the importance of the new criteria might be clear in principle, the issue for infrastructure is understanding what actually constitutes ESG in practice. Positive engagement with the issues calls for more than just a box-ticking exercise, if values are to be truly aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To read the article in full, complete with expert insights, comment and analysis, please click the following link:

• ‘Infrastructure investors making ESG a priority’.

The full 16-page Future of Infastructure report is available to view/download here.

, , , , , , , ,

Collaboration: ‘Suppy Chain Innovation’ in The Times

New writing… Pleased to say I have had another article published in The Times newspaper, as the opening piece to a special Raconteur report on Supply Chain Innovation.

The article discusses how being faster, better and cheaper than the competition requires colleagues, partners and stakeholders across an entire supply chain to work together and collaborate. With supply chain management finally having made its way into the strategic arena of the Board Room, such collaboration is even more crucial to achieving joined-up sustainability goals which call for a more systemic approach. It is also key to attracting and retaining valuable talent in a competitive marketplace. Innovation is not, however, all about the tech. Whilst modern digital kit such as drones and robots might  be grabbing headlines and catapulting supply chain issues on to the front page, the shift is as much cultural as it is technological. Technology is undoubtedly vital, but much of it is behind the scenes and, in the short term, often more likely to take the form of process-oriented software than gadget-laden hardware. When it comes to responsible sourcing and ethical labour, digital innovation is also both an enabler and a potential disruptor, as supply chain visibility is empowering public scrutiny, at the same time as it is supporting transparency in brands and business. By clicking the following link, you can read the full article , which explores, in depth and with insight from a range of expert commentators, exactly how and why:

• ‘Collaboration is key for supply chain innovation’.

The full 20-page Supply Chain Innovation report is available to view/download here.

, , , , ,

Risk: Wildfires, Hurricanes & Brexit

New writing… My latest piece for The Hub – the award-winning content platform curated by Mitsubishi Electric – looks at climate risk and extreme weather events, particularly as they affect business. In addition to the tragic loss of over 10,000 lives last year alone, the cost of natural disasters in terms of consumption ran to more than half a trillion Dollars. Furthermore, major ports worldwide are having to factor into their forward planning the threat of disruption from the effects of ongoing sea-level rise. To discover the scary and compelling statistics that tell the climate breakdown story, please read ‘Risk: wildfires, hurricanes & Brexit‘. (If you are interested in learning what business can do to help mitigate this risk, the second instalment in this two-parter – ‘Resilience’ – will follow on The Hub shortly… )

, , , , , , ,

Explainer: How Microplastics Threaten Our Environment

Microplastic pollution is being found everywhere, literally: it is in our rivers; on our gardens; in the food we eat; it is even now in human poop.

Perhaps the worst aspect of microplastic pollution is that no effective and efficient way of removing the full range of debris has yet been found.

The EU has, however, recently proposed a wide-ranging ban on the use of ‘intentionally added’ microplastics, which if approved into law could see a phase-out starting 2020.

Meantime, recovering plastics from oceans and recycling them before they start to break down into small fragments is one way to fight this kind of pollution. When recycled, these plastics are used to create sustainable products.

This excellent infographic below, from Roman Chaloupka and GreenMatch, tells us more about how Microplastics Threaten Our Environment.

You can view the original, also learn about becoming ‘waste aware’ and fighting pollution, as well as the creators themselves here; plus Follow them on Twitter.

Micro Plastic Pollution

, , , , , , , ,

Circularity: The word snowballing down from Davos

New writing… My latest piece for The Hub – the award-winning content platform curated by Mitsubishi Electric – looks at the mood going into Davos and the messages coming out. Located high in the Swiss Alps, Davos is the exclusive venue for the influential annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). It is where thought-leaders and heavy-hitters from the worlds of politics, economics, business, celebrity and media gather together every January to debate the state of the planet and the big issues, most notably clmate change. Heading into this year’s get-together, the pressure was rising on the international community, particularly in light of the latest IPCC report and sluggish response by national governments to turn talk into action on global warming targets set out in the Paris Agreement. The good news was that the circular economy proved a big story at the summit, with the launch of the Circularity Gap Report 2019 (see video above) truly establishing and evidencing the link with climate change. (Full disclosure: I personally am listed as one of the Contributing Authors on the report.) To learn why a 1.5°C world has to be more than 9% circular, please visit The Hub via the link here and read about ‘Circularity: the word snowballing down from Davos‘

, , , , , , ,
1 2 3 … 22