I am writing to tell you how pleased we were with the Futurology event you arranged for us. Being in such a capable, reliable and safe pair of hands made life so much easier. Also access to your industry contacts was invaluable.
Neil Smith, Head of Research & Innovation, NHBC
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Visions for 2012
This week saw the inaugural SE2 New Year debate – and it was great fun! We were joined by a fabulous mix of colleagues and friends, all with their own interesting views on what 2012 will hold in store for the world of sustainability.
Our three star speakers – John Alker (UKGBC), Nicholas Doyle (Places for People) and Ed Gillespie (Futerra) – set the scene with their take on “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” for the year ahead, which encompassed everything from Marxist theory, Michael Gove, the faltering empire of Tesco, free range pigs and the cycling democracy. Food for thought indeed!
The debate that followed focused on how we can engage with consumers – who are, we were creatively reminded, just ordinary folk like you and me. If we can’t appeal to Jo Average then we have no hope. And although the environment is one of the most exciting and innovative agendas right now, we’re not very good at it. The debate was an inspiration, and we were all fired up to relook at how we can reach out beyond our (sometimes insular) sector to make a real difference.
A great time was had by all as you’ll see from the quotes below and the tweets from the night (#2012SE2). We’ll be discussing some of the predictions on this blog as the year progresses, and of course we’ll be revisiting them in January 2013!
You can see some pictures from the night at the bottom of this post and on flickr.
The SE2 'The Good, the Bad & the Ugly' debate on predictions for 2012 was cosy but lively, informally provocative and ruminatively considered. More please.
Ed Gillespie, Futerra Sustainability Communications
Quite literally the most fun I've had debating insulation in a pub!
John Alker, UKGBC
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was a wonderfully amusing, informal night of debate and networking. The insights shared by the speakers were topical and often hilariously quirky – who would have thought that I would learn the difference between outdoor reared and free range pigs during a talk about climate change?! Peculiar facts aside, I found the night truly thought provoking and it has given me much fodder to mull over in my own approach to climate change communications.
Christine Kinnear, Green Tree Marketing
I spent a very enjoyable and thought-provoking evening last night with a bunch of informed, informative and entertaining sustainability professionals at SE2's inaugural, and hopefully annual, predictions for the year event - the good, the bad and the ugly. They picked a perfect trio of speakers who put across very different, but all insightful, views on what we can expect in 2012 for the environmental sector. The audience was lively and the drink flowed, what more could you want to take your mind off a frosty January evening.
Paula Owen, Paula Owen Consulting
Thanks again for an enjoyable event last night. It was great to have the opportunity to think about the bigger issues away from the constraints of organisational politics, deliverables and deadlines. Also good to have speakers who were not pushing their own commercial interests.
Alan Pither
SE2's 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' debate was a fantastic way to kick off 2012. Witty and inspiring presentations from Ed Gillespie, Nicholas Doyle and John Alker got people enthused about everything from central London's electorate being dominated by cyclists, to the potential for a neo-Marxist revolution involving unenlightened car-owners being able to rent out their motor.
Emma Jones, Impetus Consulting Ltd
SE2 put on an excellent debate on Tuesday evening. Three very thought-provoking speakers on the Good, the Bad and the Ugly prospects for the New Year (Michael Gove’s name came up a couple of times in the last two categories!). The cream of the domestic energy crop were there and we had a very interesting discussion. Great for networking as well – had a chance to catch up with lots of people who I haven’t seen for ages.
Richard MacPhail
