Leo Johnson makes sense of sustainability. He pinpoints the trends - from climate change to increased regulation and threats to corporate reputation - then lays out both the risks and the opportunities for business and finance. His key topic is 'future-proofing', bringing it into sharp focus (with the same flair for language as his brother, London Mayor Boris Johnson).
Leo comes down hard on ‘eco bling’ – such as biodegradable designer eco-stilettos as an unsustainable business. He questions whether we – as a society – can sustainably focus on both luxury goods and meeting basic needs... however, he enjoyed his rie in the exotic Lightning GT electric sports car. This apparent contradicition underlines the issues being raised through his research. Some of the technological research which goes into luxury eco cars has spin offs for mainstream applications.
But Leo is a man with a bigger mission than the identification of spin-off benefits: he aims to change the way we address sustainable business – with game-changing implications for both the impoverished populations of less developed nations and those UK businesses which have the vision to address these new markets.
You can read a more in-depth interview with Leo in the Bridgestone Eco-Rally special edition of Cleantech Investor Magazine.
Leo is Co-Founder of Sustainable Finance, advisor to over 50 global banks and businesses - and now part of PWC. He is also author of Beyond Risk and winner of the IFC Corporate Award for his work with the financial sector. He lectures at a number of academic institutions from the LSE to the Cambridge Programme for Industry.
Leo Johnson's presentations address the questions no forward-looking company can afford to ignore. What is sustainability? Is it just hype or does it seriously affect your business? What's going on when activists collect in the lobbies of Merrill Lynch, and consumers re-think their own preferences? Leo doesn't just set the scene, he helps win management buy-in to push through the changes necessary to pursue the next major source of economic growth.
Aside from keynote and after dinner speeches, Leo has moderated international conferences with the likes of Kofi Annan, hosted the FT Sustainable Banking Awards and helped launch the Carbon Disclosure Project in Geneva. He is a regular commentator on CNBC and frequently writes for the Wall Street Journal, FT and Spectator.
