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Can we be sustainable economically? T he UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) highlighted the urgent need to balance economic growth with sustainability. Despite appearances, the international community agrees that action is needed to prevent climate change. However, there is disagreement over how to achieve this without compromising that balance. For example, a complete cessation of oil production today would cripple all the vital infrastructure relying on it, such as mass transit and freight. Therefore, to achieve the goal of eliminating carbon emissions, a change of infrastructure is needed. This can be achieved quickly at prohibitively expensive cost, or more gradually at less cost. This is why COP26 set targets for 2050 and not 2022. This article aims to clarify what infrastructure change takes and why the economic merit of any solution is important. You may have heard the phrase “nothing changes, if nothing changes.” This apposite maxim highlights the premise behind innovation: to overcome a problem through transformation. But how we can achieve change practically and economically? Consider the numerous energy intensive industries in the UK, such as transport, manufacturing, and home utilities. Simply replacing the entire fleet of heavy goods vehicles or rail freight with electric engines is not viable because the performance of batteries cannot currently power them sustainably. Similarly, replacing high-temperature gas ovens in steel works with hydrogen does not currently achieve the required thermal conditions to produce high-quality materials. Equally, shutting down all carbon-powered energy generators and solely relying on renewable energy would, at present, leave millions of homes without reliable electricity during peak times. These highlight the numerous obstacles hindering straightforward changes to infrastructure. What is needed are solutions that mitigate these societal and industrial challenges. When old methods are no longer fit for purpose, businesses and governments turn to innovative alternatives. In principle, innovation could help us make more efficient batteries that can power trains, or deliver more reliable electricity. But this requires significant capital investment and time. Energy companies like Shell or BP spend billions on research and innovation projects to solve their own challenges, as well as funding solutions to these industrial ones. The core aim of these expensive ventures is not philanthropy. It is to ensure that they continually produce better products than their competitors to avoid losing significant market share or paying steep environmental taxes. These large companies recognise that while the cost of innovation is very high, the cost of inaction is even higher. Their behaviour, processes and internal governance present us with a basic model of how governments (which are essentially enormous corporations) approach innovation. They all study the problem, the benefits of a solution, the costs, the risks, the potential impact, as well as the alternatives. A bad solution may be funded if it is presented well, while a perfect solution may be overlooked if the argument is poorly constructed. The key message here is that a robust business case, with well- reasoned benefits to the numerous stakeholders involved, is needed to action change.
Klaus Mitchell (02-09), Founder of Plant Based News
Green finance and impact investing a not a new thing However, in the aftermath of COP26 in Glasgow this year we see climate change thrust front and centre of Government and Corporate agendas like never before. The climate change conference can be described as a death knell for the old ways, and a signal for a new revolution - and this time it will be televised. As well as on podcasts. And on social media. As mentioned, this is not a new thing; many corporates, asset managers and financiers have been making boardroom decisions based on governance, climate- related, and social factors for many years. So what has changed? Purpose - like never before, stakeholders are questioning how our businesses are making money. Is it being done in a responsible fashion? Are intangible risks being considered? Is your supply chain prepared for another pandemic? Not to mention how the influx of younger talent want to feel like it is making a difference to the world around us. Standards, regulation and consistency are converging - meaning transparency is increasing - and transitioning sectors such as Power, Utilities and Infrastructure have payout ratios well above historical levels. How long will this last? Or do these cash-rich businesses hold the key to the 1.5-degree world? And finally, let us consider the people who are creating this impact. Look closely and you will see many Old Alleynians in this space. Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas and Barclays all have OAs or boys’ parents heading their bank’s ESG efforts, plus the rise of climate-related consultancies have OAs leading the charge. Even the College Governors has serial, and OA, “Impact Investors” amongst them. Some may say that having so many related parties in the sector is a surprise. However, we simply need to go back four centuries to the foundation of The College of God’s Gift, a school for twelve poor scholars: six poor brethren and six poor sisters; or go back 50 years to the Dulwich Experiment; or go back just two years to the pledge made by the Master to have 50% of boys on assisted places. Impact and equality are not new concepts, and I would put it to you - it’s part our DNA. I would also say that we are in very safe hands with, what will be, past and present Alleynian representation. Mainly because we’ve only been thinking about this subject for 402 years.
Klaus founded Plant Based News whilst studying for an MSc in Genetics of Human Disease at University College London after receiving Medical Research Council funding. Plant Based News started out as a social media channel in 2015, mostly focused on putting content on YouTube. “I noticed that there wasn’t a portal out there collating plant-based content, so my motivation at the time was to share useful information about plant-based health and nutrition, while also finding a community of like-minded people,” Klaus explains. He later joined forces with co-founder Robbie Lockie, and the pair officially launched the company in 2017. Since then, Plant Based News has accumulated 2.5 million followers across its social media platforms, totalling 1.62 billion impressions. “Being part of Plant Based News and seeing it grow over the past five years has been a truly humbling experience. When Klaus and I first met, we really had no idea of the impact working together would have on us and the community,” commented Robbie. “Being a part of an international community powered by compassion and a love for animals, the planet and people has been the fuel that gets me out of bed most mornings.”
Recently, Plant Based News has closed its first-ever crowdfunding campaign, raising over £1 million from 367 investors, doubling its £500,000 target in the process.
Professor Michael Burton (70-78), Director at the Armagh Observator and Planetarium, Northern Ireland
Our Place in the Cosmos: A Planetarium Show Produced Specially for COP26
Michael Burton remembers vividly his Dulwich days in JC, learning astronomy under form teacher Barry Evans. “I still have a folder containing his big class project for the year, one that ranged from the lives of stars to the evolution of life on Earth.” Five decades later, having used telescopes on every continent, including Antarctica, Michael has ended up as Director of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium in Northern Ireland, running both the oldest continuously operating astronomical observatory and the longest running planetarium in the British Isles. A call came out from the UK Government seeking interest in using the Glasgow Planetarium for presentations during COP26, as it was to be central to the Green Zone - the public area within the COP event space. This got Michael thinking, how to use the Dome to communicate the science around the great challenge of our age? “A planetarium provides an immersive environment that is capable of taking the viewer anywhere in space and time, just like having your very own TARDIS!” Hence Our Place in the Cosmos was born, giving an astronomer's perspective on climate change and the very special, yet fragile place of our planet in the cosmos. Of course, turning that idea into a production presented its very own challenges. “I had never actually written a planetarium show before and was now doing so without a budget, but we got there! Many pitched in to help, and we appear to have produced a show that not only was enjoyed, but left the audience inspired. All this despite the sombre message it was bringing of the imminent destruction of our civilisation if we can't rise to the challenge of truly tackling climate change.” Our Place in the Cosmos was shown 14 times in the Glasgow Dome during COP. “Each presentation was followed by a Q&A which lasted longer than the show itself, when I fielded questions on what felt like life, the universe and everything. A 1 minute preview can be found on YouTube. But if you manage to make it to our lovely Planetarium in Armagh one day, you might get to experience it properly under the full dome...”
Marco De Benedictis (90-00), Head of Sustainable & Transition Finance, Corporate Banking, Barclays
Fawzi Abou-Chahine PhD (00-05), Director of Chahine Communications
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