I work for a large investment bank. My job is to develop new financial products that will make money for my company. They make money for our shareholders, too. And the chances are that many of you people reading this article will have a share in my bank as part of your pension. So before you get onto your high horse, I just want to make it clear that when I do well, you do well.
Guest blog by William Spurr Network Services ITSRG Traffic Technologist at Highways Agency.
Working on the current Engineers of the 21st Century Project with Forum has been an engaging and enjoyable experience so far and here’s hoping that continues! Our project is all about medium distance journeys and understanding how we can influence people’s travel choices with better information.
Will we see a renaissance of local production and manufacturing in the developed world? They say that what California does, the rest of the world follows: think hippies, aerobics, personal computers and social networking. The tech-hunters like to follow Japanese school children to see what the future holds; I like to see what the Californians are up to.
In San Francisco recently, I saw strong signals that a rebirth of local manufacturing might be taking place. It's one of the trends that we at Forum for the Future have identified in our futures work of recent years: the revival of localism and the growth of a DIY ethic in consumption and production. Across the city there are the first signs of localism in action; from the farmers' market at Ferry Plaza, to the Maker Faire weekend jamborees and the innumerable cafes and restaurants serving local produce.
Alice Chapple explores the motivations and behaviours of fund managers within the financial system as part of a blog series
I enjoy my job. I like the buzz that comes from being a knowledgeable expert. I've done this job for a long time so I really do know the ropes. My fund has been in the top quartile of performers pretty consistently over the past five years.
It can be easy to forget the intended outcomes of a project, when you’re focussed on delivering it within a short time table to a tight budget. Construction projects in particular see budgets getting more and more squeezed, and time tables can be thrown out by anything from a snowy day to a great crested-newt.
Those working in the built environment industry know these pressures all too well, and yet it is the outcomes of their projects specifically that offer a unique opportunity to deliver real change. The buildings we live in and the infrastructure that we use have a huge impact on the way in which we live our lives. If you look at the bigger picture, it's clear that the people working in the industry are not just providing a hospital or school (on time and to budget). In fact, they’re contributing to improved patient recovery rates, higher educational attainment, a more mobile population and, ultimately enabling more sustainable living.
Below is the text of a talk I gave at the Rushlight Clean Technologies Show, a gathering place for, guess what, cleantech companies, their advisors and funders. I was asked to talk for 15 minutes on a resource-constrained economy. My key point was that there are business opportunities in overcoming the constraints, especially through resource productivity and business model innovation.
Let me start by asking, ‘What resources constrain the economy?’ In the 20th century the McKinsey Global Institute Commodity Price Index fell by half. This is despite population going up fourfold, and the global economy growing by 20 times (For this and other McKinsey references below see their excellent report on Resource Revolution). Malthus was proved wrong; we didn’t live in a resource-constrained world.
Today Telefonica UK – probably better known to you as O2 – launches Think Big Blueprint O2, its ambitious plan for people and planet. It’s a big step for O2, the latest in a journey which I’ve been involved with for over 3 years. I’m often asked ‘what does Forum do with its partners?’. The launch is a good moment to lift the curtain a little on how we work with them to create change.
The Think Big Blueprint has some bold commitments for 2015: helping 1m young people develop skills; help 10m people live in easier and more sustainable ways; and to help deliver carbon benefits to customers that are 10 times the impact of their network.
Alice Chapple explores the motivations and behaviours of customers within the financial system as part of a blog series
I have been with the same bank since I was 16. I'm not the sort of person who reads the 'Money' pages of the papers to find the best deals on bank accounts or mortgages. I reckon that there are enough people out there who are keeping an eye on the options to keep my bank on its toes. And if my bank was doing something really bad, I'm sure I'd hear about it.
Each month, I pay a bit of my salary into my pension. I want to make sure that I can afford a decent standard of living when I retire. I don't know who manages my pension; it's done through my employer. I know we use one of the big, well-known investment managers, so I'm in good company.
I am pleased that you have been appointed as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. It is great that your strong views on the environment led you into politics, and you have been rightly praised for your approach to championing consumers in your last post as Consumer Affairs Minister.
