The invitation that shattered everything I thought I knew โ nine years on
The email arrived on a grey Tuesday morning in March 2017. Buried beneath the usual corporate consulting requests was the message: “We need eight independent experts to audit why the Sustainable Development Goals are failing so catastrophically. Would you be willing to participate?” I almost declined. After three decades in boardrooms from London to Lagos, […]
Time to collaborate with the Sales team – it’ll credit you well in the long run
In many businesses, sales and credit management are viewed as opposing forces. One focuses on winning new business and increasing turnover, the other on assessing risk, protecting cash flow and ensuring invoices are paid on time, writes Tracey Westell, director of Pecunia. But this perceived conflict is misplaced. Sales and credit control share the same ultimate […]
How do you spell startup success? It all begins with a single letter
If the statistic is true – that 80 per cent of start-ups fail – itโs probably worth asking the question – why? The answer is more complex than the usual ones of poor product-market fit, disastrous cash flows, high levels of competition, or a team imploding under the stress of it all. Dig deeper and […]
Todayโs customers know what they want – and who they want to get it from
Thereโs a new and growing generation of consumers who prioritise social responsibility above anything else when deciding who to do business with. Traditional incentives such as cost and convenience are no longer enough to attract those who place high value on companies that make positive contributions to their community โ not to mention wider society […]
What an 18thโcentury structure teaches us about sustainable infrastructure
When we talk about sustainable infrastructure today, itโs easy to imagine sustainability as a modern invention โ something born from climate policy, ESG frameworks, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. But the truth is far more interesting. Long before we had the language of sustainable development, many of its core principles were already being put […]
How everyday good business already aligns with ESG, SDGs, and the Green Agenda
Large organisations and governments talk a lot about ESG, SDGs, CSR, the Green Agenda and sustainability. They publish glossy reports, launch campaigns, and proudly showcase their commitments. But thereโs a significant detail thatโs often overlooked: most SMEs are doing this already – just without the fanfare, the frameworks, or the recognition. They generally tend to […]
Killarneyโs coffee cup ban: What the worldโs first move means for sustainable cities
In a bold step towards tackling single-use waste, the Irish town of Killarney has made global headlines by becoming the first town in the world to ban disposable coffee cups entirely. What might sound like a small, symbolic change is in fact a powerful signal of how local action can drive real progress towards sustainability. […]
We’re better together – especially if you want to see the wood for the trees
We may not all hug trees but most of us get the connection. And, letโs be honest, we miss them when theyโre gone. Which is why, like loved ones who pass, their pre-felled images are often treasured by those who valued them most. Whether itโs the Sycamore Gap Tree and a National Trustโs project to […]