Alan has just over 20 years’ experience of working with global and national organisations advising them at board level on global sustainable development issues which affect business, society and individuals. On 1 March 2012 Alan was appointed environmental sustainability director at Business in the Community.
As well as being known for his work with blue chip companies either internally (B&Q, Kingfisher, SABMiller, the Virgin Group) see About Me or as a consultant (over 50 companies ranging from the Body Shop to the Alberta oil sands industry), a senior associate of the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, see My corporate expertise, Alan is also Chair of Defra’s Sustainable Growing Media Task Force and Non-Executive Director of WRAP and is a founder the Global Association for Corporate Sustainability Officers see My public policy and not for profit work.
Through his career Alan has developed the argument for product centric sustainability and has also created narratives for how lifestyles will be sustainable by 2050, the idea of choice editing versus consumer choice and also has voiced his opinion on certification proliferation. As well as corporate work he chaired several government think tanks and was a Sustainable Development Commissioner between 2000 and 2009.
Aligned to his work for others, Alan is a well known and a popular keynote speaker on the global conference/workshop circuit see My appearances.
As part of his new role at Business in the Community, he is responsible for its established environment campaign www.bitc.org.uk/environment; The Prince’s Mayday Network www.maydaynetwork.com; START www.startuk.org and ways2work – www.ways2work.bitc.org.uk.
Alan said on this appointment: ‘This is an opportunity I couldn’t say no to. It’s my ambition that through collaboration across the BITC membership we can re-enforce the emerging opinion that economics and environment cannot be separated. Many environmental solutions will accelerate an economic upturn and good economics in turn helps improve our environment.’
Alan will continue his current public policy and not for profit projects and he will also continue to be a keen participant on the speaking circuit. Following on from his Virgin role, he will also be a non-executive director of the Virgin Earth Challenge see My corporate expertise.
