Redefining Business Success 3-4 Dec

As part of our Earth Charter in Business project (DfID funded), we instigated this Consultation at St George's House, Windsor Castle .  St George's was set up in 1966 by the Duke of Edinburgh and the then Dean, Robin Woods, as a place where people can come together to explore contemporary issues....an excellent idea.

On this occasion a group of  people from business (global and local) met with academics, NGOs and people from media, economics,  the arts, education, faith groups and government ministries  to discuss how we can redefine success in business - ie move away from profit as the sole measure of success.  Business could be the engine which moves us towards a sustainable world instead of away from it....but it will need education and encouragement, legislation from governments,  regulation and enforcement. Some very useful ideas and connections came out of the 24 hours, so,  many thanks to St George's House for this valuable opportunity.

Summer-time diversity

Its been some time since my last post so there's so much to say I'm going to outline events over the summer.  Looking through my diary,  some highlights have been:

•  seeing the French  film 'Potiche' (Trophy Wife) screened by Beverley Film Soc - excellent!
•  a meeting in Willerby about problems with a local waste site (right next door to the office of the Environment Agency)
• taking my mother to see 'Lilies on the Land' at Hull Truck Theatre: about the Women's Land Army
• a local meeting about 'Toxic Childhood' run by the Baptist Church
• doing an interview for Radio Humberside arguing against the pro-nuclear power campaigner Bernard Ingham
• Green Drinks in Beverley (13th of each month)
• responding to a Readers Digest invitation to discuss the greenness of J R R Tolkein!
• Beverley Folk Festival -  Green Party and Friends of the Earth stalls, Steeleye Span  and.... mud
• Cornucopia Festival planning meetings -  of course we had to sample the local beers and food to be on offer..mmm!
• weekend with 2 small granddaughters - and rescuing tiny oak trees from a park where they would be cut in the grass in order to replant somewhere safe
• Earth Charter event in Bournemouth with schools and businesses at Green House Hotel
• wonderful tour of France : trains and bikes to south for a week in a house with some of our family, then cycling along Canal du Midi and catching up with friends we met in Uganda, then camping with friends from Beverley, and lastly staying with a French (puppeteer)  family in Brittany...slept sandwiched between the Big Bad Wolf and a very ghostly Hansel and Gretel!  Ferry Roscoff- Plymouth  and train back to York
• son's wedding to Emma - at Aldborough, August 18th - very happy day, and with fine weather
• my Mum's hip operation in Leeds -  stayed with Sitara and helped finish the delicious Eid feast!
• did a First Aid Course (unfortunately on a beautiful sunny day) in Pocklington
• attended Race Equality Meeting in Hull - a response to a higher rate of hate-induced crime
• Green Party Conference in Bristol (Sept 7 -10th) where we voted through a reviewed Disability Policy and  the first GP Equality and Diversity Committee was elected - congratulations to all.
• Bills and my 20th wedding anniversary!
• Cornucopia Festival - East Yorkshire -  a wondeful weekend of high quality music and celebration of greenness.  What a relief it went so well - the people loved it.  The question now is whether we can raise the time, energy and money to do it again....