Our terra{fora} events are a journey towards sustainability - not only a bold statement of our commitment to the environment, but also a joyful celebration of our power to effect change.

People, planet and profit - have long been the triad balancing act of good business. With the recent stark report from the IPCC re-echoing the urgency of our response to the climate crisis - keeping things in balance is one of the most sought after skills of business leaders today. But who’s really doing well by people and planet? How easy is it to celebrate real breakthroughs and call out greenwashing and performative activism? And how can we ensure both people and the planet truly profit from more socially responsible business?

About Giles Whittell, Editor & Partner, Tortoise

Giles Whittell is an Editor & Partner at Tortoise, leading editorial work around climate and the environment. He regularly hosts ThinkIns with Tortoise members, Fora Residents and corporate partners on broad conversations around the role of governments, individuals and companies who are on the pathway to becoming net-zero; as well as more technical conversations such as CCUS, hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel.

Prior to joining Tortoise, Giles held multiple positions at Times of London, most recently as Chief Leader Writer, and before that as Washington Bureau Chief (1999-2002), and US West Coast Correspondent (1993-1999). He has authored five books, including Bridge of Spies, a New York Times bestselling account of the Cold War spy swap. Giles was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge (B.A. 1988).

About Tortoise

Tortoise is a new kind of newsroom – one that opens up journalism to work on the ideas that will make for a better 21st century. Unlike other newsrooms, we don’t do breaking news. Instead, focus on what’s driving the news and what happens next.

Since their launch in April 2019, they have built a community of over 150,000 members who actively shape the stories they write by joining “ThinkIns”.

What is a ThinkIn?

ThinkIn is an innovative, award-winning format for discussion. It’s a forum for civilised disagreement, a platform for organised listening. It’s not a panel discussion, rather, modelled on a newspaper editorial conference designed to reach a better-informed opinion based on the experience and expertise of everyone in the room.

About Tim Jackson, Director, Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity

Tim Jackson is an ecological economist and writer. Since 2016 he has been Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) at the University of Surrey in the UK, where he is also a Professor of Sustainable Development. From 2004 to 2011 he was Economics Commissioner for the UK Sustainable Development Commission where his work culminated in the publication of Prosperity without growth (2009/2017) which has subsequently been translated into 17 foreign languages. It was named a Financial Times ‘book of the year’ in 2010 and UnHerd’s economics book of the decade in 2019.

His latest book Post Growth – life after capitalism was published by Polity Press in 2021. In 2016, Tim was awarded the Hillary Laureate for exceptional international leadership in sustainability. In addition to his academic work, Tim is an award-winning dramatist with numerous radio writing credits for the BBC.

About Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group

Helen joined the Climate Group in 2017 as its Chief Executive Officer. In addition to leading the growing Climate Group team, Helen sits on the board of the We Mean Business Coalition , chairs the Finance & Audit Committee for the Sustainable Development Capital Energy Efficiency Income Trust, and is on the Mission Council for Pukka Herbs.   

Prior to joining the Climate Group, Helen worked at Forum for the Future, Médecins Sans Frontières, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte.

Event Timings:

6.00 - Doors open

6.30 - ThinkIn begins

7.30 - ThinkIn ends

8.00 - Close

*Please note that filming/photography will be taking place on site for the duration of this event for promotional and archival purposes. The photographs and recordings made are likely to appear on our website. If you would prefer not to be photographed please let Fora know on arrival to the event.

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