1% for the Planet at work

The Hay on Earth Sustainable Innovation events that the Hay Festival's Andy Fryers and I started four years ago were funded through TYF's 1% for the Planet voluntary earth tax scheme, through which we give one percent of all revenue to environmental charities.

From small beginnings, the event has grown well. This year's workshops attracted four times more than last year, with much greater publicity:

The Defra-sponsored SD Scene featured it here 

The Daily Telegraph, with a circulation of 840,000 mentioned the event in their dispatches from Hay

Radio 2 star DJ Chris Evans mentioned it two or three times to his 9.5m listeners

For 2012, we're looking at running Hay on Earth as an 11 day event that will run through the whole event, combining elements of it with the Do Lectures, with more ideas, more innovation and the possiblity of a bigger dragon's den pot too.

From little acorns...

Down to the wire

Working with government can be the most frustrating thing in the world, or the most inspiring. Today was the latter; I spent a while in conversation with Simon Bilsborough, the brains behind much of the best climate policy and action that is coming out of the Welsh Assembly Government; it's a high standard that he has to follow as Wales leads the world in areas ranging from CO2 reduction targets to built environment standards. We spent time talking about the first day of Hay on Earth, when the First Minister, Rhodri Morgan, and Minister for Environment & Sustainability, Jane Davidson, will be launching Wales' new Sustainability Plan. Apart from spending a couple of hours facilitating a process to get large organisations working out how to do things differently, and change much, much faster, we're going to building content on a wire timeline over the four days - putting 'smart' actions and real dates onto the line so that the urgency and need for action becomes clear and compelling to all who see and contribute to it. Simon was fully behind the plan, and could immediately see how it could gel action;  he is a doer of the first degree, and inspiring to work with as a result. Hay will be even more fun than I was expecting a day ago.

Names in Hay

Spent a great afternoon checking the lists of people coming along to the four days of Hay on Earth - we're up to around 200 folk that range from the First Minister to students, chief executives to Transitioners, business leaders, activists, farmers and shop keepers.

The alchemy that this mix creates will be just what we need to create properly considered plans that take into account real questions about how to make change happen, rather than just what needs to be on the list. If you think you should be joining us, then drop an email by.