A couple of weeks’ ago I attended a conference in Cambridge of the Cambridge Conservation Forum. It was really quite interesting, but as with many conferences, the details are fading into the mush of my mind.
That’s not to say it wasn’t a good conference – I enjoyed it a lot. I’m not going to tell you which bits I enjoyed the most as that means leaving out some bits, and there’s just a chance that might disappoint somebody and I wouldn’t want to do that.
I was involved in a panel discussion at the end of the day (I think I am regarded as ‘challenging’ although readers of this blog will know I am just a pussy cat really). The room went a little quiet when I made my two challenging points – don’t vote Tory at the next general election if you want to see progress on environmental issues (I can’t see anything very controversial in that) and I’d rather influence David Cameron than his children (when everyone was going on about how important it is to influence the next generation).
But I didn’t get to answer the last question because my intention of having the last word misfired and I didn’t get a word at all. So here’s my considered answer to the question ‘If you were in this room talking to a bunch of business leaders what would you say?’.
I would say: ‘Hi! Nice to meet you. Lots of organisations will want to work with you and change the way that you operate but I don’t want to do that. I want to name and shame the worst of you, so that you feel a business pain of lagging behind on environmental matters. I also want to change the rules of the game so that people whose business it is to make money can’t make more money by being ecologically unsustainable. If you want to work with me that would be nice. If you don’t then you should give some thought to what it will mean for your business if people like me get our way. If you are sure we won’t influence much then you can ignore us, otherwise, maybe you’d better think about how to adjust your business to the future we want to create. Have a nice day!’.
What do you think?
Here’s another thought though. I did enjoy the talks but I enjoyed chatting to people so much more. The thing about a crowd of people is that you can move on from a dull conversation or move on after a short very good conversation.
I’m waiting for the conference where, when we all turn up, the organisers say ‘You know, we had to pretend there would be some talks otherwise none of you would have come, or been allowed to come, but actually we are going to provide the food and drink, and the space, and here is a list of attendees – now have a good time. Come and go as you like and make the most of the opportunity.’. Wouldn’t that be great?
[registration_form]
Maybe what you really want to do is party?
Mark
What your approach does is shift the ‘centre of gravity’ of the debate. Whilst you might not get what you want by (let’s be honest) threatening people, you create space into which other more moderate voices can move. They can say, ‘Look, that Mark Avery is off his head, but you can work with us and avoid problems before they get out of hand and seriously affect your businesses’.
My guess is that you’ve been around in conservation long enough to know this all too well, and you’re just being provocative! It’s your blog after all!
This is why we need activists. Whilst you might not agree with them, they create the environment in which others can gain traction, simply because the debate is framed on their terms. And sometimes they help to keep us honest, and in touch with our inner student idealist!