Profile Global Action Plan
Q A & Interview by Tom Idle
Where did the idea behind Global Action Plan originate?
It started in the US. David Gershon returned from the 1992 Rio Summit inspired and he set up an Earth Run across the US – a baton relay race where people each wrote an environmen- tal pledge on the baton and then they passed it on. When it got to the end line at the White House it had a huge list of pledges with a call to action from the government.
David tried to get traditional pressure groups involved, but they said that it wasn’t for them because they are more involved in lobbying governments. So, he felt there was a need to create something to engage people.
And how did you get involved? I was director of fundraising at Friends of the Earth. I have enormous respect for them, but I’m much more practical and like to see things happen. At that time, Friends of the Earth was much more focused on lobbying and criticis- ing and seeking to change things that way. I couldn’t continue to fundraise for the organisation because it didn’t go with my beliefs. I saw David’s ideas and decided to set up the organisation here in the UK.
So is it a truly global operation? We have offices in 17 countries. That sounds
28 | Sustainable Business | June 2011
very grand, but the Finland office, for exam- ple, consists of just one person and a dog. It’s a loose federation, so each country’s
Global Action Plan is independent, but rep- resentatives
from each one come together twice a year to talk about common projects, to submit funding applications and to share experiences – which tend to be fairly similar.
So, you’re a charity reliant on corporate funding?
Yes. Last year, we were about 50% govern- ment-funded and 50% company funded. But this year, with the austerity programmes and change of emphasis in government, it’s more likely to be 80% corporate funded. There is an increasing disconnection between businesses that are talking about sustainability and really understanding the connection between environmental, social and financial and the Government, which is actually moving away from the sustain- ability agenda. It removed the Sustainable Development Commission and sustainability isn’t even mentioned in Defra’s new strat- egy, which shows there has been a real shift between the two sectors.
And with that a lack of business support, I guess there is a gap for the likes of Global
Action Plan to fill.
Yes, [the funding for] agencies that were in place to help businesses – Envirowise, Business Link, the Carbon Trust and the Energy Saving Trust, etc – are disappearing so there is a growing need.
What about your funding from the EU? Is it safe?
Strategically, there’s still quite a lot of resource in the EU and unlike the UK government, it seems to really recognise the importance of engaging with small businesses and is provid- ing some support. Again, there is some dis- connection between where the EU is heading and where the UK is heading.
So, how important is getting a global deal on climate change? It seems to have come down the pecking order of priorities.
Businesses are starting to move away from conversations about carbon and are looking more at resource availability. I was with a major retailer the other day and they said the press- ing issue for them is water. They get their cut flowers from a region that is water
Trewin Restorick CEO
Global Action Plan
“A ‘Jeremy Clarkson’ in facilities is a nightmare”
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