Single Planet Living was founded by Dr Alan Knight in 2006 after a career spanning 17 years in sustainable development and CSR in the fields of retail, fmcg, finance, mainly for global operations, and advising government. Alan's speciality is to work with businesses and policy makers to understand each other's agenda to live profitably and within our planetary means, through the lens of consumer products.
Before founding Single Planet Living, Alan’s roles included: Head of Corporate Sustainability at SABMiller, the world's second largest brewer, Head of Social Responsibility for the Kingfisher Group, where he co-ordinated social and environmental policies for over 590 stores in 12 countries and worked extensively with supply chains across Asia, and Head of Sustainability at B&Q plc, the UK’s market leader in DIY.
He is the independent advisor to the Virgin Group, ensuring a single co-ordinated approach to Sustainable Development. He also runs the Virgin Earth Challenge (a US$25 million prize for carbon sequestration), The Virgin Rainforest Challenge and its HIV programme. He works with other clients as diverse as Coca-Cola, Prudential and Calgary City. He serves on the UK’s Sustainable Development Commission, is a senior associate of the Cambridge University Programme for Sustainability Leadership for Industry, is a fellow of WWF UK, a former director of the Tropical Forest Trust and a current director of the Forest Stewardship Council.
He was awarded the OBE in June 1998 for Services to the Environment and in 2005 the US-based Rainforest Alliance gave him a lifelong award for his contribution to finding solutions to rainforest destruction caused by the timber industry.
Alan Knight, will give an update on the latest thinking on sustainable development and the massive impact, both positive and negative it can have on international commerce.
