Book your place at Sustain's AGM, and network debate on Natural Capital where we will be joined by Tony Juniper and other guests.
Join us for an evening of debate, celebration, and the opportunity to meet some of the UK’s leading sustainable food and farming organisations and initiatives.
We are pleased to welcome Tony Juniper, campaigner, writer and leading British environmentalist, who will be our special guest speaker. Join us to hear from Tony and other speakers about Natural Capital, and whether we can put a price on the environment and our health (see below).
Starting at 5pm, our members AGM will be followed by a networking evening at 6pm, which we are opening to the public. Talks will finish about 8pm, after which there will be an opportunity to meet and mingle with attendees over sustainable drinks and nibbles. The event will be held at St Ethelburgas, Liverpool Street station, London. Door at 4.30pm.
Natural Capital: Can we put a price on the environment and our health?
In 2016, the government department for the environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) will reconvene its Natural Capital Committee, tasked with drawing up a ‘new approach to nature’. For some, this looks like a welcome opportunity to put the environmental at the heart of economic decision-making, with nature valued for its services, and conservation starting to feature in the balance sheets – and core policies – of companies and government. For others, the whole approach of putting a ‘price’ on nature is an anathema, with many arguing that this reduces nature to a tradeable commodity, when its true value is intrinsic, incalculable and fundamental to our survival.
How can we understand the government’s ‘new approach to nature’, and what does it mean for our food and farming movement, interested in promoting health, ethics and the environment? In campaign and policy groups, people are seeking ways to use economic arguments to good effect, whether it be sugar taxes, reduced costs to the NHS, protecting flood plains, or demonstrating the value of forests for carbon reduction. Whatever we think of the Natural Capital approach, we have a lot to learn about the benefits, and drawbacks, of putting a price on the environment and our health.
Tony Juniper is a campaigner, writer, sustainability advisor and leading British environmentalist. From providing ecology and conservation experiences for primary school children, making the case for new recycling laws, to orchestrating international campaigns for action on rainforests and climate change, his work has sought change at many levels. Among many influential roles, he is Special Adviser to the Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit, a Trustee of Fauna & Flora International and Chair of the Advisory Board to the industry campaign Action for Renewables. As a former campaigns and policy director, and then director of Friends of the Earth, he played a leading role in many initiatives, including on GM crops, world trade policy, industrial pollution, tropical rainforest protection and biodiversity. His books What has Nature ever done for us? (2013) and What Nature Does For Britain (2015) set out his case for valuing the natural services that nature provides, setting nature conservation at the heart of a more sustainable approach to economics.
Sustain is delighted that Tony Juniper will be the keynote speaker at Sustain’s AGM and Network Event. He will share what he believes are the benefits of a Natural Capital approach, and provoke debate on a theme that looks set to become central to government and corporate policy over the coming years. Sustain member organisations with experience of using economic arguments to win policy change – on health and sustainability issues – will also share their views and experiences. It looks set to be a stimulating and informative evening, and Sustain members and others interested in these themes, are most welcome to join in.
Published Monday 14 December 2015
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
