Ed Gillespie

Current Position
Co-Founder of Futerra Sustainability Communications

Sustainability Experience
Ed co-founded Futerra, one of the first specialist sustainability communications agencies, in 2001. There he is responsible for driving the creative direction of Futerra's work with the aim of making sustainable development so desirable it becomes normal. He brings a deep knowledge of sustainability and considerable creative skill to challenging briefs.

In 2007/8 Ed travelled around the world without flying. He is a leading advocate of the Slow Travel movement, writes a popular blog on the subject, www.lowcarbontravel.com and is a regular contributor to The Guardian on environmental communication. He is also a Member of the International Visual Communication Association, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and holds Masters degrees in both Marine Conservation and Leadership for Sustainable Development.

Before co-founding Futerra he worked as a volunteer teacher in Jamaica, for the SURVIVAL Natural History Film Unit, as a marine biologist in Australia, New Caledonia and Orkney, and on environmental issues for what was then London Transport.

Definition of Sustainable Development and why it is important for London
As a marine biologist I was initially a reluctant Londoner but over the past dozen years of living here I've become a fervent advocate of the city and all it's wonders. London is a crucible in which influential ideas for urban living have been developed for centuries, and as we enter the twenty-first of these, sustainability is THE challenge which we simply have to get right. It won't be easy but as the famous saying goes, nothing really worth doing ever is. The promise of a cleaner, greener, healthier, sexier, smarter tomorrow starts now!

Ed Gillespie [PDF 17 KB]

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