We achieve impact through partnerships
Below are some examples of the organisations we work with to achieve our ambitions.
We work with companies ready to push boundaries.
Business is make-or-break in driving exponential, systemic impact. Since 2008, we have worked closely with business leaders to effect change that will not only benefit people and the planet, but help future-proof their organisations for decades to come.
Our relationship with Acciona, for example…
We designed the Acciona eXponential Sustainability Leaders programme. A bespoke transformational change champions programme, through which leaders from across the organisation co-evolve a proposed vision to drive exponential change. The programme results will serve as the basis for Acciona’s strategic Sustainability Master Plan 2021-2025.
Acciona is a global leader in sustainable solutions for infrastructure and renewable energy projects.
We work with financial institutions investing in the future
Business will struggle to drive positive change at the necessary scale without being supported by financial markets. Tomorrow’s capitalism must shift from backing degeneration to investing in regeneration.
Our relationship with Aviva Investors
Aviva Investors’ Chief Responsibility Officer, Steve Waygood, has been a key partner for Tomorrow’s Capitalism Inquiry since its beginning in 2018. Phase Two of the Inquiry is focused on shifting the rules, norms and institutions of financial markets to unleash Green Swan trajectories in the real economy.
We work with platforms to catalyse change
Complex problems can only be solved collaboratively. In this spirit, companies are joining business-to-business platforms to build partnerships and networks that will amplify their impact.
Our relationship with WBCSD
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global, CEO-led organisation of over 200 leading businesses.
We are working with WBCSD on the refresh of its Vision 2050, an ambitious project laying out a pathway to a future in which 9+ billion people are able to live well, within planetary boundaries. We are supporting this work by providing research and analysis on the macrotrends and disruptions set to shape the decade ahead.
We support and work with non-profits who share our mission
Business cannot create the necessary change alone. Business and civil society organisations must work together for inclusive impact.
Our relationship with Conservation X Labs
Our Founder, John Elkington, sits on the Board for Conservation X Labs. Few organisations better signal the sort of ambition needed in the Exponential Decade than Conservation X Labs (CXL). Its bold goal: to “reverse extinction”.
By focusing on drivers—not symptoms—of extinction, and by harnessing the democratization of science and technology, CXL aims to eliminate threats to species and dramatically improve the protection and health of ecosystems.
We work with educators to inspire the next generation of leadership
Our mindsets are powerfully shaped by our education. Although we face urgent challenges, our most important task remains in educating future generations — and ensuring they educate us.
Our relationship with University of Exeter
In 2018 we created an 8-part series on Breakthrough Innovation & Entrepreneurship for MBAs and undergraduates at Exeter University. Since then our CEO Louise has joined the industrial advisory board for the Exeter MBA, both Louise and John guest lecture, and we have had the pleasure of several students working on Volans consultancy projects as part of the course.
We have a great working relationship with the Centre for Circular Economy and the Living Systems Institute which both our clients and Exeter students benefit from greatly.
We work with collaborators to be more powerful than the sum of our parts
Volans is small by design. We focus on what we’re best at and find experts who complement our skills and help us to deliver on ambitious projects.
Our relationship with the APPG on Fair Business Banking
Volans is collaborating with the APPG (and Re:Pattern) on Bankers for NetZero, an initiative bringing together banks, businesses, policymakers and regulators to accelerate the transition to net zero and deliver on the UK government’s ambitions for addressing climate change.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking is one of the largest and most influential APPGs in parliament, with a membership of over 115 MPs and peers from across all parties.