Initiatives ... Volans
Going beyond what Sustainability was about

Based in London and Singapore, Volans is a future-focused business working at the intersection of the sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship movements.

COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Volans

Based in London and Singapore, Volans is a future-focused business working at the intersection of the sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship movements. We apply our thought leadership and global networks across these areas to develop solutions for entrepreneurs, businesses, governments and leaders.

Mission

Our mission is to help the future take flight.

Our mission is reflected in our Agenda, and our work is divided into three areas:

• Innovation Lab, which explores how to scale solutions to social, environmental and governance challenges.
• Client Services which implements tailored services for companies, governments and citizen sectors around market intelligence and strategy, employee empowerment, brokerage and talent exchange with innovators, and market intelligence development;
• Outreach, through which we help shape the broader agenda of business, governments and investors, by sharing insights and analysis through conferences, industry convenings and the media.
• And the flying fish? Its scientific name is ‘Pisces volans’. Able to jump to new levels, to move along surprising trajectories. A symbol of our ambitions, our delight in working alongside others – and, perhaps most fundamentally, our commitment to achieving social and economic progress while rebuilding the resilience and sustainability of the natural world, our biosphere.

Through our Innovation Lab, we look at trends shaping our future and explore how they impact markets today. We find, support and promote breakthrough solutions developed by innovators, with agendas that show how we can transform the way our markets and economy works.

Through our Client Services and Outreach work, we apply this future-focused thinking to client organisations to help them develop long-term strategies and partnerships to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Our thinking is currently focused on the following areas:

• Future-building – including our ground-breaking research in partnership with JWT on long-term innovation and the Future Quotient
• Sustainability – including John Elkington’s new book aimed at driving companies and organisations towards a Zero Impact Growth Economy, with a joint venture under way with Deloitte Innovation to create a Zero Hub
• Social innovation and intrapreneurship
• Entrepreneurship, social and green finance
• Behaviour change and the use of games
• Earlier areas of focus that we have continued to work on include:
• The C-Suite Agendas for business leaders
• Demographics and the ageing economy
• Natural assets and business innovation in the Biosphere Economy
• The business of Social Innovation
• The future of transparency and disclosure in a Transparent Economy
• Identifying innovators helping to create the Phoenix Economy