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RECENT
SPEECHES 2008-2009
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A key part of the work I do is making speeches – at a wide
variety of events, from corporate conferences to campaigning organisations.
These include speaking at trade association events covering chocolate, detergents and
nappies, presenting to the European Management team at McDonalds and communications
executives at Shell, as well as being the key note speaker at the Green Funeral
Exhibition and participating in a Question Time style debate with David
Milliband. My style is light, accessible and often humourous. Where
slides are used they’ll be pictorial.
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"Let me thank you for a really great and inspirational presentation at P&G
Earthday in Geneva. We keep getting positive feedback about you"
"Please accept my thanks and admiration for your brilliant presentation - everyone
commented on how interesting and informative it was." South Somerset
Together
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CITRUS
TALK (Jul10)
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"Many thanks for the brilliant presentation you gave yesterday at
Citrus. You'll be glad to know that it was the subject of much debate for most of
the night - from shock at the waste within both the Armed Forces and the NHS to great
debate on exactly whether we get buried, cremated or
resomated...."
Citrus is an informal business networking group launched earlier this
year by Grey Advertising. Previous speakers include Baroness Susan Greenfield,
Damon Hill and Peter Hain MP.
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ALUPRO - KEY NOTE SPEECH AND CHAIR
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Alupro - the Aluminium Packaging Recycling
Organisation - were celebrating 21 years of aluminium packaging recycling.
During this time recycling of aluminium packaging has risen from less than 2% to more than
40%. Given that an average of 9 tonnes of CO2 are saved for every 1 tonne
recycled, the more recycling the better. My view is that aluminium in packaging has
many benefits but these are pretty well eliminated if its not recycled. There was one
particular industry stalwart in the audience who felt I was too challenging on this
subject but my brief was to be provocative and the feedback from others was very
positive.
I identified four things that need to change, as follows: 1. Weight based
targets - aluminium is light and so can be ignored for recycling over heavier materials
such as paper; 2. Local authority incentives - government rewards for recycling don't
relate to the value of materials; 3. Commercial recycling - recycling systems for
pubs, clubs and restaurants are less developed than domestic recycling; 4. On the Go
recycling - a significant proportion of drink cans are consumed on the go and yet recycling
schemes for these are in their infancy. Alupro have launched Every Can Counts to promote more on the go
recycling of cans.
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SPEECH
FOR PAFA - PLASTICS & FILMS ASSOCIATION AGM (May10)
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The AGM for the Plastics and Films Association was held at the Dorchester
Hotel. I was the key note speaker following David Bebee the PAFA Chairman.
With some challenges for the plastics industry, I concluded with a poem about plastic
bags. See my blog
by clicking here.
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"Everyone I have spoken to has commented on the value and inspiration they
have received from the day and your part was a significant factor in all of that. Just the
right balance of relevance and a very special personal flavour with knickers and goldfish
thrown in (metaphorically I hasten to add)."
Peter Woodall, PRP Consulting and co-organiser..
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M&S SUPPLIERS CONFERENCE ON PLAN
A
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M&S suppliers came to be briefed on the M&S's
groundbreaking Plan A initiative. Sir Stuart Rose announced that M&S
planned to be the world's most sustainable retailer by 2015. I was
asked to talk to packaging suppliers about key issues for them. One
particular them I covered in my presentation was the switch in emphasis away
from measuring the environmental impact of packaging from weight to
carbon.
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YARLINGTON
HOUSING (Mar10)
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I was the key note speaker at the Yarlington Housing Annual meeting, held in
Yeovil, which is close to where I live. The organisation had a number of
sustainability initiatives but hadn't yet managed to fully integrate the principles into
their housing developments.
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DORSET
SCHOOLS ECO SUMMIT (Mar10)
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Attended by over 40 schools and held by Bryanston, the Dorset
Schools Eco-Summit helped schools share their green commitments and encourage each
other. TV presenter, Dick Strawbridge (It's Not Easy Being Green
and Scrapheap Challenge) and I co-presented the day - I worked out that we were
speaking for over 5 hours during the day. Rob Hopkins from Transition
Culture also came and spoke at the day.
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HOUSE OF
COMMONS GENERATION GREEN MANIFESTO(Feb10)
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Greg Barker, Shadow Minister for Climate hosted the reception at the House
of Commons. It was attended by a number of MPs, including John Gummer, as well as
organisations like Global Action Plan, Waste Watch and education bodies, as well as the
members of the Generation Green Youth think tank, and their parents. The event
was organised for the team to present their manifesto ideas to Government - they met Ed
Milliband, Minister for Climate Change in the morning. I have been the expert
advisor taking the children round some environmental projects and helping pull together
their thoughts.
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HONG KONG SPEECH (Dec09)
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| Think of the large Hong Kong businesses - Cathay Pacific, HSBC, Jardines and Swires. They
were all represented at the workshops I spoke at organised by CIO Connect, a trade association
for Information Officers working in corporates. The topic was 'A Climate for Change' -
rather appropriate just a few days in advance of the Copenhagen Conference. |
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SOMERSET WASTE PARTNERSHIP WORKSHOP (Nov09)TEXT
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I gave a key note presentation at a workshop organised by the Somerset Waste Partnership, who are responsible for waste throughout the
county. My speech highlighted some of the public misperceptions about waste, packaging and
plastic bags. I also illustrated the shocking problem that we have in what's known as WEEE
waste. This rather cute acronym stands for ' Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment'.
See blog for an article I wrote on this. And Click here for links
to packaging briefing sheets I wrote for
M&S. And click her for links to plastic bags.
Steve Read, MD of Somerset Waste Partnership said this about my
presentation:
"Julia brings a fresh and challenging perspective to the issue of
packaging. She's keen to puncture the myths and misconceptions consumers have about packaging
but she doesn't let the retailers off the hook. Not afraid to be controversial, Julia's
presentation got people talking at a higher level"
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THE BIG GREEN
HOME SHOW (Oct09)
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"I had to drop you a line to say 'a huge thank-you' to you for being such a fantastic
guest speaker - you were absolutely superb!.... You made a very inspiring speech and I would have no
hesitation whatsoever in recommending you to other event organisers as a guest speaker on eco or renovation matters
as a whole - or as an after-dinner speaker - as you have such a warm and welcoming 'touch' to your
delivery."
Naomi Handford-Jones, Big Green Home Show, Centre Events Manager, The National Self Build & Renovation
Centre, Oct 2009
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CAOBISCO -
CHOCOLATE & CONFECTIONARY (Sep09)
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The European trade association for the chocolate and confectionary industry -
CAOBISCO held its 50th Anniversary event in Brussels. My speech on sustainability issues
focused on traceability in the supply chain, sustainable agriculture, climate change and
packaging. But I didn't forget to mention obesity and fair trade. At
the dinner after the event I was presented a gift for giving a challenging and provocative
speech.
“Julia Hailes ignited the CAOBISCO Sustainability Round Table
with her incisive observations and commentary. Her experience and mastery of her subject gave
valuable insights to the mainly business audience from across the European and International
chocolate, biscuit and confectionery industries”
David Zimmer, Secretary General CAOBISCO, Sep09
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EDANA -
DISPOSABLE HYGIENE PRODUCTS (Sep09)
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The European trade association for disposable hygiene products held their
annual event in Malta. My speech highlighted concerns about our disposable society,
explained the public confusion over what is the greenest nappy option and looked at whether
eco-labelling will help or hinder environmental improvements.
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SPEECH FOR CIO CONNECT
(Jun09)
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I was invited to make one of two key note speeches at the Royal Society by
CIO Connect. CIO stands for Chief Information Officers and its members
expertise is in information technology. The them of the event was change - Climate
for Change - Business in Transformation. And my brief was to talk about how businesses
will be affected by climate change and how they should respond. I was then invited
by CIO Connect to speak to businesses in Hong Kong in December 2009 - click here for link.
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OECD - PARIS
(Jun09)
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It was one of those conferences where people sit around the table with signs in
front of them saying which country they're representing - and there were interpreter's boxes
through glass panels above them. This one in Paris was hosted by OECD and was all about
consumer empowerment and responsible business conduct. I was chairing a session about what
consumer's expect.
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PRINCE OF WALES MAY
DAY SUMMIT (May09)
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The North West Regional event of the Prince of Wales May Day Summit was held in the
Concorde Hangar at Manchester Airport. Periodically the sound of aircraft almost drowned out
the speakers. And I had rather mixed feelings about sharing the room with the world's most
polluting aircraft, however magnificent the engineering! But the event was well
attended with over 200 business people signing up to the Network's climate change pledge in
Manchester. There was a real buzz about the place as the delegates were genuinely interested in
what changes they could make to their business and exchanging information on what they'd already
done. I made a key note presentation encouraging individual and corporate action rather than
waiting for either government or indeed technological progress to come up with the solution to
climate change.
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Click here to view the video
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"I thoroughly enjoyed your speech and the real examples of how
individuals at all levels can make a difference - very thought provoking and
inspiring."
Raksha Pattni, Regional Director of Business in the Community
"Julia has an infectious personality which makes her a mesmorising
speaker. Her speech at BITC's May day summit was compelling, yet told in a really engaging and
humourous way. Julia's passion and conviction really brought to life why we were all sitting
there. As a communications specialist I know how difficult it can be for speakers to get up
in front of a large audience and 'be themselves'. If only we could bottle Julia's
charisma!"
Angela Terry, Triffid (brand and communications consultancy), (May 2009)
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SUSTAINABILITY AND
RECESSION - PROCTER & GAMBLE (Apr09)
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"Let me thank you for a really great and inspirational presentation at
P&G Earthday in Geneva."
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VISIT ENGLAND
- SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
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VisitEngland with support from the national tourism organisations in Britain and
Ireland hosted the first dedicated area on sustainable tourism at the Best of Britain and Ireland
Travel Trade Forum (26 and 27 March). I chaired the day's sessions covering topics including
hotels, conservation holidays and green destinations. The organisers said: "Your panels and
moderation went very well - everyone was pleased and enthused."
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GREEN ORANGE
(Sep08)
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Mobile phones may not be top of your list of environmental concerns. But the
mobile phone operators are being challenged by their customers - particularly businesses - about
what they're doing. Metro Research was asked by Orange to do some research on this issue -
and I joined them in giving a presentation at a workshop for Orange executives.
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GREENGAGED -
DESIGN COUNCIL (Sep08)
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The Design Council launched their Greengaged week (15th-19th September 2008) with a Big Bang Breakfast.
Alongside me on the panel were Clive Grinyer of Cisco, Ed McCann of Expedition Engineering and
Dorothy Mackenzie from Dragon. We were their to talk about the role of design in
sustainability and more specifically about the extent to which designers have a key
responsibility in the fight to prevent climate change. I think that designers are too
focused on existing products and solutions but need to be more visionary in their
thinking. However, the challenge is to come up with good ideas for the planet that also
make business sense - it's difficult to get companies on board if they can't see any commercial
benefit for them.....
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KEY NOTE SPEECH AT
THE OLGAS - ONLINE GREEN AWARDS (jul08)
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I don't buy very much but what I do buy is mostly online - perhaps as much as 90%
of my purchases, including food. I discovered that the green credentials of home
shopping only really stacks up with efficient delivery systems in place. And that one of the
most wasteful systems is timed delivery slots chosen by customers because it means a vehicle can't
cover nearly as many households - so more trips and more emissions.
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KEY NOTE SPEAKER AT
RECKITT & BENCKISER EVENT (jul08)
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Reckitt Benckiser's Carbon 20 initiative commits to a 20% reduction in carbon emissions by
2020. The most significant thing about this commitment is that it includes the carbon
emissions during consumer use, as well as in producing products. Given that 90% of the
impact of a surface cleaner is in our homes, this means there's a lot to be done in advising all
of us on low impact cleaning. For a start don't use a kitchen towel every time you have a
spill! This was one of many issues I talked about in my presentation to Reckitt
Benckiser executives, meeting in Marlow. I've since started advising Reckitt Benckiser on sustainability issues.
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SPEECH IN CROATIA FOR
AISE (Jun08)
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AISE - the European Soaps & Detergents Manufacturer's trade association invited
me to speak at the annual conference, which this year was held in Croatia, near Dubrovnik. I
was asked to be provocative and the feedback was that my speech was 'well appreciated' and that 'it
was good to have some challenging views". See Blog for more.
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FOOD & DRINK INNOVATION NETWORK
(Apr08)
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"Julia Hailes is an inspiring speaker who really brought our seminar
alive with her pithy personal insights, and funny stories, which she uses to push home important
points. Her talk was well liked by our audience."
Jeffrey Hyman, Chairman, The Food and Drink Innovation Network, Food Ethics Seminar, April 2008
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MERRILL LYNCH
SPEECHES (Mar & Apr 08)
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The Forward Planning seminar at Merrill Lynch for Global Wealth Management clients
focused on entrepreneurship and women. The panel discussion included Dr Rebecca Harding a
founding partner of Delta Economics, Karen Darby the founder of SimplySwitch and Caroline Plumb the
CEO of a rather inspiring research company called Fresh Minds. I gave the key note
presentation on my environmental career - but I was also able to talk about my entrepreneurial
ventures which included selling daffodils and mushrooms as a child and inventing magnetic L
plates!
The second Merrill Lynch event I spoke at included a key note speech by Marjorie
Scardino, in place of Anita Roddick - I've written about it in my blog...
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SHELL INTERNATIONAL
(Feb08)
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The speaker for a meeting of Shell communications executives cancelled at the last
minute because she had lost her voice. I was contacted by the speaking agency and replaced
her. My brief was to talk about energy issues. This included a 20 minute talk, followed by a
Q&A session, further discussions over dinner, where I table hopped for each course and finally
a summary to give feedback. Shell's feedback was that they
were surprised and impressed by my knowledge of environmental issues.
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