About

Welcome to my blog. I set it up partly because I am reliably informed that blogging is the future. As someone who works for one of the world’s largest communications agencies, it therefore seems like the right thing to do. And doing the right thing is really the theme of these cyber pages.

By 2050 I think it’s fair to say the world is in danger of being a pretty unpleasant place to live. Whether it’s the obesity crisis set against world hunger, the degrading of our natural environment, or rapid population growth in an increasingly unstable climate, most current indicators point to one simple fact - that we will need the equivalent of at least one more planet by 2050 to sustain even our current levels of consumption. We’re already running out of fresh water, forests, oil and fish, with only 6.5 billion people. What hope for a world with 9 billion people by 2050? How stable, peaceful and prosperous can such a world be if we don’t change now? What sort of planet will it be in which to do business? And what does all this mean for the communications industry? As sustainable development moves ever more into the mainstream and continues its rapid rise up the political, business and media agenda, we hope and believe that Planet 2050 sums up neatly what our work is all about – helping organisations navigate the social and environmental challenges of a planet under real pressure. Planet 2050 is about cultural change, and is the new name for Weber Shandwick’s CSR & Sustainability practice.

This blog is about the choices facing our planet, and a commentary on the wisdom of the decisions we are making, week by week. I hope to provoke debate, and will aim never to mislead. In writing it, I promise not to plug clients shamelessly without declaring who they are, nor to sink to negative attacks on people who have chosen not to be clients. Unwise though they may be! And I hope, from time to time, to amuse. Although the issues at stake are far from funny, there’s no harm in enjoying the effort to tackle them. In fact if we don’t derive any enjoyment from cleaning up our creaking planet, surely the battle is already lost.

Enjoy the reading,

Brendan May

Now for a bit about me…

I’m the Managing Director of Planet 2050, Weber Shandwick’s international Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability practice, where I lead a team advising a range of clients across the corporate, government and NGO sectors. I also act as UK Advisor to the Rainforest Alliance. From 1999-2004 I was Chief Executive of the global NGO Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), founded by Unilever and WWF. During this period I worked with HRH The Prince of Wales to promote awareness of seafood sustainability issues. I have also worked in radio and television (BBC) and as a political advisor. In 2002 I was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Global Leader for Tomorrow.

If you want to get in touch please don’t hesitate to go to the Planet 2050 website.