Ilka Weissbrod

Background

Hello there. I’m one of the Forum people working with businesses to embed sustainability in their product and service development. Ideally this throws up all sorts of questions about business strategy and business models. I like working most on projects that are connected to ICT and/or have a B2C element.

I baffled my parents aged 12 when, prompted by the decline of the seal population in the North Sea, I grandly declared that I wanted to save the world. They thought it’d pass but apparently it hasn’t! My background is a mixture of hands-on, policy and business response to sustainability challenges. The vocational training as waste manager in Germany saw me wielding spanners in recycling plants and, at its most glamorous, (wo)manning the back of a garbage truck. I also got my hands dirty working for an organic farm throughout my BSc Business & Environment in Kent, UK. Writing my MSc thesis whilst interning with the United Nations Environment Programme provided me with some useful insights in the policy arena. Finally, producing key performance indicators for a UK civil engineering company gave me the opportunity to experience first-hand how strategy is embedded in business - and what barriers can hinder progress...

Why do I work for Forum for the Future? The rather straightforward truth is that I wanted to focus on working with corporates, did an online search for ‘Business Sustainability Advisor’ and luckily a job advert came up! Since joining in early 2006, I project managed the Telefónica O2 Eco rating project and mainly work with businesses to do with information and communication technology and retail, including Sony Ericsson, John Lewis Partnership, eBay Europe, Sony Europe, PepsiCo and Unilever.

My dream project? A multinational B2C business decides to use its full annual advertising budget to develop sustainable product and service propositions. They pick up the phone: “Hey Ilka, we have decided to spend our complete advertising budget on sustainability next year and want to work with you to see out how we might do this!” Unfortunately this is usually the point when I wake up.

Boat Floaters (as opposed to floaters..)
I work 80% at Forum for the Future and am also a Director of the social enterprise The Golden Co., which provides work and training opportunities for inner city young people around beekeeping. Other than that I am learning Mandarin Chinese, am keen on all things music, and ride a motorbike. Preferably not all at the same time.