Inaugural professorial lecture by Jem Bendell, director of the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS)

IFLAS director Jem Bendell delivered the annual Derwentwater Lecture at Keswick's Words By The Water literary festival in Keswick on Friday, March 14.

Prof Bendell on stage delivering his inaugural lecture

Professor Bendell's lecture, held at Keswick's Theatre By The Lake, drew from nearly 20 years' experience of working in the field of sustainable development and contained insights from his new book, HealingCapitalism.

In a wide-ranging and challenging talk, he considered issues of personal and corporate responsibility, discussed his groundbreaking work on complementary currencies like bitcoin and explained his philosophy on education, learning and academic life.

The lecture, held in association with the Keswick Fair World Alliance and sponsored by Impact International and Cumberland Building Society, was followed by a VIP reception in the theatre's Circle Gallery. 

See a full photo gallery at www.cumbria.ac.uk/iflaspastevents

IFLAS public lecture: Creating the world's first ethical smartphone

What’s inside your smartphone?

Where did the materials come from?

Who was harmed to make your phone?

Who died?

These were some of the questions explored by Sean Ansett, chief sustainability officer of Fairphone, at this month’s public lecture at the University of Cumbria’s Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS).

Sean Ansett speaking at the IFLAS public lecture

Fairphone was launched in 2012 with the goal of creating the world’s first ethical smartphone. It shipped its first phones in January 2014 and aims for a second batch later this year.

And although the company still has a way to go to achieve its vision of creating a completely ethical phone, it is making huge progress in its objective of raising awareness of issues of ethics and sustainability in the supply chain.

Sean told guests at the University of Cumbria’s Ambleside campus: “We can’t make a completely fair phone – that doesn’t exist. That’s our vision, and we’re very clear about that.

“We don’t see Fairphone as a product – we see it as the start of a conversation.”

Sean spent 15 years working in the apparel and luxury industry, but decided to move on in frustration at the lack of progress made in securing better rights and conditions for workers.

Sean found the transformative business model he was looking for by joining Fairphone as chief sustainability officer.

Fairphone’s goal is to inspire other businesses to reflect on the story behind their product. Are they proud of the story? Do they own the story?

“We decided to make a product – but the product is really an artefact that allows us to tell a story about the supply chain”, Sean explained.

The Fairphone was created to tell a story and start a
conversation about the sustainability of the supply chain

Three vital materials found in every smartphone – tin, tantalum and tungsten – are often sourced in parts of the world where the sustainability of the supply chain is by no means certain.

Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the main sources of tin (used to make solder) and tantalum (used to make capacitors) – but the profit from the mining and sale of these minerals is frequently used by warlords to buy illegal weapons.

The issue of ‘conflict minerals’ has led to many electronics companies refusing to trade with DR Congo.

But rather than turn a blind eye to the country’s problems, Fairphone focussed its efforts on a small region, working with initiatives that ensure proceeds aren’t used to fund illegal arms.

Next, the company found a manufacturing partner in China that was open to partnering and transparency in the factory and with their workers.

Fairphone also launched a welfare fund for workers in the Chinese factory, and would like to expand its model to other production areas.

Fairphone’s work has obviously touched a nerve with a group of consumers who are becoming more aware of the impact of products that we all take for granted. The company’s initial goal was to sell 5,000 phones, but interest was so high that 25,000 units were produced and sold in the first batch. Another 38,000 people have signed up for the next production run.

The phone itself has been designed to offer flexibility to users – with a changeable battery, programmable operating system, and dual SIM facility.

There’s also an e-waste scheme to ensure that the precious materials within the phones can be reused.

Fairphone still has a long way to go to achieve its vision. But Sean hopes the story of the company’s ‘fairer phone’ will change the way we all think about the products we make and buy.

IFLAS director Prof Jem Bendell welcomes
Sean Ansett to the Ambleside campus

Professor Jem Bendell, the director of IFLAS, said: “Fairphone shows how tackling major social challenges can be an inspiration for entrepreneurs. It’s important to share the experience of such entrepreneurs with the executives on our courses at the Institute.”

To find out more about the company’s work, visit www.fairphone.com or follow @fairphone on Twitter.

In 2014 IFLAS launches a new Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Leadership for professionals who want to enhance their approach to personal, organisational and societal sustainability. For details visit www.cumbria.ac.uk/sustainableleadership

The next IFLAS public lecture takes place on Tuesday, April 8. Information: www.cumbria.ac.uk/iflasevents

IFLAS hosts Lancaster Ethical Small Traders Association economic summit

ETHICAL entrepreneurs and community organisations from the Lancaster region gathered at the University of Cumbria for a local economic summit, hosted by the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability.

Lancaster Ethical Small Traders Association (ESTA) has formed a new partnership with IFLAS aimed at helping the city’s enterprise community to network, develop new ideas and collaborate on sustainability projects.

ESTA chairman Michael Hallam

ESTA chairman Michael Hallam told the 50 delegates that the objective for the summit was to find ways to spread the ‘think globally, act locally’ philosophy.

He said: “We live on a finite planet and we’re starting to see things folding in on themselves. Politicians and governments can’t do everything. It’s up to everyone to create a sustainable world and we need to empower communities to come up with their own sustainable initiatives.”

Delegates discussed ideas around the themes of encouraging lifelong learning, developing a strong community fabric, protecting the environment and creating a thriving local economy.

Prof Jem Bendell speaking at the event 

The University of Cumbria’s Professor Jem Bendell hopes the partnership with ESTA will help to bring the innovative work being done at IFLAS – including use of local currencies - to a wider audience.

He said: “Small business is the heartbeat of the community.

“The University of Cumbria has to engage in ways that make sense to the community. We hope our partnership with ESTA grows.”

Delegates agreed that the summit was a success.

Tony Haslam runs Banking on Carbon Ltd, a Lancaster firm working to create a local currency for Lancaster with the added benefit of helping users offset their carbon footprint.

He said: “I came to the summit to raise the profile of the REALM local currency. It’s really useful to connect with people who don’t know what we’re doing. There’s a lot going on in Lancaster, but we need to find ways of getting through to people.”

Delegate Ian Aspin

Delegate Ian Aspin owns a TV company and is currently a PhD student writing a book about creating shared values within communities.

He said: “What people here are doing is looking at ways to create shared value and look at ways that we can work together. It starts at local level like this, but it’s completely scaleable.”

The next ESTA summit will take place at the University of Cumbria’s Lancaster campus during the summer.

• IFLAS is currently accepting applications for its Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Leadership, which also launches in 2014.

IFLAS at the University of Cumbria becomes first public university to accept Bitcoin for tuition fees

The University of Cumbria's Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) has become the first public university in the world to accept Bitcoin for the payment of tuition fees. 

The move comes with the launch of courses that examine the role of complementary currencies in economic and social systems. UoC believes it is the first public university in the world to accept Bitcoin as payment for course fees.

Bitcoin is an online currency and payment system that already enables the international transmission of funds per day at an amount greater than Western Union. Thousands of merchants now accept Bitcoin worldwide. The university uses the system Bitpay to process any payments.

The acceptance of Bitcoin will initially be limited to the two programmes that address complementary currencies. These are the Certificate of Achievement in Sustainable Exchange, which will be taught from the university’s London campus in 2014, and the Postgraduate Certificate inSustainable Leadership, which will be taught from its Lake District campus, in 2014. Both courses are run by the new Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS).

The founder and director of IFLAS, Professor Jem Bendell (pictured), explains the move: “We believe in learning by doing, and so to help inform our courses on complementary currencies, we are trialling the acceptance of them. The internal discussions about currency and payment innovation and the practical implications for different departments have been insightful.”

The reason IFLAS has launched a course on these topics is due to the growing practice of currency innovation and the potential it presents for significant societal change. Professor Bendell continues:  “Some support Bitcoin due to its speed and cost, others due the new era of financial freedom it could enable. Others are concerned about it and how it will affect economies and society. Others think that what comes next will be even more important. We think it is essential to become better informed, and analyse it from many different perspectives.”

In May last year IFLAS co-organised the first symposium by the United Nations on complementary currencies and has an active research programme on this topic, including PhD students. 

Late last year a private university in Cyprus announced it would accept Bitcoin, but the University of Cumbria is the first public university to do so, and for courses that are already validated and accepting students. Cumbria’s system for accepting payments, via the Bitpay system, is already operational.

FAQs on the University of Cumbria and alternative currencies

The University of Cumbria has announced it will accept payment for courses via Bitcoin. It understands this makes it the first public university in the world to do so. It will accept Bitcoin for payment of two specific courses that relate to currency innovation, and learn from the process and incorporate that into its teaching.

Is the university accepting payments in Bitcoin for fees?
The university facilitates students to use one of the transaction services such as Bitpay to pay their fees using their Bitcoin, for the Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Leadership and the Certificate of Achievement in Sustainable Exchange. This facility is on a trial basis and will be assessed on an ongoing basis and also at the end of 2014.

Is it the first university to do so?
We understand we are the first public university to facilitate payments using the Bitcoin system, the first British university to do so, and the world’s first Business School to do so. A private university in Cyprus recently announced it will accept Bitcoin for fees.

Why is the university doing this?
First, this is an area of our expertise. The university’s Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) is a leader in complementary currency research, education and dialogue. In May 2013 it co-organised the first United Nations conference on complementary currencies. Its director, Professor Jem Bendell publishes and supervises PhDs in this field. In 2014 we launch what we understand to be the world’s first Certificate of Achievement in complementary currencies, as part of the Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Leadership. The tradition of the university in action research and applied research means our academics naturally seek to learn by analysing practice. Therefore we will study the experience of facilitating payments by one complementary currency system, Bitcoin for this particular course.

Second, we are open to relevant innovations in payment technology that could increase options for our students.

Third, we recognise the attention being given to Bitcoin at present, and as we have relevant expertise and courses on offer, think that we should make these resources widely known to both enthusiasts and critics.

What are the university’s views on Bitcoin and alternative currencies?
The university does not have a view on Bitcoin or alternative currencies. Our academics have a variety of views. IFLAS has specialist knowledge in the field of complementary currencies. Its director, Professor Jem Bendell, has worked in this field for four years, and is a leading commentator on the topic. IFLAS and Professor Bendell consider complementary currencies to be important for sustainable development if designed and managed well. They consider there is currently much misunderstanding about complementary currencies, both misinformed criticism and superficial hype, which is a reason for our courses on the topic. The Bitcoin unit may vary in value, and opinions differ on that value, yet the key innovation is the system it is based on, which is a global ledger maintained by any computers that download the relevant software and have the appropriate hardware and internet connection. The evolution of payment technology and currencies poses many opportunities and issues for all sectors of society, so deserves our research, discussion and impartial advice.

What are the benefits for students and the university?
Students can benefit from experimenting with a new means of payment if they have Bitcoin. The university can benefit from experiencing complementary currencies and be recognised for that.

What are the risks for students and the university?
We advise against students purchasing Bitcoin in order to pay their fees. They should only use this facility if they already have Bitcoin, or can receive Bitcoin donations in order to pay their fees. We make this clear due to the risk of currency volatility. The university does not risk currency volatility as we use transaction services that convert the Bitcoin into GBP at the time of payment. Bitpay is a US-based company that enables thousands of merchants to accept Bitcoin. Last year it secured investment from the founders of Paypal. In future we may use others systems or have our own Bitcoin wallet but this is something we are currently examining. There are misunderstandings about Bitcoin and this is a trial move by the university, where we  approach it as a learning exercise and welcome feedback. Payments made using Bitcoin and any requested refunds will be subject to the university's tuition fee policy.

Will the university accept other currencies in future?
The university will learn from this trial and develop its awareness of innovations in complementary currencies and payment technology.

A year of media buzz on IFLAS

People are taking notice of IFLAS. During its first year, IFLAS and its team featured in British newspapers six times, on the radio twice, on television twice, in international media outlets over ten times, and in specialist sustainability magazines twice.

The Director appeared on Al Jazeera television explaining the need for community currency innovation (Money for Nothing: Counting the Cost), and our Associate Scholar Will Ruddick then appeared on that station discussing his action-research project in Kenya to create a local currency for a poor neighbourhood (Counting the Cost of Aid). That project generated dozens of newspaper and TV appearances in Kenya itself and a retrospective from Al Jazeera. Professor Bendell also wrote for Al Jazeera about the benefits and limitations of attending the World Economic Forum in Davos (Uncovering Davos Ma’am).

 

In the run up to the Institute’s launch at the Royal Geographical Society in May 2013, the Guardian ran a number of articles by the speakers. Our Senior Lecturer Kate Rawles wrote about “Injecting a Sense of Adventure into Sustainability,” Daniel Start wrote about “Why Google and Sony are turning to nature to inspire their leaders ” while Professor Bendell wrote about community currency in “Trading without money? Why a new system can address the economic spiral”, and the need to emphasise adaption to climate change (Is Sustainable Business Still Possible?). He also explored answers to the question “If It’s Too Late Why Bother?” in The Environmentalist. Then speaker and IFLAS Advisory Board member Ed Gillespie appeared with Dr Rawles on Sea Change radio, discussing how to see sustainability as an everyday adventure.

The need for a more sustainable financial system was the subject of articles in The Times and the Mail on Sunday, which focused on Professor Bendell’s reasons for switching his account to The Cumberland Building Society (Give Your Bank Its Marching Orders). Jem’s lecture tour in Australia on Bitcoin and the need for sensible currency innovation appeared in their leading daily newspaper The Australian (The Rise of Bitcoin to Put the Bite on Banks).

What’s all this got to do with sustainability leadership? Jem shared some ideas in an interview for the specialist CSR Wire on “How to Assess Top Talent for Sustainability Leadership Skills.”

2014 sees a continued interest in IFLAS, with Professor Bendell already appearing on ITV to discuss the growth of international attention for the University of Cumbria in its Lake District Campus in Ambleside. 

Stay tuned… one way is to join the Sustainable Leaders Linked In Group.

IFLAS professor is first UK academic invited to attend Harvard leadership programme

The director of the University of Cumbria’s Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) has been selected to join a group of world leaders in business and politics to study the latest leadership approaches at Harvard University.

Professor Jem Bendell

Professor Jem Bendell, named a ‘Young Global Leader’ by the World Economic Forum, will attend the Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century programme in Cambridge, USA in March.  

Young Global Leaders are chosen by the forum for having demonstrated leadership for the common good on a global stage, and include people such as Kumi Naidoo (Greenpeace CEO), Hannah Jones (Head of Sustainability at Nike), and Chuka Umunna MP.  The Forum of Young Global Leaders meets on Monday, January 20 in Davos, Switzerland, ahead of the Davos Summit.

Professor Bendell is the first academic from the UK to be accepted onto the programme.

He said: “I am delighted to be accepted on to this Harvard programme, which gives me the chance to experience the latest approaches to leadership education, and also to share our own approaches in the Lake District.

“Harvard provides elite education to some of the world’s most influential people, in a class-based setting. In Cumbria we have a tradition of experiential learning, and a liking for taking our executive students into nature and to local heritage sites, to stimulate their reflection. I think in future we will see more combinations of such approaches.”

Through a partnership between the Harvard Kennedy School, the Center for Public Leadership and the World Economic Forum, the programme has been developed to expand and enhance the leadership skills of Young Global Leaders, necessary to address the world’s most serious problems. The curriculum considers critical global policy areas such as education, environment, global health, international development, and security, and is provided free of charge due to sponsorship.

As the world’s first professor of sustainability leadership, Professor Bendell recognises the need to blend insights from leadership development and the challenge of sustainable development.

“Ultimately we need to better understand how to lead across borders, for the greater good, not only for our organisation,” he explains.

For more information about IFLAS and the courses it offers, visit www.cumbria.ac.uk/IFLAS

Certificate of Achievement in Sustainable Exchange

(Offered by the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) in our London Docklands Campus, 20 credit points at Masters-level, can be part of a Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Leadership).

Economic and environmental crises are often in the news, yet social innovation is growing at pace.

Collaborative consumption systems like Airbnb, digital currencies like Bitcoin, local currencies like the Bristol Pound, gifting systems like Impossible.com, and sharing systems like TimeBanks UK, suggest that there could be a new paradigm emerging for how we organise our economic lives in ways that could restore community and the environment. 

The aim of this Certificate of Achievement is for you to understand why and how to create, scale and evaluate digitally-enabled systems of “sustainable exchange”.

Sustainable exchange includes systems for giving, sharing, renting, exchanging, and funding, with or without official money.

We understand that this is the world’s first Masters-level course on digital currencies and the sharing economy, and it is already receiving international press coverage.

The course is taught as a four-day block on the edge of the London Docklands financial centre, with structured online interaction beforehand, and an assessment to study for and write afterwards.

 

Join us at our London campus

Various online materials are supplied pre and post residential via our online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).The course involves walking tours in the Docklands on monetary history, visits to relevant initiatives, and guest lectures from leaders in the field.  

Tutors will include Professor Jem Bendell (IFLAS), April Rinne (Collaborative Lab), Adam Werbach (Yerdle), John Rogers (author, People Money), Leander Bindewald (NEF and IFLAS), Brett Scott (author, Heretic’s Guide to Global Finance), Chris Cook (UCL), Will Ruddick (BanglaPesa and IFLAS), Susannah Martin Belmonte (EuroCat) (all TBC) and Matthew Slater (Community Forge).

The first offering is in 2014, but places are limited so apply early to avoid a delay of 6 months for the following iteration. Course fees are £1,111.

If this module is taken standalone, there are no specific entry requirements for this module but you must demonstrate that you are able to study at the appropriate level. 

To apply for the course click here.  If you would like to take this course as part of the new Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Leadership, click here. If you would like to apply for a scholarship then the deadline is January 30^th 2014 and details on that are here.

We are currently accepting donations in digital currencies and national currencies to be able to award scholarships for this course. If you would like to support this initiative, please contact Professor Jem Bendell: iflas@cumbria.ac.uk

On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Critically evaluate the historical evolution of different exchange systems.
• Critically analyse the variety of sustainable exchange systems and the potential and pitfalls of digitally-enabled sustainable exchange systems
• Effectively communicate the rationale for sustainable exchange systems to a variety of stakeholders, with a critical understanding of claims made about them
• Describe and advise on the key factors for designing, developing and managing successful sustainable exchange systems
• Critically analyse the potential and current impact of any sustainable exchange initiative for its ability to promote sustainable production and consumption

Indicative Module Content:

• The history of exchange and monetary systems, according to anthropology and contrarian economics.
• The current monetary systems and its implications for sustainable development
• The variety of sustainable exchange systems, both new and old, for giving, sharing, renting, exchanging, and funding, with or without official money.
• The potential and pitfalls of digitally enabled sustainable exchange systems
• The key factors for designing, developing and managing successful sustainable exchange systems.
• Evaluation systems for sustainable exchange initiatives.
• Communication challenges and techniques for sustainable exchange.
• Practice-based inquiries into sustainable exchange.

For a short TEDx talk introducing this topic, see Professor Bendell’s The Money Myth:

Indicative Bibliography

• Bendell, J and T. Greco (2013) ‘Currencies of Transition’, in McIntosh (2013) The Necessary Transition, Greenleaf Publishing, UK. http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/content/pdfs/TNT_bendell.pdf
• Botsman, R and R. Rogers (2010) Beyond Zipcar: Collaborative Consumption, Harvard Business Review, October 2010.
• Gold, L (2004) The sharing economy: solidarity networks transforming globalisation, Ashgate Pub Ltd, UK.
• Graeber, D (2011) Debt: The First 5000 Years. Melville House Books.
• Greco, Jr., Thomas H. (2009) The End of Money and the Future of Civilization. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2009.
• Eisenstein, C (2012) Sacred Economics. Evolver Editions, USA.
• Lietaer, B., M. Kennedy and J. Rogers (2012) People Money: The Promise of Regional Currencies, Triarchy Press.
• Schroeder, R.F.H., Y. Miyazaki1 and M. Fare (2011) “Community Currency Research: An analysis of the literature”, International Journal of Community Currency Research, Volume 15 (2011) Section A 31-41.