Global Futurists Celebrate Earth Day With Announcement of Enhanced Focus on Environmental Responsibility

MINNEAPOLIS, April 22, 2019 (Newswire.com) - ​Minneapolis-based futurists Jack Uldrich and Simon J. Anderson​​ chose today, Earth Day 2019, to announce their commitment to enhancing their focus on environmental responsibility in their business practices.

Reducing the impact of their travel-intensive businesses has long been a focus for Anderson and Uldrich, given the amount of pollution created by commercial aircraft and traveling in general. For many years, both Uldrich and Anderson have purchased "carbon offsets" to balance the damage caused by the emissions from their travels. This includes donations to environment-focused organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and Fresh Energy, who engage in a wide variety of global projects to reduce greenhouse gases and pollution. 

According to Terrapass, another organization committed to fighting climate change, "A carbon offset is a certificate representing the reduction of one metric ton (2,205 lbs) of carbon dioxide emissions, the principal cause of climate change." The number of carbon offsets required to mitigate one's carbon footprint can easily be calculated here.

As speakers who have an opportunity to speak to thousands of leaders in nearly every major industry each year, Uldrich and Anderson have a large platform to share new ideas on how we can preserve the environment for future generations. To this end, their keynotes often include insights on how new technologies can be applied to use energy more efficiently and reduce waste. 

Additionally, as an early adopter of numerous products that reduce food waste and environmental impact, Anderson has been an early evangelist of sorts for next-generation foods such as Soylent, Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and a variety of Morningstar products. 

Beginning today, Uldrich and Anderson will expand options for clients to choose a "virtual keynote" instead of an in-person presentation as a way to further mitigate their environmental impact. This is not an entirely new idea - Anderson gave his first virtual keynote in 2012 - but new technologies have vastly expanded the possibilities in recent years and today marks the beginning of a new focus on providing a world-class virtual keynote experience for their clients. 

Virtual keynotes offer many benefits in addition to reduced pollution from travel. Clients enjoy not having to factor in potential weather or travel delays and a reduced speaking fee that might allow them to hire a speaker that was otherwise out-of-budget. Also, a virtual keynote can be broadcast around the world, allowing attendees who wouldn't have been able to attend a conference in person to participate. For example, Anderson was able to share his insights with executives of an international telecommunications giant on five continents without anyone needing to take a long, expensive flight. 

Uldrich and Anderson believe that the meeting and events industry should do more to recognize the environmental impact of their events and to work with environmental organizations to find ways to reduce that impact. For professional speakers, this could start with simply calculating their annual carbon footprint and purchasing carbon offsets to counter the impacts of pollution and climate change. 

In the future, Uldrich and Anderson believe that as the related technologies such as AR, VR and 5G continue to improve, many conferences will be held in entirely virtual environments. The technologies required and industry buy-in are not there yet, but the benefits will be clear. Greatly reduced cost for associations and attendees, no travel, less downtime, ability to reach a broader audience and more flexibility are just a few of the reasons that virtual conferences will offer an attractive alternative. 

Internationally recognized for his engaging presentations and his insights on the potential impacts of emerging technology, Uldrich speaks over 100 times each year and has presented his message to global leaders on five continents. Uldrich's clients include some of the largest corporations in the world. Additional information about Jack Uldrich, his books and his speaking availability can be found at JackUldrich.com. 

As a futurist, Mr. Anderson's work is focused on helping leaders recognize the opportunities and challenges created by rapid change. He has shared his compelling message with thousands of executives and other leaders throughout the United States and internationally. To learn more about futurist speaker Simon J. Anderson, his blog or his speaking availability, visit his website at https://simonspeaks.com.

Source: Jack Uldrich & The School of Unlearning