Steve Kelsey: Three gifts for 2010 that will make us all a little wiser

The first present was simplicity. We live in a remarkably complex world and this is being made ever more complex by even more legislation, metrics, scorecards and conferences. The complexity surrounding sustainability is beginning to challenge that of the financial sector – which is hardly a surprise as most of it is driven by politics and money.

In the search for simplicity I start at home, or, as some people would call it, the office. Over the past year, PI has been looking for simpler metrics and models. We have found a few, including one very simple way of looking at sustainable design that is just as effective as the complex models that are on offer. More of this later in the year, but I can tell you now it replaces the complexity of LCAs with a simple elegant equation, care of the physics community. Physics makes complex systems simple. Physics is cool.

The second present was transparency. If we had transparency a few years back the idiocy of the markets would have been exposed earlier and, perhaps, we would have avoided the need for a £40,000 per household debt from the banks, care of the government we elected to look after our interests. You can buy a lot of mince pies for £40,000.

Transparency would tell us if the East Anglian Climate Research Unit had cooked the books or not; transparency would long ago have surfaced the moats and bell towers we have paid for. Transparency would allow us to know which bankers to save and which ones to throw on the fire to keep us warm as the lights go out.

The third gift was reflection. Over the past couple of weeks we will have had the time to reflect on what we really want from the future. Do we want to be held hostage by other people’s errors? Do we want others to be insulated from their failures? Do we want to take charge of our government and replace what does not work? Or are we happy to settle back and count our diminishing blessings while our masters roar about how important they are and how fearful the future looks?

As I write this in mid-December, I’ll tell you what I am planning for my Christmas. I am going to throw another banker on the fire and settle back with a mince pie and a glass of sherry and plot how I am going to use my three presents in 2010. Here’s a toast to you all. I wish you simplicity, transparency and reflection. A belated Happy Christmas and a Revolutionary New Year.

Steve Kelsey is strategic innovations director at PI Global. Send comments for Steve to packagingnews.editorial@haymarket.com

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