Gerdi with Anne Bland on social entrepreneurship and saving the planet
How often have I interviewed someone with their very own Wikipedia page? Never! That’s how often. But that’s changing today as I’m interviewing Anne Bland, born and raised in Finland and now a social entrepreneur in the UK.
That Wikipedia page? It’s because she used to be the Deputy Leader of Finland’s Green Party.
Having an impact
She left politics behind in 2015, but not her passion for social enterprise and impact.
With a background in business studies, financial and charity management and a master’s in grantmaking, philanthropy and social investment she puts her 20+ years of experience to good use.
That experience is combined in a rather surprising twist with ancient Tantric wisdom – something she spent some 750 hours studying.
She is a life-long learner with a can-do attitude who injects a spirit of joy into business and partnership development.
Future-proofing businesses to save the planet
In the last few years, she has put all of this to good use in ‘Future Proof Your Business’ an enterprise she started with her business partner and mutual friend, Sue Jackson. Recently they added another one, ‘Repurpose 360’.
Both of these enterprises are very much in alignment with the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals that Anne most resonates with: Gender Equality and Climate Action.
These goals also align with another role in Anne’s life; that of Climate Reality Leader and Mentor.
She was trained by former U.S. vice-president Al Gore, who founded the Climate Reality Project in 2006 after the success of his Academy Award-winning film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’.
To date, the Climate Reality Project has trained more than 36,000 people the world over. Each one of them believes that — as it says on their website — “a small-but-committed critical mass of activists can not only transform society but change the world”.
Anne and I talk about social entrepreneurship and how businesses and individuals can contribute to changing the world — not only for humanity but for Nature and the planet.
