My work consists of helping people articulate why they are in business, what they want to accomplish, then orchestrating collaborations across multiple areas, connecting ideas, stories and behaviours. My URGEncy is to focus my efforts and skills on producing ideas, stories and behaviours that enable concerted action to change the systems and mindsets at the root of the climate emergency.

I spent decades combining various skills from different areas of expertise into a holistic approach toward the creation of brand narratives. I saw opportunities to apply my talent to solving business problems for organisations, specifically in the areas of creative leadership, brand strategy, corporate identity and communications. The culture and structure of corporate organisations, and the creative services industry which serves them, tend to perpetuate the system which created them. 

I met (URGE member) John Grant at an event last year, shortly after XR wrote their letter to the advertising industry. We agreed they were right. As creative leaders, we know how to apply our imagination to concrete problems, to innovate, motivate people and drive change. 

We conceived URGE as a multidisciplinary collective in the centenary of the BAUHAUS. Writers, Product Designers, Architects, Film-makers, Strategists, Communication Designers, Psychologists, Behavioural Economists. We join forces to leverage creativity and design to develop radical responses to the climate emergency.

Individually we are experienced practitioners who share a belief in the need for systemic change. URGE is much more than the sum of us. Together we multiply our powers to shift the paradigm. It's Avengers Assemble, but also an open-source blueprint for a new way of working. We are not driven by ego and the mindset of separation. We are motivated by a commitment to radical change through creativity and cooperation, and our mission is to enable and guide systemic transformations.

We come together to build a new HAUS: a creative environment (a physical space as well as distributed) designed to enable collaboration, innovation, workshops, design sprints, learning and shared experiences. We combine our diverse talents and partner with others to envision and bring to life a different way of being citizens, workers, learners, and entrepreneurs.

We share a commitment to put creative talent at the service of communities, businesses and organisations that strive for change. We reject the culture of resource extraction and exploitation, which continues to dominate human societies. We build a new paradigm based on circularity, caring and sustainability.

Governments and businesses are finally putting sustainability on the priorities list. But how do we transform for sustainability? Those responsible for implementing it often struggle to reconcile intention with action. The challenges we face are systemic. The pandemic crisis has brought in sharp focus these interdependencies. It also accelerated the pace of change beyond what we considered possible only a few months ago.

For all of the disruptions caused to our habits and lifestyles, the pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis may appear in retrospect as the first glimmerings of much more dire consequences of the climate crisis. But this is no time to despair. As Gramsci argued a century ago, we shall combine the pessimistic analysis of systemic failures with our optimistic commitment to change. 

The emergency is real, is present, and we can do something about it. My URGE is to harness the power of creative talent to work for radical change, envisioning and prototyping better systems, while inspiring others to do the same.

URGE helps organisations envision and enact radical, effective responses to the climate emergency, working toward a green recover. For more about URGE visit us at urgecollective.com or sign up on Substack for regular updates

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