Jericho

Jericho Chambers

Jericho is a boutique consultancy, specialising in trust, purpose and engagement. Our podcasts deal with complex public policy issues, both for clients and society and aim to break beyond conventional echo chambers to bring about meaningful change. Find out more: www.jerichochambers.com

  1. What after Woke? With Sue Garrard

    06/27/2025

    What after Woke? With Sue Garrard

    The latest interview in our series What After Woke?, in partnership with Echo Research, is with Sue Garrard. Sue was one of the masterminds behind Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan 2010-2020, and together with her then-CEO Paul Polman, made Unilever the poster child for corporate responsibility. That led her into many projects in the developing world (for example, where Unilever sourced vast quantities of palm oil) and at home (where she took on those pundits and investors who mocked Hellman’s mayonnaise for claiming it had “purpose.”)    When I interviewed her half a decade ago, she said: “I’ve met many bosses over the years, and most actually do want to do the right thing. They feel they haven’t spent 35 years getting to the top of the greasy pole just to deliver quarterly profit targets which they live or die by and have their kids feel awkward about what their parent is doing at the office. The trouble is a massive gap exists between intent and activism. Doing something is really tough and it was always tough at Unilever. It’s a painful, iterative journey. There’s no first mover advantage in purpose and sustainability. But the irony remains that I detect business is far more up for the fight than government.” How times have changed. With the arrival of Trump and a sluggish growth agenda the sustainability movement is now a mixture of hiding in the trenches or in full retreat. ESG and DEI have become dirty acronyms.  Sue’s analysis of what is currently going on is acute, as is her refusal to give up.  Jericho Conversations is one of a number of initiatives that spontaneously emerged during the first COVID lockdown – part of a determination to use moments of crisis to pivot towards a better, fairer, more equitable and sustainable future for all. By popular demand, we have reignited the series to help find surprising and refreshing solutions and insights into a world in constant flux. Each conversation – led by an expert speaker – is designed to keep Jericho communities engaged and thinking about “what comes next?” for business and society.

    32 min
  2. Our Future is Biotech Jericho Conversations with Andrew Craig

    07/09/2024

    Our Future is Biotech Jericho Conversations with Andrew Craig

    In case you missed it, we recently interviewed Andrew Craig, as part of our Jericho Conversations series. Andrew Craig, the founder of Plain English Finance, has been featured in numerous national and specialist financial publications including The Mail on Sunday, The Mirror, CityAM, The Spectator, Shares and MoneyWeek magazines, YourMoney, This Is Money, and Money Observer. The third edition of his book, “How to Own the World”, was the best-selling new finance book in the UK for much of 2019. Andrew's latest book, "Our Future is Biotech," delves into why biotech is the next frontier: our most significant challenges as a species concern biological systems. For over a century, technology has driven human progress, shaping the way we live, work, and connect. Now, as we face some of the most pressing challenges of our time, biotech emerges as a beacon of hope. From combating formidable diseases like cancer, dementia, obesity, and diabetes, to addressing critical issues in elderly care and mental health, biotech is poised to revolutionise our world. Jericho Conversations is one of a number of initiatives that spontaneously emerged during the first COVID lockdown – part of a determination to use moments of crisis to pivot towards a better, fairer, more equitable and sustainable future for all. By popular demand, we have reignited the series to help find surprising and refreshing solutions and insights into a world in constant flux. Each conversation – led by an expert speaker – is designed to keep Jericho communities engaged and thinking about “what comes next?” for business and society.

    1 hr
  3. Adventures in Democracy - Jericho Conversations with Erica Benner

    04/15/2024

    Adventures in Democracy - Jericho Conversations with Erica Benner

    In case you missed it, we recently interviewed Erica Benner, as part of our Jericho Conversations series. Erica is a political philosopher and historian of ideas who has taught at Oxford, the LSE, and Yale. Adventures in Democracy is the title of Erica's new book which offers insights into the complexities of democracy and provides guidance on how individuals and communities can contribute to its vitality and resilience. It was one of The Financial Times ‘What to read in 2024’. It received a glowing review from The Guardian: ‘a sparkling page-turner full of wit, original insight and unassuming erudition’. Jericho partner Matthew Gwyther spoke to Erica about the challenges and threats to democracy, including inequality, networked societies, heroes of democracy, populism and the responsibility of businesses and their role in democratic processes. Jericho Conversations is one of a number of initiatives that spontaneously emerged during the first COVID lockdown – part of a determination to use moments of crisis to pivot towards a better, fairer, more equitable and sustainable future for all. By popular demand, we have reignited the series to help find surprising and refreshing solutions and insights into a world in constant flux. Each conversation – led by an expert speaker – is designed to keep Jericho communities engaged and thinking about “what comes next?” for business and society.

    59 min
  4. An Uneasy Interdependence: When Science Meets Power - Jericho Conversations with Sir Geoff Mulgan 

    01/18/2024

    An Uneasy Interdependence: When Science Meets Power - Jericho Conversations with Sir Geoff Mulgan 

    We recently interviewed Sir Geoff Mulgan, as part of our Jericho Conversations series. Geoff Mulgan is one of our smartest thinkers. He was Director of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit (and before that Director of the Performance and Innovation Unit); Director of Policy at 10 Downing Street under British Prime Minister Tony Blair; Co-founder and Director of the London-based think tank Demos (from 1993 to 1998); and Chief adviser to Gordon Brown MP in the early 1990s. Geoff is now a Professor of Collective Intelligence, Social Innovation and Public Policy at University College, London. When Science Meets Power is the timely title of Sir Geoff Mulgan’s new book, the themes of which were explored in this conversation. Jericho partner Matthew Gwyther spoke to Geoff about big tech and AI, the response to COVID and the future of the relationship between science and politics.  Jericho Conversations is one of a number of initiatives that spontaneously emerged during the first COVID lockdown – part of a determination to use moments of crisis to pivot towards a better, fairer, more equitable and sustainable future for all. By popular demand, we have reignited the series to help find surprising and refreshing solutions and insights into a world in constant flux. Each conversation – led by an expert speaker – is designed to keep Jericho communities engaged and thinking about “what comes next?” for business and society.

    59 min
  5. Doing It On Purpose - In conversation with Giles Gibbons

    06/27/2023

    Doing It On Purpose - In conversation with Giles Gibbons

    In this conversations episode, Matthew Gwyther and Giles Gibbons discuss where sustainability is now, what non-financial audit is likely to mean for corporates in the next few years, what Giles thinks about the ever-increasing squadrons of ESG consultants selling their wares, why Good Business has remained relatively small and what Giles makes of the Bud Lite Trans blow up. I have known Giles for twenty years during which time I’ve watched corporate responsibility morph into corporate social responsibility and then sustainability and ESG with a bit of “purpose” shoe-horned in.  Good Business has been running for almost three decades and Gibbons bears the scars of many campaigns - from the ill-fated but interesting Big Society project with David Cameron through all his interesting work in the food and hospitality industry and work with big corporates like GSK, Disney, Coca Cola and The Gates Foundation.  Giles knows what he’s talking about which is why I must have interviewed him half a dozen times. He's normally my first port of call as a journalist writing about these issues. He gives great, authentic and uncompromising quotes which are always free of word salad flannel with a greenwash dressing. But he is still pushing and has recently written "We’ve gone from pushing water uphill to a time where social and environmental issues are an essential part of the mainstream business landscape". We’re now reaching a point where delivering the change becomes much harder. Businesses have taken the (relatively) easy steps. The actions they need to take next are harder. They require more substantive change and in some cases significant capital expenditure. At the same time, the buffer put in place by the relative success of their sustainability action so far is protecting the business from the kind of exposure and criticism that would galvanise decision-makers. So action is stalling.  In our conversation about where sustainability is now, we discuss what non-financial audit is likely to mean for corporates in the next few years, what he thinks about the ever-increasing squadrons of ESG consultants selling their wares, why Good Business has remained relatively small and what he makes of the Bud Lite Trans blow up. Jericho Conversations is one of a number of initiatives that spontaneously emerged during the first COVID lockdown – part of a determination to use moments of crisis to pivot towards a better, fairer, more equitable and sustainable future for all. By popular demand, we have reignited the series to help find surprising and refreshing solutions and insights into a world in constant flux. Each conversation – led by an expert speaker – is designed to keep Jericho communities engaged and thinking about “what comes next?” for business and society.

    43 min

About

Jericho is a boutique consultancy, specialising in trust, purpose and engagement. Our podcasts deal with complex public policy issues, both for clients and society and aim to break beyond conventional echo chambers to bring about meaningful change. Find out more: www.jerichochambers.com