{"id":4106,"date":"2026-08-11T12:23:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T12:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/?p=4106"},"modified":"2026-08-11T16:12:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:12:27","slug":"how-do-we-know-whether-were-making-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/2026\/08\/11\/how-do-we-know-whether-were-making-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"PROF. IAN THOMSON: HOW DO WE KNOW WHETHER WE’RE MAKING PROGRESS?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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One of the biggest challenges facing the transition to a more sustainable economy isn’t a lack of ambition. It’s knowing whether we’re making genuine progress.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every organisation now talks about sustainability. But how do we distinguish meaningful progress from good intentions? How do we measure value that extends beyond financial performance? And how do we ensure that decisions made today genuinely improve outcomes tomorrow?<\/span><\/p>\n

These are questions that have shaped Professor Ian Thomson’s career for more than three decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are delighted to welcome Professor Ian Thomson as a speaker at the<\/span> Technologies for Sustainability \u2013 International Roundtable<\/b><\/a>, taking place in Aberdeen on 21 October 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ian is Emeritus Professor of Accounting and Sustainability at the<\/span> University of Dundee<\/b><\/a> and one of the UK’s leading authorities on sustainability, accountability and responsible business. His research has influenced organisations ranging from governments and international agencies to global corporations, exploring topics including cleaner technologies, climate change, stakeholder engagement, carbon accountability, sustainable development and responsible business measurement.<\/span><\/p>\n

His expertise has been recognised internationally. Ian has served as an expert reviewer for the latest<\/span> Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)<\/b><\/a> report, advised the Scottish Parliament, worked with the<\/span> United Nations World Food Programme<\/b><\/a> and the<\/span> Food and Agriculture Organisation<\/b><\/a>, and supported organisations seeking to translate sustainability ambitions into measurable outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n

That perspective is particularly relevant to the conversation we want to have in Aberdeen. The future of sustainable industry will depend not only on engineering innovation or technological breakthroughs, but also on our ability to demonstrate that those innovations create genuine environmental, economic and social value.<\/span><\/p>\n

As businesses invest in new technologies, infrastructure and industrial capability, the questions become increasingly important:<\/span><\/p>\n

What does success look like? How should it be measured? And how do we ensure that today’s investments deliver lasting benefits for future generations?<\/span><\/p>\n

These are the conversations Professor Thomson has spent his career exploring.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are delighted that he will be bringing that perspective to the Roundtable alongside leaders from industry, engineering, innovation, government and investment.<\/span><\/p>\n

The IV<\/span> International Roundtable on Technologies for Sustainability<\/b><\/a> is organised by<\/span> MBY Consultants<\/b><\/a> and<\/span> The FuturED Institute<\/b><\/a>, in partnership with the<\/span> International Green Trade & Commerce Association<\/b><\/a>, with institutional support from<\/span> OEUK<\/b><\/a> and the<\/span> Nuclear Industry Association<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

21 October 2026 |<\/span> Maryculter House<\/b><\/a>, Aberdeen<\/span><\/p>\n

Find out more:<\/span> www.greentechroundtable.org<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest challenges facing the transition to a more sustainable economy isn’t a lack of ambition. It’s knowing whether we’re making genuine progress. Every organisation now talks about…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-speakers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4106"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4112,"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4106\/revisions\/4112"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greentechroundtable.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}