Top Sustainability Keynote Speakers Alison Burns and James Taylor (AKA The Ethical Futurists) recently co-keynoted at the World Credit Union Conference in Vancouver on the topic of Ethical Futurism and how it will change the world of finance. Watch the video to learn more.

TRANSCRIPT

Good morning, it’s James Taylor here, keynote speaker on creativity, innovation, and future trends. I’m Alison Burns, keynote speaker on ethics and sustainability. Together, we are The Ethical Futurists. We’re here today because we’re in the Vancouver Convention Center. We’re going to be going on stage in about an hour or so, speaking to 3,000 people from the world credit union community; we’re attending the World Credit Union Conference. These are people from credit unions all around the world. Today, we’re not only discussing this, but also talking about sustainability and how it affects the finance sector. I’m also going to be talking about the role of creativity, curiosity, and cooperation in that as well. So come on, follow along, and see what you think.

We’re just at the AV check. Let me show you backstage and give you a glimpse behind the scenes of a huge event like this. This event is for 3,000 attendees today. This is the man who makes us sound like we actually sound. ‘Hi. How’s it going?’ ‘Good. Good, good. All set for today?’ ‘I think so. Yeah.’ ‘Good. Looking forward to it.’

I am going to introduce our keynote speakers. I had a chance to spend a few minutes with them backstage. I think you’re in for a real treat. Please welcome The Ethical Futurists, James Taylor and Alison Burns.

Alison Burns and James Taylor are The Ethical Futurists, award-winning experts, keynote speakers, and corporate advisors on a mission to help people and organizations think and act more ethically and sustainably. Alison Burns, LLB DIP LP NP FRSA, is an award-winning performer, keynote speaker, and expert in business ethics, sustainability, and ethical leadership. For over 30 years, she has been a trailblazer in the fields of engineering, entertainment, technology, and the law. Today, as an ethical futurist, she helps organizations and individuals think and act more ethically through her entertaining and inspiring keynote speeches on sustainability, environment, future trends, diversity, inclusion, and the ethical implications of technology. James Taylor, MBA FRSA, who started his career managing high-profile rock stars, is now an in-demand keynote speaker, an internationally recognized leader in business creativity, innovation, and artificial intelligence. For over 20 years, he has been advising CEOs, entrepreneurs, educators, governments, leaders, writers, and rock stars on how to build innovative organizations, unlock creative potential, and increase productivity. Please welcome Alison Burns and James Taylor.

‘Good morning.’ ‘Good morning.’ ‘Bonjour. Good to see all your happy, smiling faces this morning. Hello. My name is James Taylor, keynote speaker on creativity, innovation, and future trends.’ ‘I’m Alison Burns, keynote speaker on ethics and sustainability. Together, we are The Ethical Futurists. Today, we’re going to talk to you about sustainability, artificial intelligence, and the future of credit unions. But fundamentally, what we’re going to be looking at today is how curiosity, creativity, and cooperation can help us design a more ethical future. Together, the transition to a more ethical future has already started. And there has never been a better time for credit unions to seize the opportunity to lead in the world of finance to a more fair, equal, and greener planet for future generations. Because credit unions have always done the right thing. So you’re already best placed and ready to support your members in reducing their own carbon emissions. The challenge for credit unions to lead this transition to a more sustainable, more ethical future demands greater creativity, curiosity, and cooperation. In this room today could be someone who’s going to revolutionize what sustainability means for your industry. That person could be sitting right next to you just now. That person could be you. And it starts by simply embracing the creativity and curiosity that you’re born with. It’s about saying, “Imagine if…” Imagine if we applied some of these ideas that James and Alison have been talking about today. Imagine if we could act as catalysts of conversations with our members, our employees, and our communities about what it means to create an ethical future. My name is James Taylor, and I’m Alison Burns. Together, we are The Ethical Futurists. Thank you very much. Enjoy your conference.’ ‘Thank you. Thank you.’

We’ve just come off stage at the World Credit Union Conference, and what do you make of it? How do you feel? ‘It was amazing. 3,000 people, all totally engaged in what we were saying. So we were absolutely delighted. But I think, I think that you enjoyed it.’ ‘It was a lot of fun and a great audience. And it’s always nice when we always put some new jokes or funny lines peppered throughout the keynotes. And it’s always quite nice because, when you do the first one, you wonder, “How are they going to respond?” And they responded, right from the get-go, very open. They enjoyed the humor, and so we kind of made the most of that. I think we had them laughing, we had them thinking. And I think what was especially nice is we’ve just spent about half an hour with some of the leaders from some of the different credit union organizations, and a few founders. With a number of them, we’re seeing that they’re actually taking things from our keynote and figuring out how to implement them in their organizations.’ ‘Yes, yeah, there were a lot of people who were very complimentary about it. They had been taking lots of notes, and they’re taking away some of the suggestions and some ideas, which is great, because we’ve, we’ve just hopefully made them think a little bit more about creative ideas that they can use themselves, maybe not directly from us, but inspired them to think of other things. So that’s great.’ ‘And I think after doing this, I think we should become members of a credit union. That’s what I was saying to someone. It feels like a bit of a home for us.’ ‘Yeah, it feels like the right place for us to be. So check it out. Go to the World Credit Union Conference if you want to learn more about the Credit Union Conference and the organization. And from here in Vancouver, we can take you around and show you some other fun things. We’re going to relax now. We’re going to enjoy ourselves.’ ‘Absolutely.