Company number: 2959712

Charity Number: 1040519

Forum for the Future

Report and financial statements

for the year ended 31 December 2016

2

Forum for the Future is an international non-profit with a purpose to accelerate the big shift towards a

sustainable future by catalysing change in whole systems. We operate in four offices located in the UK,

US, Singapore and India. This annual report tells the story of our ongoing work with business,

government and wider civil society, all of which is designed to create a fairer future for all.

Contents

Foreword from the Chair 4

Foreword from the Chief Executive 5

Our mission 7

1. Our progress and achievements in 2016 8

1.1. Innovating solutions to systemic challenges 8

1.1.1. Feeding nine billion people affordably, healthily and sustainably 10

1.1.2. Tea 2030: A ‘hero crop’ as a template for transforming others 11

1.1.3. Cotton 2040: accelerating the shift towards sustainable cotton 12

1.1.4. Collaborating to build resilience in energy supplies in the UK and India 13

1.1.5. Transforming where and how we live 14

1.1.6. The Marine CoLABoration: Reducing plastics at source 16

1.2. Developing and delivering transformational strategies 17

1.2.1. BPC Leadership Group: Putting more sustainable beauty and personal care

products on the shelves (US) 17

1.2.2. Target: Made to Matter (US) 18

1.2.3. Unilever: Sustainable Living Plan (Global) 18

1.2.4. O2 Think Big Blueprint for 2020: Technology supporting

sustainable change 19

1.2.5. Aditya Birla Group: future-proofing individual businesses (India) 19

1.2.6. Sime Darby: Sustainable palm oil traceability ‘dash board’ (Malaysia) 19

1.2.7. Ports of Auckland: Developing a sustainability strategy (New Zealand) 19

1.3. Equipping people to drive systemic change 21

1.3.1. Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development: celebrating 20 years 21

1.3.2. School of System Change: launched in early 2017 22

1.3.3. A global Network of over 100 organisations 22

1.4. Looking ahead to 2017 - Externally 25

1.4.1. Tackling even more complex sustainability challenges 25

1.4.2. Developing deeper relationships with more pioneering organisations

and driving transformational strategies 25

1.4.3. Equipping more people to drive systemic change 26

2. Financial review and results for the year 2016 27

2.1. Summary 27

2.2. Reserves policy 27

3

2.3. Risk assessment 28

3. Internal review of 2016 29

3.1. A great place to work 29

3.2. Environmental and social impacts 30

3.2.1. Environmental impact report 2016 30

3.2.2. Social impacts 31

3.3. Looking ahead to 2017 32

4. Reference and administrative details 33

4.1. Trustees and directors 33

4.2. Senior Management Team 34

4.3. Bankers, solicitors and auditors 35

4.4. Governance and charitable objectives, remuneration, activities and

public benefit and statement of compliance with statutory information 36

4.4.1. Governance and charitable objectives 36

4.4.2. Remuneration 37

4.4.3. Activities and public benefit 37

4.4.4. Statement of compliance with statutory information 39

4.5. Structure, governance and management 39

4.6. Statement of directors’ responsibilities 39

4.7. Network members and partners 41

4.7.1. Pioneers 41

4.7.2. Partners 41

4.7.3. Members 42

4.8. Grant funders, major donors, collaborators and sponsors 43

4.8.1. Grant funders and major donors 43

4.8.2. Other funders and collaborators 43

4.8.3. 20th Anniversary sponsors 44

4.8.4. Futures Centre partners and sponsors 44

4.8.5. The Long View sponsors 44

4.9. Affiliates and 2016 Forum internships 45

4.9.1. Affiliates 45

4.9.2. Forum internships in 2016 45

Independent auditors' report 46

Consolidated statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) 51

Balance sheet 52

Consolidated statement of cash flows 53

Notes to the financial statements 54

4

FOREWORD FROM THE CHAIR

Inequality, global security issues and population growth, all exacerbated by climate change, continued to

pose huge challenges in 2016 – so the last thing we needed were ‘alternative facts’. But as much as some

people might like to bend the truth, the problems we face are incontestable: the world is warming,

ecosystems are under threat, and our food and energy systems are broken.

These are issues we cannot afford to ignore, and solving them won’t be easy. But we know that moving

towards a sustainable world and keeping the average rise in global temperature well below 2°C (and

ideally below 1.5°C) requires two basic ingredients: trust and innovation.

That means trust in our values: that we not only respect all people now, today, but value the generations

that will come after us. It also means trust in knowledge, in science, in the belief that we can progress and

learn. In fact, trust is the very basis of learning and exploration.

Innovation means doing things better, with less, more efficiently, and more inclusively. It is fundamental

for achieving a sustainable world. But true innovation is not just about new technologies and scientific

breakthroughs; it’s also about the values around how we measure progress. Why? Because bigger does not

automatically mean better. And just as technological innovation without values is troublesome, growth

without either is dangerous and foolish.

Those who deploy the social phenomenon of ‘alternative facts’ to further their cause are deliberately

undermining trust, and pitching us towards a world where innovation in its broadest sense is stifled to

protect the status quo – regardless of the wider consequences.

In such circumstances Forum for the Future’s work on system change and their ability to create dialogue

and inspire leadership seems more vital than ever. And while there is much to be concerned about at

present, I still look forward to the day when sustainability is embedded as the norm throughout society –

even if the journey takes a little longer than expected.

Keith Clarke

Chair, Forum for the Future

April 2017

5

FOREWORD FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

At Forum for the Future we started 2016 feeling pretty optimistic. We had our 20th Anniversary to

celebrate, along with all the firsts we've achieved over the past two decades. These include being the first

NGO in the UK to enter into partnership with business to promote sustainability, the first organisation to

offer a Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development and the first international non-profit to

develop applied futures tools and techniques to create transformative change towards sustainability. We

were also one of the first non-profits to develop a strategy designed to create change at a systems level, by

focusing on approaches that tackle the root of a problem and deliver system innovation – a set of

interventions that shift an entire system. All of which were important milestones not only for Forum, but

for the whole sustainability movement.

And then 2016 happened. The unprecedented political upheaval caused by the EU-Referendum, and the

geopolitical shifts triggered by the US Presidential election, have, at times, made the sustainable future

we've been working towards since 1996 seem further away than ever. These events also brought

uncertainty to our own operating context, creating a challenging financial context for us to navigate, at a

time when we have continued to internationalise and push ahead with our ambitious system change

strategy. 2016 ended up being tough for the world, and tough for us. But given that we’ve spent the past

20 years helping individuals and organisations prepare for life in a complex world of unprecedented

challenges, we also know we have the skills and insights needed to navigate these uncertain times.

2016 saw us continue to drive forward projects that are designed to transform the systems we rely on by

addressing complex sustainability challenges. We are clear that many of these challenges are too big for

one organisation to tackle alone, which is why we regularly convene powerful collaborations of business,

government, NGOs and other stakeholders to deliver transformational change. Our flagship projects such

as Cotton 2040, Tea 2030 and The Protein Challenge 2040, which aims to ensure equal access to

sustainable protein for a growing world population, express our dedication to building and driving these

game-changing collaborations. That's also true of the Net Positive Project, which brings together a diverse

group of organisations committed to putting more into the environment, society and the global economy

than they take out.

Transforming systems also requires new ways of working and new governance models, which is why we

have been pleased to be one of the partners in EU-InnovatE, a project that explores how citizen

innovators, individuals actively shaping the world around them, could shape a sustainable European

economy.

6

Many of our most ambitious projects start with conversations and experiments with our partners. 2016

saw us continue to build on our long history of working with the leaders in sustainable business, including

Unilever, M&S and Kingfisher in the UK, Target in the US, and Sime Darby and the Swire Group in

Southeast Asia. Through collaboration, we have helped these and other organisations to develop their

ability to transform entire systems, as well as their own operations. Our partnerships with The Calouste

Gulbenkian Foundation and The C&A Foundation, as well as international NGOs and government

agencies, have also extended our reach, insights and capacity to transform whole systems.

Last year also saw us preparing for the launch of our School of System Change, an international learning

programme designed to create a global community of change agents who can think and act systemically. It

builds on the achievements of our UK Masters degree course, which has nurtured 250 next-generation

sustainability leaders over the past two decades. We were excited to welcome the first cohort of change

makers into the School in early 2017.

As we look into 2017, equipping and inspiring individuals and organisations to create system change

through the School and our wider Network remains a key priority. We’ll also continue to push ahead with

our projects designed to catalyse system change, including both our flagship multi-year collaborations

tackling complex challenges, as well our projects that are defining the new systems and structures that are

needed for a sustainable future. And, we’ll deepen our work with pioneering organisations to create

transformational change beyond their organisational boundaries. Our continued transition from a UK-

centric organisation to a truly international one will allow us to amplify these efforts around the world.

Internally, enabled by core grant funding from The C&A Foundation, we will be improving our systems

and processes and implementing changes to our business model, while continuing to diversify our funding

base. All these activities will make us more flexible and resilient as an organisation and enable us to create

more of the systemic change the world needs.

Finally, I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the Network members, partners, funders and trustees who

have accompanied us this far on the journey toward system change, and of course our dedicated,

hardworking, inspiring staff. Here’s to another 20 years of building a fairer, more sustainable future

together.

Dr Sally Uren

Chief Executive, Forum for the Future

April 2017

7

OUR MISSION

Climate change, poverty, malnutrition and civic unrest: the world faces these complex challenges because

our fundamental systems are broken. Fixing them is a task beyond any one business, government or NGO.

We need people to work together, pooling their skills and resources on a global scale to build sustainable

systems that benefit everyone, everywhere. We need to move beyond incremental change, and focus on

fixing the root causes of unsustainability.

This is why our mission is to accelerate the big shift towards a sustainable future by catalysing change in

whole systems.

Our current goals state that by the end of 2018 we aim to have:

• delivered progress on complex sustainability challenges

• inspired and equipped people and organisations to deliver systemic change for sustainability

• contributed to demonstrable progress in shaping a sustainable future.

We would like to be known internationally for catalysing system change on specific challenges – as

experts in delivering practical system design, including futures tools and techniques. Our core activity is

delivering system change projects, learning from them and equipping others to do the same.

Our partnerships support that work – helping organisations develop the strategies to address complex

challenges and equip our partner contacts personally to drive big change.

Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen sustainability become mainstream as an issue in business, government

and civil society. We’re proud to have been part of this, particularly our role in mainstreaming corporate

sustainability. And yet, we’re only just getting started. Today we work with hundreds of organisations

through our offices in London, New York, Mumbai and Singapore, and create impact through the

businesses, governments, NGOs and trusts we partner with.

Find out more about how we’re building a sustainable world at forumforthefuture.org,

thefuturescentre.org, or via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

8

1. OUR PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2016

We want to reinvent the way the world works, and we describe the change we create in three ways:

1.1 Innovating solutions to systemic challenges

Collaboration works. We help build sustainable sectors and value networks, prototype

innovations and new systems, and scale up existing activities for more positive sustainability

impact.

1.2 Developing and delivering transformational strategies

Pioneering organisations create systemic impacts beyond their own boundaries. Through our

long-term collaborations, we help businesses, NGOs, Trusts and Foundations, as well as

government agencies understand the opportunities to create system-level change, and how to

unlock them.

1.3 Equipping people to drive systemic change

System change is hard. We help people become better change agents through our projects,

partnerships, our Network, and The School of System Change.

1.1 Innovating solutions to systemic challenges

“If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go further, go together.” – African proverb

One thing we've learned over the years is that complex, interconnected challenges such as poverty, water

scarcity and climate change must be tackled systemically – which is often only possible when the 'unusual

suspects' work together to solve common problems. As a convener, and catalyst, we identify and assemble

stakeholders from right across the value chain and develop areas where they can collaborate to transform

not only their own operations, but entire systems.

Maintaining these powerful collaborations draws on our ability to translate the need for system change

across sectors, cultures and personal perspectives. For example, in 2016 we continued to broaden our

work in the food system through The Protein Challenge 2040, addressing the global challenges around

access to protein, as well as through a new project designed to address food security issues in Southeast

Asia. These projects are complemented by ongoing work on tea as a potential “hero crop”, where we want

to demonstrate how a truly sustainable supply change can work. Our Cotton 2040 project also addresses

9

the main sustainability challenges of a key commodity, while on the energy front we have two system-wide

collaborative ventures, one in India and one in the UK. Also in the UK we are active in the places where

we live – investigating how to change the systems in our cities, not least how we travel around them.

Finally, we recognised the heightened public concern about the state of our oceans by launching a new

collaborative campaign on ocean plastic.

Building and managing collaborations that tackle complex problems

Forum has a long history of convening organisations to help them tackle complex problems together.

We have also worked directly with other collaborative bodies – including the Sustainable Apparel

Coalition, the Rainforest Alliance and the Forest Stewardship Council.

All our collaborations start with identifying an issue that several parties have a need and incentive to

change, for example the demand for sustainability in a specific supply chain. Next, we build a

consortium of anchor partners who are committed to working together and have the influence to create

change.

Once we have our anchor partners in place, we use interviews, desk research, workshops with

stakeholders, and learning journeys or system mapping to diagnose the system together. Then we apply

our futures expertise to challenge assumptions and encourage the partners to think broadly and deeply

about what lies ahead.

The shared vision or set of principles that emerges from this process embodies the change we want to

create, and provides the people and organisations involved in the collaboration with a clear set of goals.

We then prioritise solutions where collaborative action has the most potential to create change. These

solutions are then developed into parallel workstreams of action toward the shared vision.

Throughout this process it’s crucial to keep learning from setbacks, and share lessons, encouragement

and insights to keep the momentum going – something we have learnt to do, often the hard way, as an

organisation.

10

1.1.1. Feeding nine billion people affordably, healthily and sustainably

1.1.1.1. The Protein Challenge 2040: shaping the future of protein through action and

innovation

Protein is fundamental to human health, but the way we produce and consume it places a heavy strain on

natural resources. In the face of changing food consumption patterns, a rising global population, health

concerns and increasingly scarce resources, the situation will only worsen if we don’t take action – so

that’s exactly what we’re doing through our Protein Challenge 2040 project, which we launched in

2016. This project is the first global collaboration of food and feed companies, retailers and NGOs –

including WWF, Firmenich, Quorn, Target, Volac and Waitrose – to take a systems approach to the issues

around protein.

In 2016, we helped more consumers and food businesses understand the role of plant-based foods in

future diets. For example, our research paper on the rise of the ‘flexitarian’, which we co-

produced with Unilever, secured coverage in the Daily Mail, Huffington Post UK and other

publications.

Alongside this, we’ve been working hard to set up pilot projects that will increase the amount of plant-

based protein eaten globally, for example, the Chef’s Challenge – to be launched in the UK in 2017 – will

help bust the myth that protein has to come from animals. The Feed Compass will build demand for

sustainable animal feed, and the plant-based protein stamp to be launched in the US will inform

consumers which products have high quantities of plant proteins.

“The Protein Challenge 2040 reaches for the ambitious goal of connecting several value chains in one

partnership for maximum impact. We know that the greatest achievements in sustainability will only be

reached by working together.” – Birgit Schleifenbaum, Director Pioneering, Innovation & Design,

Flavors, Firmenich SA

11

1.1.1.2. Addressing food security in Southeast Asia

In South and Southeast Asia, around 59% of produce never makes it to becoming a meal, and 795 million

people do not have regular, reliable access to food. That has to change if we’re to fix the broken food

system, which is why in 2016 we launched the Disrupting Food Logistics project, where we're

collaborating with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the ADM Institute for the

Prevention of Postharvest Loss.

Together we’ve created the first global web-based map of food loss reduction innovations,

focused on disruptive interventions in cold chain, packaging and ICT. At a Disrupting Food

Logistics event in Singapore in November, we used the Food Logistics Innovations Map to help industry

leaders in food and logistics design the zero-waste food supply chains of the future.

Next year we hope to test and scale successful innovations within food supply chains in Asia Pacific

(APAC), reducing waste and ensuring that all produce helps to feed the growing global population – an

essential element of a more sustainable food system.

1.1.2. Tea 2030: A ‘hero crop’ as a template for transforming other global supply

chains

Tea is grown in some of the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change. It is threatened by

competition for land, higher costs of key resources such as energy and water, and changing consumer

habits and trade patterns – all of which impacts upon lives and landscapes.

Forum wants to help create a sustainable tea industry from crop to cup. To do that, we need the co-

operation and collaboration of everyone working across the industry, from pickers and packers to

producers and purchasers. So in 2013, with the support of Unilever, Tata Global Beverages, IDH and

other partners, we launched the Tea 2030 project to take a long-term view of the tea industry and tackle

major sustainability challenges across the tea value chain.

In 2016 the Tea 2030 CEO Group, which is formed of senior leaders from some of the

largest businesses and cross-industry platforms in the sector, including Camellia, Ethical

Tea Partnership, Finlays, IDH – the sustainable trade initiative, S&D Coffee and Tea,

Starbucks, Tata Global Beverages, Taylors of Harrogate and Unilever, produced a Tea 2030

Sustainability Roadmap together with other partners and stakeholders. This shows how

12

individual and collective action can turn tea into a hero crop by 2030 – i.e. not only a great product for

years to come, but one that secures livelihoods and landscapes, and closely connects producers and

consumers.

Developing the Roadmap into a working tool for members and stakeholders will help us identify more

opportunities for collective action and any gaps in current activity. We also continue to push ahead with

our other workstreams, which aim to connect more consumers with tea, develop market mechanisms for

sustainable producer incomes, and determine Tea 2030’s role in helping to drive forward a landscape

approach within the tea industry.

“We must work with all the key stakeholders to explore all the major factors that might influence and

shape the future sustainability of the tea industry. This is why we are taking a leading role in Tea 2030,

collaborating with others to achieve meaningful and lasting change, so that we are all around for the

next 260 years.” – Ron Mathison, former Group MD of James Finlay Limited.

1.1.3. Cotton 2040: accelerating the shift towards sustainable cotton

Like the tea industry, the cotton industry faces major social, environmental and economic challenges. For

example, it takes around 20,000 litres of water just to produce one cotton t-shirt, and the unsafe use of

agricultural chemicals has severe health impacts on workers in the field and on surrounding ecosystems.

Cotton is an essential part of our lives – and provides livelihoods for over 250 million people worldwide.

Shifting this vital commodity onto a sustainable path presents huge opportunities. And yet, while a

number of initiatives have been developed to improve the situation and about 13% of total global cotton

resource is grown more sustainably, only a fifth of this is actually sourced by companies for their products.

So in 2015, in collaboration with The C&A Foundation, we launched the Cotton 2040 project to

accelerate desperately needed change within the cotton system by taking an approach that is not biased to

any particular standard. We’ve since used our futures and system-change tools to scope out an approach

for tackling the four areas that have the most significant potential to create a systemic shift: building

demand for sustainable cotton, traceability, circularity, and upskilling for resilience.

The end of 2016 saw us kick-off the first of our Cotton 2040 workstreams to drive the

uptake of sustainable cotton within the industry. It brings together stakeholders from

across the value chain, including retailers M&S and Target, industry standards Better

Cotton Initiative and Cotton Made in Africa (CMiA), organic standards (represented by

Textile Exchange), Fairtrade Foundation, and industry initiatives Cotton Connect, as well

as other key players in the sector including IDH, Solidaridad, Cotton Australia, Value

13

Added in Africa and the Organic Cotton Accelerator.

“Through creating a set of scenarios, describing different possible futures for the global cotton

industry, and then applying a systems lens to these possibilities, Forum for the Future have

identified critical levers that can create lasting transformative change in the global cotton

industry. More importantly, because Forum is an independent non-profit organization, they have

been able to be a neutral and effective convener of the different stakeholders in the cotton system,

including competing certification standards. As a result, Forum has facilitated a shared vision, and

much greater collaboration, thereby accelerating the journey to mainstreaming sustainable cotton.”

– Leslie Johnston, Executive Director, C&A Foundation.

1.1.4. Collaborating to build resilience in energy supplies in the UK and India

1.1.4.1. The Living Grid: new ways of moving to future energy resilience (UK)

Two thirds of the UK's power stations are expected to close by 2030, increasing the risk of ‘brownouts’

(voltage reduction) and ‘blackouts’ (grid crash). The country’s ageing, centralised energy infrastructure is

therefore ripe for transformation. Together with Open Energi, we’ve developed a vision for a new energy

system, one that draws on biomimicry principles to deliver, store and use electricity in a more natural way

– i.e. interactive, self-balancing and adaptive, rather than linear, clumsy and centralised. We call it the

Living Grid.

In April 2016 we held the official press launch of the Living Grid, securing three radio

interviews, 25 pieces of online media coverage and a column in The Times’ business pages.

We were also extremely proud to be shortlisted for ‘Best Business NGO Partnership’ at the Responsible

Business Awards 2016.

The first phase of the project will allow corporate energy users to connect their equipment with intelligent

demand response technology, allowing them to adjust their individual electricity usage and balance peaks

and troughs in demand. This will help to make the grid more efficient, resilient and well-suited to

intermittent renewable energy – a crucial element of any next-generation energy system.

Open Energi, Aggregate Industries, Sainsbury’s, Tarmac and United Utilities, which are all co-founders of

the Living Grid, have already demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach. Together they will provide

up to 39 megawatts of flexible power by 2020, saving almost 90,000 tonnes of carbon annually in the UK.

Open Energi is also donating a portion of its revenue to an Innovation Fund to help build an energy

14

system that’s fit for the future, rather than the past.

“A surprisingly exciting project that […] may represent a turning point for the way in which energy is

consumed in Britain.” – Robin Pagnamenta, Deputy Business Editor for The Times

1.1.4.2. Power Up Odisha: Energy for all in rural India

Power Up Odisha is a joint initiative set up by the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

(MNRE) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), and co-ordinated by Forum for

the Future. The project’s goal is the provision of round-the-clock power for the people of Odisha, a state

which currently has the highest number of villages without electricity in India.

We’re currently looking at ways to deploy decentralised renewable energy (DRE) at scale, which could

encompass everything from solar lanterns to multi-village mini-grids. In 2016 we got together with

people from the energy sector and other related areas to explore exactly what DRE would

mean for the people, economy and environment of Odisha, and how hard it will be to

implement by 2030. We’re under no illusions: it will take time, perseverance and commitment from a

wide range of stakeholders. But with a shared vision now in place, we can work toward making it a reality.

Next year we’ll be pushing ahead with our partners on priority areas such as robust supply chains, skills

availability and access to finance, and building on existing work in the state. It’s our ambition to create

change both within policy and on the ground, which, as we’ve seen with other projects like the Community

Energy Coalition in the UK, is the only way to create real and lasting impact within the energy system.

1.1.5. Transforming where and how we live

1.1.5.1. EU-InnovatE: citizen innovators shape a green EU economy

Throughout 2016, we partnered on EU-InnovatE, an EU-funded research project investigating how

citizen-innovators could help shape a green EU economy. In particular, this work looked at ways to

encourage more sustainable lifestyles in Europe by 2050, focusing on opportunities for innovation across

four key areas – energy, living, mobility and food.

Our Future Shapers network, a diverse group of nearly 200 inspiring and entrepreneurial people from

across Europe, helped to flesh out what support citizen-innovators need to create products and services

15

that will encourage sustainable lifestyles. We crowd-sourced ideas for what kind of tools they might need

to come up with great ideas that rewrite old rules, and develop them into disruptive innovations that

could change lifestyles, communities, business and the economy. Our work on EU-InnovatE will

ultimately help to inform future EU policies, and allow more citizen innovators to develop

radical new products and services.

“People aren’t looking to politicians or NGOs to solve social and ecological problems. They want to do

something themselves and see business as an effective tool for solving these problems.” – Prof. Frank-

Martin Belz, Chair of Corporate Sustainability at the Technische Universität München, who co-

ordinated the EU-InnovatE project.

1.1.5.2. Future Cities Dialogue and the Circular Peterborough Manifesto

In 2016 we also partnered with Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, as well as Sciencewise and Ipsos

Mori on the Future Cities Dialogue project, which could help to make our cities more sustainable.

Today, essential urban systems are siloed and stretched due to pressures such as population growth,

climate change and ageing infrastructure. Designing solutions in a more integrated way would create

cities that are more resilient, improving the lives of the people who live in them and putting less strain on

the environment.

As part of the Future Cities Dialogue Project, we used our futures skills to identify how six

key urban systems – waste, water, energy, food, health and transport – might develop over

the next few decades. These predictions fed into scenarios that explored how UK cities can

integrate these systems more effectively, which will encourage new thinking around the

kind of solutions that will lead to more liveable, resilient and sustainable urban

environments.

We’re helping to realise the potential of our research through Innovate UK’s Future City Demonstrators

programme, a catalyst for Peterborough’s Circular Peterborough Manifesto, which aims to embed a

circular economy approach throughout the city. In 2016 Forum continued to develop the Circular

Peterborough Manifesto with representatives from business, academia and local

government, and we’ll be working with them on four pilot projects next year – including an

initiative to tackle food waste.

By demonstrating that it’s essential to apply a systems approach to urban innovation, we hope to inspire

16

other cities to follow Peterborough’s lead, improving the lives of millions of people while reducing the

burden cities place on the planet.

1.1.5.3. Smarter Travel Solutions: Mobility-as-a-service

Urban transport systems are a big part of the burden cities place on the planet: ambient air pollution

causes around 3 million premature deaths worldwide every year, according to the World Health

Organization. Making it easier for people to use public transport, as well as walk or cycle, could have a

huge impact on this deadly problem – and mobile technology is one of the keys to making that happen.

Smartphones give us an unprecedented ability to plan our use of public transport, combining bus, train,

taxi, car club, walking and cycling information in a single handheld device. However, in practice most

apps only work across one company or travel mode.

We want to change that, which is why we got together with our partners Telefonica and FirstGroup to

develop a truly game changing integrated transport project: the Smarter Travel Solution (STS). As the

flagship mobility-as-a-service project for the UK, it will provide travellers with a ‘one screen’ view of bus,

rail, car club, bicycle and taxi travel, enabling healthy travel choices and reducing environmental impacts.

Thanks to funding from Innovate UK, the STS app is now being trialled in Yorkshire with

the support of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, South Yorkshire PTE and Leeds

City Council, with a wider roll-out planned for 2017.

1.1.6. The Marine CoLABoration: Reducing plastics at source

Our oceans provide us with food, livelihoods and more, as well as absorbing carbon dioxide – but

unfortunately they’re under threat. The Marine CoLABoration, funded by The Calouste Gulbenkian

Foundation, brings together nine NGOs, including Forum, to strengthen their ability to protect one of our

most vital systems – for example, by reducing plastics at source. This will help to address Sustainable

Development Goal (SDG) 14, "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources", and

potentially create impact at scale across a range of different industries.

The members of the CoLABoration continued to meet in 2016, using the values that connect people and

the ocean to explore new ideas and areas of convergence. Instead of duplicating one another’s efforts

we’re finding ways to combine them for greater impact.

17

#OneLess, the CoLAB's first full-scale experiment, was launched in June 2016. This

ambitious cross-sectoral initiative aims to reduce single use plastic water bottles in

London (the UK gets through 13 billion plastic bottles each year – over 200 per person)

while promoting London’s role as a global ‘coastal city’ closely connected to the sea. On the

day of the launch – which, fittingly, was World Oceans Day – #OneLess trended no.3 on Twitter. Not bad

for a brand new campaign!

1.2 Developing and delivering transformational strategies

The UN SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement have given all governments and organisations an

unequivocal international mandate and framework for change. They also set in stone what Forum has

always believed: that organisations – and that include businesses, as well as NGOs, foundations and

government agencies – don’t only need to transform themselves, they also need to take the lead in

transforming entire systems. In fact, the global scale of some organisations’ operations makes them

especially well-placed to drive progress on issues such as sustainable nutrition, renewable energy and

sustainable supply chains. And where they lead, others follow.

Our long-term collaborations with pioneering organisations give us a unique opportunity to create

system-level change, and a few examples from 2016 are highlighted below. We worked with major

multinationals including Unilever, O2, TUI Travel, Kingfisher and M&S; with NGOs such as WWF and

Oxfam and government agencies such as Innovate UK. Highlights of our strategic collaborations with

foundations include the ocean plastics initiative with The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (see section

1.1.6 above).

1.2.1 BPC Leadership Group: Putting more sustainable beauty and personal care

products on the shelves (US)

Demand for sustainable beauty and personal care (BPC) products is growing, but a number of barriers

have constrained supply. The BPC Leadership Group, which consists of Target, Walmart and other

stakeholders from the BPC value chain, aims to address these issues by scaling up existing initiatives and

exploring other means of making sustainable products more accessible to consumers.

In 2016 the retailers agreed to work toward using common criteria for evaluating product

18

sustainability – a major milestone in terms of getting more sustainable items on the

shelves. We hope the criteria, which will encourage and reward sustainability leadership while reducing

the survey burden and cost for suppliers, will be ready for use by the end of 2017.

1.2.2 Target: Made to Matter (US)

This year we also offered support for Target's ground-breaking Made to Matter program. Launched in

2014, it represented a change from one-off retailer-supplier relationships. Instead, Target worked in

collaboration with purpose-driven brands to ensure natural, organic and sustainable products were

readily accessible within its stores.

The strategy delivered real impact: in 2015 products included in the Made to Matter category experienced

30% growth – 1.5 times the normal growth rate for a product in a Target store. In 2016, brands in the

programme were encouraged to innovate around issues such as sugar, closing the loop, transparency, less

packaging and dietary restrictions.

1.2.3 Unilever: Sustainable Living Plan (Global)

Sustainable nutrition is a straightforward means of describing the overlap between sustainable food

production and consumption, bringing together thinking and action in both areas to deliver better overall

outcomes across the food system.

In 2016 we used this sustainable nutrition lens to help Unilever push forward with the food dimensions

of its Sustainable Living Plan, its blueprint for creating a sustainable business by decoupling the

company's growth from its environmental impact while increasing its positive social impact. Working

with senior figures in the Unilever management team, we helped to identify the major

trends, issues and opportunities facing their business, where they could have the most

impact within the food system, and outlined a more cohesive approach to their food

brands’ existing work on sustainable nutrition, aligning individual brand goals with the

wider business strategy of delivering food that “tastes good, does good and doesn’t cost the

Earth.”

In 2015, on the eve of the COP 21 climate change conference in Paris, Unilever announced their intention

to be carbon positive by 2030 across their manufacturing operations – a bold goal underpinned by targets

we helped to create, which include the elimination of fossil fuels from their energy mix (including coal by

19

2020) and supporting the generation of more renewable energy than they consume.

Unilever has already reduced energy use by 24% since 2008, avoiding €400m of costs, and is exploring

cost-effective and scalable renewable energy sources as an important element of its Carbon Positive plan.

In November 2016, they announced a new agreement to buy over 100,000 MWh of traceable renewable

energy in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and South Africa through a scheme called I-RECs, a global

standard for documenting renewable energy consumption. This will give them the opportunity to buy

renewables in more places than they could before – for example, I-RECs are the first established

renewable energy certificates available in Africa.

1.2.4 O2 Think Big Blueprint for 2020: Technology supporting sustainable change

(UK)

For the past eight years we’ve also helped steer O2 towards the sustainability leadership role it now

occupies within the telecoms industry. This year we’ve partnered with O2 to craft the next phase

of their Think Big Blueprint, which has an ambitious goal of helping 20 million customers

to live better and more sustainably with technology by 2020 – a third of the UK population.

1.2.5 Aditya Birla Group: future-proofing individual businesses (India)

In 2016 we continued to help the Aditya Birla Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates, build the

capacity of their leadership team, exploring how long-term trends could impact the group in future. In

addition, we’ve also worked with the group’s individual businesses, such as Birla Carbon and Jaya Shree

Textiles (we also have a long-standing relationship with Novelis, a leader in rolled aluminium products

and recycling), to future-proof key business decisions and ensure sustainable development is at the heart

of their overall strategy. The group now has much greater awareness of which areas of their supply chain

are most at risk from climate change, and the steps they can take to make their organisation more

resilient.

1.2.6 Sime Darby: Sustainable palm oil traceability ‘dash board’ (Malaysia)

We also helped Sime Darby, a Malaysia-based multinational conglomerate and long-term partner, to

identify ways to lead their respective sectors towards sustainability. Sime Darby is the largest supplier of

sustainable palm oil in the world (at 98% of total palm oil production), and has developed a traceability

‘dashboard’ to assist customers in tracking palm oil products right back to their point of origin.

20

“Forum for the Future has been a valued partner, working alongside Sime Darby for over four

years now, helping us to understand practical ways we can accelerate embedding sustainability

into our diverse business. We have particularly valued their futures insights, their process design

and facilitation skills, their in depth understanding of the food system, as well as local support

provided from their Singapore office – Forum has a close ear to the group picking up the

sustainability issues relevant to SE Asia. Their advice and collaborative approach has definitely

catalysed a number of the strands of our strategic plan.” – Simon Lord, Group Chief Sustainability

Officer, Sime Darby Group.

1.2.7 Ports of Auckland: Developing a sustainability strategy (New Zealand)

Ports of Auckland, New Zealand’s busiest container port, is keen to be part of developments that

support reduced emissions, the circular economy and improved air quality. So in 2016 we partnered with

them to identify pilot projects that could help them fulfil this ambition, and brought the senior leadership

team together to develop a robust sustainability strategy. This includes stringent emission reduction

targets, and plans to seek opportunities to partner with shipping lines to incentivise the use of alternative

fuels, thereby further improving air quality.

21

1.3 Equipping people to drive systemic change

We are building a future that’s better for everyone, not just the few – and we do that by increasing

people’s capacity to drive change within their organisations, their communities and their lives.

The insights we've gained from our work and from 20 years of running our Masters in Leadership for

Sustainable Development, have fed into the curriculum for our new School of System Change, which we

piloted with Pioneer partners, Network members and staff in 2016.

1.3.1 Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development: celebrating 20 years

With academic support from Middlesex University, and the professional expertise and financial support

of The Leadership Trust, for 20 years we have offered young people, with leadership potential and any

kind of first degree, a place on our pioneering Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development. In

using reflective, group and experiential learning techniques we helped our ‘scholars’ access the

knowledge, skills and experience they would need to become sustainability leaders whatever career they

chose. Many of the graduates from earlier years are now in senior roles for example at the UK Green

Building Council, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and in many leading businesses across different

sectors. Many have set up their own organisations such as Futerra, Urban Orchard, Library of Things and

Brew, The Tea Pub.

In 2016 we celebrated the graduation of the final year of our Masters by holding a reunion for all our 250

alumni. More than half of them were able to join the party, which formed part of Forum’s 20th

anniversary celebrations. The occasion gave us the opportunity to thank the very many people who had

supported the course throughout – including lecturers, assessors, Middlesex University, The Leadership

Trust, our funders, and the large number of organisations from all sectors that offered learning

placements down the years, including: the Cabinet Office, the Greater London Authority, Friends of the

Earth, WWF, the Environment Agency, TUI Group, Triodos Bank, Sainsbury’s, Interface, BT, Unilever,

Good Energy, M&S and KPMG.

22

1.3.2 School of System Change: launched in early 2017

We live in a world of increasingly complex, interconnected challenges, and to solve them we need to

radically grow the number of people who can think and act systemically. This is why in 2016 we began

developing an international School of System Change to empower more change-makers throughout

the world, from community activists to sustainability professionals. Launched in early 2017, the School of

System Change will allow us to remain at the cutting edge of learning and equip and inspire individuals to

drive system level change.

This flexible, international learning programme builds on two decades of experience running our Masters

in Leadership for Sustainable Development and will offer access to the skills, tools and community needed

to implement system innovation. Aimed at mid-career professionals, it will draw upon our extensive

system innovation expertise, tools, case studies and partnerships, and incorporate cutting-edge

contributions from learning providers around the world. Our goal is to increase the number and

effectiveness of system change projects globally, the number of organisations using system change

strategies, and strengthen Forum's capacity to help leading organisations transform their operating

contexts.

The Diageo Foundation (our lead sponsor), The Lankelly Chase Foundation and The C&A Foundation

have provided funding for the school. Basecamp #1, the first phase of our first course, ran part-time over

three months in early 2017. Through case studies, real-life complex sustainability challenges and in-depth

coaching and support, participants will learn how to apply systems thinking to their respective fields, and

implement radical change.

The course will also connect participants to a powerful international network of people and support, and

includes both face-to-face and online teaching from academics and systems thinking specialists – as well

as experienced system change practitioners.

1.3.3 A global Network of over 100 organisations: More than 950 pioneers,

partners and sustainability leaders on a learning journey

Over the past two decades we’ve developed a rich and unparalleled network of people from across the

world, all of whom share our appetite for bold leadership. We have close, trusted relationships with

everyone from senior business leaders to young entrepreneurs which allows us to pull together an

extraordinary range of expertise and perspectives and use it to solve the issues that really matter.

23

First and foremost, we help individuals drawn from across our international network of over 100

organisations to build their system change skills. We provide them with coaching, mentoring and training,

and access to an exciting range of workshops, webinars, events and publications – all aimed at

encouraging them to think and act systemically.

Once they begin this process, they soon start leveraging their own networks of relationships and

interdependencies and set long term purpose-driven goals. In turn, they contribute their own insights and

support each other, further deepening the power of our Network.

The Pioneers Group is a specialist network for our partners. It connects 10-15 global pioneers from

different sectors, who get together every two months to learn from one another in a supportive, trust-

based environment, and jointly overcome the barriers to achieving step change in sustainability. In the

summer our Pioneers Group spent 24 hours in the beautiful Kent countryside, staying in shepherd huts

and exploring what it means to lead, intervene and innovate in a complex world. They discussed new tools

and approaches that could help them achieve more impact on their sustainability goals, and how to act

and think systemically.

In 2017 we will be supporting the group as they apply these capabilities and tools to their unique business

challenges, while also taking a cross-sector approach to complex issues such as ocean stress, the circular

economy and inequality. Each session will focus on one of these topics, mapping out what each of our

pioneers is doing to address them, and connecting them on issues where their work overlaps – all with the

aim of delivering even greater impact.

Our US Network is made up of over 15 pioneering organisations, including well-known brands such as

Target, PepsiCo, The Hershey Company and Walt Disney. Throughout 2016 we brought our futures

insights to bear on their operations, equipping them with the skills to succeed in uncertain times and

create lasting change. For example, our US Futures Salon events on ‘the future of work’ and ‘the future of

fashion’ provided our Network members with the chance to hear from thought leaders on these emerging

trends, as well as network with business leaders and entrepreneurs to discover possible opportunities for

collaboration and innovation.

At our annual Chief Sustainability Officer Dinner in New York, US Network members were able to engage

in conversation about the emerging trends that are shaping the US business landscape, and how these

trends might affect their operations. Along with our salons, webinars and other Network events, this

helped to deepen our Network members’ understanding of what the US business response to major trends

should be, and how to harness them to create a more sustainable future.

24

“Forum for the Future has been extremely helpful to opening up our minds a little bit more, to bring our

business model in sync with society ... Having an independent organisation that keeps us honest, keeps

us sharp, that brings in new thinking all the time helps us drive our plans higher. We have had

tremendous help from Forum not only with its intellectual power, but bringing about the right coalitions

to achieve our targets earlier and faster.” – Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever

‘Reigniting’ passion and purpose

Our Reignite event, held in Dartmoor National Park in September 2016, invited sustainability leaders

into the woods for an immersive enquiry in nature. Attendees slept under the stars, cooked around a

fire and shared stories and inspiration with Jonathon Porritt, Kate Rawles and Andrew Raingold.

Together the group explored the growing need to draw on both intellectual and emotional intelligence

to tackle the multitude of challenges leaders face. Through structured discussions, workshops and

personal reflection time, attendees also strengthened their connection with nature, and refreshed their

ability to drive global change by 'reigniting' their sense of passion and purpose.

25

1.4 Looking ahead to 2017 - Externally

1.4.1 Tackling even more complex sustainability challenges

We’re excited about the potential of initiatives such as The Protein Challenge 2040, Cotton 2040, Tea

2030, the Living Grid and Power Up Odisha to really shift systems; and we are also keen to explore how

these initiatives can become mutually reinforcing, and add up to much bigger impacts in 2017. For

example, our work on a new market mechanism to increase and stabilise smallholder producer income in

the tea industry may have valuable lessons for our cotton and apparel work.

The Protein Challenge 2040 project has now identified six areas where there’s real potential for collective

action to drive positive change. One of these areas is scaling up sustainable aquaculture, which could

deliver big wins for human nutrition, livelihoods and natural ecosystems. In 2016 we co-launched a six-

month programme of research and design of a challenge prize, supported by the Global Innovation Fund,

and working in partnership with Nesta and the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture, to drive

innovation and scale up sustainable aquaculture in India and Bangladesh. The prizes will be announced in

summer 2017, so do keep an eye out for those.

Our work on EU-InnovatE in 2016 has also filtered into our appointment as the lead organisation in the

Future of Civil Society Inquiry – a two-year project coordinated by The Baring Foundation that aims

to catalyse a more vigorous and sustainable civil society in England, using the SDGs as a reference, which

we’ll be closely involved in throughout 2017.

1.4.2 Developing deeper relationships with more pioneering organisations and driving

transformational strategies

2017 will see us continue to ensure we work only with the most ambitious organisations who want to

create truly systemic change. We will champion the importance of radical decarbonisation (see box

overleaf), as well as Net Positive – an approach where businesses seek to move beyond less harm and

create positive impacts in the areas where they can make the biggest difference.

26

Championing the importance of radical decarbonisation

Following the 2015 Paris climate agreement, this year we've had some really positive engagements with

our partners on the role business can and must play to make this bold ambition to keep global

temperature rises below 1.5°C a reality – not just in terms of their own operations, but across entire

systems. For example, we helped Unilever’s global manufacturing facilities to decarbonise, moving

away from coal and oil and – eventually – gas, to 100 per cent renewables.

We want to see more of our partners become vocal advocates for societal action on climate change. In

2016 our work with Aviva to develop a framework for analysing climate risk amongst the companies

they invest in helped us to co-create a tool to help other companies better understand how the risks of

climate change, such as more extreme weather and damage to critical public infrastructure, extend well

beyond their own sphere of operations. It’s already proved a useful starting point for discussions on

issues that will undoubtedly reshape operating contexts in the years ahead, and we look forward to

encouraging more of our partners to step up and speak out in 2017.

1.4.3 Equipping more people to drive systemic change

The School of System Change began its first Basecamp intensive programme in 2017, piloting and

iterating modules with an exciting range of content deliverers and learners (see section 1.3.2). 2017 will

see us build on the success of the first Basecamp, through both developing a programme to run in the US,

as well as scaling up the School more broadly through active partnerships with the emerging international

system change community.

The Futures Centre, our dynamic and interactive online futures platform, will continue to highlight

windows of opportunity for system change, and inform new experiments and innovations across Forum

and our Network, as well as the forward development of existing projects. We will also use the Futures

Centre to convene what we call ‘Explorers’ - a facilitated conversation with our network and other

interested parties, both on- and offline, on specific emerging solutions for sustainable development. The

first Explorer in 2017 will focus on alternative energy systems, building on what we’ve learnt through our

Living Grid project. We’ll also continue to compile the trends we believe are most important for key

decision makers in business, government, foundations and broader civil society to understand, and

critically, to view as opportunities to create a sustainable future today.

27

2. FINANCIAL REVIEW AND RESULTS FOR THE YEAR 2016

2.1 Summary

The changes in the external economic environment have brought uncertainty to our own operating

conditions and created a challenging financial context for us to navigate, evidenced in our financial results

for 2016.

Whilst total income at £5,193k was above the 2015 restated figure of £4,950k, this was broadly as a result

of the inclusion of our US operations for eight months, as described in note 8 to the accounts. Similarly,

total expenditure has also increased to £5,238k from £4,836k. This resulted in an overall net deficit of

£44k versus a surplus of £114k in the 2015 financial year, made up of a restricted surplus of £389k, offset

by an unrestricted loss of £433k.

The unrestricted loss of £433k (2015: surplus £93k) has three distinct drivers. There is an underlying loss

on operations of £199k, a restatement of membership income of £134k to reflect a change in accounting

policy on deferring income (note 1(e) to the accounts) and a one-off write off on consolidation from the US

balance sheet of £100k (note 8). We are working to address the underlying loss on operations through a

more robust business planning process as well as a critical evaluation of our business model. Whilst we

expect some benefit of this review to be delivered in 2017, the full impact is planned for the 2018 financial

year.

This net deficit in unrestricted income of £433k has resulted in unrestricted general reserves of £604k for

the group (2015: £1,037k). Net restricted reserves have increased to £548k (2015:£159k).

2.2 Reserves policy

The trustees have set a policy to hold sufficient unrestricted reserves to cover working capital

requirements, short term reductions in income and unexpected expenditure. This target has been set at

20% of unrestricted income to provide sufficient resilience. However in December 2016, reserves were

below this level at 15%.

As previously stated and described more fully in section 3.3 below, 2017 will be a year of transition in

order to deliver a revised operating model, supported by better systems. We have secured core support

from The C&A Foundation in order to fund these changes. The trustees are confident that despite being

28

below the reserves policy target, sufficient working capital is available whilst the revised business model is

being implemented. The trustees have therefore agreed that Forum will plan to build reserves back to the

target level over the next three financial years.

The trustees are confident that despite being below the reserves policy target, sufficient working capital is

available to secure the going concern basis whilst the revised business model is being implemented. The

transition to the revised business model is planned to ensure that reserves are increased back to target

levels in the medium term, albeit 2017 is going to be a challenge.

2.3 Risk assessment

The risk assessment policy, which is reviewed and approved annually by the board along with the risk

register, continued to give the trustees assurance that key risks are adequately managed. The policy

requires that key risks are identified and ranked each year and that each identified risk is assigned to a

named risk owner who constructs a risk mitigation strategy and monitors the progress of that strategy.

The AAC takes the lead on reviewing the risk register. Twice each year the Committee reviews the risks

being monitored and receives reports on the implementation of the risk mitigation strategy. The Senior

Management Team (SMT) review the overall register each month to determine if anything needs to be

added or removed, and usually undertakes a detailed review of two items on the register. A new,

streamlined approach to managing risk was introduced at the beginning of 2016. In addition, we have a

risk register for all of our significant projects, which are actively monitored by project directors and

project managers.

Our two principal risks are low levels of cash and the impact of the external environment on our pipeline

of paid work. We are actively managing both these risks. Firstly, we are reviewing our business model to

ensure that each project and stream of activity contributes to our surplus so that we remain financially

viable. Secondly, we are using our rolling cash flow forecast to ensure we remain a going concern while

new systems are put in place. And, thirdly, we are implementing a fundraising strategy which is designed

to broaden our sources of funding, including increasing the amounts raised from Trusts and Foundations.

29

3. INTERNAL REVIEW OF 2016

3.1 A great place to work

Staff are generally very satisfied with the work at Forum, the freedom they have to plan their work and the

scope they have for using their initiative. However, in 2016 our staff survey response rate was lower than

the two previous years at 79%, and staff satisfaction decreased from 71% to 68%. Perhaps unsurprisingly,

the uncertainty the EU-Referendum introduced to our UK operations, the US Presidential election and

the difficult financial organisational climate all impacted on morale internationally; it was a difficult year

for everyone.

It is particularly important for staff to look out for one another during tough times and we are keen to

foster a culture where staff are encouraged to set up informal groups, for example on personal resilience.

We aim to improve the way we structure global projects and project teams in 2017, and explore better

ways of delivering effective knowledge management across our international offices (around 60% of staff

are currently satisfied with knowledge management and skills development).

Our staff survey results did show that staff increasingly feel that their work is aligned with our strategy

(78% in 2016 compared with 61% in 2015). We also finalised our performance and reward policy in 2016,

and there is now greater understanding of how performance is evaluated. Staff have received training on

our scanning function too, and are now regularly tracking our 20-30 areas of high change potential via a

management dashboard.

Another ongoing driver of staff satisfaction is Health and Wellbeing, which we focused on embedding

within the organisation in 2016. For example, we:

● Celebrated mental health awareness week with daily updates for all staff on our intranet

● Celebrated World Mental Health day in all offices with a ‘tea and talk’

● Provided training on how to maintain good mental health in the workplace

● Provided a free health check in our London office

In addition to our focus on health and wellbeing, we continued to have almost weekly Brown Bag Lunch

sessions in 2016, and also held a capacity building day for staff. We plan to repeat this in 2017, and focus

on the learning element of our culture, with staff targets to measure how successfully we engage with this

process.

30

3.2 Environmental and social impacts

As a charity that exists to promote sustainable development, we are very keen to make sure that we ‘walk

the talk’ when it comes to our environmental and social impacts.

Forum’s impacts follow from its:

● Core activities of work with partners and others on system change

● Operations (i.e. staff, buildings, travel and supply chain).

Our operations generate negative impacts (e.g. carbon emissions) but also positive ones, including

enhancing our staff wellbeing and allowing Forum to enable change on a global scale.

3.2.1 Environmental impact report 2016

Forum’s Environmental Management System (EMS), certified to ISO14001, has now been in place for 15

years. Our EMS is deeply embedded into the culture of our organisation with all staff playing an active

and enthusiastic role in the management of our waste, travel, suppliers, utilities, communications and

events.

We continue to receive positive feedback from external audits by BSI, Zero Emissions Network and others

on our efforts at managing our positive and negative environmental impacts.

Our most material environmental impact from our operations is our carbon emissions, which have

decreased 5% to 349 tonnes compared to 2015 (367 tonnes of CO2), and is 8 tonnes less than 2014. The

largest contributor to our carbon emissions is aviation, producing 312 tonnes out of a total of 348 tonnes.

These emissions should be seen in the context of our growing international work and the fact that 45% of

our 2016 revenue came from outside the UK.

Although our emissions are relatively small, as a leading sustainable development organisation, we know

we need to face this challenge head on. We have worked hard to reduce our emissions this year, and

attribute the emissions reduction in part to the reduced need to fly from the UK to other markets, as our

US, APAC and India offices become more self-sufficient. SMT sabbaticals and a reduced staff headcount

in the UK have also played a part.

31

All of our carbon emissions are offset through Climate Care, which ensures that an equivalent amount of

carbon is saved or sequestered through a range of credible, socially-beneficial projects.

We seek to minimise our emissions by ensuring that we only fly when absolutely necessary, using other

forms of communication, such as video-conferencing, wherever possible; and by increasing the benefit of

flying by arranging multiple meetings when we do have to fly.

We, like society as a whole, are wrestling with the positive impacts we create at the expense of an

increasing footprint. We remain convinced that we can, over time, deliver far bigger ‘wins’ for

sustainability as a whole – including carbon reduction – by having our expert staff working

internationally, helping organisations in Asia and the US achieve their own transformative shifts, than if

we eschewed flying and stayed at home.

3.2.2 Social impacts

While the most direct social impact from our operations is on our staff, our partnerships, knowledge

development, events and project work reaches far across the globe and deep into communities.

For Forum to be successful in creating change and developing its staff, we need to be a learning

organisation. However, we know we still have more work to do in creating this shift, and are hopeful that

the planned work on some of our information and knowledge management processes in 2017 will help us

continue to move forward.

We also have comprehensive policies on staff welfare, including flexible working and Inspiration Space. In

2016 our staff voiced interest in developing a more formal health and well-being plan, which we delivered,

and we are pleased that staff have also taken the initiative and set up their own informal groups exploring

personal resilience together.

Across the globe our social influence, although more indirect, stems from our extensive project work

surrounding sustainable business practices, system innovation and transformational change. Many

examples have been cited within this report: our work with Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan and its

implications for sustainable agriculture practices has positive impacts on the lives of local farmers as well

as the environment; similarly, our collaboration with Target & Walmart on Beauty and Personal Care will

lead to significant benefits to human health.

32

Our Network allows us to inspire individuals to make change and equip corporate leaders with the tools

they need to deliver more social value. Through these channels, we develop partnerships, share

information, create knowledge and establish frameworks for action. Alongside our School of System

Change, these partnership, events and research outputs facilitate momentum across vast supply chains

and reach across numerous business sectors. Thus, we catalyse social impact through the personal and

organisational relationships we nurture.

3.3 Looking ahead to 2017

Internally, enabled by core grant funding from The C&A Foundation, 2017 will be a year of transformation

for Forum. We will be improving our internal systems and processes, implementing changes to our

business model, changing the way we are internally organised, pushing even harder on our external

communications, as well as continuing to diversify our funding base.

Funding for projects that aim to transform systems is much harder to access than our traditional one-on-

one advisory work, because despite the significant social, financial and environmental impact of these

projects, that impact is dispersed across the system as opposed to benefiting a single organisation. And

the situation is further complicated by the long-term, pre-market nature of much of the work we do.

The sophistication and ambition of our work, which is often experimental, requires new forms of

investment that will support us as we enhance our global operations and transition to a business model

that will take our system innovation approach to the next level. In short, we need to unlock funding that is

prepared to take a little more risk, and sees the value in long-term engagements with businesses and

stakeholders.

This is why we are redoubling our efforts to unlock funding from Trusts and Foundations, as well as

establishing a Catalyst Fund, an funding stream supported by individual donors, designed to help us

accelerate the development of ambitious project ideas.

33

4. REFERENCE AND ADMINSTRATIVE DETAILS

Company number 2959712

Charity number 1040519

Registered office and operational address

Overseas House

19-23 Ironmonger Row

London

EC1V 3QN

United Kingdom

www.forumforthefuture.org

Incorporated in England and Wales, and registered in England

4.1 Trustees and directors

The trustees, who act as directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and audited

financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016, which have been prepared in accordance with

the Statement of Recommended Practice: Reporting and Accounting by Charities, and the Companies Act

2006.

Trustees who served during 2016 and up to the date of this report were as follows. Find out more at

www.forumforthefuture.org/our-board-trustees.

Keith Clarke (Chair of Trustees)

Volker Beckers

Kelvyn Derrick

Sean Fox – retired July 2016

Andy Hobsbawm – retired July 2016

Kate Levick

Sara Parkin (Founder Director)

Jonathon Porritt (Founder Director)

Lucy Siegle

Fiona Thompson

Anita Tiessen

34

The trustee sub-committees are:

Audit and Assurance Committee (AAC)

Sean Fox (chair) – retired July 2016

Fiona Thompson (chair) – from July 2016

Sara Parkin

Kate Levick

Kelvyn Derrick – joined October 2016

Independent Audit Committee Member

Sharon Martin

Remuneration Committee

Anita Tiessen (chair)

Sean Fox – retired July 2016

Lucy Siegle – joined May 2016

Company Secretary

Peter Atfield

4.2 Senior Management Team

Sally Uren, Chief Executive

Stephanie Draper, Deputy Chief Executive

Peter Atfield, Interim Director, Human Resources

David Bent, Director, Sustainable Business – left 11 November 2016

Giles Bristow, Director, Programmes

Helen Clarkson, Director, US – left as US Director 31 May 2016

Helen Clarkson, Interim Chief Operating Officer – joined 17 October 2016

James Goodman, Director, Futures

Esther Maughan McLachlan, Director, Communications and Networks – left 23 December 2016

Anila Hussain, Interim Director, Finance and Operations – left 30 September 2016

Sandra Seru, Director, US – joined 13 June 2016

35

4.3 Bankers, solicitors and auditors

Bankers HSBC Commercial Banking

City of London Commercial Centre

60 Queen Victoria Street

London

EC4N 4TR

Solicitors Bates Wells and Braithwaite

10 Queen Street Place

London EC4R 1BE

Auditors Sayer Vincent LLP

Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors

Invicta House

108-114 Golden Lane

London

EC1Y 0TL

36

4.4 Governance and charitable objectives, remuneration, activities and

public benefit and statement of compliance with statutory information

4.4.1 Governance and charitable objectives

Forum for the Future in the UK is a registered educational and sustainable development charity, and a

company limited by guarantee and not having share capital. Its governing documents are the

Memorandum and Articles of Association. Its charitable objects are:

● To advance the education of the public in economic and social studies as they relate to

individuals, communities, society at large and the planet as a whole, with special reference to

their interrelationship with ecology, the natural world, health, technology, agriculture,

sustainable development, philosophy and psychology

● To promote sustainable development for the benefit of the public by:

● The preservation, conservation and protection of the environment and the prudent use of

natural resources

● The relief of poverty and the improvement of the conditions of life in socially and

economically disadvantaged communities

● The promotion of sustainable means of achieving economic growth and regeneration.

The governing body of Forum is the Board of Trustees, which meets four times a year. The trustees are

responsible for ensuring that Forum abides by its charitable aims, works within the law and delivers its

mission effectively. They oversee the policies and objectives of Forum and ensure that the work of the

organisation is properly monitored and evaluated.

Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity, with two exceptions:

Jonathon Porritt is paid for his services as an employee of Forum, with the consent of the Charity

Commission, and Sara Parkin, who was paid for her services as an employee of Forum, with the consent of

the Charity Commission up until 31 July 2016, when she resigned as an employee. The remaining trustees

are unpaid volunteers. The trustees serve for a three-year term, after which they must be re-elected. Any

expenses reclaimed from the charity by the trustees are set out in Note 4 to the accounts.

The Chair of Trustees, Keith Clarke, leads the board. An Honorary Treasurer, elected from the trustees,

leads the AAC, which meets four times a year to ensure the adequacy of Forum’s internal controls and

financial management, and considers and evaluates the work of the external auditors. The AAC

membership includes the Honorary Treasurer, Sean Fox in position until July 2016 and Fiona Thompson

who took the position from July 2016, three other trustees and an independent adviser.

37

New trustees are appointed by the board following open advertisement and approaches to other

individuals. The Board maintains a list of required skills and competencies, and seeks to ensure that

recruitment fills any skill gaps left by retiring trustees. New trustees receive a comprehensive induction,

which introduces Forum and a review of the duties of trustees as defined by the Charity Commission.

Forum for the Future India Private Limited is a company limited by shares. Our Singapore office is

operated out of Forum for the Future Asia Pacific Limited, a company limited by guarantee. As such,

consolidated group accounts have been prepared for 2016 along with UK company accounts. In legal

terms, our US office operated as a project of The Tides Foundation until the end of April 2016, which in

practice functioned as an integral part of Forum. Forum for the Future US became an independent

501(c)(3) with effect from 1 May 2016, and accordingly is consolidated in the Group accounts from that

date. In addition, Forum for the Future US is using TriNet as a Professional Employer Organisation (PEO)

to manage employee contracts, benefits and payroll from that date.

4.4.2 Remuneration

The trustees agreed revisions to a performance-related pay system for all staff in the organisation in 2016

based on individual targets' which align with the organisation’s key performance indicators to support

driving Forum’s strategy forward. This is integrated into the appraisal process to ensure pay rises

accurately reflect contribution to Forum’s strategic goals.

The Remuneration Committee is responsible for assessing the performance of the Chief Executive and

Founder Directors. This committee is also responsible, along with the Chief Executive, for assessing the

performance of the SMT.

4.4.3 Activities and public benefit

As a charity, Forum for the Future is required to demonstrate public benefit from its activities. This

section sets out how it fulfils that duty.

The trustees have referred to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when

reviewing the aims and objectives of Forum and planning its future activities. The trustees confirm that

they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to the public

benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission in determining how planned activities will

contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

38

Forum aims to benefit the public by providing information about the path to a sustainable future. We

achieve this aim by enabling organisations in the private and public sectors to put sustainability at the

heart of their strategies and develop products and services that are environmentally sound, economically

viable and socially just. Our pre-competitive multi-stakeholder projects (where competitors can come

together within the rules of Competition Law to discuss strategic responses to often complex and difficult

issues, as well as developing common methodologies and approaches – see Collaboration Guidebook)

have a direct public benefit, by actively addressing specific complex challenges, with a number of our

research projects articulating the new systems and governance for sustainable systems also directly

benefiting the public.

We make the results of our work available to the wider public through events, publications, our website

and our digital Futures Centre platform, where we build communities and discussions to accelerate our

work. Here, we share ‘sensemaking’ analysis and signals of change sourced through our projects,

resources that we recommend, and thoroughly researched and referenced futures trends. We also strive

for coverage of our projects in mainstream media across the globe as another way of sharing our work.

In 2016, our Pioneer Partners helped us to deliver public benefit by contributing financially to two of our

flagship programmes: the Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development and its evolution into the

School of System Change, and our Futures Centre platform. In 2015 and 2016, the Futures Centre also

supported the production of our annual compendium, The Long View.

The fees paid by our partners and sponsors enable us to make our recommendations, futures scenarios,

Futures Centre content and other publications available on our website and Futures Centre platform at no

charge.

Forum partners also provided work placement opportunities for our Masters’ scholars, and their financial

contributions enabled us to offer the Masters programme at an affordable cost. In 2016 we offered one

scholarship for our course and the Leadership Trust supported Forum with a bursary enabling 11 course

participants to take part in leadership training at their headquarters in Herefordshire. The graduates of

this programme most often go on to work in the private and public sectors, helping other organisations

deliver the benefits of sustainable development to society.

Our internship programme is one of the ways Forum for the Future delivers on our responsibility for

helping to develop the next generation of sustainability experts. During their time at Forum, interns have

access to a wealth of resources, learning opportunities and events and are able to build an invaluable

network of contacts. We actively monitor our approach to internships, and we consistently get positive

feedback from those who do intern with us. At the end of internships, many interns move on to paid

39

employment or self-employment or choose to do further education courses. A number of our interns have

subsequently taken up paid roles at Forum.

4.4.4 Statement of compliance with statutory information

Reference and administrative information set out in section 4 forms part of this report. The financial

statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association

and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable

to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

4.5 Structure, governance and management

The statutory accounts reflect the figures for the Forum Group, which includes operations in the UK, Asia

Pacific, India and the US. The US was included in the group accounts for the first time in 2016.

4.6 Statement of directors’ responsibilities

The trustees (who are also Directors of Forum for the Future for the purposes of Company Law) are

responsible for preparing the trustees report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable

law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting

Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year that give a true

and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and

application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP

Make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent

State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material

departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements

Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that

the charitable company will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy

at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial

statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of

the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud

and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware

40

The trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any

relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information

included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the

preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in

the event of it winding up. The total number of such guarantees as at 31 December 2016 was two. The

trustees are members of the charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no

beneficial interest in the charity, with the exception of Jonathon Porritt who is paid for his services as an

employee of Forum with the consent of the Charity Commission. Sara Parkin was also paid for her

services up until her employment ended on 31 July 2016.

Auditor

Our auditor – Sayer Vincent LLP – has expressed its willingness to continue in office.

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 26th April 2017 and signed on their behalf by:

Fiona Thompson

(Director and trustee)

41

4.7 Network Members and Partners

4.7.1 Pioneers (organisations who are sustainability leaders in their sector, who

access all Network and partner benefits, and also support our Futures Centre,

our Masters course and the School of System Change)

Kingfisher

M&S plc

O2 plc

Sky

The Crown Estate

Unilever plc

4.7.2 Partners (organisations that both join our Network but also access a tailor-made

work programme designed to accelerate their progress towards sustainability)

3M John Lewis Partnership

Aditya Birla Group Johnson & Johnson Corporate Citizenship Trust

Aggregate Industries Kyocera Document Solutions

Ahold Delhaize L'Oreal Paris

Air New Zealand Novelis

AkzoNobel N.V PepsiCo Inc

Associated British Foods Ports of Auckland

Aviva Investors Pret A Manger Ltd

Ball Corporation Pukka Herbs

C&A Reckitt Benkiser

Cafédirect Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd

Capgemini Ltd SC Johnson

Cathay Pacific SIG Combibloc

Certis Europe Sime Darby

China Navigation Company Swire Pacific Offshore

ColArt Target

Colep Taylors of Harrogate

Delhaize America The Co-operative Group

Diageo The Hershey Company

DuPont The Jordans & Ryvita Company Ltd

EDF Energy TUI Group

Finlays Value Retail

Firmenich Volac

FirstGroup plc Walgreens Boots Alliance

FrieslandCampina Willmott Dixon Ltd

42

4.7.3 Members (organisations that join our Network and participate in events,

webinars and collaborate with peers to create change)

American Express Heineken UK

Asian Venture Philanthropy Network Horizons

Aster Group HSH Group

Barry Callebaut IGD

Bio-bean Innovate UK

BioRegional Jaguar Land Rover Ltd

Birmingham City University Johnson & Johnson

Blue and Green Tomorrow KeepCup

Bowman Kellogg Company

British Aerosol Manufacturers Association Legero

BT plc Neal's Yard remedies

Burberry Nestle Research

BuroHappold Engineering Nice and Serious Ltd

Carillion plc Open Energi

City of London Penguin Random House

Climate Coalition The Phone Co-op

ClimateCare Provenance

The Coca-Cola Company Quorn (Marlow Foods)

Coca-Cola Enterprises Rainforest Alliance

Compassion in World Farming Sedex

Cook Food Severn Trent

Direct Line Insurance Group ShareAction

DriveNow UK Skanska UK plc

Eat Me Chutneys Swire Oilfield Services

Ella's Kitchen Tarmac

Fairtrade Foundation Tata Global Beverages

FoodTrade Tesco plc

General Mills Thompsons Ltd

GlaxoSmithKline Twin

Goodyear Tires University College London

GrowUp Value Added in Africa

GSH Group VF Corporation

Heathrow Airport Walt Disney Company

43

4.8 Grant funders, major donors, collaborators and sponsors

4.8.1 Grant Funders and major donors

Economic Development Board (EDB) Singapore The European Commission

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Friends Provident Foundation

Future Energy Abu Dhabi The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust

IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative The Kimberly Clark Foundation

IMACE The Lankelly Chase Foundation

Innovate UK The Richard Sandbrook Trust

Nesta The Shell Foundation

The Barings Foundation The Waterloo Foundation

The C&A Foundation University of Illinois

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Worsley Trust

The Department for International Development WWF

The Diageo Foundation Zoological Society of London

4.8.2 Other funders and collaborators

7th Generation Method

BaxterStorey Middlesex University

Buhler AG Nestec SA

Calysta Inc Orange plc

Camellia Procter & Gamble

Clorox/Burt's Bees S&D Coffee & Tea

Colgate-Palmolive Samworth Bros

CVS Seeding the Future

Dow Chemical Co Sephora

Eastman Chemical Company Starbucks Coffee Company

Evonik Nutrition Telefonica SA

Henkel TerraVia

Huawei The Leadership Trust

Impossible Foods Waitrose

44

4.8.3 20th Anniversary sponsors

Kingfisher

M&S

PepsiCo Inc

Unilever UKCR

Wilmott Dixon

4.8.4 Futures Centre partners and sponsors

Amec Foster Wheeler Novelis

Arjowiggins Graphic Marine Stewardship Council

Ashden The Joseph Rowntree Foundation

EDB Singapore

4.8.5 The Long View sponsors

C&A AG

Colep

Diageo

Firmenich

Interface

The C&A Foundation

Unilever plc

45

4.9 Affiliates and Forum internships

4.9.1 Affiliates

David Aeron-Thomas Pallavi Ahuja

David Bent Prasanta Biswal

Zahra Davidson Zarir DeVitre

Dr Jeff Hardy Hugh Knowles

Saksham Nijhawan Lorna Pelly

Lara Sinha

4.9.2 Forum internships in 2016

Charlie Debenham Marianne Fekene

Sheryl Foo Omar Gawad

Helen Hughes Kawsar Hussain

Nikki Kapp Michelle Lai

Sarah Lloyd Ming Wei Low

Matthew McGuire Sultan Miah

Courtnee O'Neill Natalia Paine

Adam Sadiq Cornelia Silaghi

Emily Stewart Toby Strudwick

Agnieszka Szyszka Anne-Louise Vernes

Ella Walker Callum Watts

Madeleine Wild Kirsten Zeller

Thanks also to all the tutors and speakers who have donated their time to the Forum Masters Programme

and the School of System Change.

46

Independent auditor’s report

to the members of Forum for the Future

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Forum for the Future (the ‘parent charitable company’) and

its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 December 2016 which comprise the consolidated

statement of financial activities, the group and parent charitable company balance sheets, the

consolidated statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of

significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their

preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting

Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United

Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent charitable company’s affairs as at

31 December 2016 and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its

income and expenditure, for the year then ended

Have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting

Practice

Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the

Charities Act 2011

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and

applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s

responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the

group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial

statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical

responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have

obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

47

Conclusions relating to going concern

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us

to report to you where:

The trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial

statements is not appropriate; or

The trustees have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that

may cast significant doubt about the group’s or the parent charitable company’s ability to continue to

adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when

the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information

included in the directors’ report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our

opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent

otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other

information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the

financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially

misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are

required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material

misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there

is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

The information given in the directors’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements

are prepared is consistent with the financial statements

The directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements

48

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent charitable company and its

environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the

directors’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act

2006 and Charities Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent charitable company, or returns

adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

The parent charitable company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records

and returns; or

Certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

We have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

The directors were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small

companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’

annual report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out in the trustees’ annual report,

the trustees (who are also the directors of the parent charitable company for the purposes of company

law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a

true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the

preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or

error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s and the parent

charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to

going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to

liquidate the group or the parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic

alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3

of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and regulations made

under section 154 of that Act. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable

company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other

purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other

than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this

49

report, or for the opinions we have formed.

We have been appointed auditor under the Companies Act 2006 and section 151 of the Charites Act 2011

and report in accordance with those Acts.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are

free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that

includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an

audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.

Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the

aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the

basis of these financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), we exercise professional judgment and maintain

professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:

Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to

fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit

evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting

a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may

involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal

control.

Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures

that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the

effectiveness of the group’s internal control

Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting

estimates and related disclosures made by the trustees

Conclude on the appropriateness of the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and,

based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or

conditions that may cast significant doubt on the group’s or the parent charitable company’s ability to

continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw

attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such

disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence

obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the

group or the parent charitable company to cease to continue as a going concern.

Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the

disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in

a manner that achieves fair presentation

Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or

business activities within the group to express an opinion on the consolidated financial statements.

50

We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the group audit. We remain

solely responsible for our audit opinion.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope

and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal

control that we identify during our audit.

Jonathan Orchard (Senior statutory auditor)

25 August 2017

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor

Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TL

Sayer Vincent LLP is eligible to act as auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

(incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account)

2016 2015

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total

Restated

Note £ £ £ £

Income from:

Donations 143,310 - 143,310 109,298

3

Delivery 3,902,810 1,107,199 5,010,009 4,724,844

Communications 39,959 - 39,959 88,462

Other - - - 27,671

Total income 4,086,079 1,107,199 5,193,278 4,950,275

Expenditure on:

Raising funds 7,385 - 7,385 13,162

Delivery 4,237,841 718,595 4,956,436 4,580,022

Communications 273,936 - 273,936 242,920

Total expenditure 4 4,519,162 718,595 5,237,757 4,836,104

Net (deficit)/surplus for the year 5 (433,083) 388,604 (44,479) 114,171

Reconciliation of funds:

902,719 159,525 1,062,244 916,882

Prior year adjustments 26 134,318 - 134,318 165,509

Total funds brought forward - restated 1,037,037 159,525 1,196,562 1,082,391

Total funds carried forward 603,954 548,129 1,152,083 1,196,562

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses

other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 20 to the financial statements.

Charitable activities

Charitable activities

Total funds brought forward as

previously stated

51

Balance sheet

Company number: 2959712

2016 2015 2016 2015

Restated Restated

Note £ £ £ £

Fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets 10 162,770 187,633 144,321 178,523

Investments 11 - - 1,096 1,096

162,770 187,633 145,417 179,619

Debtors 14 1,204,461 1,834,044 1,591,110 1,890,542

Short term deposits - - - -

Cash at bank and in hand 740,127 343,591 444,768 251,831

1,944,588 2,177,635 2,035,878 2,142,373

Liabilities

Creditors: amounts due within one year 15 934,634 1,123,295 858,852 1,015,272

Net current assets 1,009,954 1,054,340 1,177,026 1,127,101

Creditors: amounts due after one year 17 20,641 45,411 20,641 45,411

Total net assets 19 1,152,083 1,196,562 1,301,802 1,261,309

The funds of the charity 20

Unrestricted income funds

Designated funds - 12,602 - 12,602

General funds 603,954 1,024,436 777,984 1,089,183

Restricted income funds

In surplus 548,129 159,524 523,818 159,524

Total charity funds 1,152,083 1,196,562 1,301,802 1,261,309

Honorary Treasurer

Forum for the Future

As at 31 December 2016

Approved by the directors on 26 April 2017 and signed on their behalf by

Fiona Thompson

The group The charity

52

Consolidated statement of cash flows

Note 2016 2015

£ £

Cash flows from operating activities

Net cash provided by operating activities 21 469,325 76,874

Cash flows from investing activitiesProceeds from the sale of fixed assets - 27,672

Purchase of fixed assets (48,020) (174,869)

Net cash used in investing activities (48,020) (147,197)

Cash flows from financing activities

Cash receipts from new finance leases - 74,309

Cash payments to repay finance leases (24,769) (4,128)

Net cash (used in)/provided by financing activities (24,769) 70,181

Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year 396,536 (142)

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 343,591 343,733

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 740,127 343,591

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

53

Notes to the financial statements

1. Accounting policies

a)

b) Basis of accounting

c)

d)

e)

Income - prior year adjustment

f)

On receipt, donated gifts, professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift

to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent

economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of

receipt.

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the

item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit

from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance

with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more

information about their contribution.

Donations of gifts, services and facilities

Public benefit entity

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

For the reasons set out in the Reserves Policy, the Trustees are satisfied that the charitable company is able to continue

as a going concern.

The Trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a

significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next

reporting period.

Income

Statutory information

Forum for the Future is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in England & Wales. The

registered office address is Overseas House, 19-23 Ironmonger Row, London, EC1V 3QN.

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

These financial statements consolidate the results of the charitable company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Forum

for the Future Asia Pacific Limited, Forum for the Future India Private Limited and eight months of Forum for the Future

US Inc, on a line by line basis. Transactions and balances between the charitable company and its subsidiaries have been

eliminated from the consolidated financial statements. Balances between the companies are disclosed in the notes of

the charitable company's balance sheet. Separate statements of financial activities, or income and expenditure accounts,

for the subsidiaries are not presented because they have taken advantage of the exemptions afforded by section 408 of

the Companies Act 2006.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant

accounting policy or note.

Going concern

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income

have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity

has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the

income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are

met. Membership fees and non work programe related Partnership income is recognised in full on receipt and work

programme related partnership income is deferred over the period in which services are provided. This is a change in

accounting policy and the impact of this change is disclosed in detail in note 26.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of

Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting

Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) - (Charities SORP FRS 102),

the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (August 2014) and the

Companies Act 2006.

54

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

1. Accounting policies (continued)

g)

h)

i)

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

j)

k)

l)

m) Tangible fixed assets

Improvements to leasehold properties 20% on cost

Furniture and fittings 20% on cost

Computer and office equipment 20% on cost of software and 33.33% on cost of hardware

Operating leases

Allocation of support costs

Interest receivable

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Foreign exchangeSales invoices raised in foreign currencies are entered into the accounts at the day rate or in accordance with an

exchange rate set in the contract, if applicable. The same treatment is applied to costs. Bank account balances are

revalued regularly throughout the year and at year end.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes. The designated funds are

set aside at the discretion of the trustees and relate to the charity’s policy on sustainability. The Sustainability Fund is to

cover additional expenditure to avoid or offset the negative environmental impact of the charity’s operations.

Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is

probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is

classified under the following activity headings:

Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charitable company in inducing third parties to make

voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose

Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of delivering services and educational activities undertaken

to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs

Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading

Infrastructure and support costs are apportioned across the Forum cost centres in line with the ratio of staff costs of the

cost centre in question to total staff costs, excluding the staff costs of those support cost centres that are included in

the allocation. The type of costs that are allocated in this way include all office costs (rent, rates, asset hire, utilities,

stationery, telephone, insurance, depreciation etc) and support cost centres (ie finance, IT, HR and office services).

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset

over its estimated useful life.

Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity;

this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost.

No item of equipment is capitalised where the purchase price is less than £500. A full year of depreciation is taken in

the year of acquisition. All fixed assets more than six years old are treated as having been disposed of in the financial

statements.

Where fixed assets have been revalued, any excess between the revalued amount and the historic cost of the asset will

be shown as a revaluation reserve in the balance sheet.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria

is charged to the fund.

55

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

1. Accounting policies (continued)

n)

o)

p)

q)

r) Pensions

2. Detailed comparatives for 2015 (restated) for the statement of financial activities

2015

Unrestricted Restricted Total

£ £ £

Income from:

Donations 109,298 - 109,298

Delivery 4,311,397 413,447 4,724,844

Communications 88,462 - 88,462

Other 27,671 - 27,671

Total income 4,536,828 413,447 4,950,275

Expenditure on:

Raising funds 13,162 - 13,162

Delivery 4,197,673 382,349 4,580,022

Communications 242,920 - 242,920

Total expenditure 4,453,755 382,349 4,836,104

83,073 31,098 114,171

Transfers between funds 9,864 (9,864) -

Net movement in funds 92,937 21,234 114,171

Reconciliation of funds:

Total funds brought forward - restated 944,100 138,291 1,082,391

Total funds carried forward 1,037,037 159,525 1,196,562

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will

probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or

estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any

trade discounts due.

Net income for the year

Debtors

Investments in subsidiaries are at cost.

Investments in subsidiaries

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic

financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value

with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest

method.

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the net amount

prepaid.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three

months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

Creditors and provisions

Charitable activities

The charity operates a group personal pension plan which is a direct contribution scheme. Contributions are charged to

the SOFA in the periods to which they relate. The charity has no liability under the scheme other than for the payment of

those contributions.

Charitable activities

56

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

3. Income from charitable activities

2016 2015

(a) Funders Unrestricted Total Total

Restated

£ £ £ £

Delivery

EU grant - - - 85,898

Central governments 138,268 196,573 334,841 337,29518,677 - 18,677 20,170

Corporate 3,375,155 152,301 3,527,456 3,454,131Higher education 74,352 7,705 82,057 32,476

103,762 76,320 180,082 419,607

Trusts and foundations 185,962 674,300 860,262 279,342Publishing - - - 458Individuals 6,634 - 6,634 -

Other funders - - - 126,658Total delivery income 3,902,810 1,107,199 5,010,009 4,756,035

Communications

Not-for-profit organisations 39,959 - 39,959 88,462

Total 3,942,769 1,107,199 5,049,968 4,844,497

2016 2015

(b) Delivery teams Unrestricted Total Total

£ £ £ £

Food 937,229 - 937,229 764,607

Energy 391,100 - 391,100 482,609

Network 430,864 - 430,864 363,403

734,716 - 734,716 1,141,230

Systems Innovation 160,230 - 160,230 474,488

Asia Pacific 493,700 47,549 541,249 909,109

India 110,652 129,100 239,752 55,011

US 424,185 76,661 500,846 -

Masters 33,122 - 33,122 189,250

Sustainable Shipping 28,302 - 28,302 28,830

Learning programme 8,710 85,000 93,710 -

Jonathon Porritt books - - - 20

Other projects 150,000 768,889 918,889 347,478

3,902,810 1,107,199 5,010,009 4,756,035

Communications 39,959 - 39,959 88,462

3,942,769 1,107,199 5,049,968 4,844,497

Restricted

Sustainable Business

Not-for-profit organisations

Local and regional governments

Restricted

57

Notes to the financial statements

4. Analysis of expenditureCost of raising

funds Delivery Communications

Governance

Costs Support Costs 2016 Total 2015

£ £ £ £ £ £ £

Staff costs:

- 2,914,030 182,666 - 588,565 3,685,261 3,221,446

- other 128 38,358 25,415 - 16,628 80,529 99,441

Publishing 1,965 51,804 4,264 73 532 58,638 72,610

Travel and subsistence 657 127,429 6,841 1,268 27,765 163,960 181,545

Scholars - 23,593 - - - 23,593 46,254

Consultancy 502 358,729 27,893 15,825 402,949 545,518

Events 3,415 73,204 6 - 89 76,714 60,349

Depreciation - - - - 72,883 72,883 43,847

Office costs - 68,410 4,806 876 326,667 400,759 368,570

Other costs 718 4,468 22,045 19,700 125,540 172,471 196,524

7,385 3,660,025 273,936 21,917 1,174,494 5,137,757 4,836,104

Governance costs - 21,917 - (21,917) - - -

Support costs - 1,174,494 - - (1,174,494) - -

Contribution to US operations (note 8) - 100,000 - - - 100,000 -

Total expenditure 2016 7,385 4,956,436 273,936 - - 5,237,757 4,836,104

Total expenditure 2015 13,162 4,580,022 242,920 - - 4,836,104 4,842,564

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

- emoluments and social security costs

58

Notes to the financial statements

5. Net (deficit)/surplus for the year 2016 2015

£ £

This is stated after charging/ (crediting):

Depreciation 72,883 43,847

Profit on disposal of fixed assets - (27,672)

Operating lease rentals:

l property 167,331 85,830

l other 14,319 12,901

Forum for the Future Group auditors' remuneration (excluding VAT):

l audit 15,000 13,800

Forum for the Future Asia Pacific Limited auditors' remuneration:

l audit 3,500 5,000

l other services 1,574 1,000

Forum for the Future India Private Limited auditors' remuneration:

l audit 929 810

l other services 197 1,850

Forum for the Future US Inc auditors' remuneration:

l audit 6,923 -Foreign exchange gains or losses (54,515) 18,821

6.

2016 2015

£ £

Staff costs were as follows:

Salaries and wages 3,049,245 2,702,310

Redundancy and termination costs* 17,851 33,110

Social security costs 286,970 270,816

Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes 331,194 296,640

3,685,260 3,302,876

2016 2015

No. No.

£60,000 - £69,999 4 4

£80,000 - £89,999 1 1

£90,000 - £99,999 1 2£100,000 - £110,000 1 -

2016 2015 2016 2015

£ £ £ £

Volker Beckers - - 1,449 1,323

Sara Parkin 15,605 25,000 - -

Jonathon Porritt 103,506 98,305 - 75

119,111 123,305 1,449 1,398

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

*The above amount of £17,851 relates to two redundancy payments.  All liabilities have been fully paid in

the year.

The total employee benefits including employer national insurance and pension for key management

personnel was £861,669 (2015: £795,200).

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employers national insurance

and employer pension costs) during the year between:

Jonathon Porritt and Sara Parkin are paid for their services as employees of Forum for the Future with the

consent of the Charity Commission.

The total employee benefits including employers national insurance and pension contributions of the

senior management team were £728,702 (2015: £657,874).

Salary and pensionExpenses and travel costs for

trustee meetings

59

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

7

2016 2015

No. No.

Raising funds 1 1

Delivery 60 59

Communications 7 5

Support 13 9

Governance 2 2

83 76

8. Related party transactions

9. Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable

purposes. None of the charity's trading subsidiaries have a liability for income tax for 2016 (2015 - £nil).

Forum for the Future has taken the exemptions conferred by paragraph 33 1A of FRS 102 in respect of

disclosing transactions with group entities on the basis that the subsidiaries are wholly controlled and

group accounts are prepared.

Sally Uren was an Advisor to the C&A Foundation Investment Committee and stepped down before the Core

support grant was agreed and received. Forum received £420,000 from C&A Foundation in 2016 as

transition funding (2015: nil) and £69,584 for a project to accelerate action for sustainable cotton (2015:

£100,000).

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year (2016

including Forum for the Future US Inc) was as follows:

The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) was spun off from Forum UK in 2013. Stephanie Draper is the

Deputy CEO of Forum and the Chair of SSI. Forum charge SSI an annual management charge of £28,302 for

the use of office space and overheads. In 2016 SSI bought services from Forum UK of £7,489 (2015:

£57,288) and from Forum APAC of nil (2015: £41,380) and has a year end debtor balance with the group of

nil (2015: £34,242).

Jonathon Porritt is a non-executive director of Willmott Dixon Ltd, from whom income of £25,513 was

received during the year (2015: £27,750) and there is a debtor balance of £nil at year end (2015: £750).

He is also a personal advisor to Unilever from whom income of £202,146 was received in 2016 (2015:

£335,724) and there is a debtor balance of £33,516 at year end (2015: £18,000). Jonathon is also

Chairman of O2/Telefonica UK Sustainability Panel. Income of £209,264 was received in 2016 (2015:

£280,608) and there is a debtor balance of £16,724 at year end (2015: £158,221).

In July 2015, Forum for the Future US Inc. was incorporated as an independent entity and acquired 501(c)(3)

status as an independent non-profit organisation on 30 September 2015. The company remained dormant

till 1 May 2016. The Tides Foundation was the fiscal sponsor for the Group’s US activities until 30 April

2016. On 1 May 2016 there was a $185,558 (£127,008) asset transfer from The Tides Foundation to Forum

for the Future US Inc., that has been recorded in the accounts of the Group as a donation.

At 31 December 2015, Forum for the Future Group was owed £194,669 from the US Tides operation, and it

was envisaged that this balance would be offset over time against future surpluses from the US, and the

eventual planned asset transfer from The Tides Foundation (that occurred on 1 May 2016) would match the

outstanding amount. However, only £127,008 was transferred resulting in £67,661 shortfall. In July 16, the

Trustees of Forum of the Future approved a transfer of £94,669 to Forum for the Future US Inc., against the

donation of £127,008 from the Tides Foundation. The trustees agreed to recognise £100,000 as a

contribution to the US operations, as a result of which Forum US Inc. made a modest surplus in its first

period operating as an independent entity. The trustees consider that the contribution of £100,000 has

been applied for charitable purposes, reflecting the recharge of Forum for the Future UK staff and overhead

costs to Forum for the Future US Inc when operating as Tides.

Staff numbers

60

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

10. Tangible fixed assets

Furniture and

fittings

Computer

and office

equipment Total£ £ £ £

Cost

At the start of the year 63,213 19,179 297,411 379,803

Additions in year - - 48,020 48,020

At the end of the year 63,213 19,179 345,431 427,823

Depreciation

At the start of the year 58,313 17,708 116,149 192,170

Charge for the year 4,900 733 67,250 72,883

At the end of the year 63,213 18,441 183,399 265,053

Net book valueAt the end of the year - 738 162,032 162,770

At the start of the year 4,900 1,471 181,262 187,633

Furniture and

fittings

Computer

and office

equipment Total£ £ £ £

Cost

At the start of the year 63,213 19,179 286,023 368,415

Additions in year - - 33,499 33,499

At the end of the year 63,213 19,179 319,522 401,914

Depreciation

At the start of the year 58,313 17,708 113,871 189,892

Charge for the year 4,900 733 62,068 67,701

At the end of the year 63,213 18,441 175,939 257,593

Net book valueAt the end of the year - 738 143,583 144,321

At the start of the year 4,900 1,471 172,152 178,523

All of the group and charity assets are used for charitable purposes.

11. Investments

Improvements

to Leasehold

Property

Forum for the Future Asia Pacific Limited was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee on 19

November 2013. The charitable company is the sole member though holds no investment. Forum For The

Future Asia Pacific acquired charitable status in Singapore on 26 January 2016.

Group investments relate to two £1 shares in GF Limited set up as a trading company by the charity but

which has never traded and remains dormant.

The charity Improvements

to Leasehold

Property

The group

Forum for the Future India Private Limited was incorporated as a subsidiary company limited by shares on

25 March 2014. The allocated shares were subscribed to in 2015 at a cost of £1,094.

61

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

12 Subsidiary undertakings

Forum for the Future Asia Pacific Ltd

2016 2015

£ £

Turnover 474,555 601,732

Cost of sales 495,715 423,884

Gross (loss)/profit (21,160) 177,848

Administrative expenses 119,721 103,470

(Loss)/profit for financial year (140,881) 74,378

The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and funds was:

Assets 534,448 450,332

Liabilities (708,554) (483,557)

Deficit (174,106) (33,225)

Forum for the Future India Private Limited

2016 2015

£ £

Turnover 99,907 33,096

Cost of sales 59,246 69,917

Gross profit/(loss) 40,661 (36,821)

Administrative expenses 22,815 2,877

Profit/(loss) for financial year 17,846 (39,698)

The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and funds was:

Assets 174,724 76,702

Liabilities (187,306) (107,130)

Share Capital (1,094) (1,094)

Deficit (13,676) (31,522)

The charitable company is the sole member of Forum for the Future Asia Pacific Limited, a company limited

by guarantee, registered in Singapore. All activities have been consolidated on a line by line basis in the

statement of financial activities. The company accounts for Forum for the Future Asia Pacific Limited are

audited separately by Moore Stephens LLP. The figures are then consolidated into the Group accounts.

The charitable company owns 99.99% of the issued ordinary share capital of Forum for the Future India

Private Limited, a company limited by shares and registered in India.

62

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

12 Subsidiary undertakings continued

Forum for the Future US Inc

2016

£

Turnover 631,322

Cost of sales 396,568

Gross profit 234,754

Administrative expenses 221,052

Profit on ordinary activities 13,702

Foreign exchange gains 24,362

Profit for financial period 38,064

The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and funds was:

Assets 571,570

Liabilities (533,506)

Funds 38,064

13. Parent charity

2016 2015

£ £

Gross income 4,112,074 4,603,518Results for the year 40,493 110,683

The parent charity's gross income and the results for the year are disclosed as follows:

Results from May - Dec 2016. See note 8.

During the year to 31 December 2015, the US operations, whilst operating as a Tides project (and therefore

not consolidated), had turnover of £893,087 ($1,318,498) and a profit of £20,288 ($29,952) for the year.

The turnover of the US operation for the year to 31 December 2016 (eight months of which have been

consolidated as above) was £887,025 ($1,093,888) and an annual surplus of £13,710 ($16,908).

63

Notes to the financial statements

14. Debtors

2016 2015 2016 2015£ £ £ £

Trade debtors 657,833 1,229,980 671,245 961,120

Other debtors 97,787 302,471 577,291 711,010

Prepayments 123,918 99,183 122,244 86,028

Accrued income 324,923 202,410 220,330 132,384

1,204,461 1,834,044 1,591,110 1,890,542

15. Creditors: amounts due within one year

2016 2015 2016 2015

Restated Restated£ £ £ £

Amounts due under finance leases 24,770 24,769 24,770 24,769

Trade creditors 211,419 207,733 406,229 192,295

Other creditors 83,815 296,900 52,901 258,718

Accruals 45,097 81,988 28,095 64,713

Deferred income 569,533 511,905 346,857 474,777

934,634 1,123,295 858,852 1,015,272

16. Deferred income

2016 2015 2016 2015

Restated Restated£ £ £ £

Balance at the beginning of the year 511,905 683,008 474,777 683,008

Amount released to income in the year (511,905) (683,008) (474,777) (683,008)

Amount deferred in the year 569,533 511,905 346,857 474,777

Balance at the end of the year 569,533 511,905 346,857 474,777

17. Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

2016 2015 2016 2015£ £ £ £

Amounts due under finance leases 20,641 45,411 20,641 45,411

18. Pension scheme

The group The charity

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

The group The charity

Deferred income comprises programme income received from funders in advance and partnership income

received in advance.

The group The charity

Forum for the Future UK operates a contract based, individual money purchase arrangement with Aviva.

As at 31 December 2016 there was nothing owing for the December contributions. There were 58

members of staff enrolled on the pension scheme at the end of December 2016. Pension arrangements in

APAC for Singaporeans are obligatory statutory payments to the Central Provident Fund. In the US the

pension is arranged with TransAmerica.

The group The charity

64

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

19a Current year analysis of group net assets between fundsRestricted

funds

General

funds Total funds

£ £ £ £

Tangible fixed assets - - 162,770 162,770

Net current assets 548,129 - 441,184 989,313

Net assets at the end of the year 548,129 - 603,954 1,152,083

19b Prior year analysis of group net assets between funds - restatedRestricted General Total funds

£ £ £ £

Tangible fixed assets - - 187,633 187,633

Net current assets 159,525 12,602 836,802 1,008,929

Net assets at the end of the year 159,525 12,602 1,024,435 1,196,562

20a Current year movements in funds

At the start

of the year Transfers

At the end

of the year

£ £ £ £ £

Restricted funds:

Delivery:

C&A Foundation - 355,558 (108,058) - 247,500

139,025 - (94,144) - 44,881

- 125,000 (4,330) - 120,670

5,500 59,620 (48,699) - 16,421

- 129,100 (129,100) - -

- 111,535 (100,731) - 10,804

- 24,847 (4,847) - 20,000

EDB Grant - 39,844 (39,844) - -

15,000 30,000 (26,958) - 18,042

Shell Foundation - 10,000 (10,000) - -

Innovate UK - 21,681 (21,681) - -

Nesta - 9,700 (9,700) - -

WWF -UK - 6,000 (6,000) - -

School of System Change - 85,000 (41,000) - 44,000

US funders - 76,661 (52,350) - 24,311

Other - 22,653 (21,153) - 1,500

Total restricted funds 159,525 1,107,199 (718,595) - 548,129

Unrestricted funds:

Designated funds:Sustainability Fund 12,602 - - (12,602) -

Total designated funds 12,602 - - (12,602) -

General funds 1,024,435 4,086,079 (4,519,162) 12,602 603,954

1,037,037 4,086,079 (4,519,162) - 603,954

1,196,562 5,193,278 (5,237,757) - 1,152,083

Designated

funds

Income and

gains

Expenditure

and losses

Designated

EU-Innovate

Baring Foundation

DFID

Total funds

Waterloo Foundation

Calouste Gulbenkian

Total unrestricted funds

Tea Campaign

Joseph Rowntree Charitable

Trust

65

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

20a Current year movements in funds continued

Purposes of restricted funds

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(v)

(vi)

(vii)

(viii)

(ix)

(x)

(xi)

(xii)

(xiii)

(xiv)

(xv) US Funders include $30K from the American Express Foundation to support the School of System Change

and $60K from Target. The Target funds were split $40K for the Protein Challenge 2016, the first global

coalition exploring how we feed nine billion people enough protein in a way which is affordable, healthy

and good for the environment and $20K for Cotton 2040. This work aims to create significant systemic

change for sustainability in the cotton industry through collaborative working focusing in phase 3 on

Building Demand and Cotton Traceability.

World Wildlife Fund: WWF-UK have funded £3K to each of the collaborative projects Protein Challenge

2040 and Fats and Oils.

DfID: Forum has secured a £219K grant for India's Decentralised Energy Future project to undertake the

scoping phase and programme co-ordination for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in India.

The Tea 2030 campaign is working to identify and accelerate collaborative solutions for the systemic

challenges facing the future of the tea industry and has a number of funders.

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust: This grant is for £60K over two years to be invested in developing

and maintaining the Futures Centre platform.

Innovate UK Technology Strategy Board have awarded a grant of £72K to work on the Integrated transport

local authority solutions project - The Smarter Travel Package.

The grant from Nesta is to support them in designing a Challenge Prize in Aquaculture for Global

Development which would address market failures in aquaculture in India and Bangladesh.

The Waterloo Foundation: This grant is a contribution towards the costs of developing a rural energy

master plan for a pilot community in Wales.

Economic Development Board Singapore: This grant is to establish a Futures Centre of Excellence in

Singapore and is for a maximum amount of SGD 300K to be claimed against salary costs. This grant runs

from Feb 2014 to Jan 2017.

Shell Foundation: The purpose of this grant is to build a "Practitioners' Hub" to accelerate social

innovation and catalyse the growth of inclusive markets to deliver impact at scale. The total value of the

grant was £150K payble on the completion of project milestones.

The School of System Change: C&A Foundation, Lankelly Chase and Diageo have all funded our work to

develop the School of System Change.

Calouste Gulbenkian has awarded funds for three projects. (i) for a senior member of staff to participate

in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's Marine CoLABoration initiative (ii) The One Less project where

Forum’s role is to facilitate stakeholder research and create a systems-based strategy for making London

plastic bottle free. It is worth £43k to Forum over a year (iii) The LAB Learning Coach programme to

support the coordination and development of hte Marine CoLABoration over two years.

The Baring Foundation grant to run the Secretariat to the Independent Inquiry into the Future of Civil

Society totals £500K over 19 months. £250K of this will be paid over to partners working on the project.

C&A Foundation Core support grant: This is for a total value of £420K (£270K Restricted and £150K

Unrestricted) over 13 months to strengthen Forum for the Future. There are two cotton grants, one

running from June 2015 to December 2016 for £130,644 paid on completion of agreed deliverables. The

second runs from November 2016 to December 2018 for Euros 131,049 The purpose of the grants is to

align diverse initiatives in the global cotton industry and accelerate action for sustainable cotton.

EU-InnovatE: This three-year project which ended in December 2016 was funded by the European

Commission to investigate the active roles of consumers in shaping sustainable lifestyles and the

transition to a green economy in Europe. At the end of the project we had underspent on the funds

received by Euros 52,598 which we are expecting to return.

The restricted funds are monies donated to Forum for the Future as grants which require specific

reporting.

66

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

20a Current year movements in funds continued

(xvi)

Purposes of designated funds

20b Prior year movements in funds

At the start

of the year

Income and

gains

Expenditure

and losses Transfers

At the end of

the year

£ £ £ £ £

Restricted funds:

Delivery:Masters Programme 21,114 - - (21,114) -

C&A Foundation (Cotton) - 100,000 (100,000) - -

EU Innovate 116,125 85,898 (62,999) - 139,024

6,802 500 (7,302) - -

5,500 7,000 (7,000) - 5,500

CG Marine - plastic bottles - 4,080 (4,080) - -

Rockefeller Scanning (7,009) - - 7,009 -

Rockefeller Urban Challenge (4,241) - - 4,241 -

Shell Foundation - 40,000 (40,000) - -

Esmee Fairbairn - 80,000 (80,000) - -

EDB Grant - 65,969 (65,969) - -

- 20,000 (5,000) - 15,000

WWF Protein Challenge - 10,000 (10,000) - -

Total restricted funds 138,291 413,447 (382,350) (9,864) 159,524

Unrestricted funds:

Designated funds:Sustainability Fund 12,202 - - 400 12,602

Total designated funds 12,202 - - 400 12,602

General funds 931,899 4,536,828 (4,453,755) 9,464 1,024,436

Total unrestricted funds 944,100 4,536,828 (4,453,755) 9,864 1,037,038

Total funds 1,082,391 4,950,275 (4,836,104) - 1,196,562

Transfers of restricted funds in prior year

(i)

(ii)

Other grants include $10K from the University of Illinois to support the Disrupting Food Logistics Project,

funds from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to implement the project "Russian Future Leaders for

Sustainable Development" and £9K from Regen SW to build local economic resilience through democratic

local energy models in the UK.

Calouste Gulbenkian - North

Sea Futures

Calouste Gulbenkian - CoLaB

Joseph Rowntree Charitable

Trust

The sustainability fund was to cover additional expenditure to avoid or offset the negative environmental

impact of the Forum for the Future's operations. This has been achieved and so the fund has been

released back to unrestricted reserves.

Masters Programme: The transfer was to move the reserves from restricted to unrestricted as there were

no external restrictions on how these funds could be spent.

Rockefeller Scanning Project, Urban project: The transfer was to write off the negative brought forward

balances as they would not be recovered.

67

Notes to the financial statements

Forum for the Future

For the year ended 31 December 2016

21. Reconciliation of net (deficit)/income to net cash flow from operating activities

2016 2015

Restated

£ £

Net (deficit)/income for the year (44,479) 114,171

Depreciation charges 72,883 43,848

Interest receivable - -

Profit on the disposal of fixed assets - (27,672)

Decrease/(increase) in debtors 629,583 (436,846)

(Decrease)/increase in creditors (188,662) 383,373

Net cash provided by operating activities 469,325 76,874

22. Operating lease commitments

2016 2015 2016 2015

£ £ £ £

Less than one year 3,842 1,899 - -

One to five years 488,331 620,166 51,825 65,645

492,173 622,065 51,825 65,645

This is the same for both the charity and the group.

23. Capital commitments

24. Contingent assets or liabilities

25. Legal status of the charity

Property Equipment

At the balance sheet date, the group had not committed to any capital expenditure (2015: £nil).

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in

the event of winding up is limited to £1.

None

The group's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for

each of the following periods:

68

26.

Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total

Reserves position

£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000

Funds previously reported 902,719 159,525 1,062,244 778,591 138,291 916,882

Adjustment for deferred income 134,318 - 134,318 165,509 - 165,509

Funds restated on transition 1,037,037 159,525 1,196,562 944,100 138,291 1,082,391

Unrestricted Restricted Total

£'000 £'000 £'000

Net income as previously reported 124,128 21,234 145,362

Adjustment for deferred income (31,191) (31,191)

Net income as restated 92,937 21,234 114,171

Forum for the Future

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2016

During the year, the trustees reviewed the contractual basis for the delivery of services against the period over which

income is to be recognised. They concluded that there was no tangible basis for deferring membership fees and non-

work programe related partnership income which was previously spread over the period of membership, since there is

no measurable ongoing commitment to provide services at cost to the organisation and income is non-refundable.

Impact of prior year adjustment

31 December 2015 31 Dec 2014

Impact on income and expenditure

31 December 2015

69