Simple, effective, EXTRAordinary – could you be more like Kresse?
As a community of forward-thinking business leaders we are all committed to learning, connecting, and leading the way to a better future.
Our monthly meetings are an important part of that journey.
We get together to be inspired by and learn from outstanding leaders, often from the B Corp community, and consider from what we have learned how we can improve our own businesses.
This month we were joined by Kresse Wesling from B Corp Elvis and Kresse.
Kresse is possibly one of the most impactful business leaders you or your friends have never heard of.
Which is a shame because the world needs more Kresses.
Let me share with you what we learned from Kresse, why she lit up the virtual room, and the impact she had on our community.
Who is Kresse?
Kresse is an outstanding business leader.
In 2004 she moved from Canada to the UK, and became horrified by the amount of waste she saw going to landfill.
Currently it’s about 6 MILLION tonnes. Much of the waste is reusable, the majority cannot be commercially recycled, and does not biodegrade.
Kresse is the only person I know who proudly says she is: “passionate about waste”.
Her passion turned to purpose when Kresse met members of the London Fire Brigade and learned that tonnes of discarded fire hose went to landfill - either because it was at the end of its permitted 25-year life, or had a ‘catastrophic tear’.
Where most people see waste, Kresse sees opportunity.
With her partner Elvis (James Henrit) she investigated possible uses for the material, which she accurately describes as beautiful, and made the natural transition to set up a business making handbags and luxury accessories with a clear purpose to “rescue, transform, and donate”
Within 5 years and they solved the fire hose problem and went back to the drawing board to explore new opportunities. They are now working across 10 different waste streams, including a partnership with Burberry to use the offcuts of leather from their factory floors.
Kresse’s big question
Each month we ask our speakers to prepare a question for our members. We then discuss our ideas in breakout rooms and return to share our thoughts and consider ways we can all improve our own businesses.
“What’s stopping you?”
Kresse’s question was: “ We can all use our businesses to have create an impact for good- however radical or impressive. Why haven’t you done it yet? What’s stopping you from having a bigger impact?”
You would expect nothing less.
Our members were brimming with ideas, thoughts, questions, and overall, a determination to be a bit more like Elvis and Kresse.
I love my Elvis and Kresse handbag… and so does Ben!
So how can we all be a bit more like Kresse?
KISS – let’s adopt the Keep It Simple Stupid approach to business. Elvis and Kresse do three things brilliantly, they:
Rescue – materials which would have gone to landfill
Transform – into something beautiful
Donate – they love to share to make the world a better place and donate 50% of their profits to charities.
Focus – Kresse knows her stuff, and she knows her stuff because she took time to really study waste and recognise the value in rescuing and transforming it.
Commit to shaping a better world – Kresse is often asked: “how can you afford to give 50% of your profits to charity.” Her response is: “how can we afford not to?” Perfect.
Courageous, calm, considered leadership – I can’t stress this enough. Elvis and Kresse are different because they are making such a difference to the world…and what a legacy they have created. No ego. No flash. Just Good Business.