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Manifesto: How a maverick entrepreneur took on British energy and won
"Revealing, inspiring and funny. This book is a joy to romp through, which is good, because its final chapter is the important truth we all need to hear and understand if we are to survive this mess we've made" - Chris Packham
"I found Manifesto enthralling, thought-provoking and I learnt so much from it. Nor had I any idea that we had our own Archimedes living in The Cotswolds." - Jilly Cooper
How one maverick entrepreneur took on UK energy... and won.
Dale Vince never intended to start a business. Driven by a passion for sustainability, he left school aged 15 and became a New Age traveller, living for free in a wind-powered double decker bus. But after building his first wind turbine, he realised that to change the world he needed to be on the grid, not off it. In 1996 he founded green energy company Ecotricity based on principles of social, financial and environmental sustainability, and changed the landscape of UK energy forever.
Since then, Dale has been appointed a UN ambassador for climate issues, become the owner of the first ever vegan football club, and amassed a fortune of over £120 million built on sustainability. He has also been a vocal supporter of Extinction Rebellion which, like Ecotricity, is based in Stroud. In this book, he shares his single-minded and uniquely purpose-orientated approach to business, with lessons learned from experience that will speak to any fledgling entrepreneur.
This is the story of a man whose unwavering mission to help save the environment has driven him all the way to the top, and a powerful manifesto for anyone who wants to change the world.
"I found Manifesto enthralling, thought-provoking and I learnt so much from it. Nor had I any idea that we had our own Archimedes living in The Cotswolds." - Jilly Cooper
How one maverick entrepreneur took on UK energy... and won.
Dale Vince never intended to start a business. Driven by a passion for sustainability, he left school aged 15 and became a New Age traveller, living for free in a wind-powered double decker bus. But after building his first wind turbine, he realised that to change the world he needed to be on the grid, not off it. In 1996 he founded green energy company Ecotricity based on principles of social, financial and environmental sustainability, and changed the landscape of UK energy forever.
Since then, Dale has been appointed a UN ambassador for climate issues, become the owner of the first ever vegan football club, and amassed a fortune of over £120 million built on sustainability. He has also been a vocal supporter of Extinction Rebellion which, like Ecotricity, is based in Stroud. In this book, he shares his single-minded and uniquely purpose-orientated approach to business, with lessons learned from experience that will speak to any fledgling entrepreneur.
This is the story of a man whose unwavering mission to help save the environment has driven him all the way to the top, and a powerful manifesto for anyone who wants to change the world.
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First published August 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 13, 2021
I’m inspired. My wife ordered this book for herself; my eyes rolled. Then as I started reading a new book, as she finished this, she said ‘no, I want you to read this book next’. Another eye roll, but I thought I’d give it a go.
We’d recently gone vegan, and I am on board with the activist beliefs. This book was a guide to this lifestyle...amongst other things.
Dale Vince is a visionary. He lives his life true to his beliefs, and he is capable of making this world a better place. He is prepared to pull out on a mega financial deal if his ethics are not met, even if it means losing everything.
He comes from a traveller background, and has many a tale to regale.
He reinforces my vegan switch, and inspires me on.
Energy, food and transport - I’ll be doing my bit.
Dale, I vote for you 👏👏👏
We’d recently gone vegan, and I am on board with the activist beliefs. This book was a guide to this lifestyle...amongst other things.
Dale Vince is a visionary. He lives his life true to his beliefs, and he is capable of making this world a better place. He is prepared to pull out on a mega financial deal if his ethics are not met, even if it means losing everything.
He comes from a traveller background, and has many a tale to regale.
He reinforces my vegan switch, and inspires me on.
Energy, food and transport - I’ll be doing my bit.
Dale, I vote for you 👏👏👏
March 11, 2024
“We live in a dog eat dog world but the rules of the game embed advantage, privilege and disparity-it’s not an equal fight. Why do we tax money made with money at a lower rate than we tax money made with a pair of hands? Why do companies pay lower taxes than ordinary working people?”
I’ve never heard of this guy before and so came to this fresh with no expectations, but he didn’t take long at all to really irritate me. I have to say, for want of a better expression, I found him to be a bit of a knob and almost impossible to warm to. Vince OBE starts off his story with his presence at the so called, Battle of Beanfield back in 1985, where he along with hundreds of others suffered mass beatings, arrests being drugged and sustained thousands of pounds worth of criminal damage to their property, courtesy of those fine gentlemen at the police in another act of state sponsored violence under the Thatcher regime. It was the largest mass civilian arrest in the UK since WWII with over 500 people being taken away. It was beyond absurd and of course the tabloid generated mass hysteria certainly didn’t help matters much either.
“All of the major chronic diseases that affect us in later life are linked to a diet of animal products. They don’t just kill. They make life miserable. Chronic diseases are not cured; they are managed to the point of death. Meat is not murder. It’s murder suicide.”
Whilst this is almost certainly untrue, he hasn’t considered the role of genetics for instance. But I can definitely see his point and it’s a decent one, fossil fuels and eating meat continue to wreak an absolutely devastating impact across the entire planet. He makes a good point too in saying that factory farming is the root cause of zoonotic viruses, it’s all about energy, transport and food, where 80% of our personal carbon footprint comes from.
“With no actual global shortage we’ve seen the price of gas rise tenfold or more. As the cost of getting gas out the ground didn’t change, this created huge windfall profits for the oil and gas sector coupled with huge rises in energy bills for homes and businesses.”
This guy gives much fuel to the old cliché, “Never trust a hippy”. On one hand Vince OBE speaks the language of the “move fast and break stuff” big tech boys and on the other he plays the Branson faux laid back anti-establishment card, never convincing in either role and he’s also pretty hard to take seriously when he chose to bow before the ultimate symbol of establishment - the royal family in order to take his gaudy, second-rate title of OBE. Gypsy blood or not as soon as he got a taste for that power and wealth he seems to have taken to it quite happily.
“Half of Britain’s gas comes from our North Sea but we let global markets set the price we pay for that energy. In 2022 we paid ten times more for our North Sea gas as we did in 2021. So we did not save a single penny from being half self-sufficient for gas, which makes it all the more incredible to hear fossil fuel advocates calling for more drilling.”
Now don’t get me wrong this isn’t a particularly well-written book, and this guy really annoyed me for the vast majority of this book, but once he stopped boring us with his humble bragging and other BS and focused his energy on policy and politics he began to make a lot more sense and became almost likeable as he takes to task a system which has clearly been howling out for mass reform, and it’s all about those taxes, subsidies and regulations and applying them in a more reasoned and balanced way.
February 5, 2022
Inspirational about what one person can do, when they have a passion.
From being a New Age traveller to founding Ecotricity to owning the world's first vegan football club (been there- family are fans of FGR), the author is a person who doesn't just talk about change he makes it happen.
I found the book informative as well as an enjoyable/easy read.
From being a New Age traveller to founding Ecotricity to owning the world's first vegan football club (been there- family are fans of FGR), the author is a person who doesn't just talk about change he makes it happen.
I found the book informative as well as an enjoyable/easy read.
March 22, 2024
Read it, pass it on and try to show me the person who isn’t inspired by this book. As a Swede if of course wish that someone would provide the same insightful stats for my great home country. Might have to write that myself 🧐🧐🧐🧐😅
February 19, 2021
Great read
A fantastic read. Highly recommended.
I've so much more respect for Dale Vince after reading this. The UK and indeed the world needs many more business leaders to follow the stellar example he has set. Share this book with your boss and business idols and let's help make Dale Vince's manifesto a reality. We'll all benefit from it and be thankful that we did our part to help.
A fantastic read. Highly recommended.
I've so much more respect for Dale Vince after reading this. The UK and indeed the world needs many more business leaders to follow the stellar example he has set. Share this book with your boss and business idols and let's help make Dale Vince's manifesto a reality. We'll all benefit from it and be thankful that we did our part to help.
April 5, 2021
This is so good! I read Manifesto in three days. It’s one of those don’t want to stop, take out with you, read in a moving car (even though you get motion-sick), talk to everyone about sort of books. I learnt of this book thanks to my Dad (who bought me a signed copy - legend) letting me know, last year, about "the world's first vegan football club" and the super cool guy who saved the club and made that happen! I’ve been listening to Dale’s podcast (Zerocarbonista - highly recommend) for a few months now. I thought I was ready for this book, and yet it still surprised me.
I believe the starting place is always information. Inform yourself or other people about the issues, the problems, and then what can be done about it. Without that structure or narrative, it makes less sense.
The book is not the longest, so I wasn't sure how much of impact it would have on me, especially as I already listen to Dale's podcast. Boy, I underestimated this one. The concept of Manifesto is that it’s part memoir, part mission statement. It works so well. Dale Vince’s personality and perspective is invigorating. He lived on the road for ten years, with little or no money, being moved on by police, fixing and improving the motors he drove. There’s a fascinating natural evolution from that life to the situation now where Dale has founded and runs multiple green businesses including Ecotricity, the world’s first green energy provider. This man is a true visionary. His attitude is inspiring.
One thing that's stood me in good stead, one ability I've had to hone is this; to be able to carry on with the small stuff amid great uncertainty, when facing problems that look intractable or for which there appears no answers - and thus not knowing if this will be OK, to be able to carry on it the face of that and make all the day-to-day decisions and future plans that still need making.
Each chapter has a focus, and grabs your attention immediately (eg. “I lost an argument to an ant once.”). Chapter 3 talks about a motorbike accident and consequent head injury. The realisation that came along with that, that memories bring pain. I suppose that is a big reason why mindfulness can be so effective for mental health. Chapter 5 talks about how in modern life we are detached from the source of everything. We flick switches, turn on taps, press buttons, order food... we "don't think much about it, perhaps until you see the bill. Where it comes from and how it's made, what impact it has: we lack appreciation of these things. [...] This detachment extends across life as we know it and is a key driver of unsustainability and the climate crisis." Truth.
Rooted in the doable, not theory. Our roots are in doing stuff not talking about it - our picture of what needs to be done is grounded in what we have done and can see can be done.
Chapter 11, which details Dale’s adventures with Forest Green Rovers FC, was probably my favourite. I didn’t realise the scope of what he’s done there. Managing money, promotion to the English Football League, keeping managers long-term (two in ten years), the pitch is organic and water is collected under it and reused, the match day menu is entirely vegan, they've removed single-use plastics, started a girls academy to mirror their boys set-up... it goes on - SO COOL! Both the Thames Water and Tesla drama was interesting, though it's scary some of the business interactions Dale’s had. I love the discussion of where technology is currently and where Dale sees it going in the next decade, especially in terms of cars and planes.
There are important aspects to all these issues we should be discussing. For example fossil fuels aren't just bad for the planet, they causes conflict and inequality; because they don't occur equally everywhere we fight for them, literally. This book doesn’t talk about veganism that much but when it does, it’s to-the-point and I LOVE IT. He talks about the hypocrisy of eco-activists to continue to consume animal products and to justify it. How much land we could free up in the UK if we stop farming animals, how much of our food we import anyway, making food far more expensive than it needs to be while millions of Britons live in food poverty. The ridiculousness of feeding plants to animals instead of to ourselves ("We can feed up to ten vegans or one meat eater with the same amount of plant food - that's how it works. Right now, half of Europe's cereal production and 98 per cent of the world's soya is fed to animals").
For me it's the essential test, because it's a choice, a simple one - and a selfless one - and anybody that doesn't make it isn't real. I have a problem with people who advocate fighting the climate crisis without accepting we have to stop eating animals. That's what I'm trying to say.
This isn’t a sunshine and rainbows theoretical book about how if we all love nature we can save our climate. This book connects the puzzle pieces of our disconnected world. It sets out a clear way forward and points to exactly where we should focus our energy. What we can do as individuals, where businesses should be moving and what steps the government can take. This is someone taking action, having a real impact, making waves and it’s wonderful! Ecotopia awaits 💚
I believe the starting place is always information. Inform yourself or other people about the issues, the problems, and then what can be done about it. Without that structure or narrative, it makes less sense.
The book is not the longest, so I wasn't sure how much of impact it would have on me, especially as I already listen to Dale's podcast. Boy, I underestimated this one. The concept of Manifesto is that it’s part memoir, part mission statement. It works so well. Dale Vince’s personality and perspective is invigorating. He lived on the road for ten years, with little or no money, being moved on by police, fixing and improving the motors he drove. There’s a fascinating natural evolution from that life to the situation now where Dale has founded and runs multiple green businesses including Ecotricity, the world’s first green energy provider. This man is a true visionary. His attitude is inspiring.
One thing that's stood me in good stead, one ability I've had to hone is this; to be able to carry on with the small stuff amid great uncertainty, when facing problems that look intractable or for which there appears no answers - and thus not knowing if this will be OK, to be able to carry on it the face of that and make all the day-to-day decisions and future plans that still need making.
Each chapter has a focus, and grabs your attention immediately (eg. “I lost an argument to an ant once.”). Chapter 3 talks about a motorbike accident and consequent head injury. The realisation that came along with that, that memories bring pain. I suppose that is a big reason why mindfulness can be so effective for mental health. Chapter 5 talks about how in modern life we are detached from the source of everything. We flick switches, turn on taps, press buttons, order food... we "don't think much about it, perhaps until you see the bill. Where it comes from and how it's made, what impact it has: we lack appreciation of these things. [...] This detachment extends across life as we know it and is a key driver of unsustainability and the climate crisis." Truth.
Rooted in the doable, not theory. Our roots are in doing stuff not talking about it - our picture of what needs to be done is grounded in what we have done and can see can be done.
Chapter 11, which details Dale’s adventures with Forest Green Rovers FC, was probably my favourite. I didn’t realise the scope of what he’s done there. Managing money, promotion to the English Football League, keeping managers long-term (two in ten years), the pitch is organic and water is collected under it and reused, the match day menu is entirely vegan, they've removed single-use plastics, started a girls academy to mirror their boys set-up... it goes on - SO COOL! Both the Thames Water and Tesla drama was interesting, though it's scary some of the business interactions Dale’s had. I love the discussion of where technology is currently and where Dale sees it going in the next decade, especially in terms of cars and planes.
There are important aspects to all these issues we should be discussing. For example fossil fuels aren't just bad for the planet, they causes conflict and inequality; because they don't occur equally everywhere we fight for them, literally. This book doesn’t talk about veganism that much but when it does, it’s to-the-point and I LOVE IT. He talks about the hypocrisy of eco-activists to continue to consume animal products and to justify it. How much land we could free up in the UK if we stop farming animals, how much of our food we import anyway, making food far more expensive than it needs to be while millions of Britons live in food poverty. The ridiculousness of feeding plants to animals instead of to ourselves ("We can feed up to ten vegans or one meat eater with the same amount of plant food - that's how it works. Right now, half of Europe's cereal production and 98 per cent of the world's soya is fed to animals").
For me it's the essential test, because it's a choice, a simple one - and a selfless one - and anybody that doesn't make it isn't real. I have a problem with people who advocate fighting the climate crisis without accepting we have to stop eating animals. That's what I'm trying to say.
This isn’t a sunshine and rainbows theoretical book about how if we all love nature we can save our climate. This book connects the puzzle pieces of our disconnected world. It sets out a clear way forward and points to exactly where we should focus our energy. What we can do as individuals, where businesses should be moving and what steps the government can take. This is someone taking action, having a real impact, making waves and it’s wonderful! Ecotopia awaits 💚
July 23, 2021
This book is trying to be two things at once. First, it's a biography about the entrepreneurial spirit that was required to make green changes. This is the majority of the book and its a great read. Seeing the progress that's been made is exciting and encouraging. I'd vaguely heard of the green football team and that chapter was particularly interesting.
The second part is the manifesto of the title, a vision for the future. The style is light and breezy throughout, like mate's bragging down the pub. Here this is a weakness as the arguments are just too light. Turning the country vegan is a huge aim and there is nothing here to persuade me that I haven't heard before.
The second part is the manifesto of the title, a vision for the future. The style is light and breezy throughout, like mate's bragging down the pub. Here this is a weakness as the arguments are just too light. Turning the country vegan is a huge aim and there is nothing here to persuade me that I haven't heard before.
January 8, 2021
A good book, only fairly well written and set out simply, but a good book more in the sense that it's a book full of good.
If I was to bury a time capsule for the people of the future to understand todays world this book would definitely be in it.
If I was to bury a time capsule for the people of the future to understand todays world this book would definitely be in it.
May 16, 2023
An excellent book overall, with clear vision. Some elements I don't agree on, and they are not always extremely well evidenced (or using partial/possibly cherry-picked evidence), but the whole is very convincing. Best argument I've read so far for going vegan.
April 14, 2023
Amazing guy with a great personal story. I am surprised I hadn't heard more about him before.
May 27, 2024
Read Dale Vince's Manifesto to learn how the green entrepreneur successfully tackles the unethical, uneconomic, and environmentally harming aspects of energy, transport, and food, including veganism.
August 13, 2025
Surprisingly really good. Whilst I didn’t agree with everything he said, explained everything in a really good manner and was a very engaging and thought-provoking read. The guy is divisive, but you can’t argue on a lot of what he says regarding the climate crisis we are in.
The cynic in me does think he says a lot of the stuff he says because it will help his business tho! And I find it hard to fully believe a guy doesn’t care about money when he’s worth 100 million
The cynic in me does think he says a lot of the stuff he says because it will help his business tho! And I find it hard to fully believe a guy doesn’t care about money when he’s worth 100 million
April 2, 2024
I'd been given a loan of this book along with "James" and thought it looked interesting enough to have a squint at.
I had been a vegetarian in the past and previously advocated for animal welfare and environmental issues, often being asked what it meant on my Oi Polloi t-shirt, where it said, "When you turn vegetarian, the starving in the third world can live!"? So given my past interest in Green issues, I thought it a fair bet that I might perhaps enjoy Manifesto.
I'd never heard of Dale Vince before, but I was aware of the work his football team, Forest Green Rovers (FGR) were doing in the field of veganism, among other things. I’d became aware of FGR and what they were doing when they appointed big "Drunken" Duncan Ferguson as the manager. It received pretty much wall to wall coverage here in Scotland. The publicity surrounding the appointment, all seemed like a bit of a circus with shots of Drunken Duncan tucking into some form of vegan food or other. Ferguson is still big news up in Scotland, all owing to the infamous incident of him "headbutting" a fellow player during a match, which saw Ferguson, who played for Scotland's shame, Glasgow Rangers at the time, jailed for several months. So armed with this surface knowledge, and never one to shirk a tackle, I dove head first into the book.
Dale Vince does seem to be a man of many contradictions. For a start, his claim to be a "rebel" is somewhat negated by the fact that he has accepted an OBE! Jeezo! Anyone who accepts an honour from the parasites at Buckingham Palace, should surely lose most, if not all of their credibility as a progressive human being?! I mean, if there is one gang of people that practice more arch criminality than the Tories, it's the f**king Royal Family!
Dale Vince boasts in the book, that he has three sons to three different mothers. On one hand, you could congratulatory high five him, saying, "Player! Respect!" Or you could shake your head in disbelief at his hypocrisy, because having one child is the biggest carbon footprint you could leave on this earth by far, let alone spawn three!
He also states clearly that the Green industry has to be better than the fossil fuel industry that it seeks to replace. Better in every department including the moral high ground. In every respect it has to be up front with its customers and not try to pull the wool over their eyes with the slight of hand tricks, egregiously pulled by their unscrupulous competitors, the oil and gas companies. But in a later chapter on populism, he advocates that the Green industry has to start using the same populist tactics of the right, espoused by the likes of Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and Nigel Farage! Using the "350 million for the NHS", side of a bus Brexit lie as an example. Vince does stipulate that it shouldn't be mimicked with outright lies, just a slight embellishment of the truth, and although I agree with him that the left and environmentalists should use populist type propaganda, it does very much contradict scads of what he said in earlier chapters.
The author seems also to imply that capitalism can be somehow
”reformed” or improved on from the inside, this way of thinking is however, complete nonsense and has been utterly debunked time and time again. On reflection, I think Mr Vince knows this and is either just trying to sugar coat what actually needs to be done, to make environmental issues and their socialistic answers more palatable to small ‘c’ conservatives or is just in some sort of self delusion!
Another negative I'd like to point out is that I find nothing, and I mean NOTHING!, more boring than cars, motorbikes and engines, in any capacity. I'd rather gouge my eyes out with an ashtray and pour sulphuric acid into my ears with pointy sticks, rather than watch and/or listen to someone drone on and on about changing an "overhead camshaft" or altering their "points", whatever the f**k that is or they are?!
Well, in quite a few of the earlier chapters Vince takes great delight in explaining in mind numbingly boring detail how he fixes up various cars and buses in his early days of being a traveller, with the annoying bubbly enthusiasm that is reserved for monotonously tedious petrol heads and their cripplingly boring hobby, enough already!
I also cringed when he described his companies first electric car as having been sprayed with the finish of a Union flag! Disgusting! Especially as he'd already been justifiably slagging off right wing populism! Unsurprising though, given how we've already seen his many other contradictions.
On the flipside however, I was impressed by Dale Vince's visceral hatred of the Tories, with a particular attraction to his intuitive abhorrence of Maggie Thatcher and Rishi Sunak, a right pair of c**ts if ever there was! Thinking that, here is a person I could very much be friends with, when speaking about the death of Thatcher he states,
"In 2013 I celebrated like many others the day the wicked witch died. I didn't buy the record (Ding! Dong! The Witch Is Dead), but was happy to see it briefly at the top of the charts, before it was censored."
Being from traveller stock myself, second generation, and although I no longer live the lifestyle, I did feel great empathy here for a fellow traveller and his earlier plight, pitfalls and the daily struggle against councils, the police and societies general bigotry against our particular community. (Unfortunately my local MP is a Tory, Douglas Ross and a particularly vile speciesism at that. Once, when asked what would be the one thing that he’d do, if he were made Prime Minister tomorrow? To which he unbelievably replied, that he’d bring in tougher legislation against the traveling community!)
I was also pleased to see his company Ecotricity making moves to help get people out to vote in the upcoming general election, especially those disenfranchised by the Tories with the ridiculous voter ID policy. A truly shockingly awful piece of corrupt legislation, specifically designed to disenfranchise non Tory voters.
Vince also calls for lowering the age of consent for voting. A policy that has been in place in Scotland for a decade now. Originally brought in by the Scottish National Party, so sixteen and seventeen year olds could vote in the independence referendum and subsequently brought into legislation for elections to the Scottish Parliament, it's been a resounding success, but because younger voters are statistically less likely to vote Conservative, it will sadly never be adopted by Tories at Westminster.
The author is under the misguided impression however, that when Labour win the next general election, they will somehow magically implement all Dale Vince's utopian environmental polices, and although I whole heartedly agree with those policies, I certainly cannot see their adoption, for the most part by the Labour Party, who are just as invested in the status quo as the Tories! There may indeed be some token gestures by Keir Starmer and his perfidious crew (Labour have already stated that they won’t be reversing many Tory policies, including the utterly vile
”Rape Clause” in the two child or more Universal Credit legislation, so if they won’t even reverse that, I can’t see them pulling back from Sunak’s back tracking on climate targets!), but regardless and unfortunately it will be too little, too late. I think we're already past the point of no return and to paraphrase "Gorgeous" George Galloway: “The Tories and Labour are simply two cheeks of the same arse!"
I had been a vegetarian in the past and previously advocated for animal welfare and environmental issues, often being asked what it meant on my Oi Polloi t-shirt, where it said, "When you turn vegetarian, the starving in the third world can live!"? So given my past interest in Green issues, I thought it a fair bet that I might perhaps enjoy Manifesto.
I'd never heard of Dale Vince before, but I was aware of the work his football team, Forest Green Rovers (FGR) were doing in the field of veganism, among other things. I’d became aware of FGR and what they were doing when they appointed big "Drunken" Duncan Ferguson as the manager. It received pretty much wall to wall coverage here in Scotland. The publicity surrounding the appointment, all seemed like a bit of a circus with shots of Drunken Duncan tucking into some form of vegan food or other. Ferguson is still big news up in Scotland, all owing to the infamous incident of him "headbutting" a fellow player during a match, which saw Ferguson, who played for Scotland's shame, Glasgow Rangers at the time, jailed for several months. So armed with this surface knowledge, and never one to shirk a tackle, I dove head first into the book.
Dale Vince does seem to be a man of many contradictions. For a start, his claim to be a "rebel" is somewhat negated by the fact that he has accepted an OBE! Jeezo! Anyone who accepts an honour from the parasites at Buckingham Palace, should surely lose most, if not all of their credibility as a progressive human being?! I mean, if there is one gang of people that practice more arch criminality than the Tories, it's the f**king Royal Family!
Dale Vince boasts in the book, that he has three sons to three different mothers. On one hand, you could congratulatory high five him, saying, "Player! Respect!" Or you could shake your head in disbelief at his hypocrisy, because having one child is the biggest carbon footprint you could leave on this earth by far, let alone spawn three!
He also states clearly that the Green industry has to be better than the fossil fuel industry that it seeks to replace. Better in every department including the moral high ground. In every respect it has to be up front with its customers and not try to pull the wool over their eyes with the slight of hand tricks, egregiously pulled by their unscrupulous competitors, the oil and gas companies. But in a later chapter on populism, he advocates that the Green industry has to start using the same populist tactics of the right, espoused by the likes of Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and Nigel Farage! Using the "350 million for the NHS", side of a bus Brexit lie as an example. Vince does stipulate that it shouldn't be mimicked with outright lies, just a slight embellishment of the truth, and although I agree with him that the left and environmentalists should use populist type propaganda, it does very much contradict scads of what he said in earlier chapters.
The author seems also to imply that capitalism can be somehow
”reformed” or improved on from the inside, this way of thinking is however, complete nonsense and has been utterly debunked time and time again. On reflection, I think Mr Vince knows this and is either just trying to sugar coat what actually needs to be done, to make environmental issues and their socialistic answers more palatable to small ‘c’ conservatives or is just in some sort of self delusion!
Another negative I'd like to point out is that I find nothing, and I mean NOTHING!, more boring than cars, motorbikes and engines, in any capacity. I'd rather gouge my eyes out with an ashtray and pour sulphuric acid into my ears with pointy sticks, rather than watch and/or listen to someone drone on and on about changing an "overhead camshaft" or altering their "points", whatever the f**k that is or they are?!
Well, in quite a few of the earlier chapters Vince takes great delight in explaining in mind numbingly boring detail how he fixes up various cars and buses in his early days of being a traveller, with the annoying bubbly enthusiasm that is reserved for monotonously tedious petrol heads and their cripplingly boring hobby, enough already!
I also cringed when he described his companies first electric car as having been sprayed with the finish of a Union flag! Disgusting! Especially as he'd already been justifiably slagging off right wing populism! Unsurprising though, given how we've already seen his many other contradictions.
On the flipside however, I was impressed by Dale Vince's visceral hatred of the Tories, with a particular attraction to his intuitive abhorrence of Maggie Thatcher and Rishi Sunak, a right pair of c**ts if ever there was! Thinking that, here is a person I could very much be friends with, when speaking about the death of Thatcher he states,
"In 2013 I celebrated like many others the day the wicked witch died. I didn't buy the record (Ding! Dong! The Witch Is Dead), but was happy to see it briefly at the top of the charts, before it was censored."
Being from traveller stock myself, second generation, and although I no longer live the lifestyle, I did feel great empathy here for a fellow traveller and his earlier plight, pitfalls and the daily struggle against councils, the police and societies general bigotry against our particular community. (Unfortunately my local MP is a Tory, Douglas Ross and a particularly vile speciesism at that. Once, when asked what would be the one thing that he’d do, if he were made Prime Minister tomorrow? To which he unbelievably replied, that he’d bring in tougher legislation against the traveling community!)
I was also pleased to see his company Ecotricity making moves to help get people out to vote in the upcoming general election, especially those disenfranchised by the Tories with the ridiculous voter ID policy. A truly shockingly awful piece of corrupt legislation, specifically designed to disenfranchise non Tory voters.
Vince also calls for lowering the age of consent for voting. A policy that has been in place in Scotland for a decade now. Originally brought in by the Scottish National Party, so sixteen and seventeen year olds could vote in the independence referendum and subsequently brought into legislation for elections to the Scottish Parliament, it's been a resounding success, but because younger voters are statistically less likely to vote Conservative, it will sadly never be adopted by Tories at Westminster.
The author is under the misguided impression however, that when Labour win the next general election, they will somehow magically implement all Dale Vince's utopian environmental polices, and although I whole heartedly agree with those policies, I certainly cannot see their adoption, for the most part by the Labour Party, who are just as invested in the status quo as the Tories! There may indeed be some token gestures by Keir Starmer and his perfidious crew (Labour have already stated that they won’t be reversing many Tory policies, including the utterly vile
”Rape Clause” in the two child or more Universal Credit legislation, so if they won’t even reverse that, I can’t see them pulling back from Sunak’s back tracking on climate targets!), but regardless and unfortunately it will be too little, too late. I think we're already past the point of no return and to paraphrase "Gorgeous" George Galloway: “The Tories and Labour are simply two cheeks of the same arse!"
April 27, 2023
Raw and honest autobiography of Dale Vince's life. His manifesto (at the end of the book) motivates the reader to change the way they view the climate crisis.
September 25, 2023
I am so impressed with Dale Vince and his story. I find success stories really inspiring, and this really is quite a remarkable one. Dale Vince went from living in a van, to the owner and founder of a multi-million-pound green energy company as well as the chairman of a football club.
How did he achieve all this?
He did it through green principles and green politics; he did it by creating a green electricity company and building the foundation for clean and renewable energy in Britain. It started with one windmill, producing a small amount of power, to many windmill farms producing huge amounts and powering massive companies. So, this is a biographical piece that is inspiring and driven by powerful principles that have led to success. And nothing was harmed in the process!
Dale Vince has done this in a clever way, he used his football club to bring his ideas to the masses. Forest Green Rovers have become a vehicle to create change. Eco-awareness through sport is a fantastic idea. The football club promotes the energy company on their shirts and eat a plant-based diet when they are at the stadium. The club only serves such food and demonstrates the need for change in the behavior of all consumers if we are to tackle the climate crisis (see what I did there!)
There’s a lot of history here too. A firsthand account of the battle of beanfield that I found quite shocking along with dealings with other industry giants. Behind it all though, there’s a drive to do good and to change the world. A drive to lead by example and to encourage others to act in a way that benefits others and the planet.
This is a great book, informative and knowledgeable, that presents a striking case for the need for green change in energy, transport and food. I was given the book for free by Ecotricity representatives at Vegan Camp Out festival here in the UK, and I am so glad of it. I learnt so much here and I recommend this book highly.
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You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree.
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How did he achieve all this?
He did it through green principles and green politics; he did it by creating a green electricity company and building the foundation for clean and renewable energy in Britain. It started with one windmill, producing a small amount of power, to many windmill farms producing huge amounts and powering massive companies. So, this is a biographical piece that is inspiring and driven by powerful principles that have led to success. And nothing was harmed in the process!
"I reckon being vegan is the biggest single factor, biggest point of interest- even now, years later. It just doesn’t get old."
Dale Vince has done this in a clever way, he used his football club to bring his ideas to the masses. Forest Green Rovers have become a vehicle to create change. Eco-awareness through sport is a fantastic idea. The football club promotes the energy company on their shirts and eat a plant-based diet when they are at the stadium. The club only serves such food and demonstrates the need for change in the behavior of all consumers if we are to tackle the climate crisis (see what I did there!)
"We explain to our fans not just what we are doing but why, and we hope they take something home with them, that they become open to making changes themselves. We don’t preach, don’t tell people what to do – we just do the things we believe in. We lead by example. "
There’s a lot of history here too. A firsthand account of the battle of beanfield that I found quite shocking along with dealings with other industry giants. Behind it all though, there’s a drive to do good and to change the world. A drive to lead by example and to encourage others to act in a way that benefits others and the planet.
This is a great book, informative and knowledgeable, that presents a striking case for the need for green change in energy, transport and food. I was given the book for free by Ecotricity representatives at Vegan Camp Out festival here in the UK, and I am so glad of it. I learnt so much here and I recommend this book highly.
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You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree.
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April 2, 2025
It was exciting. There was Vince's legal battles with big names like Tesla, and the underhandedness they employ. There was the development of small interest projects into bigger movements. Doing more with less. I think that's what this book is all about.
From Vince's account you can split green enterprise into two pathways. The first is to develop something practical and concrete (like a solution or service) and ignore all systematic ways to bring it to life. You stay opportunistic, make it the highest standard you possibly can (as there will always be skepticism), and make friends. He did this with his green energy company, and with the development of the first high-spec electric car.
The second is to combine two things that shock people and make it work. He did this with the Forest Green Rovers Vegan football club, which became directly involved in the conception of the UN's "Sports for Climate Action" and seemed to garner huge respect for it from many meat-loving footballers.
I also found the beginning chapters hugely engrossing - they detail the years Vince spent in the travelling community, and the violence and discrimination they faced under the Thatcher government. The dramatic and creative modifications Vince made to his vehicles was quite inspiring to read about too, and made me want to get more experience in DIY.
I will criticise his extreme view on the role of veganism in this movement. He talks of making sustainability accessible to a wider audience, and then claims that you're not a real environmentalist if you aren't vegan. The overall topic of debate on veganism is out of the scope of this review, but this view achieves the opposite of what Vince says he wants. It's an admirable lifestyle that has its place, but not the full solution. His claims about animal products are also questionable and sometimes without sources. He also used completely 2nd-hand sources for all of his quoted "scientific" results, which is very bad practice (half of them are from one particular newspaper, so very likely there's a bias here.)
Although I usually don't count myself as a fan of football or cars, this was SUCH a good read, something different than the usual sustainability accounts on the shelf.
I rate it 5 out of 5 Brians (R.I.P.) 🧍♂️
From Vince's account you can split green enterprise into two pathways. The first is to develop something practical and concrete (like a solution or service) and ignore all systematic ways to bring it to life. You stay opportunistic, make it the highest standard you possibly can (as there will always be skepticism), and make friends. He did this with his green energy company, and with the development of the first high-spec electric car.
The second is to combine two things that shock people and make it work. He did this with the Forest Green Rovers Vegan football club, which became directly involved in the conception of the UN's "Sports for Climate Action" and seemed to garner huge respect for it from many meat-loving footballers.
I also found the beginning chapters hugely engrossing - they detail the years Vince spent in the travelling community, and the violence and discrimination they faced under the Thatcher government. The dramatic and creative modifications Vince made to his vehicles was quite inspiring to read about too, and made me want to get more experience in DIY.
I will criticise his extreme view on the role of veganism in this movement. He talks of making sustainability accessible to a wider audience, and then claims that you're not a real environmentalist if you aren't vegan. The overall topic of debate on veganism is out of the scope of this review, but this view achieves the opposite of what Vince says he wants. It's an admirable lifestyle that has its place, but not the full solution. His claims about animal products are also questionable and sometimes without sources. He also used completely 2nd-hand sources for all of his quoted "scientific" results, which is very bad practice (half of them are from one particular newspaper, so very likely there's a bias here.)
Although I usually don't count myself as a fan of football or cars, this was SUCH a good read, something different than the usual sustainability accounts on the shelf.
I rate it 5 out of 5 Brians (R.I.P.) 🧍♂️
September 10, 2023
The greater part of this book is the story of Dale's life, from broke traveller to successful businessman, establishing a number of green businesses on the way. The story is interesting and absorbingly written, if a bit cringy at times, for example with his inability to say "police" - it has to be "cop" every time. But the story he tells of "cops" is shocking and violent, showing the thuggish lawlessness of the police in the wake of the Miners' Strike.
He describes the attempts of Thames Water and later Tesla to deploy unscrupulous practices to try and destroy Ecotricity. He doesn't find time to describe his own hostile, and failed, attempt to take over Good Energy.
The manifesto in the title is just the last couple of chapters, his suggestions for reform of the energy system in order to accelerate the path to a low energy network, thus fighting climate change and saving a lot of money for the population too. There are flaws, such as his seeming ignorance of the limits of adding hydrogen to the existing gas network due to its ability to leak and cause brittleness to pipework. He doesn't consider, either, that there is any place for animals in a future farming system. Many would disagree, arguing that regenerative systems might rely on animals. The argument is complex but can be looked up, for example as explained by the Savory Institute.
Dale's pugnatious optimism is great, making this a worthwhile read despite its occasional flaws.
He describes the attempts of Thames Water and later Tesla to deploy unscrupulous practices to try and destroy Ecotricity. He doesn't find time to describe his own hostile, and failed, attempt to take over Good Energy.
The manifesto in the title is just the last couple of chapters, his suggestions for reform of the energy system in order to accelerate the path to a low energy network, thus fighting climate change and saving a lot of money for the population too. There are flaws, such as his seeming ignorance of the limits of adding hydrogen to the existing gas network due to its ability to leak and cause brittleness to pipework. He doesn't consider, either, that there is any place for animals in a future farming system. Many would disagree, arguing that regenerative systems might rely on animals. The argument is complex but can be looked up, for example as explained by the Savory Institute.
Dale's pugnatious optimism is great, making this a worthwhile read despite its occasional flaws.
September 30, 2023
Dale Vince should be a household name. He has done more than almost anyone else on this planet to drive a move to sustainability. Initially focusing on green energy, key to achieving his goal was joining the energy industry; not for the insane profits, Dale is not driven by monetary goals. He built and demonstrated viable business alternatives to fossil fuels from within the industry, bravely leading the way with our first UK wind farms. 30 years on, the industry is changing, albeit too slowly.
Dale has started to make change happen in other sectors too, including gas from grass (biodiverse grass), a vegan football club and diamonds from
thin air! Again from within the industry, creating viable business models. Charity’s have their place in driving change but are disadvantaged by sitting on the peripheral, relying on generosity - not a sustainable model in itself !!!
This book is A MUST READ for personal enlightenment, a definite 5 stars. After reading you’ll have an inclination to consider more informed consumer choices and start to view money and your purpose differently.
As a “good read” 4 stars. In places the narrative dragged for me, but then non - fiction is usually harder to engage with than fiction.
Dale has started to make change happen in other sectors too, including gas from grass (biodiverse grass), a vegan football club and diamonds from
thin air! Again from within the industry, creating viable business models. Charity’s have their place in driving change but are disadvantaged by sitting on the peripheral, relying on generosity - not a sustainable model in itself !!!
This book is A MUST READ for personal enlightenment, a definite 5 stars. After reading you’ll have an inclination to consider more informed consumer choices and start to view money and your purpose differently.
As a “good read” 4 stars. In places the narrative dragged for me, but then non - fiction is usually harder to engage with than fiction.
December 7, 2020
I have to admit that I was incredibly excited for the release of the book, ordering back in June when I heard about the conception of it. I think the build up and suspense of this left me feeling quite under whelmed by it.
There is no doubt that Dale Vince is a resourceful genius and the companies he has founded is an inspiring story. I only wish he went into greater detail about his story more, Vince is incredibly humble and potentially even a bashful sort, even acknowledging this in the book, and this comes across in the vague way he writes of his stories.
Nonetheless it is a very thought provoking book, with many great ideas combined with the authors memoirs, stories and modern history.
I did thoroughly enjoy this book, I just wish it wasn't so short. An encouraging read and I recommend it to any eco conscious person.
There is no doubt that Dale Vince is a resourceful genius and the companies he has founded is an inspiring story. I only wish he went into greater detail about his story more, Vince is incredibly humble and potentially even a bashful sort, even acknowledging this in the book, and this comes across in the vague way he writes of his stories.
Nonetheless it is a very thought provoking book, with many great ideas combined with the authors memoirs, stories and modern history.
I did thoroughly enjoy this book, I just wish it wasn't so short. An encouraging read and I recommend it to any eco conscious person.
September 28, 2025
75% an autobiography, 25% Dale Vince's prognosis for sorting our economy and solving the problem of climate change and the green transition.
A fascinating rags to riches story of how someone from the New Age Travelling community became one of the richest people in the UK, all starting from putting up his own wind turbine.
I particularly like the story of how he changed Forest Green Rovers into the greenest football team in the world.
Revealing about how Elon Musk does business too!
If you like this, you'll also enjoy Dale Vince's Zerocarbonista podcast:
https://dalevince.com/podcast/?srslti...
My favourite story from that was when a Forest Green Rovers player fell face down on the pitch and Tranmere Rovers' fans started chanting:
"The dirty vegan b*stard, he's eating our grass".
A fascinating rags to riches story of how someone from the New Age Travelling community became one of the richest people in the UK, all starting from putting up his own wind turbine.
I particularly like the story of how he changed Forest Green Rovers into the greenest football team in the world.
Revealing about how Elon Musk does business too!
If you like this, you'll also enjoy Dale Vince's Zerocarbonista podcast:
https://dalevince.com/podcast/?srslti...
My favourite story from that was when a Forest Green Rovers player fell face down on the pitch and Tranmere Rovers' fans started chanting:
"The dirty vegan b*stard, he's eating our grass".
April 26, 2024
I became intrigued by the information I had picked up about Dale Vince in a Sunday Times magazine article which mentioned an updated version of this book.
I investigated and found the best place to buy a copy from was Forest Green Rovers.
The book was a fantastic read, what a journey Dale has been on and I found myself totally agreeing with everything he said.
I am a life long Conservative voter but Dale and his views have had such a profound effect on me that I could not vote for them again.
To change the views of a 73 year old ex-electrical engineer with this book speaks volumes about how special a person Dale Vince is, I look forward to seeing what his future holds.
I investigated and found the best place to buy a copy from was Forest Green Rovers.
The book was a fantastic read, what a journey Dale has been on and I found myself totally agreeing with everything he said.
I am a life long Conservative voter but Dale and his views have had such a profound effect on me that I could not vote for them again.
To change the views of a 73 year old ex-electrical engineer with this book speaks volumes about how special a person Dale Vince is, I look forward to seeing what his future holds.
December 27, 2020
I'm ba big fan of Zerocarbonista podcast. That one lead me to this book. And in all truth it's a bit of like an overview of the two seasons of the podcast. In a good way. With few deeper notes and stories. It's a great read. Rather short, but great. Could have been longer and more in sequence, but loved it just the same. Definitely a good read for the uninitiated yet! The noobs of the green movement.
June 9, 2021
Someone once told me that people that knew how to instinctively make money knew 'how to pick money up off of the pavement that no one else can see'. Dale Vince seems to apply that to values and a good life. Extraordinary life, I have a lot of respect for him. His manifesto is pretty much what I've gleaned from reading lots of climate crisis books and articles but he distills it all so effectively and with a, 'why the hell wouldn't you want to do this?' approach.
August 18, 2025
Not many books had me hooked this much. Very motivational. And a great story too. I've been listening to Dale Vince podcast (Zerocarbonista) for a few years and most if not all the green concepts in the book were known to me, but summarised in an incredibly easy to read 200 pages or so was great. And understanding more of Dale Vince's personal journey was also interesting. Informative, inspirational... an essential read!
September 2, 2022
Fascinating autobiography of a man who gets things done however unlikely they might seem. Heartfelt explanations about how we are all killing our planet coupled with radical but feasible ideas about how to solve all our problems. Starting as a traveller in Thatcher’s Britain to entrepreneur and climate activist he takes everything in his stride.
December 15, 2024
I heard Dale Vince's talk at Womad 2024, without knowing pretty much anything about him, apart from him being the founder of Ecotricity. I was surprised to hear his optimism about the environmental promises of the newly elected government, and I wanted to learn more about his perspective. So I bought his book, and I'm glad I did.
"Manifesto" is not an abstract and dry recipe of what can be done to fight climate change. It's a call to action, narrated through the amazing life story of the author, through his ethics and his approach to life - brave, a bit adventurous and carefree, down to heart, pragmatic but always ambitious, and optimistic.
The book may not deserve 5 stars for the way it's written - Vince is not a refined writer, but that's part of the deal: he's a doer, and his can-do attittude to the problem of the environment is really refreshing and motivating. And that really matters!
"Manifesto" is not an abstract and dry recipe of what can be done to fight climate change. It's a call to action, narrated through the amazing life story of the author, through his ethics and his approach to life - brave, a bit adventurous and carefree, down to heart, pragmatic but always ambitious, and optimistic.
The book may not deserve 5 stars for the way it's written - Vince is not a refined writer, but that's part of the deal: he's a doer, and his can-do attittude to the problem of the environment is really refreshing and motivating. And that really matters!
March 14, 2025
Dale Vince has so many fantastic ideas and has a strong track record of delivering on them. He gives me hope for the future. This book is slightly awkwardly written - it wouldn’t win prizes for elegant prose - but the strength of the content more than compensates. He has a fascinating story and a great vision. We need more Dale Vinces in this world.
May 5, 2023
Interesting! I knew a little about his life but it's good to get it from the man himself. So much of what he says makes sense. Will it be taken on by the majority? Something makes me think it won't and the next mass extinction will happen.
May 23, 2023
Part memoir, part clarion call for us to change before it's too late. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I do believe Dale is right. There is no excuse any more not to go to 100% renewable energy. Move away from fossil fuels and change our diet.
July 5, 2023
Well after being very dubious about this book I really enjoyed it and felt totally inspired and agreed with a lot of his ideas and sentiments.
Wish him all the best and will definitely follow his progress
Wish him all the best and will definitely follow his progress
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