Sustainable: The Podcast: Recent Episodes
Earthself
What will it take to create a sustainable world? Sustainable: The Podcast aims to help change the story humanity has that not enough is being done. We share stories of those who are taking positive action to address the complex challenges we collectively face in our transition to a sustainable world. Our global audience consists of entrepreneurs, CEO’s, professionals, business owners and the general public who are looking to find inspiring action that helps create a sustainable world.
How is white supremacy a symptom of systemic decline? It's a big question but it's one that Nafeez Ahmed, executive director of System Shift Lab, is happy to answer. He says the "othering" of people or communities can often be the result of crisis or instability -- a clash between world views.
The mainstreaming of far-right, xenophobic discourses in the western world and the rise in "illiberal" politics, Nafeez says, have come from the convergence of many global crises, from economic to climate change.
System Shift Lab works to bring together top scientists, technologists and business leaders to co-ordinate and share solution strategies for adaptation and evolution.
Why are diverse leadership approaches needed as we transition to a sustainable world? Dave Stewart, founder of The Fresh Air Leadership Company, explains that all transformations throw up complex problems and opportunities that require different ways of thinking. Dave calls most current leaders "one-trick ponies" and points out that evolving to a sustainable world will require people who understand different contexts and can apply appropriate strategies in each one.
The Fresh Air Leadership Company takes clients out into nature, believing the natural environment to be conducive to creative thinking – a skill necessary for a successful move to sustainability.
Why are diverse leadership approaches needed as we transition to a sustainable world? Dave Stewart, founder of The Fresh Air Leadership Company, explains that all transformations throw up complex problems and opportunities that require different ways of thinking. Dave calls most current leaders "one-trick ponies" and points out that evolving to a sustainable world will require people who understand different contexts and can apply appropriate strategies in each one.
The Fresh Air Leadership Company takes clients out into nature, believing the natural environment to be conducive to creative thinking – a skill necessary for a successful move to sustainability.
How can we address increasing skepticism around sustainability in business following Covid-19? Kevin Wilhelm, CEO of Sustainable Business Consulting and author of How To Talk To The Other Side, explains how "peeling back the onion layers" of skepticism can help understand its cause, and help find common ground. Once common ground is identified, conversations can be held, whether on climate change or the coronavirus pandemic.
And Kevin reveals how taking proactive action on the environment and social justice issues can actually be financially beneficial for businesses.
"Reach out to your skeptic first," says Kevin, "because they're going to tell you the reasons your idea won't work. And if you can figure out how to get past that, you have a greater chance of success."
What does it mean for an organisation to be "sustainable"? Linda Midgley, SDG lead at PwC Europe, defines sustainability as being futureproof -- ensuring a business is flexible, adaptable and successful in the long term.
Linda explains the role of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals in uniting governments and businesses globally in the conversation about sustainability.
Rather than attempting to embrace all 17 SDGs and becoming overwhelmed by them, says Linda, businesses should focus on just three to eight at a time -- by investing money and time in these, they will see cost savings and "quick wins".
Paul Adderley, of consultancy firm Beyond Green, explains how sustainability is not just about resilience but also about dependency — on natural resources, on markets, on consumers and even on competitors. Beyond Green helps businesses understand the value of all of their assets – including people, infrastructures, customers and suppliers – and shows how collaboration, asking questions and sharing risks can not only grow profits but also help protect people and planet.
How do we find the truth, in a chaotic world which bombards us with information? In a break from the norm, Tabitha Jayne is joined by two guests in this podcast edition: Jules Wyman, of JulesWyman.com, and Fiona Scrase, of Action Learning Centre. They discuss how to navigate bias, cope with uncertainty, engage in conversation and form an understanding of the world around us. Jules Wyman is an award-winning confidence coach who offers pragmatic methods for learning resilience; and Fiona Scrase is a coach and consultant specialising in action learning.
What are the added benefits of solar farms for business and planet?
Rob Davis, a director at Fresh Energy, shares some important facts about the role of pollinating insects in food sustainability; and how creating pollinator-friendly areas under solar arrays can have a huge positive impact on crop production, clean air, the environment... and business.
Fresh Energy works to drive policy for a clean energy economy, improving health and ensuring vibrant, thriving communities. Its Center for Pollinators in Energy seeks to share pollinator-friendly solar information, standards and best practices.
What is the value of football in uniting communities? Danny Bisland, national club grow manager with the Scottish Football Association, explains how studies done in conjunction with UEFA have shown the true economic value of the sport. But Danny also reveals the power of football in uniting communities, and how the sport's reach among those who love it can help spread news of the UN's SDGs and empower individuals to work towards them.
Why should investors plough their funding into a circular economy?
Because, says Bridget Croke, managing director at investment firm Closed Loop Partners, a company report reviewing 60 advanced recycling businesses showed there is tremendous opportunity – both economically and environmentally – to repeatedly turn plastic into new materials, instead of continually creating waste.
The recycling technology is already there – it just needs investment to make a circular economy a far more economically viable option than sourcing rapidly depleting raw materials.
What is a wellbeing economy, and how will it help global markets as we emerge from Covid-19?
Katherine Trebeck, advocacy and influencing lead at Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland, explains that returning to "business as usual" will be disastrous for people and planet. A thrust for economic growth will see a return to austerity that will only hurt the poorest and most vulnerable in society.
The Wellbeing Economy Alliance unites groups and organisations who see the economy as a subset, not a pillar, of society. It needs to be squarely focused on delivering human and ecological wellbeing.
What do conspiracy theories have to do with a sustainable future?
Tabitha Jayne, director and lead coach of EarthSelf, looks at the logic behind conspiracy theories, and why people turn to them in times of chaos. She shows how the unexpected rationale behind such ideas can be harnessed to forge a path to the kind of sustainable world we would all want to live in. Identifying the reason for conspiracy theories – the search for control in an uncontrollable environment – allows us to find new, shared ways of taking control and recognise we have the power to change the world.
Mike Elm's New Story Ride initiative sees him cycling through Europe and Asia to find the new story of how humanity can prosper in the 21st century. From visiting car-free Croatian islands and meeting a permaculture garden engineer, to being impressed by one man's bike-cum-music stage and welcomed into the home of complete strangers, Mike is finding a plotline alternative to the tired old narrative for society and humankind.
Jean Claude Pierre, former CEO of Scott Bader, shares how he has used Chinese wisdom to build better business. Referring to the concept of wu wei, he emphasises the importance of "inaction" – of waiting for the right time and place before making decisions. Through dialogue, conversation and collaboration, a business can be built with sustainability at its heart, using new ways of thinking and with a business model driven by a sense of purpose.
Professor Peter Hawkins, director of Renewal Associates, explains how ecological coaching can make leadership fit for the 21st century – by bringing ecology into the boardroom, quite literally. By reframing the relationship between stakeholders, from customers and coaches, to partners, leaders can move from eco anxiety to being eco informed. Then they can take responsibility for the changes they make and the power they have to create those changes.
Tabitha Jayne, director and lead coach at EarthSelf, explains why coaching with nature is essential for the 21st century. Coaching with nature will make individuals and teams resilient and adaptable, and lead to sustainable, cost effective and resilient businesses; ones that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Brian Keane, CEO and co-founder of WeeGreen, describes how the business's digital platform taps into neighbours' relationships to spread the word of eco living. Through word-of-mouth recommendation, and the concept of trust, WeeGreen has successfully boosted residential solar installations
Jason Gregory, CEO and co-founder of EnergyRM, explains the concept of deep energy efficiency and how the company's software can analyse commercial buildings' energy usage. The DataMeter software can show landlords and property owners where the energy imbalance in a building is, and incentivise investment in more energy-efficient and sustainable retrofits. Jason's objective is to allow stakeholders to see energy as a capital asset that can be monetised.
Former computer scientist Henrietta Kekäläinen co-founded Carbo Culture to find a way of converting biomass waste into a high purity carbon; hacking Earth's natural carbon cycle to take down carbon from the atmosphere, secure it, nourish soil and crops, and reduce greenhouse gases and global warming.
Technology and social entrepreneur Traver Kennedy explains the work of diagnostics company Aviana in repurposing technology developed for NASA to diagnose illnesses including Covid-19. He believes that, with better testing, the ability to self-diagnose with easy-to-use technology will lower healthcare costs and protect healthcare workers.
Charly Cox launched Climate Change Coaches to help people use joy to move from disempowerment to capability. To make individuals feel empowered in the face of climate change. She works with business and organisations to help them transition to sustainability. She also trains people how to self-coach, reframing the impossible as easy.
Flooglebinder co-founder Brad Frankel found that sending students to work in communities abroad made a huge positive impact on their mental wellbeing. Working sustainably, and with nature, helps improve personal development, and also reconnects people with nature. Making those connections with nature also helps reduce carbon footprints and changes people's behaviour in the natural world.
SEVENTEENx founder Mick Hase is passionate about providing a platform for the people making change. The SEVENTEENx speaker events highlight those unheard of, purpose-driven SMEs and small businesses with a desire for sustainability at their core. He unites a global community of engaged businesses and people in conversation with one other. Travelling Australia's capitals, he shines a spotlight on the sustainable and the inspirational.
Colin McIntosh, founder and CEO of start-up Sheets & Giggles, took an organic route to sustainability by first building the perfect business model. He made sure he understood what consumers wanted and how his brand would be a financial success, before thinking about the product. He also focused on ecology and a social conscience. Sheets & Giggles is a sustainable business which produces bed sheets from the wood pulp of eucalyptus trees, using less water and energy than cotton to produce, and no pesticides or insecticides. Sheets & Giggles has a rapidly growing turnover, thanks to Colin's formidable business background and mission-driven outlook.
Tabitha Jayne, EarthSelf director and lead coach, talks about how to coach with nature, and breaks NATURE down into an acronym: Nature connection, Adaptability, Transformative coaching skillset, Understanding of how nature impacts humans, Recognition of human/nature relationship, Evidence base. Simplifying how to coach with nature allows coaches to use the strategies and systems of nature to show individuals and organisations how to work sustainably and efficiently.
Gina Lee, founder of Upcyclers Network, tells Tabitha Jayne at Sustainable: The Podcast how recycling and reusing materials can save not only money but also the planet. Avoiding extracting virgin resources cuts the environmental impact on the planet. Upcycling creates manufacturing jobs. Emphasising the positive benefits of recycling will make it a more attractive method of production. Reusing and recycling can create a sustainable economy. And highlighting the businesses and organisations that already successfully transform waste into value-added materials will encourage others to take up this circular production model.
Bremley Lyngdoh, founder and CEO of the non-profit Worldview Impact Foundation, talks to EarthSelf’s Tabitha Jayne about the Ride East programme. Motorcyclists travel across northeast India, spreading awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Another scheme hopes to plant 1billion mangrove trees in Myanmar in the next 10 years. Bremley talks about people-led sustainability movements, and the importance of peace and stability in the drive for sustainability.
Rune Sovndahl, co-founder and CEO of cleaning and maintenance provider Fantastic Services, talks to Sustainable: The Podcast’s Tabitha Jayne about the importance of making a business truly sustainable from the inside out. Fantastic Services has replaced much of its car fleet with electric vehicles, and made its office largely paper free in an effort to reduce its waste. Rune is also a firm believer in repairing not replacing, and talks about the EU Ecodesign Directive which will make it easier for consumers to repair broken products rather than buy brand-new ones. “Whether it's a coffee machine or the boiler, you don't have to replace as much as you think,” he says. “It's basic plumbing, it's basic soldering, it's basic wiring.”
SF Bay coffee company’s Laura Rogers spoke to Sustainable: The Podcast about her family company’s commitment to supporting the coffee farmers who supply the firm, including the 63 schools, housing complexes and multiple dental and health centres they have so far built for coffee farmers in Central and South America and Rwanda. Not only this but SF Bay has worked to create 100% fully compostable coffee pods for coffee machines. Sustainable: The Podcast learned from Laura what drives the company to become the biggest family-run business in the world.
EarthSelf founder and director Tabitha Jayne looks at the evolution of Sustainable The Podcast, and how the language around sustainability can move from a model of negative stories by showcasing the positive actions being taken by business and organisations.
Sustainable The Podcast is aligning itself with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, an ambitious blueprint for a sustainable world. Tabitha highlights how businesses are already working towards a world of no poverty or hunger, with good health and wellbeing, better education and reduced inequality. Sustainable The Podcast will share the positive actions being made, to inspire other businesses, from SMEs to corporations.
"You need to step back and think; Realize that you may need to change the system in order to solve complex problems." — Richard Burrett
Join me today as we talk about sustainable investments and its importance in building a sustainable future with Richard Burrett.
Richard is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Earth Capital, a global equity firm that’s totally focused on sustainable development within the climate change nexus of energy security, as well as food and water security.
In this episode, Richard shares the importance of investing in sustainability, especially now that we’re experiencing climate change. He talks about focusing on investments that bring positive environmental impact and how to ensure its results are really positive. Moreover, Richard shares how we can make the best decisions to avoid unintended consequences.
Listen on and learn the steps to a more sustainable way of investing and consumption.
In this episode, Richard and I talk about:
- What is sustainable finance
- The importance of sustainable finance in creating a sustainable world
- Why investing in sustainability is essential in today’s climate
- The approach Earth Capital is currently using to be able to impact the way business operates
- How to make better decisions and avoid unintended consequences
- Creating profit with a purpose
"Don't try and solve everything. Just help one person or two, and that's fine." - Guy Battle
A resilient community is better achieved when the gap between the Private, Public, and Voluntary sectors are bridged. When we unite together to create social value, we have an increased impact on our communities, workers, and the environment.
Today on Sustainable I’m speaking to Guy Battle. Guy, is the Chief Executive Officer at the Social Value Portal whose mission is to promote better business and community wellbeing through the integration of Social Value into day to day business and the uptake of The Social Value Act.
In this episode, Guy talks about how his career shifted from building sustainable buildings towards Social Value. And what it means to achieve Social Value.
In this episode, Guy and I talk about:
- Sustainability as a triple bottom line issue
- Social value strategy
- The National TOMS Framework 2019
- Transforming the relationship between the private and the public sector
- Getting organizations to be more sustainable
- Making better use of the public sector's money
- Getting back to society
More about Guy Battle
Guy Battle is a Sustainability Consultant with over 25 years of experience. Guy originally trained as an engineer and has worked on many award-winning projects with internationally renowned architects.
Guy was the lead partner for Sustainability at Deloitte LLP, where he worked closely with many corporates helping them solve some of the key sustainability challenges facing the world of corporate business.
In 2014, Guy founded The Sustainable Business Partnership and also set up the Social Value Portal to focus on unlocking the inherent social, environmental and financial opportunities that businesses should do to create value.
More about The Social Value Portal:
The Social Value Portal is an on-line solution that allows organizations to measure and manage the contribution that their organization and supply chain makes to society, according to the principles laid out within the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. Our solution allows organizations to report both non-financial AND financial data and rewards organizations for doing “more good” in the community.
We can measure environmental, social and economic activities and will help identify and measure the additional Social Value delivered through your project in terms that are meaningful to your customers.
Social Value Portal
Mentioned in this episode:
- National Social Value Conference 2017
- National TOMS Framework 2019
- Social Value Act
- James Lovelock
- Gaia Philosophy
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 119 pursuing Excellence in Business for People, Planet And Profit
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“There are solutions around waste, around plastics and they are here. There are more solutions coming and... it’ll take more responsibility for how we can get better at managing waste”. — Nick Palmer
There are many solutions in managing waste and one of them is pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is not a new technology in decomposing waste. Some businesses have already adopted this process and innovatively transformed it to positively impact our environment.
On today’s episode of Sustainable, you’re going to learn about the benefits of pyrolysis in making small-waste transformation with Nick Palmer.
Nick is the Business Development Director of PyroCore, a leader in small scale, future-ready pyrolysis solutions. His 20 years experience in sales and marketing enabled him to effectively engage with businesses around the world to advance Pyrocore’s vision in revolutionizing the way waste is processed.
He will explain what pyrolysis is and how waste can be converted into something valuable. He also talks about the benefit of using small-scale transformation and how PyroCore’s technology is helping to elevate and transform waste management.
In this episode, Nick and I talk about:
- What is pyrolysis
- The benefit of using it to make small-scale waste transformation
- How PyroCore transforms waste into something valuable
- The challenges of transforming waste into something new
- The financial drivers that impact sustainability actions
Where to reach Nick:
More About PyroCore:
PyroCore an environmental company that offers a range of small scale waste to energy and waste to product technologies with a focus on troublesome and problematic waste streams. They recover value from waste otherwise destined for landfill, which makes significant positive economic, environmental and operational contributions.
To know more about PyroCore and the services that they provide, you can visit their website here.
Mentioned in this episode:
- PyroCore
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 143: Finding New Uses for Plastic with Caleb Rick
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“Think about valuing water. Think about how important water is - to you, your family, your community, your business and act accordingly.”— William Sarni
80% of the water discharged globally is untreated. People don’t have access to safe drinking water on a consistent basis.
We’re facing increasing water scarcity due to climate change. Poor water quality and sanitation, negatively impact people's lives. Affecting food security and livelihood, especially in other parts of the world.
The good news is, these problems can be solved!
Today on Sustainable, I talk to William Sarni, the CEO and founder of Water Foundry, a company committed to solving water scarcity and water quality challenges, about the water challenges that we’re currently faced with and how to solve them.
William is an internationally recognized thought leader on water strategy and innovation. He has worked with multinational companies, water technology companies and NGOs as a sustainability and water strategy advisor for his entire career.
Access to clean water is possible and Will is going to help us better understand the world of water as he talks about the importance of educating the public on how to properly manage water.
Bringing new thinking to old challenges, Will encourages us to rethink, reboot our approach to solve water problems fast.
Will also talks about the digital transformation of the water section and how this is going to help us achieve our goal of having universal access to safe drinking water sanitation and hygiene.
He also Will talks about the water challenges that we are currently facing and how to solve them. He also talks about the importance of understanding the value of water and how education and proper management of water can efficiently help us solve water problems.
In this episode, Will and I talk about:
- The water challenges the world is facing today and how to solve them
- Educating the public on how to manage water
- Understanding the value of water
- Encouraging diversity, collaboration and innovation to solve problems with water faster and more efficiently
- Taking action in solving the water challenge by being more committed and passionate
- Educating multi-national water technology companies that water is the key to their business and why
- The reason why William is so passionate about water
- Democratizing access to actionable information
- Creating a global movement and awareness on the value of freshwater
- The actions that William does to show his appreciation for water
- Connecting to our nature and humanity
Connect with Will
More about Water Foundry:
Water Foundry is a company committed to solving water scarcity and water quality challenges within our lifetime through innovation in business strategy, technology, partnership, business models and funding/financing.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Water Foundry
- UN SDG 6
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 141 Effective Water Use by Mimicking Nature's Systems with Mike Jenzeh
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“Care for the environment comes I believe you know, with living a healthy life” — Jeff Mendelsohn
When external investors come into a community to develop it, there is the real risk that they end up creating a community that’s disconnected from the very people who live within it. This model of community regeneration is people broken
If we want to bring back into our communities then we need to start by helping those who live within them. We also need to return ownership of the community to those who are at the heart of it.
Today on Sustainable I’m speaking to Jeff Mendelson the founder of LocalCode. He is a social entrepreneur, who started off his sustainable entrepreneur journey by founding New Leaf Paper. He is also a strategic advisor, investor, and systems thinking.
Launched in Jan 2019 LocalCode is a hybrid non-profit/for-profit company supporting the formation of healthy communities with thriving Main Streets in towns and cities across North America. It empowers local enterprises to overcome the strategic advantages enjoyed by national chains and franchises, outperform them, and revitalize Main Street.
We discuss what regenerating local communities means for the environment and how LocalCode is helping to do this and giving back to the heart of the community
In this episode, Jeff and I talk about:
- How Jeff is creating harmony in the world by focusing on enterprises
- What is LocalCode?
- What you need to know about the regenerative community
- How to engage the community to support the local economy
- What it means to have a healthy main street and a local trust
- Apprenticeship and the Imbalanced Money System
Connect with Jeff Mendelsohn
More about LocalCode:
LocalCode provides cities with essential research and policy recommendations to support local economic revitalization. Drawing on the success of innovative programs in other cities that have revitalized Main Streets, we translate lessons in successful local development to the context of each community. We steer cities to develop solutions and evidence-based programs that build the local economy, rather than the default “big box retail” approach to development.
LocalCode
Mentioned in this episode:
- New Leaf Paper
- Desolation Wilderness
- BristleCone Pine Trees
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 160 Humanity's Greatest Challenge: Adapting to the world we currently live in
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If you’re enjoying Sustainable: The Podcast be sure to subscribe to your preferred Podcast Platform to get notified on the latest episodes. Let me know your thoughts about this episode by leaving a review and rating.
“Algae is a resource and there are opportunities here for the brand and for the industry to come together and use technology as a business mechanism to drive and improve sustainability.” — Ryan Hunt
Algae is emerging as a leading resource in our transition to a sustainable world. They grow faster than normal plants and thus many are using them as an alternative material in making commercial products like the flexible foams you see on some major shoe brands today.
Join me today on Sustainable as I talk to Ryan Hunt, the co-founder, and Chief Technology Officer at Algix, about using algae as a new-eco conscious product. Algix is a clean technology company finding creative answers to eco-questions with the use of algae.
In this episode, Ryan shares how he uses science to create eco-innovations to make a difference in the world. He also talks about what inspired him to do make more products using algae and how he is incorporating it in other brands. There are many opportunities when it comes to using algae. Tune in and learn the amazing things it can do to improve sustainability and build more sustainable materials for people and the planet!
In this episode, Ryan and I talk about:
- Ryan’s inspiration in using algae to make more sustainable products
- The process of converting biomass into bio-oil and using algae as an advance mechanism for environmental remediation to absorbing CO2
- The algae economy
- Incentivizing algae
- The challenges in combining science and entrepreneurship
- Integrating Algix into supply chains
- Creating durable products with a longer life span
- Opportunities for algae
More about Ryan
Ryan is the co-founder of ALGIX, LLC. He considers himself as a technologist, combining science and entrepreneurship to create eco-innovations and make a difference in the world.
He is very passionate about science and technology. He’s been studying and researching physics and bioengineering for a wide variety of topics in material science, microbiology, horticulture, biophysics, and biochemistry.
His research mainly focus on algae-based waste water treatment, bioelectromagnetics, biocomposites and photosynthetic optimization.
More about Algix:
ALGIX is a clean technology company finding creative answers to eco-questions using algae. They help industries rely less on environmentally harmful processes and materials as well as helping sustainability-focused brands source innovative materials to achieve their goals and bring new-eco conscious products to the market.
ALGIX utilizes the vast potential of algae to improve our planet by enhancing lives and addressing society’s most pressing challenges. They’re revolutionizing systems essential to life by providing clean water, protein-rich foods, and sustainable plastic products to the world.
Mentioned in this episode:
- ALGIX
- ALGIX’s partner brands:
-
- VIVOBAREFOOT
- Adidas
- TOMS®
- Clarks®
- Billabong
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 17 Sustainable Buildings
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Finds your purpose and follow it. — Virginia Cinquenani
On today’s episode of the Sustainable, Virginia Cinquemani, the founder and director of Green Gorilla Consultants, a company focused entirely on sustainability professionals, joins us to talk about how we can empower sustainability professionals and help our clients what sustainability is all about.
Virginia is also a qualified architect, project manager and BREEAM AP. She’s very passionate for sustainability and has written a book to help sustainability professional in their works called “Integrating BREEAM throughout the Design Process”.
In this episode, Virginia shares how she and Green Gorilla Consultants is enabling professionals to become stronger and more fulfilled in their work so that they can spread the message with sustainability further. She also talks about how she’s addressing the frustrations of people who work within the sustainability sphere and why technical skills are not enough when working on sustainability projects. Moreover, we also discuss how to seel sustainability and adapt to your client’s language, how to reduce the performance gap within our own work, as well as the current state of the construction industry in the UK.
In this episode, Virginia and I talk about:
- How coaching and further training help sustainability managers work better?
- Why technical knowledge of sustainability is not enough when you’re a sustainability professional
- Using a language that’ll enable you to communicate better with your clients and help them grasp and understand what sustainability is
- How to sell sustainability
- What sustainability means for Virginia
- Forgetting the word “sustainabiluty” and how to shift the polarization from people who’re comfortable using language that doesn’t connect with others
- Educating your clients, actively listening, and adapting to their needs
- Virginia’s thoughts on the current happening within the UK construction industry
- Using sustainability as a way of achieving quality to make businesses more resilient
- Reducing the performance gap within our work
Where to reach Virginia:
More About Green Gorilla Consultants:
Green Gorilla Consultants is a unique leadership training and coaching (CPD Accredited and IEMA Approved) company focused on empowering sustainability consultants, letting their inner green gorilla loose, and become stronger, more assertive, and more resilient by providing them with the best toolkit to confidently stand on their own and take on sustainability projects.
To know more about Green Gorilla, you can visit their website here.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Episode 168: Embodied Carbon with Anthony Pak
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 144: The Role of Coaching in Creating a Sustainable World
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If you’re enjoying Sustainable: The Podcast be sure to subscribe to your preferred Podcast Platform to get notified on the latest episodes. Let me know your thoughts about this episode by leaving a review and rating.
"We need to shift our relationship with nature, holding it sacred." -Anthony Pak
Making sure that resources are renewed and recycled is what green buildings are for. But have you ever thought about the resources and energy it takes before even making a building?
The manufacturing and transport of these materials have already left a carbon footprint way before construction begins. This carbon footprint combined with the building’s end of life emissions is called: Embodied Carbon.
Today on Sustainable, I talk to Anthony Pak, the founder of the ECN Vancouver, the first local chapter of Embodied Carbon Network. We Discuss the blindspots of the building community and what we should think about and consider before we build buildings. ECN organizes events that empower building industry professionals to become champions for embodied carbon!
In this episode, Anthony talks about his article on Embodied Carbon; and how it has raised awareness and has opened doors to educate the building industry about it.
In this episode, Anthony and I talk about:
- What Embodied Carbon is
- The Blindspots of the Building Industry
- Addressing Embodied Carbon
- Where to get Answers about Embodied Carbon
More about Anthony Pak
Anthony is the Principal of Priopta, one of the first companies in North America to provide a Parametric Life Cycle Assessment consulting service.
Anthony is also the founder of the ECN Vancouver, the first local chapter of Embodied Carbon Network.
Anthony’s Embodied Carbon Article
More about Embodied Carbon Vancouver:
The Embodied Carbon Network is a growing movement that aims to address the gaps within sustainable construction in a move to prevent the excess production of carbon while we build sustainable cities and communities of the future.
It brings together leading experts in building design to help create dialogue and collaboration to accelerate our transition to a sustainable world.
What does it take to make that building in the first place? think about all the materials that go into it. All those materials have upstream environmental impacts it took something to extract those resources.
Embodied Carbon Vancouver
Mentioned in this episode:
- IPCC Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry
- Work That Reconnects by Joanna Macy
- Embodied Carbon Network
- Eco Expo Asia 2019
- The Urgency of Embodied Carbon and What You Can Do About It
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 17 Sustainable Buildings
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If you’re enjoying Sustainable: The Podcast be sure to subscribe to your preferred Podcast Platform to get notified on the latest episodes. Let me know your thoughts about this episode by leaving a review and rating.
“When your vision becomes more powerful than your memory, then your future becomes more powerful than your past.” — Paul Dunn
Imagine what the world would be like if every transaction you make contributes to making a difference in other people’s lives and the environment?
Today on Sustainable, I talk to Paul Dunn, the chairman of B1G1. We discuss it’s giving activities and positive impact with the Sustainable Development Goals. B1G1 is a revolutionary global social enterprise and non-profit organization with a mission to create a world full of giving!
In this episode, Paul shares how B1G1 is helping businesses achieve more social impact and contribute to the bigger vision - a world of peace and prosperity. He also talks about the book “LEGACY” and how people and businesses can change the way our world evolves.
In this episode, Paul and I talk about:
- What inspired B1G1 to align their giving activities and positive impact with the Sustainable Development Goals
- How businesses can make a difference in our world
- The SDG’s as a pathway for humanity to come together and achieve powerful things
- The challenges of integrating SDG into your work
- Paul’s giving story
- The LEGACY book and the reader’s feedback
- The impact of every little thing that we do
- How giving through B1G1 can inspire families and children to make a difference
More about Paul Dunn
Paul’s work as Chairman of the revolutionary B1G1 has been featured in leading-edge publications such as Forbes, Fast Company, Trendwatching, Springwise and online through the key technology newsletter Mashable, as well as Voice of America.
He is a four-time TEDx speaker and a hugely respected and admired business leader. He frequently travels around the world, educating businesses about B1G1 and sharing inspiring business insights.
More about B1G1:
B1G1, a social enterprise and non-profit organization with a mission to create a world full of giving.
Unlike conventional giving models, B1G1 helps small- and medium-sized businesses achieve more social impact by embedding giving activities into everyday business operations and creating unique giving stories. Every business transaction can impact lives for as little as just one cent.
B1G1 ties every giving and impact created to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. These 17 goals represent the global community’s next step in ending poverty, fighting inequality and injustice, and tackling climate change by 2030.
Since launching over 10 years ago, B1G1 has helped small and medium-sized business owners around the world create over 100 million positive impacts that help us work towards a world of peace and prosperity for people and planet.
B1G1
Mentioned on this episode:
- UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Article: Now we can make the Global Goals (SDG’s) connect so much more
- Brené Brown's first TEDx Talk
- Nicola Sturgeon TEDx Talk
- Masami Sato ( Founder & CEO of B1G1)
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 32 CSR vs. Sustainability with Ioana Tetelea
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If you’re enjoying Sustainable: The Podcast be sure to subscribe in your preferred Podcast Platform to get notified on the latest episodes. Let me know your thoughts about this episode by leaving a review and rating.
To find out more about creating systemic and transformational change for people and the planet, head on to www.earthself.org
“If you think you have an idea that might make a difference, just get on and do it.” — Ben Dear
If you were to die tomorrow, what would your legacy be? What contribution do you want to leave behind? How do you want to be remembered?
Today on Sustainable, I talk to Ben Dear the founder of Osmosis Investment Management about pragmatic investment solutions built on a more sustainable future.
Osmosis Investment Management is a majority-owned employee and management company consisting of experienced portfolio management and environmental research specialists who are at the forefront of integration sustainability data into investment portfolios through their unique Model of Resource Efficiency (MoRE).
In this episode, Ben is going to talk about ethical and sustainable investing solutions. He shares what inspired him to set up Osmosis, his own investment management company and how the film An Inconvenient Truth gave him the epiphany of how he wanted to be remembered and what legacy he wants to leave.
In this episode, Ben and I talk about:
- What inspired Ben to set up his own investment management company
- How do we define sustainability
- ESG investment
- Transparency and disclosing data
- Greenwashing in the financial industry
- Winning the economic battle before the environmental one
- Leaving a legacy and contribution to the world
More about Ben Dear
Ben founded Osmosis in 2009. Prior to Osmosis, Ben launched, developed and sold two businesses in the financial sector.
Utilising the proceeds of both corporate transactions, he founded Osmosis with the intent of growing a globally recognized brand within the asset management industry, utilizing a core philosophy that sustainability and returns are not mutually exclusive.
Today, Osmosis manages investments on behalf of institutional clients from the UK, Europe, Scandinavia and North America with approximately $1.7bn in assets under management.
More about Osmosis Investment Management
Osmosis is an award-winning sustainable investment manager that was launched in 2009 and is headquartered in London.
MoRE or The Osmosis Model of Resource Efficiency is a proprietary investment database developed and maintained by Osmosis, allowing them to create an objective, sustainable, alpha generating investment factor, through the identification across the 32 economic sectors of companies who are generating more revenue consuming less resource than their sector peers.
You can learn more about Osmosis by visiting their website here
Mentioned on this episode:
- An Inconvenient Truth
- Osmosis Investment Management
- Article: No, We Are Not Running Out of Forests
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 66: Making Better Financial Decisions with Jeannie Boyle
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If you’re enjoying Sustainable: The Podcast be sure to subscribe in your prefered Podcast Platform to get notified on the latest episodes. Let me know your thoughts about this episode by leaving a review and rating.
To find out more about creating systemic and transformational change for people and the planet, head on to www.earthself.org
“Coaching takes everything deeper. It enhances what you already have and helps you discover new things” — Snjolaug Olafsdottir
Coaching is a changing journey. It’s about having the freedom and flexibility to explore what you really want to do. Through coaching, you give others the awareness to make better decisions for themselves. But if we don’t have the right information, how do we start doing that?
On today’s episode of Sustainable, I talk to Snjolaug Olafsdottir about integrating coaching into your current skill set. We also touched on the journey that took her from Iceland to Scotland where she’s currently working and interning with me while going through the transformational change coach training program.
Snjolaug is an environmental engineer who works as a sustainability consultant in Iceland. She was a former guest back on episode 114 where we talked about the need to be selfish with sustainability.
In this episode, Snjolaug shares her journey and what led her here, why she decided to intern with us, as well as her experiences on the training journey.
In this episode, Snjolaug and I talk about:
- How you can implement and integrate coaching into your work and business
- How coaching can be utilized to change the way business is done
- Evolution of coaching
- Snjolaug’s coaching experience
- Snjolaug’s experience of the Earthself Transformational Change Coach Training Program
More about Snjolaug Olafsdottir
Snjolaug holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering and is currently working as a Sustainability Consultant. She’s the owner of Andrymi Consulting, a firm that specializes in sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
Mentioned on this episode:
- UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Episode 114: Selfish Sustainability with Snjolaug Olafsdottir
- Carbon footprint
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 114: Selfish Sustainability with Snjolaug Olafsdottir
SUBSCRIBE TO SUSTAINABLE: THE PODCAST
If you’re enjoying Sustainable: The Podcast be sure to subscribe in your preferred Podcast Platform to get notified on the latest episodes. Let me know your thoughts about this episode by leaving a review and rating.
To find out more about creating systemic and transformational change for people and planet head to www.earthself.org
“We all have a relationship with the sea.” — Tom Kay
Finisterre's founder Tom Kay created a sustainable clothing brand, born from the need to make innovative products for hardy British surfers and the life they lead.
On today’s episode of Sustainable, I talk to Tom Kay about the clothing brand that designs functional and sustainable products for people who love the sea.
Finisterre is an accredited BCoporation that stays true to its original design ethos of functionality and sustainability, remaining committed to its product, environment, and people.
In this episode, Tom shares how he started Finisterre in a flat above a surf shop and how it has grown reaching new customers that share Finisterre’s team’s passion for the sea.
In this episode, Tom and I talk about:
- Tom’s inspiration in starting Finisterre on a foundation of sustainability
- How Finisterre’s community has grown
- Challenges that Tom and Finisterre are faced with
- How being an observer of the sea influenced and impacted the work that Tom is doing with Finisterre
- How we all are connected to the sea
- Advice for people who wants to understand the sea better
More about Tom Kay
Tom Kay founded Finisterre in 2003 with the vision of making quality, ethical garment for hardy surfers of British seas. He started out with little business history or design experience in a flat above a surf shop with an innovative fleece that was designed to keep out chill winds and warms up cold bodied fresh from the sea.
Today, Finisterre is an accredited BCorporation that has received a range of awards including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals good business Award in 2010, Observer Ethical Business Award in 2008, and the Surfer’s Path Green Wave Award in 2008
Mentioned on this episode:
- Finisterre
If you enjoyed this episode, check out episode 35: Sustainable Shoes with Galahad Clark
SUBSCRIBE TO SUSTAINABLE: THE PODCAST
If you’re enjoying Sustainable: The Podcast be sure to subscribe in your prefered Podcast Platform to get notified on the latest episodes. Let me know your thoughts about this episode by leaving a review and rating.
To find out more about creating systemic and transformational change for people and the planet, head on to www.earthself.org
“If you believe in the future of abundance or the future generation, align your decisions to your personal ethics and to organizations that reflect it.” — Tom Duncan
Did you know that you can build your wealth, save money, and save the planet all at the same time?
Yes, it’s actually possible through the use of blockchain technology!
Today on Sustainable I talk to Tom Duncan, the CEO of Goodbanc, about what blockchain technology is and how it can help us create a regenerative finance economy and restore our ecosystem.
Goodbanc is a digital banking platform for impact investing that provides a low-risk way of investing in regenerative and renewable markets that allows flexibility by cutting out that middleman or any third party. Making money go further both for investors and the people who are receiving the investment.
In this episode, Tom is going to share how we can allocate our capital and invest it into something good that helps our planet.
In this episode, Tom and I talk about:
- Blockchain technology
- How blockchain is reforming the financial system to become more transparent
- How Goodbanc is achieving its mission through blockchain technology
- Creating liquidity through tokenization
- Decarbonizing the planet and restoring the ecosystem through Goodwallet and Mangrove Tree planting projects from Goodbanc
- How to use our investment and money to buy time for our planet and give more back to the environment
- Aligning your financial, investment, and purchasing decisions to your personal ethics
More about Tom Duncan:
Tom Duncan is the CEO of Goodbanc, a digital banking platform for impact investment, finance and green bonds that utilizes Liquid Technology Ltd blockchain and digital wallets. He is also Managing Partner at Liquid Token. He’s an experienced fund manager, investment professional involved in a number of high profile transactions involving blockchain ventures.
Mentioned on this episode:
- Goodbanc
- United Nations
If you enjoyed this episode, check out episode 132: Creating a regenerative economy with L. Hunter Lovins
SUBSCRIBE TO SUSTAINABLE: THE PODCAST
If you’re enjoying Sustainable: The Podcast be sure to subscribe in your prefered Podcast Platform to get notified on the latest episodes. Let me know your thoughts about this episode by leaving a review and rating.
To find out more about creating systemic and transformational change for people and the planet, head on to www.earthself.org
Recognizing our emotions is the key to our power. Start by being in tune with your body. Lie down and just listen to what your body is telling you. — Matthew Phelan
Whether you’re a small or large organisation, the key to a successful business is not only meeting your customers’ needs but ensuring that the work culture supports your employee’s well being.
Micromanaging and controlling is not the best way to bring out employees maximum potential. So, how can an organisation thrive and ensure that its people are happy?
Join me today as we talk about happiness with Matthew Phelan, the Head of Global Happiness at The Happiness Index.
The Happiness Index aims to improve the way organisations treat their staff. In this episode, Matthew shares how happiness is an important factor in creating a happier and healthier workplace.
He also talks about how technology and data can give employees a voice and ensure that happiness is at the centre of every organisation.
In this episode, Matthew and I talk about:
- How people experience happiness and why it’s the key to making the working environment a healthier place to be
- How listening and understanding what your body is telling you can increase your happiness
- How The Happy Index brings data into feelings
- Creating a culture of happiness and flexible working within your own organization
- Key things to learn from the data gathered by The Happiness Index
- How focusing on happiness impacted the way Matthew lives his daily life
More about Matthew:
Matthew Phelan is the Co-founder and Head of Global Happiness at The Happiness Index, a privately owned company that combines unique talents of business experts, data scientists, organisational psychologists, developers, product designers, and generally lovely people!
As the Head of Global Happiness, he’s on a mission to globally expand happiness and understand how people experience happiness.
Mentioned on this episode:
- The Happiness Index
- Working With Humans by Matt Phelan and friends Podcast
- GaryVee
- Who wants to play Gary V or not Gary V?
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
- Bodily Maps of Emotions
If you enjoyed this episode, check out episode 25: Employee Engagement with Aidan Tracey
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. — Albert Einstein
When it comes to saving our planet from climate change, there is no such thing as plan B. Why? Because we only have one planet and we can’t afford to make more mistakes than we already have.
Today you’re going to meet Lubomila Jordanova the brain behind Plan A, the first-ever data-driven crowdfunding platform in the fight against climate change.
In this episode, we’re going to talk about what kind of data they use to predict where and how climate change will hit the hardest. It sounds complex but Lubomila is going to simplify everything for us!
In this episode, Lubomila and I talk about:
- What kind of data Plan A uses to make predictions and how their algorithm uses that data to identify where and how climate change will hit the hardest
- Approaching climate change differently
- The challenges in getting Plan A off the ground
- The six themes (r combination of systematic problems) that created climate change
- How climate change is affecting people's lives in ways other than just the changing climate (e.g. war)
- How focusing on creating a sustainable world impacts the way Lubomila lives her life
- How the science of climate change works
More about Lubomila:
Lubomila Jordanova is the founder and CEO of Plan A, the first data-driven crowdfunding platform in the fight against climate change. It was founded in 2017 and its work mainly focuses on oceans, forests, wildlife, sustainable energy, sustainable living and waste management. In 2018, Lubomila was chosen by Business Punk as one of the Top 100 Entrepreneurs to watch in Berlin.
Mentioned on this episode:
- Plan A
If you enjoyed this episode, check out episode 130: An innovative solution to end poverty with Mike Freni
“What is happening within us as humans i.e. our inner nature, is reflected out in the natural environment itself.” - Tabitha Jayne
Even though the world has greatly advanced, we are still living in very challenging times. With these advancements, we have made our lives better than ever but we’ve also never faced such a global threat either.
If I ask you what’s the greatest challenge mankind is facing today, what would your answer be?
Join me today as I talk about humanity’s greatest challenge. No, it’s not about climate change but it is something deeper.
We’ll explore the stages of human development and what it means to collectively grow as a species. I will also touch on the topic of what is stopping us from reaching our full potential individually and as a group.
After listening to this episode, I invite you to take the time for a walk out in the natural world. And you’ll gain the wonderful benefits that you can only get when you spend your time outside in nature.
In this episode, I talk about:
- How can we control the environment? How can we change other people?
- Our capability to adapt to the changing environment
- Stages of human development
- Using the environment as a way for us to develop individually and collectively as a species
- Spiral Dynamics vs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (stages of development)
- The gaps and the biggest issue that’s stopping us from facing our greatest challenge
- The importance of collaboration and connection
- The only question that is worth asking when we are faced with humanity’s greatest challenge
Mentioned on this episode:
- Episode 151: Laundry Sustainability with Todd Cline
- Andrew Carnegie
If you enjoyed this episode, check out episode 127: Our Relationship with the Natural World by Tabitha Jayne
"If you're exposed enough to something that's not natural to your body; It's likely going to cause harm through interaction with molecules in your body."
Chemistry is everywhere! From the clothes we wear to the food we eat, chemistry is all around us. We even breathe it.
Chemistry has done great things for our society. It has made our products more effective, and our economies more prosperous. But often at a cost for our environment and health. As chemistry continues to further the quality of our lives it can also make our world more sustainable.
Today on Sustainable, I talk to dr. Joel Tickner about chemistry and its potential to help create a sustainable world. Joel is the Executive Director of the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3), whose vision is a world where green chemistry is standard practice throughout the value chain. The GC3 works toward that vision by catalysing and guiding action across all industries, sectors and supply chains.
In this episode, Joel introduces green chemistry and how it can put less strain on the environment and natural resources as well as benefiting human health. We discuss how common chemicals used today were a breakthrough when invented but have environmental and health impact that are unacceptable. We also talk about the importance of implementing green chemistry to make the future design and production process sustainable and in alignment with the natural world.
In this episode, Joel talks about:
- What green chemistry is and how it will benefit us and our environment
- Building and impacting chemical design to achieve sustainability
- Teaching the next generation of chemists and chemical engineers to take social and environmental impact into account in their design
- Why training working chemists and chemical engineers to re-think that molecular design is very important for the future
- Effectively enhancing the natural state of molecules for our benefit
- Learning from how nature adapts to minimize the negative impact of toxic molecules
- The chemical alternatives that allow us to meet our goals but have low impact on our health and the environment
- Scaling innovative products and collaborative innovation
- Sustainable consumption and the demand for safer chemicals
- Importance of leadership within the government regarding green chemistry projects
- Educating investors about opportunities regarding the chemical industry and profit returns
- Incorporating chemical risk management into projects
“We need to start thinking differently. Now we that we understand the problems much better, we need to really focus on the solution and put the resources into that.” - Joel Tickner
More about Joel Tickner:
Joel is a leading expert on the application of green chemistry and alternatives assessment in science and policy. He has served on a number of EPA and Natural Academy of Sciences advisory committees and advises government agencies around the world. Joel is also a Professor of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and is also the Executive Director of the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment (A4) and the Co-Director of the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI).
More about GC3:
GC3 members are champions and innovators in the fields of green chemistry and the production of safer chemicals, materials and products. Approximately 75% of GC3 members are individual companies and 25% are representatives from non-governmental organizations, local, state and federal government agencies, and consulting firms.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Bhopal disaster – one of the world's worst industrial disasters
- Paul Müller - the inventor of DDT and a Nobel prize winner
- Making Better Environmental Decisions and Alternative to Risk Assessment by Mary O'Brien
- Episode #151: Laundry Sustainability with Todd Cline
- GC3 Sustainable Chemistry Alliance
- Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act
- Eat Grub
- Ellen McArthur Foundation
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 129: Accelerating Hydrogen Energy Solutions with Traver Kennedy
A sustainable business leads to a sustainable future.
Sustainability is becoming the new norm in today's competitive market. Growing numbers of conscious buyers and green consumers has led businesses to create products and services to meet these new consumer needs in order to add value and build trust for their brands.
That's why many businesses are adopting sustainability management because it efficiently optimizes the use of resources (human, natural, and financial) and reduces the cost and risk while creating opportunities to develop a strong brand reputation. Regardless of its benefits, some companies haven’t joined the sustainability journey yet. Angela Casler from the Sustainability Management Association (SMA) is on a mission to educate everyone about sustainability management and ultimately make it a norm within businesses.
Today on Sustainable, Angela and I talk about transforming leadership to make sustainability management become the norm within businesses.
Angela is the founder and CEO of Sustainability Management Association, a 501 c6 non-profit that educates professionals on how to achieve success through environmental conservation, social responsibility, and economic performance. SMA provides a simple study guide to give people the standard metrics used in project management and manage sustainability and create a strategy around it.
In this episode, we talk about how you can manage sustainability and transform leadership to create a more sustainable world. Also, Angela tells us how you can join and become a member of an organization for sustainability professionals.
In this episode, Angela and I talk about:
- How to transform leadership towards a more sustainable future
- The purpose and the main reason why Sustainability Management Association (SMA) was founded
- The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and how to incorporate it in business
- Why education and learning about sustainability is important in transforming a leader
- Challenges that people need to be aware of
- Products and services that meet the needs of our planet
- Creating a culture of sustainability and preventing the culture of fear
- Procurement solutions to change the way we complete our daily task within our organization
- Strategically embracing sustainability
- The meaning of Social Responsibility
- Interconnected relationship between business and the human environment
- The positive impacts and results from the people who’re engaging with SMA
- Stories about amazing ways that people are transforming
- Angela’s personal story and experience from the 2018 California wildfires and what we can learn from that
- How to maintain our ecosystem and create a healthy environment where people can thrive along with species in forests
- The sense of urgency that we are on the fight for survival
- The resilience of our ecosystem
When all of us are working together, we can create solutions to help people, planet, and profit. And it’s our generation's responsibility to take action over it.
More about Angela:
Angela, is a full-time lecturer at California State University, Chico’s Department of Management and also serves as the principal partner of Sustainability Management Consulting, a strategic planning consulting company.
With more than 25 year’s management experience in the financial services, international banking, transportation and consulting industries, Angela has been a small business owner since 2005 with SB Bear Trucking and founded Sustainability Management Consulting in 2010.
Connect with Angela:
More About SMA:
The Sustainability Management Association’s vision is to establish the field of sustainability management as a management norm. Through the leadership of their directors and of their 2500+ members from 33 US states and 18 international countries, the Sustainability Management Association is transforming leadership through education, collaboration and innovation.
www.sustainabilityma.org
Mentioned in this episode:
- Sustainability Management Certified Professional (SMCP): The First Professional Accreditation (Study Guide)
- Triple Bottom Line (TBL)
- The 2008 Californian Wildfires
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 119: Pursuing Excellence in Business for People, Planet, and Profit with Ann Pike
"You don’t have to believe in the problem to believe in the solution. There are opportunities to make more money while solving the problem." — Hunter Lovins
What do roasted termites, crickets or grasshoppers taste like? Wasp, termites, locusts, caterpillars and ant eggs; just reading their names, trigger up a feeling of disgust for many but for some, it’s a nutritious delight!
In large parts of the world insects are a staple food source, whereas we consider it squeamish here in the Western world. EAT GRUB has come up with a sustainable solution to supply the increasing world population with protein as farmland is decreasing, by revolutionising Western food culture with insects.
EAT GRUB has committed themselves to change the way people think about insects as a food source by educating the public and developing quality nutritious tasty products. You might be seeing “grasshopper bourguignon” or “soupe de cricket” soon at a restaurant’s menu near you!
Today on Sustainable Neil Whippey and I talk about insects, the sustainable superfood that’s rich in protein. Neil eats bugs for breakfast and is on a mission to normalize eating insects.
Learn what a tasty, nutritious and sustainable superfood is like as Neil talks about edible insects, the food innovation and its future.
In this episode, Neil talks about:
- How they came up with the idea of insects as a viable food source and business product?
- Who eats insects and why should too
- Cooking insects
- Adapting a new form of diet and normalizing eating insects
- The tasty "Cricket Energy bars"
- From pop-up shops to cookbooks
- The best way to convince people to try and eat insects
- How to use your money to drive the change that you want
- Offering nutritious snacks and going to schools to educate kids about insects
- How focusing on sustainable protein sources impacted the way Neil live his daily life
There's nothing to fear if you recognize this (eating insects) as a solution. Not only are you eating tasty and nutritious food but you're also helping reduce the destruction to the environment by consuming from sustainable food sources.
Mentioned on this episode:
- United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals
- Eat Grub: The Ultimate Insect Cookbook
- Natural Capitalism by Hunter Lovins, Amory Lovins and Paul Hawken
- Episode 150: Circular Economy for waste management with TomSzaky
- Episode 151: Laundry Sustainability with Todd Cline
- United Nations
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 93: The Mushroom Revolution with Eric Jong
The darkest hour is before the dawn. — Winston Churchill
It’s said that the darkest hour of the night comes before the dawn. When I look around, I see so much fear. There’s climate emergency’s being reported all around the world and species extinction continues to go on.
Because of this, I feel like now is the time to question the narrative of whether or not we can create a sustainable world.
Join me today as I talk about the certainty of a sustainable world. I’m going to share 3 points in connection to the rhetoric narrative that the media is portraying and showing to us in relation to a sustainable world.
In this episode, I talked about:
- The reason why I’m talking about the certainty of a sustainable world
- Confirmation bias in relation to the certainty of a sustainable world
- How the external world can be a reflection of what’s going on within us
- Challenging the notion of extinction by redefining it into the light of evolution
- How can we ensure that what you’re doing is fundamentally making a change?
- The continuous cycle within the natural world
- The need for having a powerful vision to align to
- Reframing and shifting from the narrative of extinction to evolution
- How to create change that enables a world of peace and prosperity for people and the planet
Look at the vision you’re telling yourself, how is this impacting your behaviour?
Question your fears then acknowledge them as you forward together with others who believe in the same vision as you. There is still hope even in the worst of circumstances. So don’t give up, a sustainable world is on its way after the darkest hour.
Mentioned on this episode:
- United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals
- Andy Egan (Episode 146: The Power of Tree Techcnology)
- International Tree Foundation
- Hitler
- World War II
- Joanna Masie
- The 6th mass extinction event / Holocene extinction
- Winston Churchill
- Angela Casler
- Sustainability Management Association
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 78 with Laura Storm on exploring how to move towards a more sustainable world
No matter how empowering you are as a leader, if you're in a traditional system, empowerment is still inhibited. — Michael DeAngelo
In a constantly changing and complex environment, companies need to correctly address new challenges and opportunities. To do this they need an organizational structure that lessens obstacles to meet company goals and achieve work efficiency.
Today on Sustainable, I talk about holacracy, a revolutionary management system that replaces conventional management hierarchy and how it's being implemented to transform organizations in the corporate and non-corporate sectors with Michael DeAngelo.
Michael DeAngelo is an experienced business leader with C level executive experience in different industries including healthcare, entertainment and technology, and natural resources. He's an avid beekeeper and holacracy practitioner from HolacracyOne - a company that practices holacracy and spearheads its development.
We'll be exploring how this structure is helping businesses around the world empower its employees through hierarchy abolishment and leadership distribution.
In this episode, Michael talks about:
- What is Holacracy and why is it important?
- The difference between holacracy and traditional management system
- How holacracy works in a practical application
- How Michael self-organize in amplifying individual strengths
- Misconceptions around holacracy and self-management
- How to manage multiple roles within departments
- The “space” for reaction in holacracy management system
- The challenge of implementing holacracy
- Examples of habit that are hard to change
- What company and leader is holacracy good for
- Holacracy in relation to the circular economy and how the two complement each other
- How focusing on Holacracy impacted Michael’s life
Connect with Michael:
- Email: hello@holacracyone.com
More about HolacracyOne:
HolacracyOne is the company spearheading the development of the Holacracy method. It was founded in 2007 by Brian Robertson and Tom . We’re a non-conventional company in many ways: we’re based in the USA but all our business partners work from home. We don’t have any employees, we’re all legal partners in the company, and we’ve adopted Holacracy in our bylaws.
Learn more about HolacracyOne and everything about holacracy here.
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 25: Employee Engagement with Aidan Tracey, Home Energy Scotland
Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war. —Marthin Luther King
One of the leading causes of death for children every year are malnutrition-related illnesses. Global hunger continues to rise despite the efforts of many to lessen it. In order to combat hunger, companies like Cure4Humanity has developed a solution that works!
Today on Sustainable, I talk about Cure4Humanity Inc.’s complex business model and its inventions as a sustainable solution to world hunger and other global and environmental problems with Eric Williams.
Eric Williams is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Cure4Humanity Inc.& SafestCities Inc. Cure4Humanity is a socially responsible organization who invented the ability to provide water, innovative indoor farming, energy and affordable safe housing.
He’ll be talking about how Cure4Hunger invented the world’s first legitimate cure for global hunger. He also shared how developing Cure4Humanity’s complex business model became a way for people to earn money and make big companies be more sustainable.
In this episode, Eric talks about:
- How C4H complex business model and great vision was developed
- Developing the “Gravity Garden”- how it works and its benefits
- Providing equity to farmers
- How Eric handles scepticism when people doubt his visions
- Providing basic humanity needs thru C4H and SafestCities affordable homes
- How C4H Food and Water Domes keeps the food safe and secure
- Global refugee crisis, deforestation and vertical farming
- Where do C4H’s profits go to
- Building thousands of Water and Food Domes over the next decade and beyond
More about Eric Williams:
A southern-California native, Eric is 25-year channel technology expert, philanthropist, filmmaker “40 Point Plan” (Rated PG 2012) and music producer. Eric has advised more than 300 companies worldwide as CEO of Corporate Channels from 1999-2007. Eric retired from the industry to pursue humanitarian efforts and conceived the world’s first disaster proof farm that does not require any 3rd party water, power nor seasons. From seed to harvest, this game changing invention is able to grow more crops per square foot in recorded history. Unlimited self reliant and sustainable farms are now able to be mass produced in more than 90% of the world’s populated regions.
Connect with Eric Williams:
- Cure4Humanity Inc.
- SafestCities Inc.
More about Cure4Hunger:
Cure4Hunger has invented the cure for global hunger by integrating six state of the art technologies creating the world’s first legitimate cure.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 870 million of the world’s 7.1 billion inhabitants, or one in eight, suffered from chronic undernourishment in 2010-2012.
The majority of the world’s hungry population live in developing countries, where Cure4Hunger is charted to build thousands of Water and Food Domes over the next decade and beyond.
Learn more here.
Send your message directly to them at info@Cure4Hunger.org
Additional Resources:
- Cure4Hunger cure for global hunger inventions
- Cure4Hunger Food & Water Domes
- Vertical Farming
- Del Webb
If you enjoyed this, check out episode128: Nature: The future of energy, innovation & business with Bill Browning, Partner, Terrapin Bright Green
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” — Edmund Burke
Every year, a great number of coconuts are being harvested worldwide. After harvesting, the shells are either burned, thrown in the ocean or piled up contributing to billion kilos of waste. And waste is a huge problem that causes serious environmental impact.
But many are in pursuit of finding solutions, one is Michiel Vos of CocoPallet!
In today’s episode of Sustainable, we talk about coconuts and finding your calling and purpose to make an impact with Michiel.
Michiel Vos is the founder and Chief Technology Officer of CocoPallet. He’s a serial entrepreneur who specializes in the Circular Economy and Bio-Based products. He and his team found a creative and innovative solution to utilize the waste from coconuts and turn it into biodegradable pallets.
He shares how he came up with the idea of using coconut husk as the main material in making Coco pallets and how it helps in lessening waste and helping local coconut farmers. He also talks about how making an impact starts with yourself. Every action is important and has an equivalent impact. If you want to be a part of the solution to a more sustainable world, you need to take responsibility for every action you take and decisions you make.
In this episode, Michiel talks about:
- How he came up with the idea of using coco pallets as an alternative to timber pallet
- The circular economy and making products out of waste streams
- Finding your purpose to create sustainability efforts
- Scaling products to drive down production cost
- Identifying problems that are worth solving
- Taking responsibility for your actions, whether big or small
- Advice to everyone who wants to make a difference
- Designing a truly circular business model
- The greatest joys of being entrepreneurial
- Spark, Idea, Awareness, Decisions, and Execution
- The difference between power and influence
- How reading books can help us solve problems and understand our surroundings better
- Effective teamwork and other things we can learn from the military
- Business as a tool for creating sustainability
- Finding your calling and healing our planet with the right decisions
Listen to yourself. What is my task? Why am I here? What's my mission on this planet? And then start researching and doing things. Whether it's small or big, take responsibility. We came here into this planet with a reason. Find your purpose and start working on it.
Connect with Michiel:
- CocoPallet
Also Mentioned:
- David Goggins
- Brexit
- Art of War
- Machiavelli
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Edmund Burke
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 143: Finding New Uses for Plastic Waste with Caleb Rick, CEO EcoGlobal
“If the armies of the world now numbering 22 million could be redeployed in planting in the desert, in eight years 100 million people could be rehabilitated and supplied with protein rich food, grown from virgin sand. If we could accept the challenge, and make that a One World Purpose, this would unite East and West and be the scientific and physical answer to this world’s dilemma.” — Richard St. Barbe Baker”
Have you ever stopped to think if what you’re doing is sustainable?
As stewards of the environment, we need to ensure a world of peace and prosperity for people and the planet. But how do we do this? What does it take to create a systematic change in order to achieve a sustainable world? How can we utilize our resources to create a positive global impact?
To help the world run better and improve people’s lives, global leaders through the United Nations developed a bold vision that’s widely gaining attention and interest both from public and private sectors, and that is the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Join me today as I talk about redefining leadership for a sustainable world. Redefining leadership starts by addressing the number one vision for all leaders, which is the UN’s SDGs.
I’ll also discuss the things that leaders can learn from nature about leadership that can help us redefine our understanding of it for a sustainable world. As well as the most important thing that a leader must work on to effectively attain these goals.
To hold this vision, we need to allow nature to support us and look within the natural world to find answers on how we need to be doing things differently and working together to create harmony.
In this episode, I talked about:
- The #1 one vision for all leaders in today’s world
- The starling analogy and what we can learn from nature about leadership that can help us redefine our understanding of it for a sustainable world
- The collective vision of peace and prosperity and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
- What it really means to become a leader and working on one's self
- The most important thing that a leader should work on
- The natural world as a mirror of reflection for the conflicts that we are facing internally within our inner landscape and nature.
- How protesting is causing disturbance to others and disruption to the system
- The fundamental concept of interdependency between nature and humans
- The awareness that we are all capable of creating change
Buckminster once said, “We do not create a new world by focusing on the old or destroying it. Instead, we should focus on building the new”. When we collectively come together, it is possible to make the world a better place for everyone now without destroying the possibilities of the next generation.
Now, let’s get to work and make it happen!
Additional Resources:
- Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows
- My Life My Trees by Richard St. Barbe Baker
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 115: Nature as a Catalyst for Transformational Change
Focusing on sustainability is the right thing to do. Serving your consumers in a sustainable way is a priority because it's the right thing. — Todd Cline
There’s a rising growth in people purchasing organic food and natural beauty & cosmetic products because consumers want to make sustainable choices especially when it comes to the products that they buy. But that’s not the case when it comes to cleaning and laundry products.
Today on Sustainable, I talk about the efforts of designing and launching Tide Purclean, the first plant-based laundry detergent that has the same cleaning power you can expect from the brand with Todd Cline.
He is the section head for Procter & Gamble’s North American Fabric Care Research Development Team. He’s responsible for developing new programs and business operations across Tide and Gain Laundry detergents, the leading brands in the industry.
Washing your clothes may seem like a simple house chore but doing laundry has a bigger impact on the planet than you might think. From washing to drying, it uses a lot of energy to just heat the water and run the dry cycle.
How can we reduce the energy and water we use? How can we help consumers make decisions that are more sustainable as they do their laundry?
Todd shares what drive him and his team to create sustainable laundry products and the challenges they experience in developing it without sacrificing cleaning performance.
In this episode, Todd shares about:
- The challenges he and his team had in developing a plant-based detergent without sacrificing cleaning performance
- How washing in cold water (the number one driver of environmental footprint in doing laundry) setting reduces your environmental footprint.
- The energy and impact of creating the raw materials that go into the product that they make
- Helping consumers be confident and comfortable in purchasing sustainable products
- Leveraging a brand’s reputation by incorporating it from one brand to another
- Clothing longevity as another way to lessen your environmental impact
- How we can design products that help consumers make simple choices
- The “Milkman Model” for sustainable packaging
- What Green Chemistry is all about and how it works
- How Focusing on sustainability made Todd more intentional in the choices he makes
The simple choices and actions we make to minimize our impact, makes all the difference towards achieving a sustainable world.
More about Todd Cline:
Todd Cline currently serves as the Section Head for Procter & Gamble’s North America Fabric Care Research & Development team. In this role, Cline is responsible for developing new programs and business operations across Tide and Gain laundry detergents, the leading brands in the industry. He plays a critical role in leading sustainability efforts, including the design and launch of Tide purclean, the first plant-based detergent with the cleaning power of Tide.
Prior to joining the North America Fabric Care team, Cline spent more than 10 years in a variety of leadership roles at P&G and has lead product innovation launches across the U.S. and Europe.
He earned his MBA from Xavier University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.
Connect with Todd Cline:
Additional resources:
- Tide Purclean™
- Tide
- Procter & Gamble
- Gain Laundry Detergent
- The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry
- Life-cycle assessment (LCA)
- TerraCycle
- Loop
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 7: Making Things Last - Jon Molyneux, Scotland
The most powerful decision you make is the decision for what you should and should not buy. — Tom Szaky
How much of the things you buy do you really need?
Every day our waste piles up. Ninety-nine percent of what we purchase - we don’t really need.
The world is suffering because of our actions. Poorly-managed landfills cause litter. Incinerating waste produces toxic substances. These are some problems we are faced with when it comes to waste management. Stemming from these issues are people devoted to finding creative solutions in address these problems.
On today’s episode of Sustainable, I talk about the work that TerraCycle is doing to better manage our waste and recycle the unrecyclable with Tom Szaky
Tom is the founder and CEO of TerraCycle, a global leader in the collection and repurposing of hard to recycle waste. He is also the author of three books Revolution in A Bottle, Outsmart Waste, and Make Garbage Great.
Through TerraCycle, Tom is pioneering a new waste management processes involving manufacturers and consumers to create circular solutions for hundreds of unrecyclable waste (e.g. cigarette butts, dirty diapers, used chewing gum and flexible food packaging).
TerraCycle along with 25 top consumer product company and retailers, have announced a new e-commerce shopping platform called Loop. This will enable consumers to shop online for their favorite brands in durable and reusable packaging.
Tom and TerraCycle have received hundreds of social, environmental, and business awards and recognition from a range of organizations including the United Nations, the US Chamber of Commerce, Fortune Magazine, World Economic Forum, and The Swap Foundation.
Tom shares how our garbage is continuously impacting the environment in a negative way. He talks about eliminating the idea of waste through creative and innovative solutions - which is the goal to achieve a sustainable planet.
In this episode, Tom will share his insights about:
- The learnings that have helped TerraCycle become a pioneer in waste management
- What caused the success of TerraCycle
- Innovative and creative methods for waste management
- Changing our perspective towards waste management to unlock other important values
- The TerraCycle and Loop project and its essence
- Reimagining the way that we consume
- Working with consumer behaviour instead of fighting it
- The future of packaging
- The reality behind biodegradable packaging
- The challenges of the Environmental Movement
- What you can do to lessen your waste
- How the act of buying triggers every environmental issue
- Active buying as a solution
- How he manages to get organizations, especially the large ones, to center on the environment
- How focusing on sustainability impacted the way he lives his daily life
- How his experience with nature influenced and impacted the work that he is doing
- The most powerful tool to create solutions and change
Reducing waste means less environmental impact, fewer resources and energy used. And most of all, it saves you money!
More about Tom Szaky and TerraCycle:
Tom Szaky is founder and CEO of TerraCycle, a global leader in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle waste. TerraCycle operates in 21 countries, working with some of the world’s largest brands, retailers, cities and manufacturers to create national platforms to recycle products and packaging that currently go to landfill or incineration.
Through TerraCycle, Tom is pioneering new waste management processes involving manufacturers and consumers to create circular solutions for hundreds of waste streams such as cigarette butts, laboratory waste, used coffee capsules, dirty diapers, used chewing gum and flexible food packaging that otherwise have no path to be recycled. TerraCycle developed and operates the largest supply chain for ocean plastic in the world, partnering with companies like Procter & Gamble to integrate this material into their product packages.
In January 2019, TerraCycle, along with 25 top consumer products companies and retailers announced a new e-commerce shopping platform called Loop that will enable consumers to shop for some of their favorite brands in durable, reusable packaging. Launched in May 2019, Loop is a key step in helping to end the epidemic of waste that is caused by 'single use' consumption.
Tom and TerraCycle have received hundreds of social, environmental and business awards and recognition from a range of organizations including the United Nations, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Fortune Magazine, World Economic Forum and the Schwab Foundation.
Connect with Tom Szaky through social media:
- YouTube
Additional resources:
- TerraCycle
- Books:
- Revolution in A Bottle
- Outsmart Waste
- Make Garbage Great
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 121: The Business Case for Circular Economy with Robert-Jan van Ogtrop, founder of Circle Economy and Natural Leadership
There is always something that you can be doing. Everyone has a path to something. — John Featherby
In today’s episode we talk about the transition to a more sustainable world, the impact of an organization’s decisions on its workers, customers, business partners, community, and the environment as a whole with John Featherby.
John is the owner of Shoremount, a consulting firm that helps organizations meet the opportunity and challenge of a marketplace that rewards better business. He’s the B leader for the B Corp, the world’s leading business force for good movement.
He’s the author of the Guide to Human Organizations and the founder of Teylu, a network using the power of peer to peer small groups to cultivate community and pursue a common purpose, as well as Human Stories At Work, a place to engage with the ultimate cultural barometer of life at work, storytelling.
John shares about the work that he does with Shoremount to pursue positive change; through self-exploration, community connection, and practical support.
In this episode, John talks about:
- The transition to a more sustainable world
- Change: Who you are and what you hope to become
- The journey between where we are and where we are going
- What it means to change and create a “sustainable world”
- Becoming a sustainable human being
- John’s perspective on death, loss, pain, and suffering
- The death analogy
- Recognising change and creating a behaviour for it
- The risk of looking at positive data when you’re using it to persuade someone
- The benefits of talking about loss
- Reasons why change is hard for big companies
- Addressing the fatigue that comes from change
- The disconnection of meaning from our roles in the workplace
- Doing self-exploration for change to start
- The problem with language impairment
- Recognizing others for their innate individual gifts
- Giving others space for better and honest conversations
- Being and doing
- Deeper human peace
- How John’s upbringing impacted the work he is doing
Recognize the power that you have to make small differences and decisions. Speak up about the change that you want to happen.
More about John Featherby:
John Featherby is the owner of Shoremount, a consulting firm that helps organisations meet the opportunity and challenge of a marketplace that rewards response, “better” business.
John is also a B Leader for the B Corporation (the world’s leading “business as a force for good” movement. Shoremount is a founding UK B Corp and was awarded “Changemaker Honoree” in the B Corp 2018, “Best of the World Lists”.
He's also the author of The Guide to Human Organisations, the founder of Human Stories at Work: a place to engage with the ultimate cultural barometer of life at work: storytelling and the founder of Teylu: a network using the power of peer-to-peer small groups to cultivate community and pursue a common purpose.
Connect with John Featherby:
- Johnfeatherby.com
Additional resources:
- Shoremount
- Teylu
- Human Stories At Work
- Guide to Human Organisations
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 139: The Truth About Transformational Change with Tabitha Jayne, Founder of EarthSelf
In the midst of trouble and difficulties, finding moments of aliveness of joy and magic are what makes life - life!
We are living and working in a complex world where the constant demands and pressure of our job heavily affects how we live our lives. We actually need more conscious and sustainable leaders in institutions and organizations to help support people commit to awareness, learning, change, growth, and action.
On today’s episode of Sustainable, I talk about coaching and nature with Kay Young. We focus on how nature enhances one’s coaching practice and why this is very relevant and needed in the corporate world.
She’s deeply passionate about leadership, well-being, resilience, and in spending time with nature. She works with individual leaders and leadership groups to support personal restoration and create conditions for change and awareness.
Kay shares how nature has played an important role in her coaching journey and how she utilizes it to help others find meaning and joy in their work and life.
In this episode you will learn:
- How nature enhances Kay’s coaching practice and why it’s needed in businesses
- The stages to achieve clarity and focus
- The benefits of bringing nature into coaching in the corporate world and how she discovered it
- How nature reminds us of the forgotten aspect of wholeness in the workplace
- The deeper sense of awareness and aliveness in nature due to the sensory experience it provides
- Coaching as the catalyst to move someone forward
- We as human beings are interconnected to nature
- How support can make changes possible
- How nature experiences influenced and impacted the work that she does.
- Awareness IQ
More about Kay Young:
Kay Young is a leadership coach and supervisor, with public and private sector clients. She has extensive senior management experience, including: working at NHS Board Director level; developing high profile executive coaching and leadership development programmes; working internationally; and tutoring for 15 years with the Open University Business School, on a range of MBA programmes.
Kay is currently a member of the Faculty Team for the Academy of Executive Coaching, facilitating the Coaching Skills Certificate, and Practitioner Diploma Programmes in Edinburgh. She's also an ICF Evaluator and Assessor, on the AoEC’s Advanced Practitioner Diploma Programme. She's a highly experienced, ICF accredited coach and have gained the Diploma in Advanced Executive Coaching and the Master Coach Practitioner Diploma with the Academy of Executive Coaching.
She recently completed her training in gestalt psychotherapy with the Edinburgh Gestalt Institute. She's deeply passionate about leadership, well-being, and resilience; and in spending time in nature, including with your coaching clients, to support personal restoration, and transformational change.
Connect with Kay Young
- Edinburgh Gestalt Institute
Also Mentioned
- David Whyte
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 144: The Role of Coaching in Creating a Sustainable World by Tabitha Jayne, Founder & Director, EarthSelf
Waste is a resource and the pollution that it causes is not only avoidable. If we treat waste as a resource it can lead to a better life for the people and the planet. — Dr. Shannon Bouton
Our waste is polluting the world. It’s poisoning our air, land, and water.
However, there are many people working on amazing solutions.
On today’s episode of Sustainable, I talk about the work McKinsey.org is doing to have a lasting and substantial impact on complex social challenges with Dr Shannon Bouton.
Shannon is the Global Executive Director of the Sustainable Communities Program at McKinsey.org, a charitable organization, founded by McKinsey & Company to have lasting and substantial impact on complex social challenges.
Before this, she worked at McKinsey & Co for 12 years as the Chief Operating Officer of the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment.
With a background in field biology, Shannon has served as an environmental consultant to grassroots non-profits in the Brazilian Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland, and with the Army Corp of Engineers in the Florida Everglades.
Her Ph.D is in natural resources and the environment and Shannon writes on topics such as sustainability, innovation and urban mobility.
Shannon shares how McKinsey.org helps create a positive impact for our environment. She talks about how to best address sustainability challenges that cities face around the globe. She also shares the actions we can take to reduce waste and how we can recycle both plastic and organic waste.
In this episode you will learn:
- The inspiration behind McKinsey & Company in creating a non-profit
- How Shannon ended up getting involved in sustainability and waste management work
- The key differences in terms of how McKinsey.org is working vs that of McKinsey & Company
- Sustainable community projects in Argentina and Bali and it’s waste problem
- Generating revenue out of waste and recyclables to bring value back to communities
- Creating instability in the market of recyclables through market-driven mechanisms
- The unstable price and demand for recyclables
- Key learnings from creating stability within the marketplace for waste
- How waste and recycling has become a public health issue
- The advancement of technology and the importance of scaling and scaling fast
- Practicing self-care and preventing burnout
- The discrimination against different parts of society especially for people who live in unknown areas
- How sustainability and nature impacted and influenced Shannon’s life and work
Connect with Shannon Bouton & McKinsey.org
LinkedIn Twitter
Know more about her here
Also Mentioned
- McKinsey.com
- McKinsey.org
- Jane Goodall
- David Goggin’s Book: Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
If you enjoyed this, check out episode 140: Changing the Way Waste is Managed Greg Lettieri, & CEO, RTS
Join Andy Egan, CEO of International Tree Foundation (ITF) to find out:
- Why the loss of trees globally is one of the reasons our natural environment is under threat
- How we’ve lost 50% of our existing forests
- Why trees are our best technology to help mitigate climate change
- The many ecosystem benefits trees provide to life on earth
- Why communities need to be at the heart of reforestation efforts
- The different types of communities that are coming together to reforest the planet
- The well-being benefits for humans from spending time taking care of trees
- The key difference between disconnected vs disassociated from nature
- What the role of ITF is in supporting communities to benefit from tree planting
- The surprising link between women and trees
- The inspirational legacy of the founder of International Tree Foundation and why he was known as “the man of the trees”
- What the long-term projects of ITF are
- Why ITF looks to learn from nature and trees to develop their organisation and how they work
Join Dr Bremley Lyngdoh, Founder and CEO of Worldview Impact to find out:
- The drivers behind Bremley’s mission to make a difference
- Why the Lyngdoh clan’s sacred forest inspired Bremley’s commitment to taking action to reforest the planet
- The cultural traditions of the tribe Bremley belongs to and how this has impacted his worldview
- Why trees are key in mitigating the effects of climate change
- The importance of growing a “green shield” in Myanmar and the impact this can have
- Why Worldview Impact’s strategy is based upon the Costa Rican model of ecosystem services
- How technology can help accelerate our reforestation strategy
- Where the funding came from to help Worldview Impact plant 100,000 tree seeds a day
- Why using technology in reforestation strategies creates more jobs for people and reduces the costs of tree planting
- The need to measure the value of ecosystem services to successfully finance reforestation strategies
- What needs to change at the governmental level to change the way we measure GDP
Join Tabitha Jayne, Founder & Director of EarthSelf to discover:
- The surprising origin of the coaching profession
- The emergence of executive coaching and its purpose
- How coaching has developed into a $2 billion industry
- The problems with anyone calling themselves a coach
- How coaching is about mindset and behaviour change
- The need for coaches to fully understand human development
- Why we have all the solutions we need to create a sustainable world
- The importance of sustainable humans in creating a sustainable world
- The differences between coaching in the past and coaching for the future
- Why training is essential to become a powerful coach
- How nature can help accelerate the power of coaching
- The link between spending time in nature and creating a sustainable world
- The launch of EarthSelf’s N.A.T.U.R.E. coach training program
Caleb is the CEO of EcoGlobal. EcoGlobal is a values-driven social enterprise established in Vermont, USA to bring Ekopolimer (an exciting way to re-use plastic waste) technology into North America. Caleb’s mission to find a solution for our plastics problem while enhancing economic development in local communities.
There’s so much that we talked about in this interview, including:
- What LDPE is used for and why
- How plastic actually helps lower the carbon footprint in import and export
- The importance of educating ourselves about making better choices
- How EcoGlobal takes one-use plastics to create a new material - Ekopolimer - that lasts for years
- Why it’s key to design a long-term business plan that’s carbon centric
- The need to educate people on how recycled products can be better than virgin products
- Why the waste management industry is like the wild, wild west
Join security practitioner and consultant Vincent Romney to find out:
- The need to ask powerful questions before introducing blockchain into business processes
- Why blockchain can actually make it harder to do business sustainably
- The reasons credit cards are actually ineffective transactions
- Why cryptocurrency transactions create efficiency and trust
- Why pure transparency is not an essential part of blockchain
- How blockchain technology prevents hackers gaining control of the system
- The need for security as a foundation for effective use of blockchain
- The key pillars before deciding to implement blockchain in your business
- How blockchain helps validate consistency across supply chains
- The need to get perspective to avoid poor implementation of blockchain in business
- How blockchain can cut costs for consumers if implements on a large scale
Join Mike Jenzeh, Co-founder and President of Magnation Water Technologies to discover:
- How the magnetic fields of the Earth impact the water quality of rain
- The way Magnation Water Technologies is utilizing this to improve water quality
- What happens when we use “rain-like” water in agriculture
- The impact of drinking “rain-like” water on human health
- The many different ways that water technology mimics nature’s systems to produce high quality water
- How rain-like water improves the performance of existing irrigation systems
- The amount of water that can be saved through utilizing “rain-like” water
- What the additional benefits for the environment are by adopting “rain-like” water
- How the technology produces negative ions necessary for a sustainable environment
Join Greg Lettieri, Co-founder & CEO of RTS to hear about:
- How RTS is leveraging technology to help organisations manage waste more effectively
- The importance of education in waste management
- What we can do to make sure food waste can be recycled effectively
- How RTS tracks waste to create transparency in the recycling chain
- The entire sustainability management ecosystem behind RTS’s business model
- Why the process of recycling is localised and the problems this can cause
- The need for recycling to make financial sense and the fluctuating costs of recycling
- Why it’s key to adapt your knowledge on sustainable practices to convey the benefits to others
- How RTS’s technology is helping smaller waste management companies grow their businesses
- Why Fortune 500 companies and bigger organisations in cities are getting behind RTS’s approach to waste
- The real thirst for sustainable practices within big business and how they are looking to do and be better
- How the B-Corporation certification process helped RTS decide how to build their company
Join Tabitha Jayne, Founder of EarthSelf to discover:
- The difference between transformation and transformational change
- How caterpillars and butterflies impact their environment and why this helps deepen our understanding of transformational change
- The importance of aligning your behaviours with your beliefs
- The need to recognise how the way we think impacts the way we behave
- Why safety is essential to explore beliefs and navigate change
- The motivation behind Sustainable: The Podcast
- Why transformational change is best led by the person who has the power
- The need to lead by example when it comes to transformational change
- Why recognising change is constant can help us adapt more effectively and overcome “change fatigue”
- The benefits of a “dual-processing model” when it comes to transformational change
- How slowing down with transformational change can create better results
- Why transformational change takes longer than you think
- What a tree can teach you about transformational change
Join Deepak Shukla, Founder & CEO of Pearl Lemon to find out:
- Why being sustainable can be intuitive in practice
- The power of asking “why” in helping to change the way we work
- The importance of win-win solutions in being sustainable
- Why its key to recognise our emotional driver behind becoming sustainable
- The need to look at the long-term benefits of being sustainable
- How the language around sustainability can intimidate people
- How to communicate your drive to be sustainable successfully
- The benefits of ‘cherry-picking’ your approach to being more sustainable
- Why quick wins in being sustainable are essential
Join Joan Michaelson, Leadership Coach & Host of Green Connections Radio to find out:
- Why sustainable businesses tend to have more women in leadership roles
- The reason there are more opportunities for women in sustainable business
- Why women make career decisions differently to men
- The challenges facing women in the green industry
- How negative self-talk can hold women back from advancing their career
- The importance of keeping your skill set up to date
- Why self-care is essential for success
- Key actions to take to advance your career
- Why applicant tracking systems can work against women
- The surprising reason women can be more innovative than men
- Why women can dismiss and undervalue their accomplishments
Join Brian Keane, co-founder and CEO of WeeGreen to hear more about:
- The 3 barriers to going green in your company/community and how you can overcome them with WeeGreen
- Why it’s important to take sustainable action in our daily lives and how what we buy is a key part of this
- How sustainability transcends politics and is a mainstream issue that can help improve everyone’s quality of life
- Why we need to understand (and work with) people’s buying behaviours in order to help facilitate our shift to a more sustainable way of life
- The number one way to “sell” sustainability to help get more people to understand the benefits of going green
Join Tabitha Jayne, Founder of EarthSelf to find out about:
- Why burnout is the biggest threat to an engaged workforce
- Her own personal journey and recovery from burnout in business
- What you need to prioritise in your calendar to prevent burnout
- The importance of creating a sustainable culture in your workplace
- Why work and life can no longer be separate in leadership and team development
Join Michael Lloyd-White, CEO of WorldKindness USA to find out about:
- The need to start a conversation about kindness and place it on the meeting agenda within organisations
- Why courage goes hand in hand with kindness, the importance of recognising this and the real meaning of what it truly means to be kind and how it can help transform business
- Why kindness is the antidote to the current campaign of fear and hate within the world and how it starts with a simple conversation
- How the words of the American Constitution inspired the work of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi and how a kindness constitution in business could enhance our ability to collaborate effective together
- The organisations already backing the kindness constitution in the USA and how Michael achieved all of this without even opening a bank account
Join Eric Kaufmann from Clear Springs Communities and Natural Resilience Foundation to hear:
- The challenges of getting political and public will to work to create sustainable and resilient communities
- How it’s easy to get caught in a planning paralysis when looking at what to do to become more sustainable and why it’s important to act
- Why it’s key to start thinking now about potentially relocating communities and how to do this in a sustainable and resilient way
- The need to ensure that your business understands its natural resource capital
- Why changing our mindset and re-evaluating our priorities in life are essential to create sustainable and resilient communities and world
Join L. Hunter Lovins, co-founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions and author of A Finer Future to hear:
- How growing up around Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez influenced Hunter and her commitment to creating a sustainable world
- The solutions we already have available to us that will help create a sustainable future for everyone
- How business – and capitalism - is the most powerful force we have to create a sustainable world
- The importance of government in facilitating our transition to a sustainable world and why we all need to be involved in politics
- Why each one of us has to find what works for us in how we create a sustainable life, a sustainable business and help contribute to creating a sustainable world
Join Tabitha Jayne, Founder of EarthSelf to hear about:
- The negative narratives that exist within sustainable movements that prevent us from seeing progress
- The importance of removing our emotional response when we consider our need to become sustainable
- How stereotypes can get in the way of people being and becoming sustainable
- Why the language used in sustainable business can disconnect people from the movement
- What Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can help us understand about why people don’t want to focus on being sustainable and why that’s ok
Join Mike Freni from Kumbaya to discover: +How Kumbaya created a solution that addressed the power, connectivity and knowledge challenges faced by those in the most rural parts of the world +Why the three pillars of healthcare, education and farming are key to helping people out of poverty and the importance of partnerships in bringing this solution to scale +The challenges faced in bringing power, connectivity and knowledge to rural parts of the world and the opportunities it creates +The need to educate people to understand the potential growth and opportunities within the African continent and its future role within our global economy +How to think about the long-term sustainability of your solution - both for the business and the customers
Join Traver Kennedy, CEO of Joi Scientific to find out:
- How nature (and the ocean, especially!) inspired the development of Joi Scientific’s patented hydrogen process and why Joi Scientific didn’t want to rely on government subsidies in developing their technology
- The importance of creating local energy generation in the transition to a carbon-free economy and the execution challenges to bring Joi Scientific’s hydrogen 2.0 solution to scale
- How hydrogen energy solutions can use existing energy infrastructure to minimize cost, speed up implementation and reduce disruption
- Why partnerships and collaboration are key parts of Joi Scientific’s business model to bring their solution to scale
- The environmental reason behind the development of Citrix’s GoToMeeting technology
Join Bill Browning from Terrapin Bright Green to discover:
- The ways in which nature can help us innovate with our products and our people;
- The financial impact of being inspired by nature’s own capacity for creativity and innovation;
- How we can use technology to evolve our buildings into living ecosystems that benefit the planet;
- The simple ways in which you can start tapping into nature now in your business;
- What science is telling us about how we interact with our environment
Join Tabitha Jayne, Founder of EarthSelf as she shares an extract from her forthcoming book "Loving Life Through Nature: The Path to a Sustainable World" to find out:
- Why our relationship to the natural world is important;
- The importance of re-defining our relationship with nature for a sustainable world;
- How loving life can help us become more sustainable;
- What the 9 values of loving life are;
- How you can explore the ways in which you already love life and what you can do to enhance it.
Join Alexander McCobin, CEO of Conscious Capitalism, Inc and find out more about: The human nature of capitalism and why it’s a force for good; The 4 tenets of conscious capitalism and how they apply to your business; The link between our human journey and conscious capitalism; Why most people are already doing business for good but don’t know it; What steps you can take to become more conscious in your business.
Join Tom Ranken, President and CEO of the CleanTech Alliance to find out:
- Why research and development is key to the CleanTech Industry;
- The importance of creating better, faster, cheaper and cleaner solutions;
- What it takes to bring new technology to market;
- Why it’s important to understand the value to both customers and the market when developing new technology;
- The challenges facing those in the CleanTech Industry and how to overcome them.
Join Valeria Duflot, co-founder of Venezia Authentica to discover:
- The impact of unsustainable tourism on the local economy;
- The difference between “day tourism” and “conscious tourism”;
- How tourism can be a vehicle for sustainable economic development;
- The need for social enterprise to balance money and mission;
- Why the right partnerships are key to a successful social enterprise.
Join Deanna Bratter, Director of Sustainable Benefit to find out more about:
- Why Danone North America took on the commitment to become a B Corporation;
- The ways in which the organisation were inspired to improve as a result;
- Why you need evidence to support your claim that you’re doing good in business;
- How Danone North America is bringing their vision of ‘One Planet, One Health’ to life;
- The collaborative action Danone North America is taking to make food packaging sustainable and circular.
Join Tabi Jayne, founder of EarthSelf to explore: What Sustainable Fatigue is; The best cure for it and; An inspirational rant of why this cure is so important.
Join Robert-Jan van Ogtrop, founder of Circle Economy and Natural Leadership to discover: How the African bush became a catalyst for resolving a complex business challenge; The financial ROI of investing in the circular economy; The trillion dollar circular economy opportunity; How the circular economy could contribute toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)and; The importance of being able to scale circular economy solutions
Join Tabi Jayne, Founder of EarthSelf for this guided exercise to: Tap into the beauty of the aurora borealis; Find peace in the midst of winter choas; Celebrate your achievements for the year; Identify the emotion to drive your winter forward and; Discover the essential activities you need to do to keep you sane this season.
Tabi Jayne Bio
With nearly a decade's experience in delivering nature connected solutions in a variety of public, private and third sector settings, Tabi is passionate about connecting both humans and business to the natural world for greater well-being, performance and success in the transition to a sustainable world.
Tabi is recognised as an expert in nature connected coaching and facilitation and has interns from around the world who come to learn more about nature connected coaching and training. In 2016, at the request of her clients, she started training individuals in her unique approaches to optimise personal and professional development through engaging with and connecting to the natural world.
She has two Masters; one in Applied Ecopsychology and another in Professional Development: Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology. Tabi is also a certified professional coach who has been integrating nature connection and coaching into EarthSelf's own Nature Connected Coaching Methodology since she first started her own business in 2010.
Tabi is also a published author and the creator of The Nature Process®, a simple way of being in the body and experiencing the natural world through the senses.
Join Ann Pike, Head of Business Development at Quality Scotland to find out more about:
- The link between excellence in business and people, planet, profit;
- The benefits of pursuing excellence in business;
- Why it’s important for Quality Scotland to lead by example and how it achieves this;
- The global network of excellence and how you can connect into it;
- The importance of linking business development to achieving global well-being.
Ann Pike is the Head of Business Development for Quality Scotland, helping Private, Public and Third sector organisations deliver organisational excellence. She provides expertise in all aspects of organisational management including: developing business strategy; preparing and delivering business activity plans; benchmarking; research; improvement planning and implementation; budget management; relationship management and event organisation. Ann is experienced in providing a wide range of business improvement services across traditional and new social media channels and is strong on delivery and ensuring business objectives/outcomes are met. Her background is in Financial Services specialising in Customer Services for all types of products and services.
Extreme sports and natural well-being expert Eric Brymer shares:
- How extreme sports can help you to understand the natural world better;
- The benefits for yourself, your business and the planet that come from extreme sports;
- What you can learn from extreme sports that can help you become a better leader;
- Why extreme sports can help you deepen your relationship with the natural world;
- The power of adventure and how you can bring it into your life today
Join Julia Felton, Chief Challenge Officer at Business Horsepower to discover:
- The 3 ways horses can help us develop our leadership capacity;
- How horse can help us create high-performing teams;
- Why experiential learning with horses positively impacts the workplace;
- Why you need to get clear on your purpose – and how horses can help you do this;
- How horses can help you align your business strategy with what’s important for you
Join Founder & Director of EarthSelf, Tabi Jayne to find out more about
- The three ways we can engage with the natural world
- How the way we engage with nature impacts us as leaders
- What Elon Musk could learn from engaging with nature
- Simple easy ways to start engaging with nature to create transformational change in your life
- The potential for sustainable business in the future
Snjolaug Olafsdottir, founder of Andrymis:
- The benefit of thinking selfishly about sustainability
- Why sustainability starts with know what's important for ourselves
- Why we need to expand our understanding of what sustainable means
- The importance of finding your own starting point when it comes to sustainability
- Why perfectionism can get in the way of becoming sustainable
John King, co-author of Tribal Leadership talks about:
- The five stages of tribal leadership
- What happens when you reach stage four tribal leadership
- The difference between management and leadership and why organisations need leadership
- The power of permission in leadership
- Why nature is the original leader
Schad Eidam, Global Facilities Manager of Park Place Technologies shares:
- How to be both sustainable and profitable in business
- The benefits of making technology last as long as possible
- Why the energy footprint of data centres is getting smaller
- How technology can help us take better care of the environment and save money
- Why honesty and transparency can drive your business forward
Jen Perry, founder and designer of Jelt Belt talks about:
- The inspiration behind Jelt’s patent-pending sustainable belt design
- How Jelt’s belts saves plastic from the ocean and creates job opportunities for women offenders
- Why Jelt’s mission to give back drives the business forward
- The challenges involved in setting up a sustainable fashion brand that gives back
- Why it’s never too late to follow your dreams
Ian Percy from The Ian Percy Corporation shares:
- The ways we experience the world and how this impacts our ability to create possibilities
- Why we need to become future focused in order to create new possibilities
- How we all have the potential to tap into a world of possibilities
- The seven principles of possibilities thinking
- What you can do today to bring more possibilities into your life and business today
Alison Azaria, founder of Fetch shares: Why we need to innovate new ways of living and being for the future; The potential for collaboration between start-ups and corporate; What the challenges are for corporates to successfully innovate; How start-ups and corporates can successfully collaborate and; How Fetch can help accelerate this collaboration
The host of Sustainable: The Podcast, Tabi Jayne, guides you to:
- Reflect on the results you have achieved so far this year
- Consider how these emerging successes can help move your life and business forward in the coming months
Henrik Holm, chairman of Wehlers shares:
- Why Wehlers decided to adopt a circular economy business model
- How they ensure that their furniture can be reused or recycled at the end of its life
- The importance of creating businesses that does good
- What Wehlers do to ensure that they get their furniture back once people don’t want it anymore and how they make this profitable
- The innovative way that Wehlers are helping to clean up the plastic in the oceans
Simon Heyes, CEO from KPS shares:
- Where the idea of kites generating energy came from
- How existing technology is leveraged in the production of "energy kites"
- Why kites can reduce the cost of producing renewable energy
- The benefits of using kites to create renewable energy
- The process to move an early stage conceptual idea into a fully sustainable and commercial business
Dr Neal Lester, Founder of Project Humanities talks about:
- The value of humanities and how it can create transformation in our workplaces and communities
- Why the seven principles of humanity 101 are essential for success
- How recognising that we're different can help create more productive workplaces
- What our unconscious biases are and why it's key to explore them in the workplace
- The power of self-reflection as a tool to help develop our humanity
Ray Lee Bennett & Javier Rosa, Founders of Diving Devil Dogs of Arizona talk about:
- Why spending time in nature is a key aspect of the services they offer
- What happens when veterans spend time in nature together
- How transforming communities can be enhanced by military values
- How giving back to our communities can help create a sense of purpose
- The power of validating people’s experiences and what can happen when you do
Tom Greenwood, CEO of Wholegrain Digital talks about:
- The importance of ensuring your business focuses on customer need
- The power of business as a force for good
- Why it’s key to ensure that all employees, projects and clients are aligned with your values
- Why doing business from your values takes courage and bravery
- The steps you can take to make your website more sustainable
Marit Imeland Gjesme from Culture Catch shares:
- Why misunderstanding culture in an organisation is bad health economics
- How multi-cultural teams can lead to sustainable high performance
- What leaders can do to lead successful multi-cultural high performing teams
- The importance of understanding the cultural difference of organisational values
- Why you need to understand different cultures to be a successful leader
Inventor and entrepreneur, Peter Tsu talks about:
- The inspiration behind his invention, the Ecological Artificial Barrier Reef
- How the Ecological Artificial Barrier Reef generates energy
- What the benefits of this are for local coastal communities
- How it can help create new economic opportunities
- The challenges of taking this from conception to fully working
By harnessing the untapped potential of the ocean, Peter Tse, has invented a way to generate and store renewable energy while protecting coastal areas.
His Ecological Artificial Barrier Reef – is a game changer which can both help reverse the impact of climate change and meet an ever-increasing global demand for energy.
The founder and CEO of CPE Global Limited is a successful UK-based restaurant entrepreneur. Growing up in Hong Kong, he lived and worked on the family’s coastal farm and it was this sustainable way of life that inspired his invention.
His ground-breaking patented process combines tried and tested existing technologies in a new way.
Claudine Blamey from The Crown Estate shares:
- The Crown Estate’s 2030 vision for sustainable success
- The need to measure positive and negative impacts on all forms of capital in the business
- Why monetising impact can help drive sustainable success
- The challenges of doing financials differently
- Why you need to put finance first for sustainable success
Claudine has been Head of Sustainability and Stewardship at The Crown Estate since April 2015. She is responsible for the sustainability strategy for the business and champions The Crown
Estate’s Total Contribution approach, a methodology to measure the economic value of the impact the business has on its ‘capitals’.
Claudine joined from SEGRO where she was Head of Sustainability. Prior to this she was Director of Corporate Responsibility at British Land
Alan Mahon from BrewGooder shares:
- The story behind BrewGooder’s mission to bring one million people clean drinking water
- The ballsy way in which they approach BrewDog to get a partnership with them to brew beer
- Why it’s essential to start with a sound business model if you want to do good
- Why BrewGooder changed their marketing approach from nicey-nice to warrior
- How we can make consumerism altruistic
Alan is the Founder of Brewgooder, the craft beer brand on a mission to bring 1,000,000 people clean drinking water. Brewgooder became the first social enterprise brand to gain a national listing with Asda in October 2016, just 3 months after launching their flagship style Clean Water Lager with a successful £60,000 crowdfund. Brewgooder now has over 1,000 stockists in the UK, and has delivered clean water projects for over 40,000 people.
He is a passionate believer in the power of 'altruistic consumerism' where everyday people can change the world for the better through everyday spending habits and is on a personal mission to bring social enterprise brands into the mainstream.
Sarah Begum shares:
- The power of immersive investigative journalism and how it can help us understand other peoples’ perspectives
- Why her time in the Amazon with an indigenous tribe helped her become more aware, conscious and connected to the planet
- The impact of Sarah’s work for the individuals and communities she reports on
- Why we need to challenge the way people think about the world
- The challenges of carving your own career and how to overcome them
A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Sarah Begum is an Immersive Investigative Journalist, Anthropologist-Explorer and Public Speaker. Sarah has been exploring the world, studying tribes and different ways of life whilst investigating current affairs and making a humanitarian effort to help people along the way through her work.
Sarah’s first film “Amazon Souls” premiered at Cannes in 2013. She has received a number of awards for her work including the “Spirit of Adventure Award” from the Captain Scott Society in 2014 for her expedition “Life in the Darien Gap” and was named one of the “World’s top 17 trailblazers” in 2016.
Sarah trains in martial arts and is an activist for environmental, human and women’s rights; fighting to shine light upon issues internationally.
Andrew Hunt from Aduna shares:
- How an existential crisis from a lack of meaning and purpose in work led Andrew to the ‘smiling coast of Africa’ and the eventual creation of Aduna
- The positive role business can play in creating a viable sustainable market for small scale agriculture in Africa
- What the Baobab tree is and why it’s such a simple important food source in rural Africa
- What a demand creation business model is and why its essential to Aduna’s success
- The innovative way Aduna marketed their product to create demand and the current impact of their success
The host of Sustainable: The Podcast, Tabi Jayne, guides you to:
- Use your upcoming summer break as a tool to help you plan your time more effectively
- Identify the projects you need to be working on right now
- Clarify the stage these projects need to be at to enjoy your summer break
- Discover the one new habit you need to introduce to ensure this happens
Bio:
Tabitha Jayne is an applied psychologist, coach, author and consultant and the founder of EarthSelf, who specialises in developing nature connected well-being and performance in leaders and organisations for sustainable success. With nearly a decade of delivering nature connected solutions in a variety of public, private and third sector settings, Tabitha is the creator of Nature Connected Professional Coach Training Program, the founder (and author) of The Nature Process, a simple way of deepening your connection to nature by being in the body and experiencing nature through the senses. Tabitha is also the creator of the Tree of Transformation Coaching Program, which uses trees as a map and metaphor to help you work smarter and make a greater impact.
Stephen Dunn, COO of Ecosse EV explains:
- The inspiration behind creating a 100% electric car (TESLA!) chauffeur service
- The benefits of using TELSA cars
- Why it’s essential to combine high quality service with electric cars
- How this can help companies enhance their CSR strategies
- Why education is essential in the adoption of Electric Cars
Bio:
Stephen is COO of Edinburgh based ground transportation company Ecosse EV. He has 20 years involvement at senior management levels in the chauffeur industry, customer service and hospitality trade.
Glasgow born, but living in East Lothian, he combines working from home and days at the office - which is situated within the Rural Centre at Ingliston.
Stephen has a passion for the service industry and when the opportunity presented itself to offer this unique (to Scotland) service, in an industry he loves, he had to take it!
Eric Jong from Grocycle shares:
- How the idea for the first UK urban mushroom farm came about
- Why Grocycle use online courses to teach others how to grow mushrooms
- The multiple revenue streams available to businesses that want to make an impact
- Why running your own business is not for the faint-hearted
- The difference between small scale production and commercial scale production in terms of cost
After finishing his MSc in Business Studies in Maastricht, The Netherlands, Eric went to work for two of the world’s largest energy companies. After 6 years of office life both Eric and his wife Zoe decided that this lifestyle didn’t suit them anymore and took the decision to up sticks and travel for a while.
On the trip they visited the permaculture research institute in Australia and helped out on several organic farms. Now fascinated by small scale food production they then ended up doing a full growing season on an organic farm in the Brecon Beacons.
Having become seriously interested in food production Eric and Zoe went and studied sustainable horticulture at Schumacher College in 2011. It was here that Eric crossed paths with Adam. They decided to team up and the project GroCycle was born.
Louise Charles shares:
- The inspiration behind Climeworks' disruptive and impactful technology
- Why we need to go carbon negative – not just neutral
- How Climeworks captures and filters CO2 from the air
- The three positive uses for CO2 once it’s extracted from the air
- The Challenges of CO2 mineralisation
Louise Charles is responsible for communications at Climeworks, helping spread Climeworks’ vision of capturing 1% of global emissions by 2025 far and wide.
Climeworks captures CO2 from air with the world’s first commercial carbon removal technology.
Louise previously worked with the UN and other fledgling spin-off companies across Europe. When she’s not communicating online/offline Louise can be found in the mountains ski touring, climbing or hiking.
Cameron shares:
• How asking yourself empowering questions can help you make a greater impact
• What the three levels of impact we can make are
• Why we need to work on our beliefs and values to create successful behaviour change
• How a multi-sensory approach to communication creates more impact
• Why you need to become your own best friend to make a greater impact
Born and raised in outback Australia, Cameron has turned his dream and passion for helping others into a socially conscious company that empowers people across the globe to make a greater impact.
In 2016, he sold or donated 99% of the things he used to own and embarked on a global quest to show first hand, that how we run our companies, live our lives and utilise our unique talents & strengths, determines our future as a species and the well-being of our planet.
Through the talks he gives, people he coaches, and music & short films he creates that have an audience in 195 countries, Cameron discusses important topics including human potential, creative thinking, sustainability and relationship development.
Kate Fismer talks about:
- How the autonomic nervous system impacts our resilience and physiology.
- Why it is important to be aware of which part of the autonomic nervous system we are currently in and which part we need to be in.
- How we know which part of the autonomic nervous system we are in.
- Which types of experiences can create green moments in the autonomic nervous system.
- Why it is important to discover what our own green moments are and how to do so.
Dr. Pauline Hili talks about:
- How the skin is impacted by the environment arounds us.
- How the skin is an important organ and can indicate the state of our health.
- Why it is important to use ingredients the skin recognises within skin care products.
- What challenges eco-entrepreneurs face and why we should embed sustainability practices into an organisation from the start.
- How, even as a small company, we can influence the way things are done and effect change.
Daren Howarth talks about:
- How carbon balancing looks at a holistic approach to being a responsible business.
- How carbon balancing projects can help those communities being impacted by climate change become more resilient and sustainable.
- What makes Plan Vivo an innovative, accessible and flexible carbon standard.
- Why producing micro-documentaries benefits the project and the funding organisation.
- Why it is important to bring balance back into business and be bold in how we think and act.
Tobias Peggs talks about:
- How growing food locally can change the disconnection of the current food system.
- Why changing population demographics are increasing the need for urban farms.
- What the sustainable impact of the technology used in indoor urban farms is.
- How the Square Roots’ business model is impacting the local community and young entrepreneurial farmers.
- How local farms can help reduce our carbon footprint, produce more nutritious food and bring trust back into the food system.
Wayne Clancy talks about:
- How gathering data on the way people think can help create less conflict
- Why you need to understand where you get your thinking from
- The benefits of inviting people to be part of the design process for business & community innovation
- How collaborative thinking can happen in only five minutes a day
- Why data is the starting point for powerful conversations about possibilities
Wayne Clancy is the Founder of Future Strategies Inc. FSI has over 30 years of experience, helping organizations, communities, not for profits, governments and individuals measure, track and monitor the quality of their key relationships with the ultimate outcome of helping people collaborate to co-create a future full of possibilities.
Wayne is a creator and inventor who brings together technology, data and individuals to collaborate on initiatives designed to make the world a better place. Wayne is also involved with many philanthropic initiatives aimed at helping ‘people work better together.
Resources:
www.mindsuitemetrics.com
Sean Dagan Wood talks to Tabi Jayne about why we need constructive journalism that will trigger the human spirit instead of creating fear.
Sean explains the benefits of constructive journalism and how it can be used beneficially by media companies. Sean also shares his inspiration for turning Positive News into a global co-operative and the challenges faced in growing it.
Bio:
Seán Dagan Wood is editor-in-chief of Positive News, the magazine for good journalism about good things. He is also co-founder of the Constructive Journalism Project, which trains journalists to carry out rigorous reporting about progress and possibility. Seán’s vision is for "a media that, rather than triggering fear, instead triggers the human spirit.”
He has a passion for social enterprise and led a crowdfunding campaign that saw Positive News convert into a global co-operative owned by its readers.
If you enjoyed this episode then check out episode 31 where Ravinol Chambers discusses how storytelling can make sustainability more personal and real.
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In episode 84 Tabi Jayne shares the first of our new seasonal podcasts to help you bring the ancient European seasonal cycles into your personal and professional life.
In this episode, Tabi trains you on how to do a spring seasonal review bringing nature – your own inner nature as well as the nature world – into the heart of your decisions. Tabi has integrated into this episode her experiences of preparing for this podcast while out two different walks to demonstrate how you can draw on the intuitive insights of nature to make better decisions in your life.
Tabi Jayne is an Applied Psychologist, Executive Coach and Consultant. Her background is in the study of the human/nature relationship and how it can contribute to a more sustainable world. Over the last eight years, Tabi developed a number of unique nature centred models, frameworks and training programs.
In her twenties, Tabi founded and directed an award-nominated Scottish non-profit organisation.
She is also a member of the British Psychological Society, a Future Leader with Entrepreneurial Scotland, a RSA Fellow and a certified professional coach.
If you liked this episode then listen to episode 72 where Tabi talks about why nature connection is an overlooked but key part of creating a sustainable business, the benefits of doing so and how you can get started connecting your business to nature today.
WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE TO SUSTAINABLE
You can subscribe to Sustainable so you never miss an episode.
- Click here to subscribe on iTunes
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Leah Hague talks to Tabi Jayne about the need for evidence-based nature connected programs and an innovative way to measure and enhance nature connection in individuals and organisations.
Leah explains how organisational psychology is at the root of what she does, how she is bringing nature connection into organisational psychology, the psychometrics she is developing with EarthSelf and the importance of using an evidence based approach.
Bio:
Leah Hague is a consultant with EarthSelf. Her area of expertise is evidence-based nature connected program development and evaluation. She has experience of working in both the private and public sector and is currently studying for a PhD in Organisational Psychology with Griffith University, Australia. Her research focuses on the impact of nature contact on wellbeing in the workplace.
Leah is also collaborating with EarthSelf to develop the Nature Experiences Questionnaire (NEQ) scale as part of her PhD. The Nature Experiences Questionnaire is based on the hypothesis that nature connection is a state that can be increased to boost well-being. This tool, once empirically validated, has potential future applications in the field of coaching and green prescriptions.
If you like this episode then take a look at episode 74 where Andres Roberts talks about the importance on business and leadership being rooted in nature.
WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE TO SUSTAINABLE You can subscribe to Sustainable so you never miss an episode.
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Benoit Greindl talks to Tabi Jayne about bringing nature, and the connection to nature, back into business.
Benoit talks about how his personal journey impacted the way he set up and ran his latest business venture – Montagne Alternative. He also shares the importance of connecting to nature – both as an individual and then bringing this into an organisation.
Benoit Greindl is an entrepreneur who believes that business can be a force for good when driven by innovation and the idea to create value for society in general.
Benoit started his latest venture 10 years ago in the village of Commeire in the Swiss Alps. Montagne Alternative is a unique mountain retreat. It was developed following the business model of integrating all the stakeholders into the business equation, and was the first B Corporation in Switzerland.
Montagne Alternative has followed these principles through the renovation of the buildings, the development of garden (used for creating learning experiences as well as producing food) and the experience given to the guests.
Benoit previously established businesses in real estate and hospitality, in both Europe and Asia.
Benoit is Chairman of the Board of Libramont Exhibition and Congress and of B Lab (Switzerland). He is also a Board member of The Resilience Institute.
If you liked this episode then take a look at episode 45 where Sophia de Mayer have brought nature into the centre of her business.
Additional information:
- montagne-alternative.com/en
Dr Emily Taylor and Jayne Murdoch talk to Tabi Jayne about sustainable projects being run by the Crichton Carbon Centre.
Emily and Jayne share the benefits of the Refill project and the impact of plastic bottles on individuals, organisations and the planet. They also speak about the benefits of peatlands and restoring them.
Dr Emily Taylor leads the Land Management programme at the Crichton Carbon Centre. Originally from the Isle of Coll, off the west coast of Scotland, Emily’s passion is the countryside and the sustainable management of our natural environment.
She has a BSc from St Andrews University in Marine Environmental Biology, a MSc in Carbon Management and a PhD with Edinburgh University and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology which focuses on the impact of management practices on the carbon dynamics of peatlands.
Jayne Murdoch was a consultant for The Crichton Carbon Centre assisting businesses to comply with ESOS reporting and with Creative Carbon Scotland helping their funded organisations to report and reduce their carbon emissions. She is currently running the Refill D&G campaign to reduce the amount of plastic water bottles used in Dumfries and Galloway.
The Crichton Carbon Centre is an independent, not-for-profit, applied research body which is focused on the challenges and benefits of transitioning to a low carbon society. It focuses on three key areas: rural land management, rural sustainable development and innovative forms of renewable energy.
If you enjoyed this episode then listen to Angelika Konko talk about the benefits of forests.
Additional Information:
- carboncentre.org
- refill.org.uk
Download the Refill Better app for your apple or android phone.
Mark Kenber talks to Tabi Jayne about community owned renewable energy and the benefits to the individual, community and planet.
Mark talks about why it is important that the approach to energy in the UK changes and the challenges faced in changing the status quo. He also shares how community energy projects work and their benefits.
Mark Kenber is CEO of Mongoose Energy. He joined Mongoose in 2016 as Managing Director of their Energy Supply Business. Mark is an economist who has had a wide-ranging career in government, business, academic and civil society organisations, he is a recognised expert on international climate change and policy and has led a number of ground-breaking initiatives in the fields of climate change and energy. Prior to joining Mongoose he had been CEO of The Climate Group, advisor to the Ecuadorian government and lecturer at the Catholic University in Quito and the Institute of Development Studies.
Mongoose Energy works with community groups, commercial project developers and investors to identify, develop, finance, build and manage community-owned renewable energy installations. They are majority owned by the community groups they work with and encourage new energy groups to become members. The technologies Mongoose focus on are ground mounted solar, roof top solar, wind, hydro and anaerobic digestion.
If you liked this episode check out episode 11 where David Hogg talks about creating a hydrogen energy storage system.
Additional Information:
- mongoose.energy
- mongoosecrowd.co.uk
John Mckenzie talks to Tabi Jayne about The GlenWyvis Distillery project – a community owned distillery powered by renewable energy.
John shares the inspiration which led him to developing green energy projects on his farm and the motivation behind creating the distillery. He also discusses the aims of the GlenWyvis Distillery Community Benefit Society and the challenges they have faced in developing the distillery project.
John shares the inspiration which led him to developing green energy projects on his farm and the motivation behind creating the distillery. He also discusses the aims of the GlenWyvis Distillery Community Benefit Society and the challenges they have faced in developing the distillery project.
An ex-Army Air Corps helicopter pilot, John runs The Flying Farmer business which he established in 2007 on the edge of his home town of Dingwall. A green energy advocate, John had completed a range of renewable energy projects at his livestock farm – including a hydro scheme, wind turbine, solar pv, biomass, solar thermal and solar gain. The borehole and electric car complete the set up!
These existing energy systems are now being used to power GlenWyvis Distillery, which is located on the farm. Four sites on John’s farm are now rented to the distillery on a 175 year lease for a fee of just £1. GlenWyvis is the first community owned distillery which was initiated by John following extensive research and planning.
The GlenWyvis Distillery Community Benefit Society (the owner of the distillery) is a business which is truly focused on social, environmental and economic sustainability. It raised £2.6 million in 77 days in 2016, which was the largest UK community share offer ever, with 60% of the members coming from the local IV postcode area. The GlenWyvis Distillery will open on St Andrews Day (30th November) 2017
A keen promoter of Community Ownership, John has backed ten other community projects throughout Scotland.
John really enjoys being outdoors and the exhilaration from being out in the wilderness. He also does a lot of charity work having completed 10 Highland Cross events and various mountain marathons and road races.
If you like this episode listen to episode 38 where Morag Garden talks about turning the Scotch Whisky Association into a sustainable industry.
Additional information: glenwyvis.com
Laura Storm talks to Tabi about key changes that need to happen to move us to a more sustainable world by opening the definition and how we can each make an impact. Laura shares how business can contribute towards this and benefit from integrating sustainability into their organisation. She also discusses how the way we live our lives, how we treat ourselves and our environment are all interconnected.
Laura Storm is an experienced thought-leader and international keynote speaker within the field of sustainability. She has dedicated her entire professional career to making global companies and organizations aware of the benefits of improved sustainability practice, helping global sustainable solutions succeed, and making the sustainability agenda more attractive. She is driven by a strong passion for improving the state of our societies and consciousness and helping in the push for a sustainable transition.
Laura is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and in 2013 Laura was awarded the Global Greenbiz’ “Worldchanger” Award. She has also been selected to join the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network as an expert in sustainable development and climate change and serves as an Advisory Board member on the WEF ‘Shaping the Future of Urban Development and Services Initiative’.
Among projects and organizations that Laura has headed and helped initiate are the Copenhagen Climate Council, the World Business Summit on Climate Change, Project Green Light, and Sustainia. All with a strong commitment to combat climate change and transform our societies towards sustainability.
If you like this episode try episode 52 where Will Richardson talks about why improving a business’s environmental sustainability is a ‘no-brainer’.
Additional information: laura-storm.com
Duncan Goose speaks to Tabi Jayne about creating a water brand that gives away all its profits to water projects.
Duncan shares the motivation behind creating a brand that gives away its profits to fund projects to help people gain access to clean water, the challenges he has faced making a bottled water company environmentally friendly and the biggest challenges in creating The One Brand. Duncan also discusses the challenges humanity is currently facing in terms of access to clean water.
Duncan Goose is Founder and CEO of Global Ethics Limited, The One Foundation and One Drinks – the UK’s leading ethical drinks brand that donates it profit to clean water projects.
In 1998 Duncan lived through Hurricane Mitch, which killed 20,000 people and caused billions of dollars' worth of damage. Clean water became a hugely valuable commodity and at one point he had to smuggle a bottle of water – given to him by an American military relief flight – out of a compound. When he came home he went back into the marketing industry, but always wondered what he could do to help people less fortunate. A few years later that idea became One Water; a bottled water brand that gives away its profit to help people gain access to clean water.
Driven by his passion for helping those without clean drinking water and committed to making changes to the WASH sector, Duncan is now building on the expertise acquired over the past decade to venture into new areas of international development - in addition to overseeing the daily running of One. This includes launching the Global Investment Fund for Water, a global partnership with the bottled water sector to end water poverty by using a one cent per litre contribution to create a catalytic investment fund for water and sanitation.
Duncan has celebrated numerous milestones during One’s twelve-year history, including a Great Briton Award, European Entrepreneur of the Year Award, UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Beacon Fellowship award and an International ‘Hero’ Award in recognition of his role and continuing efforts to bring clean water to the 663 million people without access to it. But his proudest remains celebrating raising over £15 million for water projects, changing the lives of over 3.2 million people.
One’s aim is to raise £20 million for water projects by 2020 and you can help by picking up a bottle of One Water, Juiced Water, Origins or Gin at Starbucks, Holland & Barrett, UK airports at World Duty Free and Amazon.co.uk – because when you drink One, the world drinks too.
Jonathan Trimble and Jonathan Wise speak to Tabi Jayne about purpose led advertising.
Jonathan and Jonathan explain to Tabi about what purpose led advertising is and why it is important. How authenticity and conversations are as, if not more, important than the use of technology and data in purpose-led advertising, and how to bring purpose into the core of the business.
Jonathan Trimble is CEO of 18 Feet & Rising. Formerly a Group Director at Fallon London and Head of Account Management at DDB London, Jonathan has previously led
work on BBC, Sony, Unilever and the Guardian and was named in the Sunday Times Debrett’s 500 most influential people in advertising in 2014.
Jonathan Wise is co-founder of The Comms Lab. He’s worked on brands such as Shell, Nestle, Kraft, Diageo and the BBC and his Awards include Gold at the IPA Effectiveness Awards for the launch of TV channel, Dave.
In 2010 Jonathan started a Masters in Sustainability where he acknowledged the link between advertising and climate change. From this experience he co-founded The Comms Lab, whose mission is to ‘maximise the positive impact of the advertising industry’. He co-authored the report ‘Reclaiming Agency’ which frames the opportunity for agencies to reclaim their moral agency. In doing so they will be more attractive to clients and talent.
If you liked this episode try episode 46 where Jo Cruickshanks talks about conscious and sustainable marketing.
Additional Information
http://www.18feet.com/home/
https://www.thecommslab.com/
Tom Bage speaks to Tabi Jayne about turning coffee into biofuels and biochemicals.
Tom explains to Tabi how bio-bean® came into being and how the biofuel is created. He shares the successes bio-bean® celebrated along the way and the challenges that they faced in developing and scaling the business. He also talks about how the business supports a sustainable economy and advice on how to do something similar.
Tom Bage is Head of Communications & Marketing with bio-bean® and spent a decade helping CEOs, businesses and campaigners use communications to achieve their objectives. Prior to joining bio-bean® he was Deputy Director of Change.org in the UK.
Founded in 2013 by Arthur Kay, bio-bean® is the first company in the world to industrialise the process of recycling waste coffee grounds into advanced biofuels and biochemicals.
If you enjoyed this episode try episode 47 where Gerrard Fisher talks about how the circular economy is an essential part of sustainability.
Additional Information
http://www.bio-bean.com/
Andres Roberts shares his thoughts with Tabi Jayne on business, leadership and the importance of them being rooted in nature.
Andres discusses with Tabi the purpose of business, why we need to redefine our definition of progress and nature being at the core of business. He also explains why bio-leadership is needed in today’s world and how leaders can start getting their business connected to nature.
Andres is a guide, facilitator, and advisor dedicated to new kinds of progress, fit for a positive future for all. His work combines renewed ideas about leadership and change, reconnection to Nature, and the wisdom of ancient cultures to help more positive and more systemic change happen.
Andres has gone deep into his own journey reconnecting with Nature and traditional wisdom. Bringing 15 years of experience in learning and change, he has studied with amazing teachers and elders from across the world, making these lessons more accessible for the modern world.
Andres is co-founder of Way of Nature UK and founding partner of The Bio-Leadership Project, a project that helps people address 21st Century challenges by working more closely in partnership with Nature about how nature can help us redefine how we do business.
If you enjoyed this episode try episode 18 in which Paul Adderley talks about how you can reconnect you and your business to nature.
Additional Information
http://www.bio-leadership.org/
http://wayofnature.co.uk/
Philip Cox-Hynd highlights to Tabi Jayne the role mindfulness plays in making positive change in an organisation.
In this Episode Tabi discusses with Philip how choosing change is an important choice for businesses wishing to grow and in move in a sustainable direction, and how mindfulness is part of any change management strategy. They also talk about how to combine mindfulness and inner understanding to create engagement and allow positive change.
Philip Cox-Hynd is the co-founder of consultancy business Harley Young. Philip is a seasoned business consultant, author and mindfulness expert who specialises in combining hard-nosed business thinking with key concepts in mindfulness in order to drive positive change in organisations.
Philip’s expertise in business combined with a unique insight into human development led to him becoming a strategic and cultural change management expert. Through his company, Harley Young, Philip has designed and implemented growth-led change programs for large and small corporations such as Barclays, Pfizer, Microsoft, Arup and Ella's Kitchen.
If you enjoyed this episode try episode 45 where Sofia de Mayer shares the practices she uses in creating a sustainable company.
http://earthself.org/2017/04/nature-centred-business/
Additional information
https://harley-young.co.uk/
Tabi Jayne the host of Sustainable: The Podcast uses this episode to explain why nature connection is an overlooked but key part of creating a sustainable business, the benefits of doing so and how you can get started connecting your business to nature today.
Tabi Jayne is an applied psychologist and consultant. Her background is in the study of the human/nature relationship and how it can contribute to a more sustainable world. Over the last seven years, Tabi developed a number of unique nature centred models, frameworks and training programs.
In her twenties, Tabi founded and directed an award-nominated Scottish non-profit organisation.
She is also a member of the British Psychological Society, a Future Leader with Entrepreneurial Scotland, a RSA Fellow and a certified professional coach.
If you liked this episode listen to episode 30 where Tabi poses the question ‘What does Sustainable mean?’
Additional info:
http://earthself.org
www.thenatureprocess.co
Ron Bergamini speaks to Tabi Jayne about creating a profitable, sustainable and innovative company.
Tabi asks Ron about the importance of single stream recycling, why giving back to the communities they serve is important, balancing profitability and sustainability and finding innovative ways to reduce waste.
Ron Bergamini is the CEO of Action Environmental Group, which is New York City’s most progressive and innovative provider of non-hazardous waste management services, serving a diverse range of industrial and commercial customers, including restaurants, hospitals, medical facilities, building contractors, retailers, malls, plaza, universities, schools and stadiums.
Action’s state-of-the-art Material Recovery Facility processes paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, and aluminium. The site, located in the Bronx, keeps thousands of pounds of recyclable materials out of landfills. The colour and infrared sorting technologies make the recycling process streamlined and simple for customers, and makes the facility wholly unique.
Ron joined Action as CEO in April 2007 after a twenty-year career as an attorney representing various sectors of the business community, including many organizations in the solid waste and recycling industries. Immediately before joining Action, he served as General Counsel to Interstate Waste Services.
Additional information
Sustainable Episode 6 with Paul Easto from Wilderness Scotland
http://actionenvironmentalgroup.com/
Hamilton Perkins tells Tabi Jayne about turning plastic bottles into travel bags and t-shirts.
In this episode Tabi asks Hamilton about discovering plastic bottles could be turned into travel bags, creating opportunities for people in Haiti, why it is important for businesses to be mindful of their social and environmental impact and the biggest challenges faced in developing a sustainable and ethical brand.
Hamilton Perkins is the founder and President of Hamilton Perkins Collection, an e-commerce retailer, offering designer travel bags at an affordable price, while holding the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Hamilton Perkins Collection has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, The Washington Post, and Money Magazine.
Prior to starting Hamilton Perkins Collection, Hamilton was an Investment Advisor at Merrill Lynch and, earlier, worked as an Analyst at Bank of America.
If you liked this podcast try episode 34 where Kresse Wesling talked to Tabi about creating innovative products from decommissioned fire hoses.
Additional information
https://hamiltonperkins.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESwySLVaDEk
Rhea Silva speaks to Tabi Jayne about her plans to change the way the world houses its people by offering high quality dignified housing solutions in a market that fails to cater for those at the bottom of the housing pyramid.
Tabi discusses with Rhea why global housing shortages are important to her, how to create social impact, high quality housing and profitability, the positive impact of technology has on the projects and how social housing can be green.
Rhea Silva is the founder of Chototel, a social impact business creating affordable housing solutions. She founded the organisation at age 24 and is a third generation entrepreneur. Coming from a family immersed in real estate Rhea has a sound understanding of land, finance and operations of hotels and affordable housing and is educated in business management and law.
Chototel hotels aim is to disrupt the global housing industry and the company focused on the challenge of resolving the problem of housing poverty. The first pilot project has commenced construction near Mumbai in India.
Additional info:
http://www.chototel.co.uk/
www.socialstockexchange.com
Rosie Sweetman shares with Tabi Jayne how business has a role to play in addressing the challenges we face – both socially and environmentally.
In this episode Tabi talks to Rosie about why business as a force for good is important, how collaboration amongst competitors can help in tackling industry wide challenges, the benefits of being a b-corp, and why it is important to practice what you preach.
Rosie, former Director of Business of Community Cymru, is now Director of Sweetmans and Partners, a training, coaching and consultancy business that supports organisations to achieve their people and business development goals in ways that benefit society as well as their clients and their people. She is an experienced business development professional and qualified coach, with a strong track record in leadership, strategic planning, responsible business practice and complex relationship management.
If you liked this podcast try episode 40 where Eileen Vincette talks about creating a business that does good.
Additional information
http://www.sweetmansandpartners.com/
Find out about B Corps at https://www.bcorporation.net/
Jon Alexander speaks to Tabi Jayne about the need for all of us to become citizens and how this impacts business.
Tabi asks Jon about a participatory society and why it is important, the difference between a consumer and citizen mindset, what influence these differing mindsets have and the impact the shift from consumer to citizen mindset will have on business.
Jon Alexander is the co-founder of the New Citizenship Project - a social innovation lab that helps catalyse the shift to a more participatory society. Jon spent his first working decade in brand strategy, both in some of London’s top agencies and also directly for Sainsbury’s and the National Trust, all the time seeking to apply creative skills for positive social and environmental ends. He is both geek and athlete, having completed three Master’s degrees and as many Ironman-distance triathlons.
Additional information:
https://www.newcitizenship.org.uk/
Jeannie Boyle shares with Tabi Jayne how managing our money with a social and environmental focus can make us feel good, give us a better return on investment and help create a more sustainable world.
Tabi asks Jeannie why emotions are so important in the way your do business, about how placing focus on social and environmental impact is important for the organisation as well as discussing the EQ foundation which supports a number of differing charities.
Jeannie Boyle has been working in financial services for over 10 years. She joined EQ in 2008 as a Technical Consultant and since 2010 has been a Director of the firm. Jeannie is a Chartered Financial Planner and in 2015 won Money Management’s Ethical Financial Planner of the Year Award. She appears regularly in national and trade media outlets discussing personal finance issues. Outside of work, Jeannie enjoys yoga, hiking, triathlons and live music.
Additional information
https://eqinvestors.co.uk/
Esther Foreman and Tabi Jayne talk about why social change is important and shares how collaboration, and doing so in innovative ways, can result in creative solutions for social change.
Tabi asks Esther about building a movement, the impact some of the social impact projects have had and the strategies and practices for social impact that the organisation has in place.
Esther has spent over 15 years working in the not for profit, social enterprise and business sectors, running award winning campaigns, supporting enterprise and building teams. She founded The Social Change Agency in 2013 believing that effective social change can only be achieved if people work and grow together.
Esther is a 2011 Clore Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow 2012 and a SSE Fellow, 2013. She is a Trustee of the National MS Society.
Additional info:
http://thesocialchangeagency.org/
With seemingly endless news about the irresponsible and destructive actions of greedy corporations, it’s tempting to conclude that profit is the driver of all social and environmental ills. While true in many cases, it is equally true that profit has immense power to improve our communities and the world at large. With the help of specialized coaches and consultants, an ever-expanding network of sustainably-minded business people are tapping into profit’s power for good.
Meet Leesa Muirhead, founder of Adessy Associates. Since 2011, Adessy has guided organisations towards their larger purpose through mindful coaching and collaboration. Their holistic approach has given professionals from all corners of the business world – entrepreneurs, investors, and philanthropists – the tools to maximize positive impact.
In this episode:
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Leesa’s realization after years of activism that working from the inside offers the greatest potential for creating change.
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Thinking positive: the importance of embracing change and moving beyond feeling overwhelmed by big problems.
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The success of the 2015 Pioneers for Change fellowship, which coached an international group of businesspeople and helped them find their individualized purpose.
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Certifications as a process rather than an end-goal: how they can serve as benchmarks and indicators of a company’s strengths and shortcomings.
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Understanding your business’s sphere of influence, and how to shift the focus from profit to the people making it all happen.
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If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again: the underappreciated value of failure in developing innovation.
If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito. Making a lasting, positive impact in the world is not a result of throwing money indiscriminately at problems. It’s about a focused, calculated investment of resources guided by sustainable principles. Every person, whatever their means, has the potential to enact positive change. But how do they find their niche?
Meet Marco Nannini, CEO of Impact Hub and and senior advisor to Fabrique, social innovation incubators based in Milan, Italy. With 20 years experience in management consulting, start-ups, and investing, Marco is helping us rethink the dynamic balance between philanthropy, economics, and socio-environmental sustainability.
In this episode:
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The fundamental difference between a conventional and a high-impact business is not in the way they operate; it's in where they place their values.
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Why the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy should be questioned when it comes to sustainable business.
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How Marco’s past experience in the telecom industry got him thinking about energy use and ultimately sustainable business.
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How being coherent about your business's underlying values will help you avoid the mistake of sacrificing impact for the sake of cost.
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Two-for-one: How a popular shoe company thought outside of the box (literally), simultaneously cutting costs and reducing waste.
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Why high ROI and high impact are no longer mutually exclusive in the venture capital market.
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Where philanthropy falls short: why creating positive change in the world is as much about empowerment as it is about giving.
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Marco’s personal inspiration: sailor Ellen MacArthur, who opened our eyes to marine plastic pollution and championed the idea of a circular economy.
There’s an old saying: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Many of the systems that we engage with—such as business—are built and operated according to good intentions. However, it often seems like these systems fall short of their ideals. Worse yet, they can end up dehumanizing the very people they set out to provide value for. There must be a better way to transform those intentions into reality.
Meet Christophe Fauconnier, CEO of Innate Motion and a board member of African Drive, in/PACT, and B Corp Europe. Good people do bad things because they are caught in dehumanizing systems. Christophe’s objective is to re-humanize the business world and enable good people to simply be good. In this episode, hear how Innate Motion and other organizations bring the human element back into business through smart marketing and operational strategies.
In this episode:
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How Christophe’s upbringing in apartheid South Africa and subsequent studies in psychology and marketing inspired him to create Innate Motion
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The social and economic success of African Drive, a company dedicated to improving the availability and safety of transportation in the country of Benin
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Why underlining the human aspects of a business proposal is critical for attracting investors
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The Cartesian mind-trap: how adopting an overly rationalized view of the world makes us blind to the big picture
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No borders, no bosses, no bricks: how technology and personal connection combine to form Innate Motion’s operational structure
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“Nature is normally a place where you can become humble again, and yet full of joy.” Christophe’s stargazing experiences in South Africa, and his own take on what sustainability means
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The human ecosystem: ways people and businesses can help each other unlock their capacity to create value
It’s only in recent history that certain ‘intelligent’ animals—apes, dolphins, octopuses, and many others—have been scientifically acknowledged as having qualities that were once thought to be unique to humans. But do they have a ‘spirit?’ Many animal-lovers would answer yes, without hesitation. Try asking the same question about plants or soil; the general response won’t be nearly as confident. It’s a challenging idea, but for a growing number of biodynamic farmers, a necessary one to explore.
Robert Eden is the co-owner of Chateau Maris, a French vineyard dedicated to biodynamic farming and winemaking. After 17 years in the conventional wine industry, Robert bought Chateau Maris and started conducting experiments, starting with soil cultivation and culminating in the construction of a unique wine cellar. The surprising results of these ongoing experiments, in Robert’s words, “Woke us up to the spirituality of the plant.” The wine is pretty good, too.
In this episode:
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The story behind Chateau Maris, and how what initially seemed like a bad purchase proved it’s value by pushing Robert to learn and innovate
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Proof of concept: How a simple experiment growing carrots demonstrated the impact of lunar and planetary cycles on farming
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Seize the day: Robert’s thoughts on why it’s important to live in the now and experience the workings of nature in real-time
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Why biodynamic farming is not the easier route, but the more worthwhile one
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How Chateau Maris’ hemp brick cellar passively regulates temperature and absorbs CO2, all while remaining fully biodegradable
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How coming to recognize the spirit and soul of plants was a pivotal moment in Robert’s personal and professional life
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Robert talks about his hero, Jane Goodall, and how her work with chimps caused a paradigm shift in the way we relate to nature
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Why respect for environment and respect for human community are two sides of the same coin
Whether in the corporate world, academia, or politics, “diversity” is a hot issue. And rightly so; along the lines of race, gender, faith, and sexual orientation, opportunities to benefit from these institutions are far from equal. When it comes to people with some form of disability or handicap, the discrepancy is even more pronounced. How can we improve diversity within our institutions, without turning it into a meaningless administrative criteria or tokenizing certain groups of people?
Be vulnerable. Forget about management models. And most importantly, be true to yourself. Meet Otto Reuchlin, founder and director of Peer Administration. For the last three and a half years, Peer has provided accounting services for clients large and small in the Netherlands. What makes them truly unique is that their entire staff consists of either individuals with so-called occupational disabilities or refugees from countries like Syria. Sounds radical? From Otto’s perspective, “I always say we are a normal company and the others are strange.”
In this episode:
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“We fit jobs to people, not people to jobs.” Why Peer Administration did away with job descriptions.
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Why giving people certain kinds of special treatment can morph into another form of discrimination.
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Vulnerability as a two-way street: why managers need to take an honest look at themselves to empathize with their employees.
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Otto challenges the assumption that hiring employees with occupational disabilities requires special skills; being sensitive is the only requirement.
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Why turning diversity and sustainability into performance indicators corrupts their true value.
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How Otto’s personal growth manifested itself in Peer Administration, and why authenticity comes before all else.
Like it or not, the power to save – or doom – the world is in the hands of business. Unfortunately, many of the environmentally-related strategies and programs companies enact are more about looking good than saving the world. What’s needed is a fundamental shift in values: making sustainability a necessary goal rather than just a means to an end.
Sustainability consultants are making that shift happen. Sandra Feltham and her company, Flagship CSR Consultancy, are breaking new ground in the Czech Republic and Slovakia by giving companies sound advice on sustainable strategy and development. They recognize that for sustainability to work, it needs to align with both the present needs and long-term goals of a company.
In this episode:
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“We help companies to be not just the best in the world but the best for the world.” Sandra explains Flagship’s strategies for helping businesses succeed both financially and environmentally.
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The problem with ‘greenwashing,’ and why monetary donations are more about image than making meaningful changes.
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Getting back to basics: how sustainability should ultimately be about logic, ethics, and morality.
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Why sustainability doesn’t work as a side practice, and how employee involvement is crucial.
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Sandra shares one of her personal inspirations: Marks & Spencer’s two-fold strategy of building customer loyalty and responsibly managing their supply chain through sustainable practices.
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The challenges facing sustainable development in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
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The 3-part formula for sustainable business: get the right employees, never stop innovating, and develop workable strategies through risk analysis.
Everyone wants to help make the world a better place. But then why do relatively few people actually go out and do something about it? As consumers, as volunteers, even as business-owners, we tend to feel so small that even our best efforts won’t make a dent in the daunting social and environmental issues that face us. Social networking technology is the key to changing that perception.
There’s strength in numbers. Nick Davies is founder of Neighbourly, a social network that takes the guesswork out of volunteering by connecting businesses, volunteers, and charities. Want to help your community, but don’t know where to start? Neighbourly is here to help.
In this episode:
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A paradigm shift in the businesses world: transitioning from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to Creating Shared Value (CSV).
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How social media technology – if used correctly – can be a driver of sustainability rather than a distraction.
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Why traditional advertising is becoming increasingly ineffective, and how companies can put that money to better use through community involvement.
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“We may have thousands of staff, but we have millions of customers.” Nick’s thoughts on how companies can mobilize their customer base to tackle the big issues.
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The conventional reasons why people have trouble committing to volunteer work, and why Neighbourly is a great way to get your feet wet.
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Consumer choice matters: how rewarding companies that do the right thing leads to societal change.
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Why ‘profit on purpose’ is the future of responsible business practice, and the emerging world of B-corporations.
Homo sapiens, our namesake, literally means “wise man.” Just how wise are we? Well, although we invented the wheel, we have a very bad habit of reinventing it. Instead of going back to the drawing board, maybe we should take a walk through the forest instead. Nature is the ultimate engineering school, and the growing field of biomimicry is using those lessons to find truly novel technological solutions.
Michel Wofstirn is co-founder of Biomimicry Norway, a non-profit organisation providing workshops, seminars, and consulting services about integrating biomimicry and circular economy principles. Their message: learn from nature rather than trying to outsmart it. Hear how ecological ideas will shape the future of engineering, and how Michel and his colleagues are spreading the word.
In this episode:
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How a focus on ‘function’ cuts through the jargon and lets scientists, engineers, and businesses understand one another.
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“I want to thrive alongside the rest of nature.” Michel reminds us that preservation is a stopgap method, and that ultimately we should learn to grow with and be a part of nature.
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One man’s trash is another man’s treasure: how the circular economy model treats waste as an economic resource.
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Why nature is not all about competition (and why we should take nature documentaries with a grain of salt)
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How to ask the right questions when it comes to biomimicry, and some recommended design tools
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Michel’s personal story of joining and eventually leaving behind the oil industry, his discovery of biomimicry, and his thoughts on the role of technology in sustainability.
Are scientists bad communicators, or are non-scientists bad listeners? Perhaps a little of both. Partly, this is due to the insular nature of academia. But even for conservation scientists who leave campus and spend time ‘in the field,’ their connection with local people may still be lacking or absent entirely. Surely this is a mistake; solutions to environmental problems are just as much social and economic as they are scientific. How can we break down the communication barrier between researchers and local communities?
Brad Fankel is the founder of Flooglebinder, a company that connects university students to conservation projects around the world. Brad and co-founder Ian Taylor believe that travel is a formative experience, particularly for young people who lack work experience or a clear career path. The creation of ‘global citizens’ – individuals who demonstrate understanding and empathy towards people of other cultures and places – is central to Flooglebinder’s philosophy. Hear about how Flooglebinder is putting the community back in conservation science.
In this episode:
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How Flooglebinder gives university students the opportunity to engage in meaningful work and simultaneously broaden their perspective
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The domino effect: how small, everyday choices really do matter when it comes to the environment
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The origin story of Flooglebinder, and its winning formula of science, community, and cultural understanding
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Know your audience: why conservationists and researchers need to tailor their message to be taken seriously by non-scientists
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Brad recounts a moving experience with an elephant herd in Sri Lanka, and why ‘taking time to smell the roses’ is important for tourists and researchers alike
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“If you give a man a fish…” How travellers can help communities and the environment by supporting local business, and why researchers have a social responsibility towards local people
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. A simple but powerful mantra. Our seemingly careless consumption of freshwater, minerals, and fossil fuels usually takes the spotlight in conversations about our impact on the planet, and for good reason. By comparison, remarkably little attention is given to the true environmental – and human – cost of the garment industry. The production and sale of clothes is largely based on disposability, planned obsolescence, and exploitation of cheap labor. But before you give away all your clothes and join a nudist colony, just try thinking about garments as a resource rather than a disposable commodity.
That’s exactly what Bert Vanson is doing as the founder and CEO of Mud Jeans. Based in the Netherlands, the company’s Lease a Jean program offers customers the ability to exchange or give back their used clothes. These materials are then re-purposed into new, high-quality garments. Hear how Bert is taking on the fashion establishment, and why looking good and feeling good about your clothes shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.
In this episode:
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Understand the hidden cost of cheap fashion, and why inexpensive clothes are bad for both the environment and the global economy
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Bert’s commitment to the circular economy, from the cotton field all the way to the fitting room
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Customers as brand ambassadors: how offering a quality product pays for itself by generating positive reputation and loyalty
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Learn how Mud Jeans has already incorporated up to 40% post-consumer waste into its products, and still has room to keep improving in the future
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Mud Jeans’ “never-out-of-stock” model, putting just enough product on the market to sell, but not lose value
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Bert’s 30 years of experience in the fashion industry: what’s changed, and what needs to change
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The financial and personal challenges of insisting on sustainability in an unsustainable industry, and why taking a long-term view is critical for success
Once just a fad, speciality foods are now big business. Both the customer base and the number and variety of suppliers have grown rapidly over the past few decades, and show little sign of slowing down. But the industry’s expansion also poses significant challenges, both environmentally and economically. How can small businesses stay small, and deliver quality products, sustainably? The solution: a socially and environmentally responsible wholesale distributor.
Cotswold Fayre is one such distributor. Active in the UK for over 17 years, Cotswold Fayre has streamlined interactions between local suppliers and small retailers. Their founder and CEO, Paul Hargreaves, has a vision for the business that goes far beyond just turning a profit. Besides helping their nearly 2,000 clients and 350 suppliers conduct business, the company’s side projects support young entrepreneurs in the specialty foods industry as well as a charity in Kenya. Hear about Paul’s experience as a wholesale distributor, and why he thinks there’s more to business than making money.
In this episode:
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Learn about Cotswold Fayre’s Young Food and Drink Entrepreneur of the Year award, and its mission to bring more young talent into the industry
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Paul’s two main pieces of advice for anyone running a sustainable business: get the right people, and go with your gut!
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The challenges and rewards of working with small suppliers and customers, and how Cotswold Fayre acts as a central hub for high-quality food products
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Paul describes his ongoing involvement with a charity in Kenya, and how Cotswold Fayre’s support goes to creating capital projects with the eventual goal of self-sufficiency
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How mass production hurts local business, and why Paul brings ‘community’ into everything that he does
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Why the right work-life balance is not a balance at all, but an integrated whole; Paul’s thoughts on how jobs can and should be opportunities for creativity and enjoyment
Despite their best intentions, many individuals still find it difficult to make environmentally-conscious decisions. Whether out of convenience or lack of incentive, people often fail to adopt the practices that by now are common knowledge – utilizing alternative transportation, changing their diet, and turning off the air conditioning. Given how challenging it is to change the habits of individual members of society, one might assume that doing the same at the institutional level is near impossible. In reality, reducing a business’s environmental impact is not only very possible, but financially beneficial as well.
Enter Will Richardson. Will is the managing director of Green Element, a consultancy agency that helps businesses rectify their environmental shortcomings and at the same time reduce expenses. Combining new analytical tools, innovative office technology, and sound financial advice, Green Element provides businesses with practical solutions for their particular environmental goals. Hear why improving a business’s environmental sustainability is, as Will puts it, a ‘no-brainer.’
In this episode:
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Will’s simple recipe for sustainability: understand where you are and what you’re doing. Only from there can you develop and execute a good plan.
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Learn how Green Element ‘practices what it preaches’ by going paperless and using alternative transportation to reach clients
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Green Element’s recent project Compare Your Footprint, the world’s first comprehensive online carbon footprint calculator
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Will’s future plan to create an exchange network for environmental job-seekers and charities
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Why psychology, not necessarily money or time, is a significant obstacle to achieving sustainability
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Will tells us about his business role models, and why company loyalty is an essential resource
As the world becomes more globalized, and as science continues to challenge our perceptions, we gain new insights into the fundamental interconnectedness of just about everything – people, environment, energy, climate, culture, information. In particular, the web of relationships surrounding business and the economy is astoundingly complex and significant. So why are most businesses internally organized as if relationships don’t matter?
Alastair Mitchell-Baker has something to say about that. Alastair is founding director of Tricordant, a consultancy that for the past 12 years has helped a wide array of companies get organized and take practical steps towards long-term sustainability. His secret to organizational success? Get employees involved and on board. As Alastair himself has said, “When people help come up with solutions, they support them in a way that they don’t if somebody else tells them what to do.”
In this episode:
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Practicing what you preach: Tricordant’s path to becoming both carbon neutral and a B-corporation
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Why Tricordant has no central office, and how the work-from-home model is an important and increasingly popular step towards reducing environmental impact
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The untapped power of employee engagement and autonomy, and how increasing productivity starts with honest conversation and an open ear.
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Whole systems thinking: understanding the interrelationships between people, technology, and environment at all levels of an organization.
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Alastair shares his African inspirations, a man and a mountain.
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Why effective and sustainable business organization is essentially cooperative and diffuse, NOT top-to-bottom
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Alastair’s recommended techniques and resources for increasing employee engagement
The best things in life are free. Besides family and friendship, many people would put their experiences with nature near the top of the list. But is nature truly free, or can it actually be assigned a dollar value? Increasingly, ecologists and conservationists are stressing the need to quantify the services that nature provides. A real understanding of this value – now estimated to be in the tens of trillions of dollars, globally – may be the key to changing the way governments, corporations, and individuals view the natural environment.
Alison Holt, the director of Natural Capital Solutions, draws on her diverse experience as a researcher, consultant, and organizer to educate people about ‘natural capital.’ By couching the value of nature in financial terms, businesses and policy-makers can more easily grasp the concept and make meaningful changes towards sustainability and environmental responsibility. Hear Alison explain the ins-and-outs of natural capital, and how we can apply it to real-life situations.
In this episode:
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Learn why putting a price tag on natural services is not only essential for environmental protection, but also for the resilience of individual businesses and the economy at large
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Alison explains the relationship between natural capital and ecosystem services through an easy to comprehend financial analogy
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How an understanding of natural capital can help businesses operate both more efficiently and more sustainably
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Why all businesses, including those with no obvious connection to land use, have a shared responsibility to manage natural capital
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Recommendations for how businesses can incorporate natural capital into their decision-making process
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Alison’s personal story of growing up in the suburbs and finding inspiration in nature
Work with nature, or work against it. That is the fundamental choice underlying not only our treatment of the planet, but also the performance of our social and financial institutions. Are we so deep in the trap of consumerism that we can’t back out? Will we go down with a sinking ship? Perhaps the solution to our sustainability woes is not a technological miracle or political revolution, but rather a simple change in attitude.
Gwyn Jones certainly thinks so. Now the director of the Association of Sustainability Practitioners, Gwyn’s mission is to change your attitude towards sustainability. Bringing together his passions for community development, environmental awareness, and purpose-led business, he presents an alternative to the status quo that is both ambitious and rooted in practicality.
In this episode:
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Why Gwyn left his high-power career in the computing industry, and how he re-discovered his life’s passion
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How the circular economy model can replace consumerism, and actually help – rather than hurt – business
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The important lessons can we take from nature, and how we can effectively apply them to social and economic issues.
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How the old business model of maximizing profit is inherently unsustainable and fails to maximize true value for all shareholders
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The idea of a multi-faceted sustainability that includes social and intellectual capital, as well as the natural environment.
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Alternatives to charity: ways that businesses can give back real value to their communities
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How to develop mindfulness and discover what is truly important through meditation and interacting with nature
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Gwyn’s latest project, Growing Community, and its goal of helping children find their innate talents
The term “survival of the fittest” is often used when discussing our current economic system. Indeed, while the financial world can appear “red in tooth and claw,” there’s more to life than competition. Cooperation, while overlooked and difficult to quantify, remains a powerful economic force. A new generation of innovators are using cooperative principles to bridge the gap between charity and business.
Bonnie Chiu is one such innovator. Her company, TSIC, recognizes that the non-profit and for-profit sectors can not only work together, but learn from one another. Moreover, charities can become more resilient by modelling themselves after businesses and finding alternatives to traditional fundraising. Likewise, businesses can become more socially-conscious by taking cues from charity.
In this episode:
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How Bonnie is blurring the line between the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, and why it’s a win-win situation
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TSIC’s innovative strategies for pinpointing an organization's key strengths and maximizing their social and financial impact
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Why young workers are increasingly motivated by their sense of purpose rather than money, and how that’s changing the corporate environment
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Choosing sustainability: looking back at the 2008 financial crisis and interpreting current trends
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The unrecognized power of entrepreneurs within non-profits, and how we can help them realize their potential
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Bonnie’s personal story of resilience, optimism, and finding yourself through nature
Gerrard Fisher, as a partner at QSA, is extraordinarily qualified when it comes to seeking sustainability and creating efficiency. From the personal to the professional, Gerrard embodies the true spirit of circular economy, a bold concept which declares that there should be less waste from the onset, and that “reuse, repair, repurpose and recycle” is the foundation of a new way to mediate impact on the environment.
Join us for a conversation on circular economy, sustainability and why adaptability is absolutely crucial in the age of technology based business and hyper fast business economy. Whether big or small, every company stands to benefit from Fisher’s unique and broadly successful model.
In this episode:
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Why joining the circular economy model can be a thrilling learning process.
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Learn how to be a meticulous planner and entrepreneur by switching into the circular economy model.
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Explore how circular economies can help you gain more assets.
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Discover how you can apply the circular model to be sustainable in your personal life.
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Unearth how long term thinking and planning can help you generate profits.
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Find out how to thrive by adapting and growing alongside the emerging circular economy model.
Jo Cruickshank has reinvented how we interact with marketing. Amongst a highly saturated, hit-or-miss industry, her boutique agency, Bare Collective, stands apart by ensuring both clients and the audience get exactly what they are aiming for. With many marketing years notched on her belt, this unique strategist has collected a team of like-minded folks to help create more intimate marketing experiences and all with a solid focus on sustainability.
Time and time again, we witness how big ideas about sustainable practices and methods can indeed come from small start-ups. Like well worn mythologies which have resounded for centuries, a small gesture can have a mighty impact and lasting legacy -- so long as the stories we create are designed to resonate and endure.
In this episode:
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Jo shares her belief in a heart focused business model, as opposed to bottom-line only thinking.
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How business is a powerful force for change.
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Jo reveals how transparency and working closely with clients can launch unique, exciting projects.
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Explore resources to make your marketing stories more meaningful.
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Discover the true relationship between sustainability and mindfulness.
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What is the importance of authenticity in every aspect of life?
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How to operate with an attitude of gratitude toward nature.
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Unearth how even the smallest community can initiate long term transformation.
Inspiration for a sustainable business can come from companies of all shapes and sizes, producing anything from smartphones to fruit juice. When you integrate sustainability, connection and non-hierarchal management processes, it’s possible to end up with a vibrant, engaged and wildly successful company. Everyone involved will not only be productive but happy to achieve business goals.
Sofia Demeyer is an example of this in action. She is one of the founders of Opaline, a producer of all natural, locally sourced fruit juices in the south of Switzerland. They pride themselves on their connection to the local cultural heritage as well as open, direct communication with everyone involved in the process. From farmers to retailers, Opaline is disrupting how a company is expected to operate.
In this episode:
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Learn how Sofia feels about the close relationship she has with everyone involved in Opaline.
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Why a more conscious orientated business model is vital to success.
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Creating more sustainable economy by using things often overlooked in the everyday.
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What a B-Corp is and why it’s indispensable for sustainability.
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How changing your business model can reflect positively in your personal life.
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Sofia reveals an adventure which helped her realize the power of natural experiences.
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Why connecting to your heart can affect all aspects of life and work.
Revolutionary strategist Mark Lefko joins us a second time to dive deeper into the intricacies of how to make a sustainable and responsible business function at its finest. We revisit the triple bottom line theory. People. Planet. Profit. How do you create harmony while still making money?
Lefko has a penchant for breaking down the commonplace notion that sustainability is a pipe dream. Armed with everything you need to know about creating a worthwhile business, he helps people realize that by helping the world, they ultimately help themselves.
In this episode:
+ Ways to reinvent the wheel in declining industries
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Why profit doesn’t need to trump the planet
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Examples of how sustainable business is leading the way
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New resources that can launch your brand to the top of the movement
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Learn more about the people and companies inspiring Mark
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How we lose perspective in the digital age and why it matters
Ever wondered why sustainability really matters? How it can actually touch and affect your life, or how you’ve successfully grasped after for profit, though blind to the deeper, more meaningful possibilities for your business? The practice of doing-well by-doing-good could be the right pick-me-up you didn’t know you were looking for.
Mark Lefko joins Sustainable for the first of a two-part discussion on compelling leadership. Find out how his new book paves the way for people savvy for actionable, tangible change. From corporate think tanks to his own children, Mark shares all the things that motivate him to motivate you.
In this episode:
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Redefining sustainability as more than just going green
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Why the “fake it until you make” mantra can apply to sustainability
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What is “social license” and how it can drive communities to impressive heights
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Mark’s number one inspiration (it may surprise you)
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The essential principles to sustainability practices…
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Forget benefit: how leadership can flourish with sustainability
+The triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit (what you need to know)
It can be a healthy challenge to apply the creativity in our personal lives to our work lives. How do we translate the things that we’re passionate about into fun productivity? Discovering ways to do that while fostering progress, without suffering from burnout, and all with a sustainable eye can be an often colossal task.
Anna Sexton, founder of Open To Create, demystifies creativity and boldly ushers its potential into the often serious world of business and leadership with unique motivation and team building methods. She talks candidly about what inspires here, how to tackle global issues, and the equal importance of taking care of oneself with a simple, long walk.
In this episode:
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Anna’s perspective on the relationship between creativity and sustainability
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How creativity can reduce the exhaustion of “wearing too many hats” in and out of the workplace
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Some lively banter on aligning common business concepts with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
+How Open To Create didn’t wait for their B-Corp approval to start getting their hands dirty on issues that matter
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Escaping the city with the Ignite Your Creativity retreat
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A favorite memory which sparked a belief that “fun in nature” is an essential aspect of creativity
The issues facing our planet (and the people in it) are dizzying in size and scope. Cynices say they cannot be solved quickly or, if so, the solution does not make a dent over a wide enough area. A new species of entrepreneurs, however, are hacking a much different story. Their efforts are forcing us to alter our notion of what is possible.
Action expresses priority. Meet Zahid Torres-Rahman, the founder of Business Fights Poverty, a massive community of business pros using the power of "sprint innovation" to push herculean advances in the areas of poverty, social and environmental change. Hear the specifc strategies they've used to leverage their network to make a measurable difference fast and far.
In this episode:
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How Zahid's experience in Zimbabwe on a youthful gap year forced an unexpected awareness of the reality and dangers of poverty
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The childhood story which rooted his passion for creating a more inclusive, interconnected world
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Why he categorically dismisses the limiting belief that change cannot happen both swiftly and expansively
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A way to view the troubling political events in Europe, the UK and the USA as an inspiring wake-up call to take action on a social and environmental level
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How Business Fights Poverty encourages people and companies to think deeply about their core business values and how they can have a social impact
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The big picture: why long-term goals need to be more important than short term when it comes to social change which actually matters
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Why a business giving away 1% to charity doesn't impress him
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Sprint Innovation: what it is, how to do it, and it achieves the seemingly impossible
Meet Eileen Vincett, London-based entrepreneur and fashion industry veteran. Deeply inspired by the “start something that matters” movement popularised by Toms, Eileen left a fabulous, though conventional business career to pursue a project with a more sustainable vision.
Looking beyond the “1-for-1” model, when one of her sleek, minimalist baby bags are purchased, another bag is simply not given away; rather, part of an entire school is built in a developing country. Hear Eileen speak frankly about Land of Ed, her upstart social business, pregnant with the mission to make a dent in the world’s shaky education system.
In this episode:
- Why travel is necessary to drop our assumptions about the state of the world
- How Land of Ed was born
- The real reason why aspiring social entrepreneurs should do proper homework about what their chosen “cause” should be
- Don’t sprint: why treating a business like a marathon matters more
- The many, many lines of business: going beyond the bottom line
- No longer “hippy”: how sustainable business is going mainstream
- The new paradigm of profit? How Land of Ed and other social brands are leading the way toward meaningful impact and really good profit
How can employee volunteering bring businesses and communities together in a sustainable way?
Linz Darlington was inspired to start Benefacto when he worked as a management consultant for Accenture. With three paid days off a year to spend volunteering, he had a tough time choosing a local charity where his skills could make a real impact. These days he spends his life matching talented professionals with amazing charities.
A Social, Sustainable Enterprise
Benefacto spent a lot of time considering how to define themselves and came up with a social sustainable enterprise. Essentially it can be broken into 3 parts; social, sustainable and enterprise.
The social bit, for Linz, is really about having a social purpose at the heart of what they do. And that is what makes it a social enterprise.
For Benefacto their social purpose is essentially doing two things;
1. to strengthen the third sector
2. to develops the skills and the perspectives of the volunteers who are doing this
The sustainable part is not so much about the purpose, but is actually about how they do business. Benefacto is one of the UK’s first BCorps. It’s very important for Linz not just to do things that have social element, but also to make sure they are doing them in a good way.
The third part is enterprise. Linz is a capitalist at heart and is very interested in the enterprise element of social enterprise. He thinks it is fantastic when people can find opportunities, not only to do good, but also to make it sustainable by creating a revenue model which works to continue to perpetuate that organisation over time.
It is a very formative time for social enterprise and what social enterprise needs. Linz sees two different models:
There are a number of social enterprises who are doing something which is entirely commercial, but then using their returns to do some form of social good.
While Linz thinks this is good, for him it is really about the core business activity having social purpose, while using core business activity in a commercial way to fund social good.
Impactful Decisions
Benefacto is a fairly simple services business so do does not have a massive supply chain. Their main stakeholders - the communities they work with and the charities they work with - are at the heart of what they do.
The focus is about benefiting their stakeholders and trying to supply volunteers while keeping the cost to them as low as possible. This is something which they openly have to consider on a day to day basis.
That said, the BCorp process was very useful because of the number and variety of questions they ask about what you are doing. Linz remembers that very shortly after he did the B Corp's process he set up a board of directors. Recalling having been asked what proportion the Board of Directors were women and what proportion were men gave him the impetus to ensure that his board was balanced.
Linz believes that it is a lot easier when you are a small business than when you become a bigger business. Linz likes to think that his values and the values of the other members of Benefacto leadership shine through the organisation that they run.
He feels perhaps if you are a bigger organisation - which is more complicated, has more stakeholders and suppliers etc. - you need to start providing more guidance on how to make the make the right decisions and support people in implementing them.
Employee Volunteering and Sustainability
From Benefacto's perspective they feel they always present a clear business case for volunteering to the organisations they speak to. They tailor the business case to combine it with the values and desires of the organisation.
For example; for companies trying to attract a young workforce Millennials, are very interested in working for businesses which they feel have a good purpose and are not just there to make money. From a kind of staff retention and attraction perspective, volunteering is a good opportunity.
Equally a lot of companies spend large quantities of money on trying to develop the skills of their workforce – volunteering supports this also. At the same time more organisations are being asked when in proposal requests what they are doing to help local communities and how they are going to make a contribution?
Looking on a macro level one of the things that Linz has really felt, which has come out of 2016, is the massive disconnect there is between different parts of the communities, in different parts of society, over economic, geographical and social lines. He feels that volunteering offers a fantastic opportunity to cross pollenate and broaden people’s perspectives so they can understand the challenges the wider communities face.
Introducing Employee Volunteering
The three core elements are:
- Provide a choice of volunteering opportunities
One of the challenges lots of firms have is that they have a think about volunteering and they narrow it down too quickly – for example they start by trying to introduce a very specific scheme where the staff can only get involved in something which is of real strategic importance to that company or fits with a specific vision etc.
First and foremost your scheme needs to engage employees by presenting them with a choice of opportunities they feel passionate about, that suit their other commitments and how their diaries work.
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Convenience
When Linz started Benefacto 4 years ago, he realised that we live in the age of the iPhone. People are used to transactions having a low element of friction in whatever it is they want to do. Benefacto therefore makes it easy for people to get involved. They can just go to the website and make a booking. To Linz providing convenience is really important. -
Build a need into the culture of your organisation
People need to understand that they are being given paid time off to volunteer. They also have to know that they can enjoy it and that they can make a difference.
It is important for them to know that their boss and colleagues support them in volunteering and that ultimately taking a day out of their working year and volunteering is actually going to add more to the company they work for rather than detract from it.
Lots and lots of companies Benefacto speak to, spend lot of time strategising and building lovely plans. Linz advices to get on with it, be enthusiastic, build it in an interesting way and get people engaged and out volunteering!
Commitment to Sustainability
Linz thinks that his nature experiences probably haven’t impacted him enough. If he thinks about his life, there are some things which he feels quite strongly about and he has managed to achieve. One example of this is that he tries to be as 'unconsumer' as possible. He tries and buys as few things as he possibly can and makes sure that he wears everything out.
Linz would like to do more - however, feels it is actually it is quite difficult to be sustainable as an individual (as compared to a small business). He thinks that in some ways we need some help in order to be more sustainable - we need to look to other organisations, in absence of personal ecosystems, to help us do that.
Impact on Daily Life
Linz became quite disillusioned with the capitalist model over the last four years. Benefacto is a big part of his life, and he is keen that what he does not just benefits him but it benefits lots of other people as well.
Linz wants to create great organisations and great initiatives which benefit the wider community and do not just benefit him. It is fascinating to him that so many people are out to make money, and that your status is often tied quite closely with your wealth.
He would love to get to a point where it becomes socially unacceptable to feather your nest with more than you need and that when people did good things for the benefit themselves, they also thought about how they could benefit and add value for other people as well.
The fear for Linz is - on one hand he would like to feel at the end of his working career that he had been successful and done well; on the other hand, he wouldn't like to feel that his happiness has been at the cost of anyone else's. Linz thinks this is something everyone should take into account.
Nature Memory
Linz is a country boy living in the city. He grew up in Somerset and his parents still live in Somerset, though in a different house. One of his guilty pleasures when he goes home is to park the car in the drive and then walk the 20 or 30 meters to the end of the drive to close the gate.
This was chore when he was a child, which he would have done kicking and screaming! Now he really savours that moment. It is always dark when he gets there, late on a Friday night, and it’s always quiet. It either smells of nothing or smells of farmyard!
It’s not a scene you think of when you think about nature, but it is something he really misses when he is in the city. As much as possible, Linz does get out of the city. He enjoys the opportunity of being out in the countryside and getting away from the hustle and bustle.
It has always been important to Linz to find opportunities to get outside and feels that however short that moment, and however compromised that version of nature is, you should take it if you can.
Takeaway from this Episode
Thinking about what a social enterprise means;
As mentioned earlier by Linz, it is quite a formative time for social enterprise. He spoke about whether a social enterprise is about social purpose, or whether it is about reinvesting in surplus into the community or into positive initiatives. To him on top of this it is also about how you can do business and how you can create a sustainable model out of it.
Linz Most Admires
People who take their own visions, something which they are keen on realizing, and they actually do it!
So many people Linz knows want to do great things, but end up working for somebody else - either doing something which is either a watered down version of what they wanted to do, or completely different.
Having followed his vision and created an organisation himself, to a fairly modest level, Linz admires anyone who has built an organisation from scratch - whether that's a charity, a social enterprise or business. They have realised that vision and while doing so they’ve made that vision sustainable. It feels to him like it’s making something out of nothing.
Linz thinks that it would be great to build a culture whereby people who go and do their own thing are really supported - given lots of moral support, have doors opened for them and introductions made. Where other people, if they are able to, buy the services and use them.
How has Morag Garden contributed to turning the Scotch Whisky Association into a sustainable industry?
Morag Garden is the Scotch Whisky Association’s Head of Sustainability & Innovation, a role she took up in 2007. Her career began, and has always remained, in the environmental lobbying arena working with a number of industry bodies.
Her career started in Scottish Water covering a range of roles from Laboratory through to Environmental policy. She has also taken a number of secondment opportunities during her career, including a year with the Scottish Government developing Diffuse Pollution policy. She was delighted to move from water to whisky 8 years ago and to be working for Scotland’s most exciting and first truly sustainable industry.
She moved to Edinburgh for University and has only ever been away for brief periods. She is a jack of all trades when it comes to hobbies; from climbing and walking, through to softball.
Environmental Strategy
Scottish whisky is very much a product of the natural environment. It is iconic, it is recognised globally and it is made only from 3 raw materials - which are water, cereals and yeast. This means whisky production relies on fertile land, rainfall and high quality water supply.
To order to protect these vital resources the Association has always believed in sustainability. They take their environmental responsibilities seriously.
The environmental strategy, developed in 2009, is a clear signal to their collective and bold ambition in their environmental priorities. The strategy itself sets challenging voluntary goals in important areas for the sector, their stakeholders and more importantly for the environment. The strategy is split into four areas each with targets which are split between 2020 and 2050.
1. To reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions****
The aim is that, by 2050, 80% of the industry’s primary energy will come from non-fossil fuels - such as anaerobic digestion and solar power. They also want to continue to improve their energy efficiency; which will be in line with the regulatory climate change agreement set by the Government.
2. Responsible Water Use****
Water is a priority for them as it is a key ingredient of whisky. As a result, it is important for the industry to optimise it’s water use, making it as efficient as possible. The industry target is to generate a 10% reduction in water usage. *They also have some other goals to think about the holistic catchment wide and other regulatory legislation that is driven by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).*
*3. *Embracing a circular economy****
Here the industry is looking at using all their resources for as long as possible and at the highest value that is possible.
This started with their four packaging targets;
- increasing the recycled content
- reducing the weight
- making sure everything is recyclable
- minimizing/removing any waste going to landfill
*As part of this area they are also looking at the industry’s by-products. Currently the by-products are used in animal feed and recently have moved into energy use also. It is important for the industry to consider what else they can do to retain the value of their by-products as much as possible.*
*4. *Sustainable land use****
This is an area which is early in the Association’s thinking. It is there to start to allow them to have really robust and interesting conversations with their supply chains and key stakeholders. It is all about securing a high quality raw material – both with cereals and wood. For example this would include sourcing wood from sustainable oak forests for manufacturing new casks.
*To the Scotch Whisky Association it is important to ensure that, as a sector, they are resilient and as such, will continue to be around for many hundreds of years to come.*
Collaboration for the Big Vision
The strategy was initiated in 2009. An important element here has been collaborating with, and working with, their members. As an Association they are proud of the fact that, in terms of the strategy, the environmental area is non-competitive within the industry.
As a result, under the umbrella of the Scotch Whisky Association, this allows members and their companies to work together and share ideas. They also look at research together and learn from each other. This enables the sector to move forward on its sustainability journey.
The Scotch Whisky Association is made up of both big international multinational companies and small family-owned distilleries. This structure helps all of the members move forward - with innovative change being led by the large companies who have the resources to do so, and who are able to take on the risk in terms of considering what new technology could support them and the environment.
Then, through being part of the environmental strategy, other member companies, a few of whom may be more risk averse, will take up these technologies at a later date. This moves the industry towards their environmental strategy more quickly and more effectively.
Within their strategy, the Association has highlighted how they will be able to deliver on this program through the development of innovative research. This is via collaboration with universities and researchers, as well as with their supply chain and the Government.
Celtic Renewables (podcast number 9) is an example of this innovation. There also are many other examples, which show what they are already doing to help deliver the strategy target, in their 2015 progress report.
One of the advantages of having their environmental strategy is that they have set out all the key areas, in relation to the environment, that the industry needs to focus on over the next 10, 15, 20 years. Having this allows them to have conversations with all the people who are needed to help to deliver the strategy and to identify where they all need to work together.
Successes of the Environmental Strategy
In terms of successes, the Association’s 2015 progress report highlights case studies and all of the great work that has been done already. One of the major successes that they have had in the last five years is in terms of renewable energy. Some of their big sites have undertaken large investments into renewable energy plants and to neutralising their by-products to produce energy onsite, as well as to export it back into the grid. This also helps the Scottish Government's achieve its renewable energy targets.
They have also done a lot of work on packaging. For example one company, who used to have metal tins as part of their secondary packaging, has worked with their packaging supply company and come up with an innovative new process called cold foiling. This is a technique enables them to retain a metallic finish on the packaging, but at the same time allows the packaging to be easily recyclable.
It is important to the Association to have an ongoing conversation to help deliver the environmental strategy. They know they are not going to be able to deliver their environmental targets on their own. Having that conversation in their annual strategy and progress report lets people know what has been done, where the current challenges are and what is next. This is part of the collaboration.
The Scotch Whisky Association and the whisky sector are fairly unique in the way they collaborate together and this is another reason they publish their progress widely. They want to inspire others in Scotland, in other sectors, to work collaboratively with the Government, the regulators and the investors to move forward on this sustainability journey together. They want to be advocates to others on how to develop an environmental strategy and very good business relationships the Governmental bodies and other stakeholders in the sector.
In their experience, this strategy has allowed them to have beyond compliance conversations with their regulators, and to move away from the perimeter of the operational site - which is dealt with by environmental regulation. This then allows them to focus on how they can help to change the world and support One Planet prosperity.
Now, alongside SEPA, they plan to go and talk to different sectors; providing them with an overview of what they have done, the challenges they have faced, what has been successful and what others can do.
Impact on Daily Life
For Morag it is the other way round; in that she has always had quite strong environmental principles which have led her into having a job which also follows these.
Morag tries to think about, and is conscious about, her carbon footprint wherever possible. In terms of commuting to work she cycles, walks or takes a bus. She also tries and takes the train for journeys. She loves having friends and family to come and stay in her flat; there's only one rule in her flat - to recycle!
Nature Memory
Morag’s favourite nature memory was about 5 years ago when she was on the Aanach Eagach ridge. It is a famous traverse along the Glen Coe mountains, and is quite daunting (it is one of the most difficult ridges to climb in Scotland). It was a gorgeous day - beautiful t-shirt weather at the top of the hill - and she was there with friends. She felt such a real sense of achievement when she got over the ridge.
Morag thinks by going hill walking in Scotland, you can just get away from the urban areas, the cars and the modern technologies and everything and really appreciate the country you live in and the world you live in.
Takeaway from this episode
The power of collaboration and coming together to help solve global problems.
Morag Most Admires
James Lovelock, the originator of the Gaia theory. She read his book in first year in university and thought it was amazing as it was so forward thinking and ahead of its time. Five years ago, she heard him speak at the Edinburgh book festival, which for her was a joy.
Morag’s Favourite Resources
Being inquisitive and always ask questions;
Morag has found that this helped her develop a good foundation for the Association’s environmental strategy - through talking with people; finding out what the problems are, what their concerns are and how the industry can work together on the solutions.
People mentioned in the interview
Mark Simmers from Celtic Renewables for commenting on the power of collaboration and developing technology for by-products.
How will the right education to the future generations solve the sustainability-related issues facing the world now?
Andy is Executive Director of the TYF Group, an employee-owned social enterprise, in St. David’s, Pembrokeshire. TYF’s mission is to help children, students and adults develop the confidence & skills they need the way they play, think and work.
He’s a Founding Partner of the ‘Do Lectures’ and through the ‘Do Collective’, orchestrates the impact of a virtual team of hundreds of the world’s best thinkers and doers, and through the Innovation Advisory Council for Wales, advises Welsh Government on innovation strategy.
Andy is a strategic advisor, facilitator and speaker to business and government, working with organisations to accelerate speed and scale of change to build resilience, drawing on 25 years’ experience in risk, action learning, biomimicry and sustainability.
Andy blogs at www.tyf.com and tweets as @gringreen; his talks from the Do Lectures and TEDx are online here ‘Find your own luck’ and here Radical change.
Sustainability as a driver
Andy was born on the coast of west Wales and has lived there his entire life. This was the place that he learnt to walk, learnt to breathe, run and swim. It was some of the most pristine natural environment in the UK and in a national park. That time spent in nature; getting sand, salt and sea into his blood probably affected his DNA at that time more than he thought.
That continued through his education where he did a degree in Geography. He travelled for a couple of years and then came back home. As part of his travelling, he worked in a gold mine in the desert of Western Australia. This is not what anyone who has any kind environmental conscience would want to do! When he was out in the desert he saw tyre-tracks from single vehicle which had been made 10 years before and still marked the earth. It was a powerful reminder to him of how fragile the ecosystems are and how much negative impact humans can have on the earth.
After his travelling Andy had a strong sense that he wanted to return to Pembrokeshire, as that is where his heart wanted to be. He had no experience in business, but he decided to see if he could really make something work there. So Andy set up a business, thinking that if it does not work he would go away again. However, 30 years later, he is still there.
Facing challenges in business
Andy felt that if he was to talk about reducing environmental impact it was critical that as a business they did that. They became the first organic hotel in Wales because they wanted to know what the journey was like in establishing something like that. As regards offsetting carbon; it was a natural step to do.
The challenges that they came up against early on was that the outdoor industry particularly is ultra-conservative. Ironically it gets outdoors much, but doesn't get out much. It doesn't connect with people who are in pop-ups and start-ups and a lot of other hyphenated things where interesting things happen.
As a result, the outdoor industry was a very hard space in which to try and breed new ideas. But they did they make progress, and now they have a team of people who really understand what they are trying to do. The conversations now are multiple times easier than they were 20 years ago.
Now TYF get invited to talk on platforms along with national NGOs, talking about the same things. There is no longer any suspicion about what their motives are, since they have enough experience behind them for people believe they are serious about what they are talking about. It was a long journey, but investing in the thousands and thousands of small steps, and proving that they could make it work, is the key part of that.
Part of their business at TYF is the retail operation. They sell the clothing that people take out and need to wear for activities they run. TYF is the largest retailer in the UK for Patagonia clothing and equipment. With Patagonia there is lifetime guarantee, so TYF use retail as a way to tell people the story about why it is important to buy less and buy better in the first place. It took them five years from the first decision to do that to be able to translate all of their stock in the right way and get customers on board.
Andy’s advice to those who are facing challenges when trying to get a sustainability message across is;
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It is important to remember the metaphor of the mountain climb; it is a thousand steps and it is OK that it is a thousand steps. Do not be put off by the fact that it is a long journey. Sometimes people think that it is easy and quit when they see it is not.
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Get a support group, or a mastermind group, of people you can turn to and who are going through the same things. This way you can remind yourself time and again that you are not alone in doing this. Having people you can hang out with, go for walk with etc. and to be able to recognise there is a whole tribe - that there are tens of thousands of people doing this and that it is hard for all of them. The difficulties faced shouldn’t detract from the joy of what you are doing.
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Andy built his own eco-house on the coast of west Wales and as a result is acutely aware of the idea of the question of ‘what is enough?’ For example; TYF are a retailer and sell products, but they try to sell things that have a lifetime guarantee, so that they never need to be replaced. It is a part of that journey.
Andy also thinks that something that really helps is for individuals to pay attention to their own practices. For example, their views on flying, on eating good food, on taking time and not rushing, cycling and using public transport without becoming some sort of martyr to the cause; someone who is pious.
The more individuals be the change they want to see, the more it feels natural and the more it makes sense. It is a combination of building networks, recognising that this is for the long term and paying attention to personal practice. This is what really inspires other people and gives them permission to do the same sort of things.
Educating children to face future challenges
Andy believes that how do you educate children to cope with the challenges of the future, make them more resilient and have the confidence to achieve what they need to achieve, is a really important question that anyone connected to business and Government needs to be asking.
The way that TYF view this is that if the journey ahead was an outdoors experience it would not be a trip on a boating lake. The journey ahead is one that needs to reduce carbon emissions by 90%, to restore biodiversity, address inequality, effectively utilize resources etc.
This journey is the equivalence of an extreme mountain trip in winter or a 15,000 mile bike ride - it’s not just a trip to the supermarket. When taking journeys like that in the outdoors, each member of the team needs to be capable of looking after the other members and themselves. They also need to be capable of noticing what is going on around them and responding to it, and be equipped in first aid, lifesaving and all other rescue techniques.
An equivalent of this in education would be having everyone leaving school having banked around 500 hours of impact learning; where they have learnt how to solve real issues out in the world - around energy, water, resources, food, waste, transport and so on - while applying rigorous problem solving techniques.
This would be coupled with the development of emotional resilience - so they can get over the idea that just because it doesn’t work you’re a failure. At the same time becoming really playful about gaining experiences, so that things that don’t work are simply information to help get it right next time.
TYF are taking this into schools at a county scale right now. To Andy this feels as though they are on the cusp of being able to do something remarkable. Not only by teaching kids to change themselves, but also to change their parents’ behaviour. As anyone who has been a child, has a child or has comes across them knows they are second to none in changing adult behaviour!
Ken Robinson talks on TED (https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity) about how are born with the ability to do all of this and then it is educated out of them. This is because that unshakable confidence in the ability to change the world is exactly what people who want the world to stay the way it is don’t want to see developing. Yet, this is what will create a stable future.
Andy thinks that it is about the really practical things around; how do we become playful about learning, so that mistakes literally stop happening? Things work or don’t work they are not a mistake; they are not failures; they are not something to shy away from. There are proven techniques that are already working elsewhere in the world to make this happen, as well as the work TYF are doing.
As a result there is no reinvention needed, so it is about having that confidence to take this ambition to scale and say what would it take for every kid, every school to spend hundreds of hours solving real problems so that:
a) when they enter employment they can start making a difference on day one, and
b) they shape their parents behaviour since they’ve been taught how to do it through love rather than criticism - e.g. understanding that saying ‘mum, mum why won’t you do this? I hate you.’ is not the best way to change your parents’ behaviour.
There is a huge potential there for millions and millions of hours of problem solving, of which a tiny proportion could help to create solutions to the problems of the world today.
There are teachers in schools all over the world doing things like this already. Andy thinks that it would be great having an equivalent of the Guinness book of records which looks for all the ‘cool shit’ going on in schools already; looking in places like Chile, Tunisia, North Carolina and everywhere else.
Most of the ideas would not translate like for like into a school in Cardiff or Edinburgh for example, but it would be possible to take the ideas from it and go ‘right I’m going to adopt this and adapt that right now and do something better and different.’ There is no need to reinvent all of this.
A tiny example Andy came across was that some schools in USA give a t-shirt to children when they first start school, which has the year in which they are going to graduate from school on it. As a result from the day they start school they are focused on the year they will leave it - thinking 15, 18, 20 years ahead through their education. This is a great way of thinking about how the world is going to be different in the future and how are they going to shape it.
The flip side of this is that Government and business need to realise there are a lot of resources they can tap into. By blurring the boundaries between business and Government more could be achieved; recognizing that, generally speaking, it is in the world of business that people get really good at getting things done. That their ability to get stuff out of the door quickly, at high quality, far exceeds most government programmes. However, it is Government has the public interest at heart.
For example: regionally mapping the resources, the potential of how to create jobs and opportunities, improve well-being, along with everything else with things that make sense for all the stakeholders.
This links into another significant part of TYF’s business – how do you get people healthy outdoors, at scale? How can the skills of the outdoor industry, the NGO sector, the communities, cycling groups etc. be linked to everything else that is needed to allow ministers to reduced health budgets by 20% and the country be applauding them rather than voting them out?
Developing Super Senses
A couple of years ago Andy met, and became friends with, Andy Shipley who is visually impaired. Over the course of their conversation it became beautifully clear that, for people who are heavily visually impaired or blind, their entire experience of the word is one that no one else can see or experience. However, the visually impaired still live perfectly enjoyable lives; they do different things and they have different experiences.
As a result TYF created a programme where people who couldn’t see taught people with full sight how to see the world in different ways. It was a really powerful way of having them realise, and experience, what they had never noticed before; smells, the touch of the wind on their faces, the sun on their skin, the feel of the ground under their feet etc. It helped them realise that they are so bombarded with visual clues, they never notice the information from their other senses. This programme provides a way of gently helping people recognise that maybe they don’t know everything yet and maybe they don’t see everything yet.
In school not as much work is done as could be to help people understand that how they think shapes the world. For example; Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindsets is about showing people that if they think they’ll never be able to do it, then they won’t. Learning to think differently is as fundamental as being able to process information differently and to notice more.
The different facets of this big shift are; becoming more independent, more conscious and more action orientated individuals. Individuals who know how to work, either by ourselves or with others, to create that seismic shift and not be scared of things not working the first time. This is why playfulness is so important.
Impact on Daily Life
It’s hugely important for Andy to live by the principles he is integrating into business. In Andy’s opinion actions speak louder than words; he don’t rant on about not flying for example but when asked points out to people that he don’t fly since talking about sustainability and how to impact climate change and jumping on planes doesn’t make sense! It can’t be reconciled, so he doesn’t fly.
He has noticed at conferences that people often don’t stop to think about living their principles. Andy believes that how we dress, how we shop, how we live our lives, needs to embody the change that we want to make.
The more we do this the less dissonance there is between what we are trying to do and going ‘Oh well I do this, I do that...’ By being the change it becomes much easier.
Nature memory
The memories that stand out for Andy are;
Being in a desert in an Australia where he was working in a gold mine as an exploration geologist. Andy’s job was to go and find potential gold mines. He would be driving by himself, in 4-wheel drive, out in the middle of nowhere. At times he would find himself standing on the border of a landmass the size of Wales that had never been stepped on by white people. It was massive virgin territory. He just remembers thinking how sensitive the earth was to his footstep, the fact of how much we just took for granted about the way that it didn’t matter what we did, and that it was sacred ground - with not a sight and not a sound, no vapour trails, that there was nothing but him and his footsteps. That was really special.
The other times are when Andy has been out doing adventures around the coast of Wales and on the oceans. For him it was that wonderful feeling of realizing how small and insignificant he was in relation to nature. It is that realisation that in that feeling of smallness it is about learning the power of walking the talk and being part of that change. Also, it’s a really good way of making sure the ego doesn’t survive; as it’s has no place where the waves are bigger than you, and where it doesn’t matter how expensive your kit is, if you don’t know what you are doing in that space.
Takeaway from this Episode
Take a few minutes to ask the question simple, but uncomfortable, question; ‘If I knew for certain that I would succeed; what is it that I would set out to do? What’s the change that I would spend my time working on? What’s the ladder against I would lean in my effort and set out to change? If I knew I wouldn’t fail; how high dare I dream?’
Spending time doing that tells you what you really want to be doing. Sometimes that would be so much bolder than anything other people would dare do. So take time, sit back and say ‘If I knew I couldn’t fail how high would I reach - with the effort, skills and talents and insights that I’ve now got?’
Andy Most Admires
Early on in business Andy really enjoyed the stories of people like Ricardo Semler, documented in ‘Maverick’ which is about shaping a business in South America against the odds, while doing what was the right thing to do.
In the environmental sector he loves the work of people like Paul Hawken and Amory Lovins - who shaped some of that fundamental literacy around what they do.
As a certified B corp TYF are now part of an amazing growing UK community of businesses, and Global community of businesses, who have proven that they care for this bigger picture - around nature and the environment - as well as for profit. Through this Andy has met some the most caring sharing people that he has ever come across.
Overall Andy admires people that just make ‘shit happen’. He doesn’t buy into the hero stuff and hates hero worship just because someone has grown a business or is a great adventurer. Personally, he thinks the heroes are the people who raise amazing families with no resources, who survive against the odds of social. His admiration is reserved for people who really strive in that and succeed to walk their talk, without ego, and who are prepared to share everything they do as openly as they can. To maximize that thing of being the change.
Andy’s Favourite Resources
One of the things TYF works on, which is a continual journey, is doing everything they can to encourage their own staff to break the rules. Andy finds this is really hard to do as people coming out of school are so well trained not to do so!
To help TYF have implemented a surf-time policy – which means staff can go surfing when the surf is up – this is something Patagonia also do. If customers aren’t going to be affected and someone wants to go out for a run or get to the beach they are encouraged to just get out and do it. It is about working by managing energy not time.
TYF’s goal is to scrap holiday policy eventually. The aim is to get to a point where everyone in the organization owns their targets and their performance so clearly that no one thinks about ‘I’m working late tonight’. They just do what needs to be done, celebrate it and get on and do the next thing.
In regards to resilience; one of the things that is a most powerful metaphor embedded in the natural world, is that nature only uses diversity - since that is what works. It never does mono-cultures because they don’t work; they break, they are open to disease and systems collapse etc.
In terms of building resilience one of the things that we as individuals need to do is think about how do we mimic that difference? How do we make sure that we hang out with people of different ages and different backgrounds, different places, different views? How do we from time to time do different things that give us those nuanced views on food, exercise, nature, cookery, art etc. to become more of a polymath in terms of our understanding the views of the world so that way we can connect to more people?
How has Ogunte brought about a social impact by working with female change-makers?
Servane has worked for 16 years as a conscious innovation entrepreneur. She founded Ogunte a certified B-Corp and social enterprise that amplifies the impact of the women social entrepreneurs’ ecosystems, through capacity building and programme management for, and with, social entrepreneurs, as well as their business support and finance providers.
Ogunte has supported over 5,000 female change-makers; developed the first incubator for women social entrepreneurs in the UK, and run the International Women’s Social Leadership Awards with over 130 finalists from 23 countries.
Servane collaborates with the Womanity Foundation, investing in and supporting organisations that prevent online violence against women.
She also serves on various advisory boards focusing on women in social finance, social entrepreneurship, and women’s empowerment.
Working with Women
Working with women wasn’t Servane’s initial choice. Her first interest was around social and environmental change. She was obsessed with it and it was her reason to get up in the morning - even though she did not know where to start!
Servane created her own entity and business while living in the Netherlands. She did not want to work for big Corporates anymore, as it was not inspiring enough for her. So she started focusing on community groups and art groups who were involved in creating change.
Servane started to grow her network in the Netherlands. When she moved to the UK she continued working with charities and third sector voluntary groups. Servane realised that there was a wave of promotion around developing social enterprises in the mid 2000s. There was a lot of funding available as a result and there were a lot of capacity building programs being made available, which Servane designed and delivered.
A lot of the programme attendees or beneficiaries were women. They were coming out of the voluntary sector wishing to make themselves sustainable. Some of these women had products that could be sold, some did not. There was a gravity around the topic of social enterprise that was being amplified.
Servane discovered that there was a cohort of women who were very comfortable in the space that they co-designed together. There were plenty of networks for women in business and for women in the voluntary sector. There was, however, no space deliberately designed for women in social enterprise. This was how the new business idea of Ogunte arose - without Servane selling or promoting anything.
Savane named her business Ogunte back in 2001 in the Netherlands. As a result she feels it was like a premonition; Ogunte is the name of a female spirit in part of the world such as West Africa and Brazil. As a result, the concept of women who soldier through and who protect others was already embedded in the organisation through this name!
Slowly Ogunte created more and more of the products that were deliberately focused on women and made with women. One of these programmes was the Women in Social Leadership programme which ran at various locations in the UK. This developed later on in to an international award and coaching programme.
Financial Sustainability
Ogunte is a sustainable business that is making a profit. This was not always the case. Servane started as an activist and learnt by doing. With her first enterprise, she ran a deficit - which she realises was the cost of being an activist. Through experience Servane learned it is about making strategic decisions and ensuring your social purpose and commercial objective are aligned.
Firstly, Servane believes it is important to collaborate with and invest in people. It is not about working as an individual, but learning to work with others and invest in them.
Secondly, realise it is not about changing the world; it is important to focus on particular areas of strength, or where the best collaborations can be put into practice. This will make impact. The key point here is to collaborate with other structures; like foundations, local government, investors and having longer term retainers. This doesn’t guarantee financial stability but it supports it.
Then keep focus by avoiding distractions and managing programmes. Along the way validate knowledge and the product with stakeholders, with women social entrepreneurs and the business support providers.
Having conversations with the recipients/the clients provides information to transform product and services. They help validate the organisations work and also become co-designers. Through this they help make decisions also.
Finally, she concludes that it is important to monitor and evaluate in the long term that the organisation has contributed to some sort of shift or change. Monitoring and evaluating also contributes to legitimising its activity. For Ogunte it is about the beneficiaries first and the impact they are making.
This was how they managed the whole sustainability of the business.
Connection between Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability
In Servane’s point of view, when social entrepreneurship and sustainability are put in the same sentence, it as a circular economy; a wise investment in the people and the environment in which you live.
The concept cannot be a silo concept. People are linked to their environment; urban-built or countryside, or to nature which is everywhere. To reduce the impact on the planet these concepts need to be embedded together; by not being linear in thinking and by keeping resources and assets for as long as possible, as long as they do no harm.
The aim is that choices and decisions made do not create harm now or in the future. Consider how to extract the maximum value from a resource without doing any harm, creating more poverty or environmental disaster. The circular economy is about recovering resources at the end of their life.
The ‘do not harm principle’ - having a future proof activity that does not harm, investing in people (recognising them as capable people and as people of value - who bring value, have value and share value, but not in an exploitative way), and having an ethical base - is what Servane believes in.
Considering this principle with daily decisions; asking little questions and having little answers leads to taking little steps and making a positive impact.
Impact on Daily Life
It is a mindset and a lifestyle for Servane. It is a constant deeper questioning to see whether you are living up to the ethical values that you are trying to embody. You need to have a check on yourself and understand if it is for the long run. It is not just a 9-5 thing.
Nature Memory
For Servane, it is not only about the nature around us, but it is also about the nature within us. For Servane, whether or not she is in a natural environment, connecting to the inner nature within herself is important.
Servane uses Capoeira (a Brazilian Martial Art) as a tool to achieve this. Practicing Capoeira teaches focus, self control, balance and timeliness. This helps Servane centre herself, take action in the world and make a difference by helping her recognise that there is a beauty in nature, but there is also challenge and struggle that sometimes can be masked by what’s going on.
Takeaway from this Episode
- Talk to your neighbours, help them when they require it - without forcing yourself onto them. Take care of yourself, take care of your neighbours, take care of your village, say thank you and just do something.
- Listen to all of the podcast carefully because of Tabi’s capacity to recap and summarize beautifully!
Servane Most Admires
The women who are out there in different cultures, different parts of the world. Servane admires the fact that they just get on and do it, and whether or not they identify with the label of social entrepreneur they are creating the catalyst and the change, and who who manage to survive in the face of adversity.
Servane’s Favourite Resources
- Understand your impact and make sure that you are not creating more poverty for yourself. Have certain financial practices, create a personal finance plan and get the training you need. From here move on to the organisation's financial practices.
- Ask the deeper questions – Who you are trying to save - yourself or a genuine cause? Is it that you need to go and do some personal work first to make sure you are in the right place, physically, mentally and emotionally to actually launch a business?
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Connect with other people. https://map.ogunte.com/ is a resource which looks to connect women in social enterprise all round the world.
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Make sure you do the research to check the viability of your product or your service. Also make sure that you are questioning the lenses that you are working through, and recognising cultural and societal difference so that you are not unintentionally doing harm in the pursuit of doing good.
- Make sure you have the money to sustain yourself.
- Transition slowly from part time to full time.
- Dive in, get support.
- Make sure you recognise the value of investing in yourself; via training and learning. Be clear about what you get out of something and the knowledge you acquire.
How can sustainable shoes contribute to a healthier and happier living?
Galahad Clark is the Founder and Managing Director of Vivobarefoot, the fast-growing footwear manufacturer which believes that conventional footwear can damage people’s feet and their ability to walk and run properly.
Vivobarefoot has sold more than a million pairs of its minimal “barefeet” shoes and trainers in three years and is growing at 30 per cent per annum. Profitable for the past two years, the company has sales of £10 million.
Earlier this year Vivobarefoot successfully raised £1.36 million in investment through Crowdcube and £92,000 through their Kickstarter campaign to bring the SAN-dal, created by the bushmen of the Ju’/Hoan San Community to a wider market.
Key Ethos
Galahad’s favourite definition of Sustainability is from the book ‘Sustain-ability’ by John Ehrenfeld. According to Ehrenfeld, sustainability means humans and other life on earth are able to flourish - to grow and prosper and be better and more beautiful.
In order to justify filling the world up with more man-made stuff Ehrenfeld believes a product should be able to answer at least one of the following 3 criteria:
- The product should help us connect more with nature.
- The product should help make us feel more human.
- The product should help ask important ethical or environmental questions.
Vivo uniquely does that. Going for a walk in the woods wearing Vivos is a completely different experience than when wearing a conventional pair of hiking boots. Individuals have a completely different relationship with nature and themselves as a result - since feet have as many nerve endings as hands, and the part of the brain which takes information from the feet is the same size as the part that gets information from the hands.
Humans are programmed for the brain to receive information with every step and that is a core part of the movement function of the body. Wearing padded or restrictive shoes massively interferes with the connection. Therefore, by definition individuals feel less human wearing more shoe, and more human wearing less shoe!
Research undertaken by Dr. Merzenich (University of California, San Francisco) looking into neuro plasticity shows that, when walking around in padded shoes in a concrete world, parts of the brain start to atrophy. This was linked to the likes of Alzheimer’s. The key thing for Vivo is that even if an individual’s feet or posture have weakened, by sitting around on chairs and wearing bad shoes, their whole body is able to reconnect amazingly, and quickly if they correct their bad habits.
Galahad was originally making other shoes and other brands. As he learned more and more about sustainability, he quickly realised that the only sustainable shoes were shoes that help individuals connect with themselves and connect with nature. This helped him make a critical decision to focus all their energies and resources behind Vivo.
This was not a hard decision to do and he instinctively liked it. He was lucky enough to grow in the countryside and had very happy associations of running around barefoot in nature. The more he learnt about feet and shoes, from the scientific and biomechanics point of view, he knew there was no choice.
Engaging Stakeholders to the Vision
Most of Vivobarefoot’s stakeholders are really bought in and are very loyal, to the concept. They do have some distributors who say that Vivobarefoot could sell a lot more shoes if they just added a little more padding. However, Vivobarefoot holds regular education days and make videos explaining the concept.
Ultimately, with Vivobarefoot, it is about experiencing the shoes. It is about transitioning into the shoes and taking time to walk around in them every day and allow your body to adjust. Then it is fairly easy to convince people that it is a good thing!
The challenge is getting people into Vivos for the first time. The problem with ‘barefoot’ (as a concept) is that it was originally about running. However, Galahad believes ‘barefoot’ is not about running, but about everyday life. Individuals have to be in a pretty good physical shape to be able to run any kind of distance barefoot and most aren’t!
Vivobarefoot has pushed hard to encourage every day walking in Vivos. For kids, it is more irrefutable, that letting feet work in a natural way while they are walking about in their day to day life, is better for growing feet.
Balancing Sustainability with Profitability
Vivobarefoot has compromised this in the past, but, they gave up profitable products that were not barefoot and did not fit their definition of sustainability. They were making Terra Plana, a fashion brand, but realised that making fashionable shoes from eco-friendly materials was not sustainable. It was the opposite of helping people flourish on earth; promoting fleeting fashion, that is fundamentally unhealthy on psychological and physiological levels, and which can never be called sustainable, no matter what material it is made out of.
Selling fashionable shoes to ladies is profitable and relatively easy to do. When Vivobarefoot gave up Terra Plana to focus on Vivo, they gave up a lot of profitability and it was a tough decision to make.
But in the long term, through sustainability they have become more efficient, are much clearer about things and have more conviction in what they say and do. It may be a longer term path, however, it will ultimately be a more profitable one.
Impact on Daily Life
Galahad believes that the most important thing anyone can do is spend more time in nature and connect more with nature. Even on a subconscious level, this will affect the decisions everyone makes.
He tries to spend as much time in nature as possible with his kids and spending maximum intimate time in nature. Through Vivo they do a lot of off-road events and sports like ‘swimrun’. He eats a lot less meat, and he tries to eat no farmed meat at all. He drives an electric car.
Nature Memory
When Nature has almost killed him! He has two bittersweet memories of this. The first was in the Italian Dolomites when he slipped on a mountain edge while doing backcountry skiing with an Italian. It was an amazing day and he will never forget that moment when he slipped on the mountain but was able to hold on.
The second time was when he was almost got drowned off a coast in Morocco. He was taken a long way while surfing and was gobbled up by the ocean. He crawled back on to the beach three miles down the ocean coast and then lay there coughing and spluttering while appreciating Nature’s majesty!
Takeaway from this Episode
Go back to the beginning and think about whatever it is you are doing, and try to examine that from a sustainability philosophy. Rather than trying to change whatever you are doing and making it eco; go back a step and ask if what you are really doing is something that promotes a more sustainable world and more sustainable humans, and is ultimately helping people and the earth to flourish.
Galahad Most Admires
- Great Uncle Bancroft Clark (of Clarks Shoes) - he was responsible for really turning Clarks into a big global brand. He inherited an already large business, but he drew on his Quaker principles and genuinely innovated for the good of society. He also set out to make the best, most healthy, comfortable and efficient shoes the world had ever known. He did not compromise on quality and invested in huge amounts in the community. For Galahad, Clarks was an inspirational business led by Bancroft Clark, who set up a paradigm of how business can be done.
- Yvon Chouinard (founder of Patagonia) - he has built a business which is more than just a great business. Galahad admires him, not just for making great clothes and equipment, but also for the fact he has genuinely influenced the whole apparel industry’s to approach sustainability in an inspired way; taking it beyond what government legislation would have done. This has been achieved by leading into much higher standards and investing in open source platforms and systems that have been taken on by companies like Nike and Walmart.
- Kate Fletcher (his Eco-Guru) - she has written 4 books on design and sustainability. She has helped Galahad think about sustainability in an inspired way. Galahad recommends reading her books because she of her approach to sustainability and the challenge she lays down to companies - which is more than most companies would maybe ever achieve, but it is good to have that kind of a marker.
Galahad’s Favourite Resources
- Understand philosophically what sustainability is all about - as a lot of companies are guilty of doing the wrong things righter. It is a danger to carry on doing something that is fundamentally not quite good for the world but in a more eco-friendly kind of way. In that instance go back to the beginning of what you are doing and why you are doing it, and try to examine that through sustainability lens. The challenge is what it is you are doing and what service you are providing to the world.
- Look out for genuine close loop solutions (to retain the value of the molecules in the product chain).
How can social entrepreneurship lead to a sustainable environment?
Kresse Wesling, MBE, is a multi-award winning environmental entrepreneur and Young Global Leader with a background in venture capital and significant start-up experience. After first meeting with the London Fire Brigade in 2005, Kresse launched Elvis & Kresse, which turns industrial waste into innovative lifestyle products and returns 50% of profits to charities related to the waste. Elvis & Kresse’s first line is made from decommissioned fire hose, 50% of the profits from this line are donated to the Fire Fighters Charity. The company now collects 12 different waste streams, has several charitable partnerships and is involved with collaborations across industries, from fashion houses to FTSE 100 companies.
Measuring Success Differently
For traditional companies, success is about financial success. Elvis and Kresse has successfully challenged this notion with the Financial Times - who want to report Turnover and profitability. The only turnover Elvis and Kresse want to publicly celebrate is the amount of waste that they can reclaim.
This is important because this was the reason the business was set up – to rescue fire hoses.
Fire hoses can be put on a scale and weighed, they have an average weight. Measuring waste is their first measure of success and the real achievement of what they do. Elvis and Kresse also gives 50% of the profits to charities associated with the waste. For example with from the fire-hose range 50% of profits are Fire Fighter charities. The donations are the second thing they celebrate and measure their success on.
The 3rd measure of success is the turnover and the profitability. Money is not what they celebrate, but they do measure it as that is what keeps the doors open.
When Kresse first saw the fire hose, she fell in love with the stunning, lustrous coils of red. Her first thought was to create roof tiles with the hoses. However, she then discovered that fire hose is not fireproof or waterproof after 10 years in the natural elements!
Kresse works with MBA students. She lectures in Oxford in the MBA programme. Around 30 MBA students come over for a weekend every year. She has found the approach to the way entrepreneurs approach success depends on their motivation.
When a traditional entrepreneur thinks about business their focus is on ‘there is a market I can exploit.’ With a social or environmental entrepreneur they look at ‘what is the problem I can solve?’ It is a totally different approach.
Challenges of a Profitable Business for Good
Setting up a business is hard. That is why many young businesses fail and why it is hard to get to year 3 and year 5 and reach the milestones. It would be impossible for Kresse to run an exploitative business, as it would be an uphill battle for her everyday.
The upside of running an environmentally and socially impactful business is knowing that however small your contribution, you are making a difference or solving a problem. This aspect makes it an enjoyable challenge and an easier thing to love, be passionate about and stick with.
Business Model
The circular economy is a huge area of interest now. When Kresse started Elvis and Kresse 10 years ago, they didn’t call it circular, but called themselves backward designers. Traditional designers start with a sketch, whether they are building a blimp or a building or making a dress. Then they go out and acquire the materials to make that thing. They sell that and are not really bothered about what happens at the end of it.
Elvis and Kresse start with a problem first and looked at the material - whether it is fire-hose or parachute silk or coffee-sack - and think what can be the best possible use for it? What is the best possible second life for the material?
Elvis and Kresse doesn’t do something that is cradle to cradle circular. But, they have become a poster child for how to transition, how to take step 1 towards a circular economy and how to do something more circular.
The circular economy has inspired their new range of leather system rugs, where rejected leather is used to make lego like patterns. These lego-like pieces can be taken apart and made into something else. This is designed to be circular and this will allow leather to be forever.
Impact on Daily Life
The focus on sustainable and ethical business has impacted the way Kresse lives. For example; she buys clothing from ethical brands or vintage. She hangs on to things a long time. Her engagement ring is an old ring of her grandmother’s and they have a very used car. Their home was a derelict water mill that they rescued in 2013 and they have fixed it using only things that were waste or recycled. It also impacts the way they eat; Kresse and Elvis rarely eat meat, and whenever they do, it is from local sources.
She still sees her life as rich, luxurious and decadent; as that is about experiences and spending time with the people you love, being in a free society and doing something you feel is important.
Kresse’s experience of her stay in Hong Kong, that had no recycling and did not treat any of its sewage (which all went to the sea), led her to establish her first green packaging business when she was 23 or 24 years.
Nature Memory
On a camping trip in Canada when she was 6 or 7, Kresse was walking down a trail with her dad when she encountered a mother moose and baby moose. She was lifted up by her father and they walked backwards to give the moose space. The mesmerising image of this incident makes her miss living in Canada even now.
Takeaway from the Episode
If you are about to go and set up a business, or if you are thinking about a change in the way you work, you have to care about other peoples’ grandchildren in all the decisions that you make. If you think of that as a principle all the time then you won’t go far wrong.
Kresse Most Admires
Her late grandmother, Mrs. Kenny, a teacher – for her commitment and her being there for everyone. She was always there loving fiercely, teaching something, and did not let anybody down. She impacted the lives of her grandchildren, and hundreds and hundreds of students she taught. She also took Kresse out into nature, picking peas and berries, making pies, apple juice and pickling.
Kresse’s Favourite Resources
- Go and look at the waste in a landfill site or a recycling centre.
- Be familiar with the waste statistics.
- Check what materials aren’t currently recycled and think what is the best possible use for that material.
- Find a material you love or find one that isn’t going anywhere good.
- Try to understand the material – it’s properties, it’s potential, it’s maximum circular potential.
- Be market agnostic.
- Do a market research.
- Come up with a prototype
- Check if it is possible to create what can be made with the material in a cheap and sustainable way.
- Check if the business needs funding and partners, and other requisites of setting up a business.
There are a lot of questions to ask before starting a business.
Companies Mentioned in the Interview
Recycling Technologies - for their innovative work in recycling films into oil to be repolymerized into new film or used as a fuel.
The Alberta Boot Company – on the longevity of products and how they resole products for life. Kresse’s inherited her brother’s Alberta Boot cowboy boots when he outgrew his.
Wayne Turner, CEO of Odyssey Sensors, has more than 20 years’ experience leading start-ups, going concerns, and turn-arounds. His career has spanned a wide range of educational, environmental, and social endeavours in the US and internationally, most notably East Africa.
In the early part of his career, Wayne built and led a public shellfish restoration and aquaculture project in New England. Later, Wayne served in a number of leadership capacities at Teton Science Schools in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and more recently as executive director of the Ashokan Center in New York. Wayne joins us from his home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Economic and Environmental Sustainability
Odyssey Sensors develops affordable, usable, versatile technology that particularly helps the overlooked and under-served farmers of the world. The flagship product of Odyssey Sensors is the HealthyShrimp Salinity Sensor.
The HealthyShrimp Salinity Sensor is a low cost, solar powered, hand held sensor. It is dipped in the pond water for 5 seconds to check the salinity of the water.
Knowing the salinity level allows the farmer to manage and manipulate the pond water - to add more salt if it is too diluted or to dilute the pond by bringing fresh water in. The optimized salinity allows, in many cases, a doubling of the shrimp that the farmer can bring to the market. In so doing, it doubles the farmer’s income. It also prevents ponds becoming unusable and the farmer having to dig a new pond in the fragile mangrove forests.
Another product, the TroughSentry Remote Water Monitor, is an Internet of Things device that allows a pond or tank of water, situated 25 kilometers or more away, out in a remote location to be monitored. Instead of spending time and energy driving and visually inspecting the tank, farmers can get the status of the water tank sent directly to their smartphones or their computer.
The TroughSentry Remote Water Monitor significantly reduces the environmental pressure of having to go out and inspect the tanks.
Odyssey sensors is focused on small-holder and family owned farms and aims to help them improve their productivity and livelihood.
Grants and Sustainable Development
The real value of grants and prizes is that the money received is used for the development of products and there is no pressure to pay it back. Grants and gifts allow top-notch development and no recoupment is required. This enables selling the products to the people who need them at a price they can afford; the grants and gifts help to focus on making an impact in the lives of the people an organisation is looking to help with their product.
Wayne’s favourite resources
- Identifying the problem that needs a solution. Streamlining what it is that needs solving.
- Networking; talking to and learning from people.
- Use collaboration instead of competition.
- Writing proposals and distilling the idea into paper.
- Getting out in the field and, being with the people/clients so you understand their problems and can serve them better.
Impact on Daily Life
Wayne has had impact the other way round; where his embedded personal ideals of a low carbon footprint was the guiding influence in the creation of the company. Wayne tries to minimize travel as much as possible. He believes in leading by example.
Wayne Most Admires
His father – an electrical engineer - for his impact philosophy that was instilled in Wayne, and for what he accomplished in underwater acoustics.
Nature Memory
Wayne’s time camping with his family for almost a year, just after leaving the Ashokan Center in New York.
He had an inspiring time living simply, in a tent at National and State parks, across the United States and Canada, with his wife and two young daughters. It was a transformative experience for the entire family.
Takeaway from this Episode
Have curiosity of the world around you, ask questions and do not be afraid to fail, because anything is possible.
Companies mentioned in the Interview
B Corporation – in terms of Odyssey Sensors being a certified B Corporation. For being a business for good, for harnessing the innate value and power of business markets to do good work for people, who otherwise are under-served and overlooked.
Blue Economy Challenge – in reference to Odyssey Sensors being one of the 10 winners worldwide for the award.
How is sustainability better than CSR?
Difference between CSR and Sustainability
The difference between CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and Sustainability lies in the vision, purpose and power for change behind each term. The problem with the term CSR is that in some countries it is used for philanthropy-cause related marketing, PR or for initiatives divorced from the core business objectives.
CSR has also been used by companies as a tool to do good by supporting or investing in different causes that would create a good reputation. There is good CSR too and there are companies that have used CSR for transformative purpose.
The concept of sustainability offers us a more holistic and ambitious management approach regarding the economic, environmental and social aspects and principles that have to become part of the way a company does business.
Role of HR in Building a Sustainable Company
Working with Romanian companies on sustainability for the last 9 years, Ioana has noticed that sustainability is rarely integrated into HR operations. The HR departments are not involved in the planning of initiatives or strategies related to sustainability.
It is a topic at international level, how HR can support the planning and implementation of sustainability, but it is not the same scenario in Romania.
The connection between HR and sustainability has been overlooked. If a company is trying to make sustainability a part of core business, they cannot overlook human resources.
Sustainability is a process of change in which a company’s strategies, activities, systems and organisational culture are re-shaped. HR is an agent of change that can help create the systems that are necessary for advancing sustainability in the company.
It is important that the HR department and the HR managers understand that they have a key-role in integrating sustainability into core HR operations. For example by:
- recruiting people that have the right skills
- making sustainability part of the performance appraisals and incentive schemes
- finding out what motivates employees to work on sustainability
- creating employee engagement programs
- making sustainability part of training and leadership programs
The change should start from the top management of an organisation.
Impact on Daily Life
Ioana recycles, saves energy and buys as much as possible local products. She buys ecological products for cleaning. She avoids plastic by using water filter and her own shopping bag when doing the groceries.
Nature Memory
Ioana’s favourite nature memory is of time spent at her grandparents’ house, in a mountain region, during her childhood. The forest was just a few metres from the doorstep. Ioana spent a lot of time in the forest, walking, picking forest fruit, mushrooms and herbal plants of the seasons.
She would collect resin from the bark of trees, imagining that it was a precious resource she could sell. The forest was like a playground and nature was an important part of her childhood. It was one of the reasons that she was a very happy child.
In later years, the experience of seeing her favourite childhood forest getting changed due to human activity, like uncontrolled logging, woke up the environmentalist in Ioana.
It made her learn more about environment protection and sustainability in general. Her connection with nature in childhood influenced the choices she made in her adult life.
Takeaway from this Episode
There is no shortcut or easy way to build up a sustainable company or organisation. It is a challenging process, and requires change and having the right people on board. However, once started, the benefits will come.
The satisfaction of creating a business for the future, a business that takes care of our planet and it’s people are other benefits of a sustainable business.
Ioana most admires
People who show leadership and get out of their comfort zone for a greater purpose.
Ray Anderson, Founder of Interface - for transforming the business, and making Interface one of the most sustainable companies.
Oprah Winfrey - for using her fame to educate people on spirituality and well-being.
Leonardo Di Caprio - for endorsing the cause of climate change by launching his documentary about climate change.
Favourite Resources
Advancing Sustainability: HR's Role - Society for Human Resource Management
Talent, Transformation, and the Triple Bottom Line: How Companies Can Leverage Human Resources to Achieve Sustainable Growth by Andrew W. Savitz and Karl Weber
Global Reporting Initiative
Invisible Nature
People mentioned in the interview:
Joe Confino, Executive editor of the Huffington Post and former Editor and Director of Guardian Sustainable business – mentioned because of his comment in a sustainability conference in Romania – He said, we should learn from the experience of the more developed countries, such as the UK, that along the years went from corporate social responsibility to corporate responsibility and then finally to sustainability. Other countries can skip the steps and focus directly on sustainability
David Watt, Executive Director of the Institute of Directors - mentioned for his comment on how directors have a legal obligation to keep a company going, and sustainability is the way to move forward with that. (links to the podcast blog page of Episode 20 )
How does storytelling help sustainability?
Ravinol Chambers is an Irish born entrepreneur, filmmaker and a former monk who helps those making a positive difference in the world bring their stories to life. He is the founder of the multi-award winning Be Inspired Films and a strong believer in the power of business for social change.
Ravinol has been on an eighteen kilometres’ auto rickshaw (tuk-tuk) journey from Mumbai to Kanyakumari (southernmost tip of India), shooting a documentary along the way. It was a road movie with a purpose to explore the issue of girls’ education in India today through the people he met along the way.
Storytelling and sustainability
By using stories, sustainability can be removed from the organisational, company line type and be made more personal and real.
Storytelling puts sustainability into real-life context so that people relate to it more.
Not enough organisations have embraced it yet, but it is a massive opportunity to make sustainable more mainstream.
Key Advice
Organisations should align to a clear, focused story around sustainability.
The best organisations are ones that don’t just do something to offset or to mitigate what they are doing, but they find something that is truly aligned to their actual purpose.
Questions like ‘does my company actually exist in the world to do anything more than just make money?’ ‘does it have an impact in the world?’ are good to consider while framing a story.
The recent global sustainability goals are good to choose from. It is also important to be real and honest. People connect more with organisations that are honest about their failures, and their future goals.
The story should involve people around, and it should be personal. A good way is to have it told through the narrative of a person who is impacted by the work the organisation is doing.
Implementing Sustainability
On 2015, Be Inspired Films was certified as a B Corp. It gave a benchmark in different areas like:
- how the staff is looked after,
- the company culture,
- how the purchasing was done,
- the kind of organisations Be Inspired Films worked with,
- where the flow of capital went,
- what the environmental policy is,
- how recycling is done.
Committing to a formal, certified system helps in measuring sustainability, and thereby helps your sustainability impact grow.
Impact in Daily Life
In his day to day life, Ravinol feels further committed to sustainability. He has been moving sustainability into more areas of his life – where he spends his money on, the products he buys etc., to be a part of the change.
Ravinol thinks that if each of us just change the way we spend money, businesses would change overnight.
Nature Memory
A walk in the woods one evening when the sun was setting behind a hill and filled the whole place with golden sunlight. Getting in to nature reminds Ravinol of a bigger sense of connection and a feeling of being part of nature.
He thinks when one feels connected to nature, it is much more difficult to commit acts of violence on anyone or anything.
Takeaway from this episode
Be aware of the idea of connection – connection to self, connection with others, connection with nature.
Ravinol most admires
Tribhuvanath - A monk and friend. A daring, brave and wonderful person.
Russell Brand - Comedian
Elon Musk - CEO of Tesla Motors
Jay Shetty - Vlogger
Glen Hansard - Musician and friend
Ravinol admires all of them for the same reason - they are empowered and each of them is utilising it for a higher purpose.
Resources & People mentioned in the Interview
Business in the Community
Pioneers Post – Online magazine by Matter & Co
Mallen Baker – Blogger
B Corporation
Prince EA
How do you define sustainable?
Podcast Update
Our focus for 2017 for Sustainable: The Podcast is to release a new episode every Tuesday. We are also expanding our focus beyond Scotland into Europe.
Defining Sustainability
According to the Oxford Dictionary, Sustainability has two key definitions:
- To be able to be maintained at a certain level or rate and,
- The conventional meaning of sustainability which is conserving ecological balance by avoiding the depletion of natural resources.
Bringing these two together means that we as humans must maintain our level of growth, our level of development while still conserving the planet.
Sustainability is double-edged. We have to consider not just the environment but also the things humanity needs as well.
Sustainable Development Goals
On 25th September 2015, The United Nations created a set of seventeen goals to help transform our world. These goals have the aim of ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all - and needs everybody’s contribution.
The UN has named the following as the goals of sustainable development:
- No poverty
- Zero hunger
- Good health and well-being
- Quality education
- Gender equality
- Clean water and sanitation
- Affordable and clean energy
- Decent work and economic growth
- Industry, innovation and infrastructure
- Reduced in-equalities
11 Sustainable cities and communities - Responsible consumption and production
- Climate action
- Life below the water
- Life on land
- Peace justice and strong institutions
- Partnerships for the goals
Upcoming Guests
We have some amazing interviews coming in the next few months including:
Wayne Turner - CEO of Odyssey Sensors
Morag Gardner - Head of Sustainability of Scottish Whiskey Association
Galahad Clark - Founder and Managing director of Vivo Barefoot
Kresse Wesling - Founder of Elvis & Kresse
Ravinol Chambers - Founder of Be Inspired Films
Linz Darlington - Founder of Benefacto
Servane Mouazane - Founder of Ogunte
Ioana Tetelea - Managing partner of Invisible Nature
Andy Middleton - Executive Director of TYF Group
Zahid Torres-Rahman - Founder of Business Fights Poverty
Through these interviews, you’ll start to think differently about sustainability. You will also see just how much is happening to help us become more sustainable and get inspired to make your organisation more sustainable.
We are now living in a world where profits and sustainability go hand in hand.
This is the future of business.
How can repairing laptops help the environment? Remade in Edinburgh has created a circular economy business model that does exactly that.
It's reached the final five nominations for UK Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award and is the only social enterprise in Scotland and that focuses on environmental change.
In this interview, Sophie Unwin, founder of Remade in Edinburgh, explains how the social enterprise works, its key successes, the big vision and how winning the award could help.
What's the connection between accounting and sustainability? How can accounting drive sustainability forward? These questions and more are the focus of today's interview!
What do forests contribute to the economy and businesses? Why should you get out into the forest and why should you consider a career with the forestry commission? You'll find the answers to these questions and a lot more in today's episode!
The 2050 Scotland Youth Climate Group is pretty unique in what it does. Find out more about their aims and vision along with the necessary skills needed to prioritise sustainability within your organisation. Also, how do you create behaviour change and how can young leaders within your organisation get involved with the groups work?
What can you do to encourage your employees to become engaged with sustainability within your organisation? How can your employees benefit from the cost savings associated with sustainable practices in their own home? This great interview offers some great suggestions as well as highlighting how Home Energy Scotland supports Scottish businesses for free.
Have you ever thought about the cleaning products used to clean your office and home? This interview with Keith talks about a revolutionary cleaning product made from bacteria that is completely nature-friendly and human-friendly! You'll also discover why Keith's passionate about creating a sustainable business and get some great ideas about how you can do the same.
Discover how to apply the five principles of a nature-centred approach to your business and what each principles means in business speak. Also, discover why it's important to apply a nature-centred perspective to yourself first and the steps involved with that.
What were the benefits of the green tick sustainabilty scheme and what can businesses do now instead? What's the key reason sustainability becomes an integral part of a small business and what are some of the steps you can take? How do you implement sustainability when you work globally? Patricia answers all these questions and much, much more!
What makes the way Changeworks recycle unique? How does the power of collaboration help make more of an impact and how is Changeworks a great example of the circular economy? Find out all this and more!
What are the responsibilities of a director and how does sustainability fit into this? How can director's implement sustainability within their organisation? What sustainable successes have the IOD Scotland had?
Tabi explores the three key themes emerging from the interviews so far to help you embed sustainability into your business.
Paul shares why he embeds sustainability into the heart of his business and how it helps him with clients. He talks about the challenges of sustainability and what you can do to reconnect you and your business to the ecosystem.
Discover the best ways to make your building more sustainable, including the 4 things you need to consider first before thinking about renewables! You'll also find out more about what we can learn from other countries about sustainable buildings.
Discover how the farm in which Lyn lives produces the oil they make and how sustainable farming practices improve the oil along with why a sustainability story is key. Plus much, much more!
Adam Davies shared Hickory's journey to a gold green tourism award and the difference sustainability has made to their business
Find out how to apply the triple bottom line to the food industry and how you can get started creating a more sustainable food business with Alison Stone from 3 Minutes to Midnight.
Too often small business feel like they don't have a voice and that their sustainability efforts are too small to shout about. Find out how being part of a network can change this and much more with Lucy and Mathilda from Bright Green Network
It's not the solar meadow that sustainability officer, Martin is most proud of but the community garden.
Find out why and a whole lot more in today's episode!
Join David Hogg, Technical Manager from Bright Green Hydrogen to find our more about the Levenhall Community Project.
David also shares practical steps to think about as you become more sustainable and a whole lot more!
Discover why Vegware is a solutions-based company that creates compostable catering packaging from plants, helps their clients recycle and communicate the value of their product.
Get a clear example of a circular economy business in action and much, much more.
Today's guest is Mark Simmers, CEO of Celtic Renewables.
Mark talks about how sustainability is being embedded into everything they do as they take a low value waste product and turn it into high value fuel.
Find out how they've been able to make a big impact as a micro SME and much, much more!
Today's guest is Joe Farthing, Communications Manager in the Department of Social Responsibility and Sustainability at University of Edinburgh.
Find out more about some of the sustainability projects happening at the University, and what some of the key learning have been from the projects along with much, much more!
Jon introduces us to the circular economy and why it's important. He highlights that the shift to a circular economy is happening now and ZeroWaste Scotland has funding to help organisations in Scotland adopt a circular economy model.
On a quest to constantly innovate and do things differently, Wilderness Scotland has always been environmentally minded.
Discover what was the catalyst for a deeper sense of social sustainability and how Paul implements this within Wilderness Scotland along with a lot more!
What is the Greenshoot Fund all about and how did it get started?
What are some of the successes of the charity? Who is the catalyst behind the charity?
How is the charity related to the oil and gas industry?
Andrew shares all this and much, more.
Gbenga explains what the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme is and how it affects businesses, along with the businesses that are governed by it and much much more.
Heather share how with no experience she, and her partner Pete, managed to turn Whitmuir into a successful farm with the help of the community.
She also shares more about the education program Whitmuir Farm offers, how to keep going when you're challenged and much, much more.
Alastair shares how Glasgow has undergone a transformation from an industrial powerhouse to a cleaner, green and more sustainable city.
He also shares how networks have been essential in helping with this transformation along with the deeper meaning behind sustainability and resilience.
Alastair also shares more about Glasgow role in the Rockerfeller's 100 resilient cities and much, more more.
During the show Kat shares why it's important that sustainability is natural - if you pardon the pun!
Kat also shares how Mercat Tours communicates their sustainability practices as well as how they've overcome challenges and how the Mercat Green Team works.
She explains some key lessons that will help make your organisation more sustainable and much, much more!
Tabi Jayne, Founder and CEO of Earth Self explains the inspiration behind the podcast and what you can expect in the coming months.