Carbonbase | Podcast

Joshua Armah is the Founder & Chief Data Scientist of the Wiase Research Institute which advances research through science & engineering with cognitive solutions that address societal & environmental issues. Josh is recognized as a global leader in artificial intelligence with a career spanning over 10 years in information technology with a focus on big data. His research can turn insights into action for companies and organizations.

Josh Gregory is the Founder and CEO of Sugi, a great new platform that enables people to carbon track their investments. Josh founded Sugi after spending a decade working in investment funds, green finance and conservation, and became increasingly frustrated with the lack of clarity surrounding green investing. He created Sugi with the mission of simplifying green investing and making it easy and accessible for everyone to invest in a greener future.

Aubrey Christensen is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Boyish, an amazing sustainable denim brand based in Los Angeles, California. The fast-fashion industry has historically been very pollutive, but Boyish is showing others it is possible to make denim ethically and sustainably.

On this episode we talk to the founders of Project Canopy, whose mission is to advance evidence-based policymaking (EBPM) for the Congo Basin rainforest by providing environmental actors with the data, analytics, and tools they need to end deforestation, defaunation and associated carbon emissions. Environmental actors need the most accurate, complete, and timely information to design, develop, and implement their policies and programmes in a transparent and equitable way. The NGO aims to promote EBPM for the region by strategically providing the right information in the right way, to the right people at the right time.

We're joined by special guest Alex Katz, The Founder and Chief Carbon Captor at Protector Cellars. Alex has been making wine on California's Central Coast for more than a decade. During this time, he's seen how rapidly climate change is upending his agricultural industry and he felt compelled to do something about it. He saw no reason why a winery couldn't make great wine and address climate change, so he started Protector Cellars, the world's first climate positive winery: certified sustainable grapes, efficient packaging, beyond carbon neutral footprint.

Peter Moll is just 28 years old and both the Founder & CEO of the global youth movement World Leaders of Today, whose main program is Stand Up Shout Out which is based in over 20 countries and 60 cities with tens of thousands of members. World Leaders of Today deals with good governance, poverty reduction, conservation, youth inclusion, youth empowerment and engagement. 

He is also Chairman of Africa Conservation Youth Council, WWF Africa New Deal for Nature and People Youth rep, one of the Africa Youth For Nature leaders, the Vice Chairman of the National Conservation Education Forum, Global March For Elephants and Rhino Youth Rep, and he is also behind the developing of the National Youth Platform for the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife through the National Wildlife Strategy 2030 

While he has multiple recognitions for his impactful work, he recently won the Kenyan National Diversity and Inclusion award for Youth in Leadership in 2019. In addition he has represented Kenya as the youth rep at CITES CoP18, and was recently appointed as the UNITED NATIONS Youth Representative for World Wildlife Day 2020 where he also gave an address at the UN headquarters in New York of March 2020. This month he was also appointed Vice Chair of the Africa Youth for Nature Network based in 23 African Countries. 

In this episode we delve into Peter's deeply held belief that youth in Africa are the continents greatest untapped resource. And how he aims to elevate African Youth to have a genuine seat at the table, from creation, planning, implementation, management as well as benefit sharing in order to secure a sustainable future.

Norbert Trehoux is an international consultant specialized in ecotourism, community-based development and environmental management, with a Masters in “Innovation, Quality and Environmental management”. 

He has been working with multiple international agencies like the UN and World Bank, as well as with national and regional governments, international NGOs, international operators and local communities in developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and in the Indian Ocean.

With 17 years spent as a consultant providing technical assistance to multi-sized projects, with over 25 years of experience in the tourism sector, his objective is to combine at the different decision-making levels, conservation and tourism development. Speaking English, French and Spanish, he is used to working in sensitive situations, remote locations and with multicultural partners and stakeholders. 

In this episode, Norbert explains the difficult process of finding the balance between profits, conservation, and opportunity sharing when implementing a project in the field. He takes us through the intricate process of building trust with the local communities, stakeholders, and decision makers. As well as the role of education in helping build genuine buy-in from project stakeholders, and the constant process of monitoring and evaluation to ensure the projects unfold as planned and unintended consequences are mitigated. We also delve into the role of Covid-19 in reshaping our attitudes towards sustainable or community based tourism in the future.

Pyotr Kurzin hails from both Britain and Russia, a graduate from Johns Hopkins with an MA in Strategic Studies & International Economics. He operates the website myglobalmuse.com and the Instagram account The.eco.expat. where he’s been getting a fair bit of traction the last year in enacting his vision, of being able to produce content that inspires and creates informed change to people’s travel and lifestyle. 

Pyotr also works full time as a climate change specialist, focusing on policy and strategy as part of the World Bank currently. He has also worked on environmental migration and climate change refugees as part of the UN and Amnesty International.

On this episode we discuss Pyotr's work in the report by the Global Commission for Adaptation called: Adapt Now A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Resilience headed up by Bill Gates and Ban Ki-moon. The report gave him optimism by demonstrating the power of Earths human capital and how innovative we can be when faced by this crisis. However Peter posits that while we still have to retain a sense of urgency towards the climate crisis, we have to accept that we are right in the thick of the problem and need to prioritize it rather than treating it as something that can be done in our off-time.

Pyotr explains that the common thread behind this inaction is political self-interest, short-termism, and lack of education. We have the human capital, awareness, technology, and financial backing to be able to tackle the majority of climate change. Pyotr puts the problem into perspective by stating that 71 companies are the majority of emitters and a handful of countries, so no matter how much we individually try to reduce our carbon footprint, we are simply not going to see massive improvement because the impacts are so disproportionate. 

We do however have to make the issue more accessible and understandable to the general public. UN climate reports are notoriously difficult to read, which is what inspired Pyotr’s desire to write his blog and publish his account so that the message becomes more relatable!

Gugu Nonjinge is an NDP 2030 Youth Ambassador from South Africa. She is an external Communications and Advocacy practitioner with 6 years of experience in the social policy sector and a proven track record broadcast media.  She is also the Senior Advocacy Officer for the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, as well as project lead and communications expert with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. 

In August 2015, she was awarded the Lead South Africa Hero award for the work that she does for young girls in Africa. Gugu has her finger on the pulse of democracy and social issues in South Africa, and she can often be found on the TV sharing her passion for Gender & Climate Justice and Intersectional Environmentalism. 

This episode examines the intersectionality of women’s role in the contemporary climate movement; examining the gendered discrimination in the climate space. We delve into the fact that Indigenous women across Africa are at the front line of climate change, yet are often excluded when it comes to providing solutions in their communities. Gugu emphasizes that more focus needs to be put on climate adaptation, as we have largely surpassed mitigating climate change in many of these most vulnerable communities, and that we need to start championing women’s roles as climate leaders in order to find effective long-term solutions to these problems. We are far more likely to tackle the climate crisis successfully if those impacted the most are included, as inclusive decision-making always yields better results.  We also need to dramatically increase our education efforts within the spaces and groups we find ourselves, as it simply does not make sense for such a small portion of the population to be concerned with climate change when it impacts all of us.

Storytelling is extremely important for organizations seeking to impact change - yet not every organization utilizes their platform properly. “It’s impossible to expect everyone to be good at everything” says Annie Bright, and that is where Grow Ensemble comes into play. On this episode of the Carbonbase Podcast our host’s Jonny and Elliot dive into a conversation with Cory Ames and Annie Bright from Grow Ensemble. This discussion highlights the difficulties organizations face while navigating advocacy and sustainability in a world that increasingly demands it.

Grow Ensemble works with companies that want to do more than they are currently doing for people and the planet. They like to find companies that hold themselves accountable to others and organizations that are transparent about their sustainable practices. These mission-driven companies are aligning purpose and profit to deliver value to both consumers and the planet. We at Carbonbase love this approach as we also seek to create a more sustainable world!