Conversations in sustainability

In the latest episode of Conversations in Sustainability, Dr Lisa Portolan sits down with Lottie Dalziel, founder of Banish, to explore her journey towards making sustainability more accessible and recycling less confusing for everyday Australians.

Lottie shares the story behind Banish and its pioneering BRAD recycling program, the biggest lessons she's learnt throughout her sustainability journey, and helps debunk common recycling misconceptions.

The conversation explores the importance of making sustainability more accessible, why education is key to changing behaviors, and how small, everyday actions can contribute to meaningful progress.

On this week’s episode of Conversations in Sustainability, Horizon’s Managing Director Dr. Lisa Portolan sits down with City of Sydney Greens Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore to discuss the role of local government in building a more sustainable, liveable and equitable city.

The conversation explores Sydney’s long-term environmental strategy, the challenges of balancing housing affordability with sustainability, and the importance of community-led greening initiatives. They also discuss how governments can make sustainable living more accessible and drive meaningful environmental change.

On this week’s episode of Conversations in Sustainability, Horizon Senior Account Executive MJ Hanna sits down with sustainability consultant Michael Mobbs to discuss eco-friendly design and the everyday changes that can make a difference.

The conversation also explores Mobbs’ innovative ‘Coolseats’ food waste composting project for the City of Melbourne earlier this year, and how food waste recycling can help enrich both the environment and local communities.

Most businesses don’t set out to create waste. But changing systems built around convenience, cost and habit is rarely as simple as finding a more sustainable alternative.

In the latest episode of Conversations in Sustainability, Dr Lisa Portolan speaks with Bearhug founder Tom Field about what it takes to challenge established ways of working in logistics. Together, they explore the realities of changing business behaviour, what motivates organisations to adopt new solutions, and how Bearhug is rethinking the reliance on single-use pallet wrap across warehouses and distribution centres.

Most people say they care about sustainability. But when it comes to everyday decisions, good intentions often compete with price, convenience, habit and trust.

In the latest episode of Conversations in Sustainability, Dr Lisa Portolan speaks with Muja founder Salem Lassoued about the attitude-behaviour gap and why understanding how people actually make decisions may be the missing piece in driving meaningful change. Together, they explore the role of behaviourally grounded synthetic research and what organisations can learn from the gap between what people say and what they do.

In this episode of Conversations in Sustainability, we're joined by Lars Ljung, Sustainability Manager at Planet Protector Packaging, an Australian company turning textile waste into innovative, sustainable products. From insulation made from sheep's wool to recycled denim, Lars communicates how the work that Planet Protector does is helping drive the circular economy and challenging how we think about waste.

What happens to the millions of tyres Australia throws away every year - and why aren’t more of them becoming something new?

In this episode of Conversations in Sustainability, Dr Lisa Portolan speaks with Lina Goodman, CEO of Tyre Stewardship Australia, about one of the country’s most overlooked waste challenges.

From “free-riders” and illegal dumping to the limits of voluntary schemes, Lina unpacks what’s holding back true circularity and what needs to change.

They also discuss TSA’s new documentary, Tyred & Wasted, which exposes the hidden cost of illegal tyre dumping and how communities are paying the price.

Looking ahead, the conversation explores global best practice, emerging innovations, and whether Australia is ready for the growing pressures of EVs and more complex tyre design.

It’s a conversation about accountability, innovation, and the hard realities of building a circular economy, one tyre at a time.

In this episode of Conversations in Sustainability, we sit down with Catherine Fitzpatrick, founder of Flequity Ventures, to unpack the confronting reality of financial abuse, and how the systems we rely on every day can be quietly weaponised to control and harm. 

Drawing on her experience as a senior banking executive, Catherine shares how analysing millions of transactions revealed hidden patterns of abuse, from manipulative payment messages to the misuse of shared financial tools. What began as an internal discovery quickly became a catalyst for change, leading her to challenge the way financial systems are designed. 

In this conversation, she explores how her work is driving industry-wide reform through a “financial safety by design” approach, shifting over 80 organisations from reactive responses to proactive prevention. It’s a powerful and thought-provoking episode that not only sheds light on a largely invisible issue, but also redefines the role businesses must play in building safer, more equitable systems.