A serial social entrepreneur, Tom Dawkins knows how to build and grow impact driven businesses. He co-founded StartSomeGood, a platform for to support social good projects/businesses with fundraising, education, community and partnerships. More recently, Tom and the team at LendForGood are solving the problem of the 'missing middle', by connecting enterprises to impact investors to access much needed funding to help them scale.

Tom has a wealth of experience and is a great story teller:

• Concept of privilege and the influence of his parents in shaping his path
• "Missing middle", and need for angels in the impact investment space

• The journey/transition in StartSomeGood to LendForGood
• Dream for LendForGood - "like a family office in your pocket"

Tom makes things happen, and the best thing is you can get involved with LendForGood. Don't miss this listen, be inspired and take action!

From shaping New York's cycling infrastructure in the 90's to teaching a pioneering university course on underground spaces - Antonia Cornaro's dedication to improving our urban landscapes is world class.

Listen more about:

• Antonia's work on New York City's first cycling map and master plan in the 1990s

• Examples of underground energy solutions, such as district heating and cooling systems and geothermal energy

It was clear how much potential beneath the ground, as Antonia mentions "underground infrastructure, it's water, it's energy, it's roads, it's metro.."

Enjoy amazing insights from a true leader.

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Antonia's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniacornaro/

Amberg Engineering: https://ambergengineering.com/

ITACUS: https://about.ita-aites.org/wg-committees/itacus

Making our roads and streets better is not just about less traffic, but how we get around - an area Geert Kloppenburg is very much immersed in.

A mobility expert, Geert is internationally recognised for his vision on transport, implementation and financing. He helped introduce electric vehicles into The Netherlands in 2008, founding DOET (Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport) and founded the 'Low Car Diet' which encouraged greater travel by public transport, bike and electric cars.

This candid conversation provided a plethora of real-world insight learnings on how we can move better:

• Flexible on-demand transport system, with a case study of Istanbul
• How to measure economic value/quantify more sustainable transportation on society
• Discussion of Sydney's transport network and cycling challenges
• A key aspect often forgotten in cycling policy measures

For Geert, having a goal is vital - " what is the first goal? Why do we do this? What kind of city do we want? Where do we want to live in?"

Hope you enjoy this episode!

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Geert's Website: https://geertkloppenburg.nl/

Geert's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geertkloppenburg/

How can we redefine the concept of a city, more sustainable and future proof for society's needs?

Underground spaces and urban design is Joyce van den Berg's forte and plays a vital role in the Netherlands development as Chief Design/Landscape Architect at the City of Amsterdam.

Making the transition from a designer into her work in sustainable cities, Joyce has integrated a systems approach. Looking into areas previously overlooked such as biodiversity and soil management creates efficiency and also opportunity.

Gain great insights from Joyce:

Don't miss the chance to hear from a world leader, with an excellent eye for design and passionate for sustainability!

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Joyce's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joycevandenbergamsterdam/

OpenResearch Amsterdam: https://openresearch.amsterdam/en/page/58877/integral-design-method-public-space

It's becoming harder and harder to decipher the signal from the noise - no matter what we read/hear.

The climate is no different, lobbying, politics, unethical corporate behaviour are just some reasons mis/disinformation is rife across the space. Couple that with the manipulative and sensationalist nature of social media platforms creates an unruly storm preventing robust climate policy and transition away from fossil fuels.

This is why today's episode is so important. We spoke to Chris Cooper, a disinformation expert and Co-Founder of Research & Action Hub, who sheds light on tactics used, highlighting examples from the Australian Liberal Party and also use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs).

Hear Chris speak about:

- Shift to climate delayism

- Challenge of 'trustworthy' content and role of social media

- How political and lobbying actors dissuade pro climate views

- Messaging climate information in response to cultural values

We spoke to Chris the week before a US election, so no doubt a timely listen, as the energy transition continues as a political football.

Hope you enjoy this listen.

What a year! Wrapping up 2024, is the second episode of our Climate Policy series with Net Nada.

We have one the most dynamic and driven people Australia's climate-tech space - Stanley Tanudjaja.

Stan recently completed his Honours in Renewable Energy Engineering, and also boasts an impressive experience including renewable energy consulting, academia in labs and three venture backed start-ups.

His most recent venture was co-founding Giants Collective, bringing together some of the world's most ambitious young people to build world-changing things.

Ready to answer the big questions, hear Stan talk about:

A highly enjoyable conversation at the amazing Greenhouse space and can't wait to see what Stan has in store in the future!

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Show Notes

We're back after a bit of a break - and we've got a super listen featuring Eezu Tan of Climate Writers, in collaboration with the team at Net Nada!

Eezu is also the co-founder of a grassroots community called Climate Writers. Once a month, she gathers friends in a room to write to letters to politicians on climate action and learn from experts. Since starting two years ago, Climate Writers has sent 400+ personalised letters, welcomed 180+ people and have had dozens of meetings with MPs across Greater Sydney.

Hear more about:

• How Climate Writers began

• Impact of Climate Writers - including policy wins!

• Getting more diverse voices in climate

• Her work in the climate-tech space, at Cecil and Gridsight

Writing letters to MPs is an underrated, yet fantastic way to make a meaningful impact on climate.

Learn more about Eezu's great work in this episode, and feel free to reach out to her and the Climate Writers team!

• Climate Writers instagram ⁠@climatewriters⁠

• Join our next session: ⁠lu.ma/climatewriters⁠

• Climate Writers LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/climate-writers/

India’s growing demand in urbanisation and energy poses an urgent challenge in its decarbonisation efforts.

💡 Welcoming our final guest of the season, Mahak Agrawal, a Sustainability and Urban Planner expert and Global Campaigns Lead at Climate Clock, talks to us about her insights on the climate progress and status in India that challenges our pursuit of a renewable future.

As a recognised expert in ESG reporting, Mahak has authored numerous scientific publications on climate change and sustainability. She served as an expert reviewer for the IPCC and Subject Matter Expert for the Government of India. 

Listen more to better understand: 

➡️Attitude towards Climate Action in India

➡️Levers of change in reforming climate policy

➡️Urban planning and links between architecture and climate

✅Listen to the full episode on Greenfluence on Spotify!

Don’t forget to follow us on Spotify 🔔

#ClimateAction #Environment #Sustainability #Greenfluence🌱

Can we shift from a dig and ship, to a mining and making economy? 

💡Monica Richter, an accomplished Senior Manager Low Carbon Futures at WWF and Project Director at Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders Alliance (MECLA), talks with us this week to share her insights on how we can think about decarbonisation and our understanding of embodied carbon.

With over two decades experience in the sustainability space, she has kickstarted several initiatives including the Business Renewables Centre-Australia, MECLA and Community of Science Based Targets in Australia. 

Listen more to a pioneer in Australia’s climate landscape talk about: 

➡️Disconnect between politics and fruitful climate policy

➡️Levers of change in reducing embodied carbon

➡️Timber to Engineered Wood

➡️A sector breakdown for decarbonisation

✅Listen to the full episode on Greenfluence on Spotify!

Don’t forget to follow us on Spotify 🔔

#CarbonEmissions #Environment #Sustainability #Greenfluence🌱

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Monica's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-richter-31bb3ba/

Welcome to Part 2!

We’re back with Part 2 of our special podcast and this year’s hackathon theme is circular economy. We’re excited to collaborate with Sustainable Innovators Club proudly named after the iconic SIC hackathon. 

This episode we dive in and explore the student hackathon experience and what their current start-up journey is looking like. 

For Part 2 of this episode we’ve invited the lovely co-founders of GlowCo:

Tahlia Brown (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tahlia-brown?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app)

and

Milind Bordia (https://www.linkedin.com/in/milind-bordia?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app)

Find out about their hackathon experiences and entrepreneurship journey. If you’re curious about it, revisit our past episode UQIES hackathon special and stay tuned for more in Season 6.