Responsible Futures

There has been a great deal of uncertainty in British politics recently, and a victim of this has been environmental commitments with fracking, for example being in favour and then out again within days.  As three-quarters of British voters are concerned about the effects of climate change we must ask ourselves if the recent poor polling results are at least in some part related to the lack of clarity on the Conservatives climate position.  In this week’s Sustain Talks Sam talks to Ed Gemmell the leader of the climate party who wants to "get climate done".  They talk about what the Climate Party stands for, and Ed’s views on what can be done both from a business and political standpoint to make a real difference. Also discussed is the significance of 2030 and why this date or preferably one beforehand should be what we are aiming for when setting net zero targets!  Sam and Ed also debate COP26 and also COP27, which begins this weekend. Should King Charles, Prince William, and Rishi Sunak attend?  00:20 - Who is Ed Gemmell? 01:50 - A journey from army officer and lawyer to climate. 05:30 - How bad is the climate crisis? 10:25 - What should businesses do now? 13:50 - Change has to happen now. 16:30 - What have we achieved since COP26? 19:20 - Is Rishi Sunak going to deliver on environmental commitments? 22:00 - Is there any reason the Royals shouldn't attend COP27? 23:44 - What is Ed's views on trees in the UK? 26:20 - What are Ed's views on climate activism?  28:24 - What is next for the Climate Party.

At a time where the cost of living is soaring and Charities are struggling to survive I think it's imperative that we look closer to

support those in the communities around us.  For this weeks Sustain Talks we invited Mark Shearer co-founder and CEO of ActionFunder to tell us more about how they match corporates who are wanting to deliver on their brand purpose with grass roots projects!

You may remember ActionFunder partnered with us a few weeks ago, for our webinar “The S in ESG - Why Social Value Matters”.

Often the smaller local charities get left behind. ActionFunder has enabled over £1 million of matchmaking corporate funds with over 330 grass roots projects.  Mark tells us a bit about why he started ActionFunder, why now is a great time for companies to get involved with charities, the benefits seen and what the best way to do that is. We also discuss community washing and how to avoid falling foul of this!

Louise joined Innocent Drinks when it was a start-up and stayed for 19 years, during which time the company grew to become multi-national. She was instrumental in successfully and sustainably growing the brand. She now shares her knowledge with other consumer brands, assisting them on their own journeys.  To Louise sustainability is about creating a better future - making things better than they are today.   We will not be able to effect positive change unless we all work together toward the same goal.   It is obvious that every business must develop a carbon reduction strategy from now to 2030, breaking it down into manageable chunks. Begin by asking, "If it feels like the right thing to do, how do we do it?"   Sustainability can be the golden ticket to saving your company money.  Anyone can begin their own companies journey; consider what you want to be proud of.   Vision – Plan – Crack-on  But, in the end, reducing is by far the best option.   

00:30 – How did Louise’s career start? 03:00 – Innocent Drink and sustainability 05:30 – The B-Corp process 07:00 – Louise’s thoughts on Greenwashing 10:17 – What does sustainability mean to Louise 12:12 – Can everyone make a difference? 13:00 – What should a business focus on? 15:20 – Talking about sustainable packaging. 18:54 – Circular economy 21:32 – The deposit return scheme 22:58 – Louise’s views on offsetting 27:24 - Is the vision for net zero too far away? 28:57 – Who are the stand-out companies?

Today I’m joined by Jessie Frahm. Jessie is a sustainability fanatic and founder of Planet One Point Five.  Jessie's background in change management and marketing provides her with a unique perspective on business sustainability. Jessie, for example, sees this connection clearly:-  Sustainability - Lean Process - Cost Savings.  Sustainability is clearly the answer at a time when businesses large and small, with very different structures and inherent challenges, are all struggling to save money.   Businesses must be the ones to make sustainability happen. Sustainability must be driven from the top down, and missions and goals must be in sync.  The insights that Jessie shares in this Sustain Talks are pragmatic and useful – If you are a business, large or small this is a must-see.   

00:34 – Introduction – Who is Jessie Frahm? 

01:48 – What does sustainability mean to Jessie? 

03:26 – What is the biggest challenge to businesses? 

05:25 – How do you transform a business? 

07:23 – What’s the first thing a business needs to do? 

08:30 - Is it difficult? Can any business, do it? 

09:40 – What are Jessie’s views on Net-Zero goals? 

12:30 – If you want your business to thrive you need to take sustainability seriously. 

14:19 – How do you communicate and get it right? 

16:28 – Can we solve the climate crisis? 

18:08 – One piece of advice for a business thinking about becoming more sustainability.

Today I'm joined by Katherine Ann Byam MBA, best-selling author, activist, coach, consultant, and fellow podcast founder of “Where Ideas Launch”.     Over the last couple of years, there has been a shift in what people want from their lives. More and more people are wanting jobs with meaning. Many people are starting to work for themselves not only giving them work/life flexibility but also ensuring that what they do matches their own moral compass. But it requires courage to take that risk; it's not always easy!    Katherine gives us some great tips on how to make that first jump… stay focused, start making changes within your current role, find your voice and start helping organisations local to you!       If you are looking for ideas on what to do, we talk about the trends in sustainable businesses such as amazing fashion items being created from recycling – such as hats from old umbrellas! And the growth of service-based sustainable businesses – that are helping other businesses become more sustainable.    To continue learning from Katherine take a look at her Facebook group, “Women in Sustainable Business” which is a safe and supportive community for women working with a passion for purpose-driven careers –. She has also written a best-selling book – “Do What Matters”.  Katherine believes there are so many ways that you can be more sustainable and do things differently.  You can find out more about Katherine and get the book below. https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Matters-Transition-sustainability-transition/dp/1739644131/ https://www.katherineannbyam.com  Instagram @Katherineannbyam Instagram @whereideaslaunch    LinkedIn @katherinebyam

Alexis Eyre - Sustainable Marketing Consultant Co-Founder of Sustaineers Consultants and Co-Founder of Sustainable Marketing Compass - joins me in today's Sustain Talks.    We've witnessed the power of advertising and its influence on our daily lives, what we buy, and who we aspire to be since the 1960s. Many organisations today are eager to demonstrate their sustainability credentials, fully aware that buyers today consider how ethical and green a company is when making purchases. However, many are greenwashing. Alexis gives us some excellent advice on how businesses and their marketing teams can avoid falling victim to this.   On the other end of the spectrum from those who are Greenwashing and overselling their green credentials are the Influencers (although some of these claim to be green as well!) who are glamorising a jet-set, throw-away, mass consumerism lifestyle - and these are the people who have the most influence on our behaviour and aspirations, far more than scientists and politicians.  Finally, Alexis and I discuss the impact of green investing and the power it has on climate change - do you know where your pension funds are invested?  I hope you enjoy this Sustain Talks, and I hope it gets you thinking about what you allow to influence your behaviour, which of course - may or may not contribute to climate change.   00:43 – Who is Alexis Eyre and what do you do? 01:24 – What is Sustaineers? 02:42 – The value of community. 03:30 - You have had an amazing career in marketing and especially in the marine industry but what made you focus more on sustainability and marketing with purpose?  05:30 – Being part of the CISL community 07:35 - There is a lot of greenwashing going on right now.  Everyone is jumping on the sustainable bandwagon where do you see some obvious mistakes?  10:14 - How can companies avoid greenwashing? 15:06 - Can we talk a bit about the oil giants?  What are your views on what their renewable marketing messages are?  Do you think it's greenwashing? Should they even be allowed to market themselves in this way?  19:53 – Do you think we need legislation? 22:16 - You recently posted about influencers and celebrity carbon emitters.  Do you think influencing is more important than emitting?  31:00 = What about your views on offsetting?  36:30 - If you could ask people to make one change what would it be?  39:20 - What’s next for you?  What are your plans for the winter?

I am so proud of this week's Sustain Talks with Gustav Martner, Head of Creative at Greenpeace Nordics.   I couldn't wait to have this conversation as I am a huge fan of Greenpeace and the work they do.    I came across Gustav when I saw in the news that he had returned his award from Cannes Lion - the world's largest event for those working in creative communications and advertising.  He had won the award for an advert he had created for Volkswagen promoting their diesel car some years ago.  I always think it's brave when activists protest in a way that doesn’t cause any harm and manage to make positive clear statements and that he did.    The next day, however, Gustav was given the opportunity to speak on a live panel that was being broadcast on LinkedIn by The Drum. In my view, all the host cared about was finding out about his mode of travel getting there, rather than asking questions about the cause. Why are people interested in how he got there? That isn't going to change the world, but thankfully I was able to give him the opportunity to discuss his campaign to ban fossil fuel advertisements, which can really change the world. Find out why. This was a true honour for me. I highly recommend giving it a listen.

For this week’s sustain talks, I am delighted to welcome back my good friend Shane Herath Founder of Eco-Friendly Web Alliance. Shane’s previous Sustain Talks was the 2nd most popular and this new one will not disappoint.  Shane shares his journey into becoming a sustainable innovation tech ecosystem and how far they are willing to go in building an eco-friendly website for organisations.  Eco-Friendly Web Alliance's aim is to prevent half a million tonnes of co2 being added to the atmosphere by getting websites across the world to be a bit more energy efficient by reducing carbon emissions. Working with their scientific advisory board, they analysed 1000s of sites.    The average website is about two grams of CO2 per page, so they knew if they could reduce that by 50% then that's a good starting point.

Find out more by going to https://ecofriendlyweb.org/ 

00:10- Introduction 

01:15- About Eco-friendly Web Alliance 

03:00- What does Web Alliance do? 

05:00- How to tell the difference in the emissions of one website to another. 

08:40- Understanding data centres and carbon footprint while looking at a company’s digital infrastructure. 

10:35- The growth in digital infrastructure and carbon footprint of the internet. 

13:03- The journey so far after the launch of Web Alliance. 

18:55- What are your plans for eco-friendly web alliances in months to come? 

22:00- Your free audit for your website.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Ananth Murthy and his wife. I was were immediately captivated by their tale of how they founded The Timber Maker and their dedication to making it a sustainable and socially responsible company. We also love the furniture they are creating.  Many people reevaluated their priorities during lock-down; we examined the decisions we are making regarding our personal and professional life as well as the goods we buy. Many of us no longer feel the need for mass consumerism; instead, we are searching for better-quality products that are long-lasting, made from sustainable resources, and produced by workers who are appreciated and well-treated. We want to support ethical businesses.  The story of The Timber Maker is one that many businesses old and new can learn from. Care about how you make your products, the sustainability of your supply chain and how you treat your workforce.  

https://timbermaker.com 

00:40 – Ananth Murthy’s background and history and how The Timber Maker started. 

07:00 – Why did Ananth choose a purpose-driven sustainability career over a corporate one? 

09:30 – Where does the wood come from and what makes it sustainable? 

12:36 – Tell us about the studio in India 

15:10 – What’s Ananth’s vision for the future of The Timber Maker?  

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In this week’s Sustain Talks, we are joined by Lewis Crowe, Head of Membership and Commercial, and Chris Fletcher, Director of Policy both from Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, the largest chamber in the UK with over 4200 members.

GMCC is an organisation that creates an avenue for corporations to engage with one another, promote their ideas and goals, and provides possibilities for talented workers.

They are also a business that ensures Diversity and Inclusion are in their workforce and they support and empower their employees by providing them with healthy opportunities and packages and putting into consideration their staff’s passion.

Lewis and Chris both shared thoughts about how as a business sustainability and social responsibility is at the heart of everything they do and how they ensure their supply chain and business partners practice, promote, and believe in their work ethics and morals to be socially responsible and sustainable in businesses.

Chris went further to share GMCC’s Net Zero plans and the work being put in place to achieve this goal. They also spoke about switching to a four-day working week and how much this has benefited the employees and the business.