SDG Talks

Welcome back to another episode of SDG Talks where we highlight change makers and their inspirational work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)!

What do you know about climate models?

IN THIS EPISODE:

Theodore (Ted) Shepherd FRS is Grantham Professor of Climate Science at the University of Reading. He is a specialist in large-scale atmospheric dynamics and circulation and its role in climate change, including extreme events. During the first part of his career at the University of Toronto, he initiated and led, for 20 years, a large university-Environment Canada collaboration on the development and use of the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM). Ted has held leadership roles in international scientific assessments of climate (IPCC) and stratospheric ozone (WMO/UNEP), and in the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). He co-authored the US National Academy of Sciences report on Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change Attribution (2016), and chaired the Science Review Group of the Met Office Hadley Centre (2017-2021).

Since moving to the UK in 2012, Ted has highlighted the large uncertainty in aspects of climate change related to atmospheric circulation, which is in striking contrast to thermodynamic aspects of climate change. Ted’s recent research has focused on how to effectively characterize these circulation-related uncertainties, including their impacts. As part of this research he has been pioneering a ‘storyline’ approach to representing uncertainty in physical aspects of climate change, including extreme events, and beginning to engage in inter-disciplinary collaborations. The storyline approach, which has influenced the current IPCC WGI report (AR6), asks what would be the consequence of particular choices or actions under different imagined futures. It thereby represents a paradigm shift compared with the traditional probabilistic ‘predict-then-act’ approach to climate risk. Ted is currently trying to implement this approach through his co-leadership of the WCRP’s new Lighthouse Activity called ‘My Climate Risk’.

Resources:

“The future cannot be forecast, but it can be explored” (E.F. Schumacher, in Small is Beautiful, 1973)

Let’s get SDG Talking!!

Got a good story or want to collaborate? Send us an email at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as we can!

And don’t forget to check out our Virtual Roundtables on our website!

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Welcome back to another episode of SDG Talks where we highlight change makers and their inspirational work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)!

Do you think it's possible to learn from history's wrongs so we can move everybody forward?

IN THIS EPISODE:

- Which past inequalities were further exposed by the pandemic?

- How to use SDSN's reports to create sustainable action

- Why SDG partnerships are so crucial

Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN USA) is a network of universities and research institutions across the United States committed to building pathways towards achieving the SDGs and Paris Climate Agreement by mobilizing research, outreach and collective action. We were lucky enough to talk with SDSN's very own Senior Research Manager Alianna Lynch and Co-Chair Dr. Helen Bond to share their findings from the Racial Inequality Index report with all of you!

Prior to SDSN, Alainna Lynch worked with Overseas Development Institute (ODI) on the Leave No One Behind Agenda. She has a degree in Sociology from the University of Chicago and a Master’s in Evidence-Based Social Intervention from Oxford University. Her research interests include understanding how poverty and inequality become entrenched in social systems, and how to prevent harm when designing policy and programs. 

Dr. Helen Bond is an Associate Professor at Howard University in Washington D.C. and former director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Assessment. She is a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar to India and is a contributing author of the UNESCO publication, Teaching Respect for All: Implementation Guide, which outlines a curricular framework to promote respect which countries can adapt to their respective contexts and needs. She was also the contributing author to the UNESCO publication entitled, Teacher’s Guide on the Prevention of Violent Extremism, the first contribution to the implementation of the UN Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, announced in January 2016. She authored a series of Teacher Guides for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Education for Justice (E4J) initiative that seeks to promote a culture of lawfulness through education.

Connect with Alainna: LinkedIn

Connect with Helen: LinkedIn

Resources:

- Never More Urgent - Full Report

- In the Red - Full Report

Let’s get SDG Talking!!

Got a good story or want to collaborate? Send us an email at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as we can!

And don’t forget to check out our Virtual Roundtables on our website!

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Welcome back to another episode of SDG Talks where we highlight change makers and their inspirational work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)!

Don't you hate fast fashion's "one-size-fits-all" and all this greenwashing?! Well inclusion and sustainability aren't just about making money, but about changing the way consumers vote with their wallets...

In this episode:

- Explore the multifaceted components of inclusivity and sustainability

- Why being sustainable takes time and effort

- How entrepreneurs can innovate within the realm of SDG #12 

Fashion industry revolutionary Romain Liot joined our episode to share his journey co-founding and becoming COO of the disruptive e-commerce startup Adore Me. With revenues growing exponentially from $1M in 2012 to over $100M, Romain has led Adore Me to become one of the fastest-growing companies in New York (ranked #17 on Crain’s Fast 50 in 2017) and one of the fastest-growing retailers in the U.S. (ranked three times on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America).

Connect with Romain: LinkedIn 

Let’s get SDG Talking!!

Got a good story or want to collaborate? Send us an email at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as we can!

And don’t forget to check out our Virtual Roundtables on our website!

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

In this episode:

- How are models, brands and consumers are all are partners?

- How can you collaborate with sustainable fashion brands?

- Why models are seen as models first, humans second?

- What is the challenge and importance of mental health within modeling?

Kiko Hirakawa, one of the few ethical models in the fashion industry, shares her experience and growth throughout her years in modeling, which she started when she was 12 years old. She has had a difficult journey overcoming many challenges regarding mental and physical health issues, such as an eating disorder, self-love and self-doubt. Kiko utilized her experiences to make powerful decisions by choosing to model only for sustainable brands and additionally founded Ethical Models, the first ethical agency based in Europe, connecting sustainable brands with models who share the same ethical beliefs.  

Jeremy McKane is an artist who has passion for the environment with a direct focus on ocean issues, particularly in the past several years. He is an active Explorers Club Member and the CEO of OCN.ai, an autonomous network of marine robots that automate enforcement at sea. Jeremy talks about how his work with NFTs - or "non fungible tokens" - is funding the removal of munitions from the ocean as well as some misconceptions about overfishing and what we can do as a society to address the problem from multiple angles.

In this episode:

- Why nature preserves in the ocean work for long-term conservation

Website: https://www.jeremymckane.com/about/

Candice is a native of Selma, AL of Dallas County in the Black Belt Region. Candice is a multifaceted educator with deep ties to and passion for community organizing. Her experiences include being a literacy coach with Tuscaloosa City Schools, an adjunct instructor at Wallace State Community College and an Instructional Coach for Selma City Schools. Candice is the founder and CEO of her newly founded LLC C-Celestial Solutions.

In this episode:

- Meet people where they are

- Deploy empathy and get to know the people

- Start with good intent

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candice-pettaway-45528213b/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candice.pettaway 

Unleash Hacks USA: https://www.unleashhacksusa.com/

What is it like to actually get stuff done in Lowndes County Alabama?  It isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible.  Perman Hardy can teach you a thing or two.  For those participating in the UNLEASH 2021 USA Hack on sanitation issues in the Alabama black belt, this is a useful episode to build empathy and awareness.

Perman Hardy grew up in a family of sharecroppers and has worked for decades as an advocate to improve the lives of people within Lowndes County.  She has recently stepped into the role of board chair for the Lowndes County Unincorporated Wastewater Project.  Through the hard work of their team, they have obtained grants (to the tune of $2.9M) to supply engineered onsite wastewater treatment systems for low income homeowners with failing or non-existent systems.

You should also consider watching this powerful video https://vimeo.com/346751909.

To stay in touch with the UNELASH USA hack please visit https://www.unleashhacksusa.com/

In this episode:

- Challenges and opportunities to working in rural communities

- Moving from “Straight Pipes” to sustainable waste water systems

- Less talk, more action for Lowndes County

- A message to everyone that wants to help

Relevant articles: https://www.nola.com/nation_world/article_c9e95207-f612-5809-8109-0a4e80ff5575.html 

UNLEASH is a global initiative committed to bringing the world’s top talents together to share ideas, build networks, and create solutions to help reach the Sustainable Development Goals. UNLEASH brings together young people from across the world for an annual innovation lab, organizes local hacks, and supports ongoing capacity building and solution implementation.

The UNLEASH USA 2021 hack will focus on developing sustainable, equitable solutions for sanitation issues in Alabama's black belt region

To learn more about all the UNLEASH hacks please visit: https://unleash.org/hacks/

To sign up for the UNLEASH USA hack please visit https://www.unleashhacksusa.com/

Speakers:

Lindsey Broderick's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseybroderick/

Anniestacia Miskel's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anniestacia-miskel-454781161/

Jordan Wolken is the Global President of Bridges for Enterprise (BfE), a non-profit that provides pro bono advisory services to early-stage social enterprises in the developing world. Through their multi-stage Incubation Programme, BfE provides value-added consulting, finance, legal and technical services over 6-8 months to help their clients scale and grow their impact. With the support of an expansive network of students and professionals, BfE has supported over 90 social enterprise startups from 30+ countries on their journey to advance the UN SDGs.

In this episode:

- Access to support for social enterprises in underserved markets

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanwolken/

As a climate psychologist, Dr. De Vries studies climate-related issues – such as the energy transition and reducing carbon emissions – from a behavioral perspective. De Vries obtained her Ph.D. at Leiden University as a Social Psychologist in the field of Climate and Energy.

In this episode:

- Climate Psychology

- Multi disciplinary approach to climate action

- How to approach sustainability & profitability

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerdienengel/?originalSubdomain=nl