Shaken Not Burned

The world is grappling with numerous environmental challenges and, while COP29 (the world’s most important gathering on the environment) is expected to focus on climate finance, we need solutions that benefit everyone – especially the most vulnerable. We need to revolutionise agriculture, including how we use soil. Indeed, soil plays a crucial role in combating climate change, ensuring food security, and maintaining biodiversity.

This week’s guest is Praveena Sridhar, chief science and technology officer at the Save Soil movement run by the Conscious Planet initiative, set up by internationally-renowned yogi Sadhguru. Through working with over 220,000 farmers in India and advocating for ecological restoration, Conscious Planet's  wide network of volunteers have also raised global awareness of the soil crisis, through community events, social media campaigns and in mass media.

Soil health could serve as a critical link between addressing climate change and protecting nature. 12 inches of topsoil supports 95% of global food production, and provides the potential for sequestering nearly a third of all GHG emissions. Yet today over half of all global soils are degraded, a number that could rise to 90% by 2050.

Praveena talks to Felicia about the role of soil in addressing climate change, the critical need to improve the organic content of soil to 3-6% of matter and the importance of supporting farmers in changing their approach to farming, as well as what needs to be done to increase access to finance. The future of the climate - and the food system - could depend on it. 

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Giulia speaks to Alisa Murphy, a coach helping purpose-driven professionals build careers rooted in nature, climate, and community.

They talk about her journey to regenerative work, what regenerative means, and what questions people should ask themselves when they feel ready to change their work lives – or to spot corporate greenwashing. It can be scary to leave the corporate world, but we need everyone, whatever their skills and experience, to enact systemic change.

Find Alisa on LinkedIn and on her website. Her podcast, Regenerative Worklife, is on all major platforms.

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Felicia interviews Chris Hocknell, founder of sustainability consultancy Eight Versa on the complex and evolving topic of carbon neutrality and its significance for businesses in the context of climate change. 

We explore the difference between carbon neutral and net zero, and why Chris is advocating for the use of the term "carbon neutral" as a pragmatic step for business today. Join us to uncover the nuances of sustainable business practices and understand what it really means to build towards a greener future. 

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This week Giulia interviews Patrick Donati, co-founder and managing director of solar power producer Terrawatt. Founded in 2021, the startup is developing a portfolio of solar farms in Italy.

In a wide-ranging chat, they discuss the EU’s renewable energy targets and the challenges of building a solar industry in sunny Italy, which should be a no-brainer but is being hindered by complicated bureaucracy and unsupportive policies. Still, Patrick says there are plenty of opportunities in the sector, which promises to revive areas marred by poverty and brain drain.

The discussion also touches upon differences and similarities across the various countries in the bloc, using green hydrogen as storage, and the economics of installing batteries.

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One of the ways in which we can drive growth in climate tech is through events, learning, pitching and networking. Blue Earth Summit is a 3-day event being held in London in October 2024, focused on sustainability and innovation, bringing together innovators, investors, activists and policymakers. 

In this episode Felicia speaks to founder Guy Hayler, about the events and its purpose, the BE100 competition, where 1,000 climate-positive startups pitch their innovative solutions to hundreds of investors, with a goal of raising £100 million to accelerate climate action as well as Blue Earth’s impact investor events and Futures series. Overall his goal is to drive actionable change in climate technology, clean energy, conservation, and sustainable business and Blue Earth Summit is one way he's hoping to achieve that goal.

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This week Felicia talks to Dr Tamara Kneese, a senior researcher and project director at Data & Society's Algorithmic Impact Methods Lab about the questions that need to be asked about the use of AI, its impact on the tech industry and how to use it mindfully.

While there are huge opportunities to address climate and sustainability challenges (in terms of circularity, monitoring and managing the grid, carbon management, efficiency, new materials creation and more) challenges lie in the impact on labour, energy demand, and the acceleration of extractive industries.

The discussion highlights the complex challenges in realising AI's potential benefits while addressing its significant downsides, especially when it comes to environmental sustainability. We tackle questions on efficiency, increased resource demand, the need to differentiate between use cases, the challenges in incorporating user feedback into meaningful product changes or the role of regulation.

Tamara was the author of the Green Software Foundation's first State of Green Software Report and, prior to that, she was director of developer engagement on the green software team at Intel. Her first book, Death Glitch: How Techno-Solutionism Fails Us in This Life and Beyond, was published by Yale University Press in August 2023.

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Don't forget to subscribe for future episodes, sign up to receive our weekly newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.

This week Giulia interviews Paul Finch, co-founder at Growth Studio. The London-based accelerator helps early-stage startups focusing on solutions to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

They discuss the overlooked issue of low air quality, the need for systematic change, and the challenges of raising investment for early-stage companies in the climate and sustainability space.

Growth Studio runs the Breathable Cities and GS Select programmes,which are both open for applications. You can find more details at https://www.growthstudio.com/programmes/

Don't forget to subscribe for future episodes, sign up to receive our weekly newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn. 

Don't forget to subscribe for future episodes, sign up to receive our weekly newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.

We are shaking things up (pun intended) at Shaken Not Burned! 

We are launching a new format in this new season, where the entire episode will be dedicated to our guests to give them more space to platform their solutions.

Once a month, Felicia and Giulia will be joined by a panel of guests to delve into the hottest themes in the world of sustainability.

We are here to chat and listen to our audience. Don't be shy, get in touch with us on our socials or at [email protected]. 

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This week we discuss the need to update meteorological models, fashion’s dependency on fossil fuels and the latest Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) controversy.

We kick off the episode with the worrying news that temperatures in Antarctica climbed up to 50°F last month. We are basing our weather predictions on models from a decade ago and we need to update them as the climate changes to ensure we are prepared for extreme weather events.

Equally startling news was the extent to which the fashion industry is still extremely dependent on fossil fuels, even for energy use, suggesting that all the talk about making the sector more sustainable is indeed just talk.

Then we explore the SBTi's announcement regarding the risk of carbon offsets, and its reiteration that the priority remains direct decarbonisation of Scope 3 emissions. This is in contrast with the idea floated in April to allow the purchase of carbon credits to offset a company's supply chain footprint. The organisation will take a final decision in 2025, suggesting internal conflict on the matter, however this creates further confusion for companies that need leadership in the middle of a crucial decade to mitigate climate change.

Finally, Felicia talks to Max Schmidt at Perspectives Climate Research about Export Credit Agencies, their role in financing fossil fuels and how they could be a tool for supporting a shift towards green industry, green growth and green export markets.

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Don't forget to subscribe for future episodes, sign up to receive our weekly newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.

On this week’s episode, the team kicks off with a discussion of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Next, we delve into the latest innovation in the construction sector. C-Crete’s basalt-based concrete has garnered widespread attention for its exclusion of Portland cement, the component typically associated with the brunt of concrete’s emissions. And finally, we explore the steady growth of the cultured meat market. Cultured meat requires a fraction of the resources used by conventional farms, but strict regulations have slowed its widespread introduction. Now, Gourmey has become the first company to apply for market access in the EU.

In this week's interview, Felicia talks to Nicki Harrison, director sustainable finance at the Environmental Defense Fund Europe about sustainable finance, its implications for business and what the new government needs to do to drive green growth.

Don't forget to subscribe for future episodes, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn. 

Don't forget to subscribe for future episodes, sign up to receive our weekly newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.