Sustainability Solved

After more than 220 episodes, Sustainability Solved is changing. Weekly instead of monthly, with guest hosts running their own mini-series in their own fields.

The final part of seven. In this episode: Seb Munden on food, drink and packaging, Ben Tolhurst on why businesses find it so difficult to speak out, Live Frankly on thinking big and small, Sophie Taysom on climate risk and insurance, and the communications reason behind every part of it. First episode of the new format on 28 September.

Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com

Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle.

I was told I did not have the academic ability to finish my masters in a year. I finished in a year, with good results.

Part six of seven on why Sustainability Solved is changing format. In this episode: the one person who could say that sentence and get the result she wanted, why the messenger is half the job, and why we are going three episodes deep instead of one.

Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com

Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle.

A travel agent sold me a round the world ticket in ten minutes. A thesis on snowboarding in the Cairngorms quietly built the rest of my career.

Part five of seven on why Sustainability Solved is changing format. In this episode: three students selling me their cities, why the best-told pitch always wins, and how to use what people are genuinely interested in.

Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com

Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle.

At nineteen I was offered the chance to be the youngest pub manager in the UK. I turned it down because of who told me to.

Part four of seven on why Sustainability Solved is changing format. In this episode: managing staff at nineteen, the offer with the title and the money losing to the couple I actually trusted, and the sentence that is the whole reason Sustainability Solved Podcast is changing.

Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com

Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle.

I walked into hundreds of pubs before one offered me a job, on condition I dressed up as a chicken. It is still the best lesson in communication I have ever had.

Part three of seven on why Sustainability Solved is changing format. In this episode: why they tested the chicken suit and not my CV, how I was sacked repeatedly without ever being told, and why people have switched off from climate messaging.

Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com

Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle.

Rainwater harvesting, a reed bed and a solar thermal shower in a Welsh cow field. The engineering was never the hard part.

Part two of seven on why Sustainability Solved is changing format. In this episode: how a caravan nobody wanted became a log cabin everybody agreed to, why my dad shipped it from Canada when he should have bought it here, and what to do about the site or supplier where your plan is going slowest.

Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com

Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle.

My grandmother was taken to court for burning litter on a beach in Aberdyfi. Nobody asked her why the litter was there in the first place.

This is part one of a seven-part series on why Sustainability Solved is changing format. In this episode: the court case that started it, why the litter was the smaller problem, and the two questions to ask about any sustainability decision your organisation made last year.

Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com

Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle.

Most businesses believe they have outsourced their nature risk. They have not.

In this episode we look at why so much climate and nature risk sits in supply chains rather than on the balance sheet, and what that means for any organisation buying from, selling into or manufacturing in Asia.

I am joined by Fran van Dijk, CEO and founder of One Stone Advisors, who has just shared a discussion paper on nature and climate risk with the accountancy profession, and Eleanor Whittle, founder of Alopias Earth, who spent a decade in UK government on international biodiversity policy including two years as a diplomat in Beijing, and now advises companies on climate and nature strategy from Taiwan. Together they write the Real World Briefing series. Charlie Luxton and I take the conversation from accounting rules to the water systems that keep global trade moving.

The numbers land hard. Drought cut daily Panama Canal crossings by 36%. Low water on the Rhine pushed shipping from around 20 euros a tonne to 150. Around 41% of Asian data centres sit in areas of extremely high water stress, with another 22% in high stress zones. The Asian Development Bank puts roughly 75% of the region's GDP in sectors moderately or heavily dependent on nature, well above the global average.

What comes out of it is practical. Separate your risks from your dependencies, because you can diversify a risk and you cannot diversify a dependency. Investigate your supply chain to tier four, not tier one. Build a live risk register. Ask whether you have the regional expertise and local partnerships to turn a disclosure into a credible strategy. And stop filing this under sustainability, because it belongs in business strategy.

Fran advises boards and senior leadership teams on nature, biodiversity and integrated climate and nature strategy through One Stone Advisors. She is a B Corp founder and a Public Interest Member of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Fran is also Chief Impact Officer at Subsee, an AI and ocean technology company.

Fran recently wrote a paper highlighting the sustainability challenges to conventional accounting, such as its failure to record the erosion of the critical shared assets a company doesn't own, and its reliance on historical data to predict non-linear future risks. Giving examples from published data and major corporate losses at firms like PG&E and Toyota, Fran explains why the profession needs better forward-looking, climate- and nature-related risk models. She draws on the UK Government's National Security Assessment, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries' Parasol Lost report, and documented corporate information.

Fran and Will have known each other since Will moved to Edinburgh. She sat on Green Element's advisory board. She brings the ‘what is actually happening’ lens, and the financial translation: unpriced insurance risk, tail risk, going concern, and the questions a CFO cannot answer from a standard risk register.

Eleanor founded Alopias Earth and advises private-sector organisations on climate and nature-related risk and strategy. She spent around ten years in the UK government, including leading major international climate finance programmes and two years as a diplomat in Beijing, where she led UK-China engagement on climate and nature. Eleanor then went on to be Programme Director at global energy think tank Ember.

She is based in Taiwan, giving her a working perspective on a region that many European businesses primarily experience through their supply chains and operations. She is also Chief Strategy Officer at Subsee, an AI and ocean technology company. A keen diver and freediver, her connection to the ocean is personal as well as professional.

Eleanor co-authors the Real World Briefing series with Fran and wrote the Asia Pacific briefing this episode draws on. She brings the regional and regulatory picture: how nature risk shows up through water, supply chains and infrastructure; why sustainability regulation and disclosure are accelerating across Asian markets; and what this means for European companies buying from, selling into or operating in the region.

Eleanor is also an Honorary Fellow of the University of East Anglia.

A specialist advisory practice working with boards and leadership teams on nature, biodiversity and integrated climate and nature strategy. Focus areas include nature-related risk in value chains, board governance and capability, and the financial framing of nature risk. Fran van Dijk is a founder and a B Corp advocate.

A strategic advisory business helping companies understand and respond to climate and nature-related risk, and translate it into strategy and decision-making. Founded by Eleanor Whittle, Alopias Earth brings international policy and regional insight to questions spanning nature-related risk, value chains, regulation and business resilience.

A monthly board-level briefing series co-authored by Fran and Eleanor, making the case that nature and biodiversity are business-critical. Four briefings inform this episode:

• Briefing 1: Nature is Now Business-Critical. Nature moves from voluntary and reputational to material and decision-relevant. TNFD as entry point rather than destination.
• Briefing 2: Financing Green to Greening Finance. How the financial sector is bringing nature into the mainstream, and why diversification is not enough.
• Briefing 3: Asia Pacific, the Region That Changes the Equation. Nature risk as geographic and systemic rather than sector-specific.
• Briefing 4: Europe, a Climate Leader Losing Its Way. The fastest-warming continent, the Omnibus rollback, and cascading food system risk.

THE ST ETHELBURGA’S ROUNDTABLE

This summary outlines the findings from the St Ethelburga’s Roundtable, held on June 23, 2026, which addressed the gap between climate and nature insight and effective action.

Chapters

01:20 Meet Fran van Dijk and Eleanor Whittle

02:23 What climate and nature risk actually means for a business

06:46 What this year's fires and heatwaves have already cost

09:29 Discounting: how accounting makes long-term damage disappear

11:13 Insurers quietly walking away from high-risk assets

15:47 The Panama Canal and the limits of abstract risk

26:34 Asia: data centres, semiconductors and water stress

31:09 Why you cannot outsource risk to a supplier

34:14 Nickel, Indonesia and the energy transition colliding with nature loss

43:12 The gap between net zero claims and verified action

52:18 Putting nature into governance and onto the board

55:27 The questions your board should be asking now

If you want help turning this into a costed adaptation and resilience plan, that is what we do at 51toCarbonZero: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com

Subscribe for more conversations that make sustainability a business decision rather than a reporting exercise.

#NatureRisk #SupplyChainRisk #ClimateRisk #TNFD #Sustainability

Most net zero roadmaps have ticked off Scope 2. Renewable tariffs, LED lighting, EV charging. The boiler is still running on gas, and it is still the biggest single source of direct emissions on site. This month we sit down with David Leighton, National Distribution Sales Manager for LG HVAC Solutions across the UK and Ireland, to talk about why heat pumps have stopped being a residential nice-to-have and started being a commercial necessity. We cover the myths holding businesses back, what performance actually looks like at minus seven degrees, and what a realistic transition plan looks like for a multi-site food and beverage or commercial operator working to SECR and SBTi obligations.

• Why heating sits in a blind spot in most net zero strategies, and what that gap is costing businesses in carbon credibility
• The myths on noise, cold-weather performance and installation disruption that are quietly delaying board-level decisions
• Why the transition feels complicated for multi-site operators, and the practical first step to take
• What a heating switch actually does to a company's Scope 1 position, energy bill and investor conversations
• Where heat pumps sit in the commercial market five years from now

00:00 Welcome and introductions

03:00 Warm-up: 20 years watching heating go from gas-first to a credible low-carbon alternative

08:00 Problem 1: the Scope 1 blind spot in net zero roadmaps

18:00 Problem 2: the myths doing real damage to decision-making

28:00 Problem 3: why the transition feels complicated, and where to start

40:00 Looking ahead, and David's one thing every business leader should do differently

Timestamps are approximate. Confirm against the final edit before publishing.

• Heating and hot water account for around 40% of total UK energy consumption
• LG's Therma V heat pump holds 100% heating capacity at -7°C, addressing the cold-weather objection directly
• Switching from gas or oil to an air-to-water heat pump can cut carbon emissions by up to 70% in a well-insulated UK commercial property
• LG has SBTi-verified targets to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 54.6% by 2030 against a 2017 baseline
• Under SECR, UK organisations with 250+ employees or £36m+ turnover must report Scope 1 and 2 emissions annually, and heating is typically a major component

Grant scheme figures and specific savings numbers change. Confirm current amounts with David before this goes out, rather than repeating anything above without a check.

A sustainable business can also be a successful business, and this episode is a good example of where that shows up in practice. Food and beverage operators carry large thermal loads and refrigerated space; media, marketing and advertising businesses carry leased office heating decisions and investor-facing ESG reporting. Both sit on the same Scope 1 lever, and both are running out of reasons to leave it untouched.

• LG HVAC Solutions: HVAC - Air Conditioning Solutions | LG UK Business
• Leave us a review on your podcast app, it helps other business leaders find the show

Do you know an enterprise organisation who might benefit from a chat with me? Please put them in touch.

David Leighton is National Distribution Sales Manager for LG HVAC Solutions across the UK and Ireland. He has spent over 20 years in the plumbing and heating industry, working with distributors, merchants and specification channels across some of the country's most demanding commercial and industrial markets.

Before joining LG Electronics' Energy Solutions division, David held senior roles at Plumbase, where he built deep expertise in heating product distribution and key account management. His background spans solar thermal, heat pumps, gas and oil heating, and B2B channel development.

At LG, David's focus is helping businesses see that low-carbon heating is not a compromise; it is a commercially sound decision that also delivers on Scope 1 reduction targets. He sees the gap between sustainability commitments and operational reality every day, and speaks with unusual directness about where businesses are stalling and what it is costing them.

LG Electronics is one of the world's leading manufacturers of HVAC systems, operating across residential, light commercial and large commercial sectors. Its HVAC Solutions division in the UK and Ireland covers air conditioning, ventilation and heating, including the Therma V range of air-to-water heat pumps central to commercial building decarbonisation programmes.

Description:

In this enlightening episode of Sustainability Solved, Will Richardson and Charlie explore the remarkable work of Scarf, a Scottish charity celebrating 40 years of tackling fuel poverty. Join Lawrence Johnston and David from Scarf as they reveal how their organization has transformed thousands of homes across Scotland, providing energy efficiency solutions that not only reduce carbon emissions but dramatically improve quality of life for vulnerable households.

Show Notes:

- **00:01-01:43** - Introduction to Sustainability Solved and welcome to guests

- **01:48-03:47** - Introduction to Scarf: 40 years as a charity focused on reducing fuel poverty and improving energy efficiency

- **03:48-06:22** - Discussion of Scarf's relationship with Scottish Government and their reach (20,000+ remote engagements, 4,000-5,000 home visits annually)

- **07:47-10:51** - Explanation of fuel poverty metrics and KPIs used to measure impact

- **10:51-12:53** - Discussion on data collection and measuring effectiveness of interventions

- **12:55-15:30** - Exploration of quality of life improvements and social benefits from energy efficiency measures

- **15:39-18:03** - Main challenges in Scottish housing: granite buildings, solid walls, and electric heating systems

- **18:03-19:16** - The importance of balancing social and environmental sustainability for a just transition

- **19:50-22:31** - Barriers to engagement: lack of awareness, stigma around poverty, and skepticism of "too good to be true" offers

- **24:05-26:48** - Overview of organizations delivering similar services across Scotland and the fragmented approach in England

- **32:18-34:16** - Scarf's approach to energy efficiency: starting with behavioral changes and low-cost measures before larger interventions

- **35:02-37:14** - Discussion of Scarf's business energy services and varied impacts

- **39:22-44:48** - Powerful case studies showcasing Scarf's life-changing impact on vulnerable households

- **44:49-49:07** - Closing thoughts on the need for national recognition of housing as an emergency and potential for wider implementation of Scarf's model

Key Takeaways:

- Scarf has facilitated approximately £20 million in private investment for energy efficiency measures

- The average intervention is £18,000-£20,000 per property at no cost to eligible homeowners

- There's a critical link between poor housing conditions and health issues that needs more attention

- Scotland's regionalized approach to energy efficiency appears more effective than England's fragmented system