Sustainability Solved

Melanie Blackmore is the Managing Director of Blackmores – an award-winning consultancy firm which implements and maintains management systems for clients ranging from SME’s to blue chip organisations.

Melanie has been involved with the creation, development and implementation of British and International standards for over 18 years.

Blackmores rapidly grew to be an award winning, leading provider of consultancy services, specialising in environmental, quality and risk standards and offering expertise on the widest range of standards in Europe. She is now set to launch a game-changing innovation in her field, called the isology hub, which is a membership-based platform that companies or individuals can use to get a comprehensive, step-by-step understanding of how to become ISO certified and create world class systems for success.

Melanie is also the host of her own podcast, the ISO show!

In this episode, we interview the co-founder of The Good Goods, Zach Lawless. The Good Goods are a reusable wine bottle company that are tackling the biggest environmental impact of the industry: packaging. One new wine bottle puts 2.7 lbs of CO2 into the environment, so reuse is paramount to limiting our global emissions.

Zach talks us through his business model, how consumers are responding, and the challenges and opportunities in this pioneering space.

This is the final installment of our audio guide, Target 1.5C. Featured in this episode are all our guest speakers from the case studies featured throughout this mini-series: Karen Higgens from Grant Thronton, Alex Rhodes from Mishcon de Reya, excerpts from the founder of Toast Ale Louisa Ziane, and our extra guest for this episode – Amanda Smith-Powell from Forster Communications.

In this episode, we wrap up the series by talking about the most important components of all three case studies and highlight the universal practices that allow an organisation to be environmentally sustainable. Amanda shares her expertise in how to communicate the key learnings. The advice and information contained in this episode is to empower all organisations with the knowledge and know-how to play their part in limiting global heating to 1.5C.

Episode three of Target 1.5C offers advice, support and signposts to organisations within the food and beverage industry. The advice and information contained in this episode is to empower organisations with the knowledge and know-how to play their part in limiting global heating to 1.5C. This podcast features an insightful case study from Louisa Ziane, the founder of Toast Ale; an award-winning and environmentally sustainable brewery. Louisa shares the key lessons from their journey and successes to inspire and support those wishing to make their own business more environmentally sustainable. Our industry expert and strategist, Emma Littlewood, shares her experience as an environmental consultant who has worked with many organisations the food & beverage sector. She offers guidance to those looking to improve their sustainability credentials in this sector.

In episode two, we explore the legal sector and sustainability. The focus of this episode will focus on advising legal firms on what role they can play to limit global heating to 1.5C. This episode features a case study from the prestigious law firm, Mishcon de Reya, and we cover key areas such as greenwashing, collaboration and leadership buy-in. Alex Rhodes is their Head of Purpose and he gives his opinion on critical topics and offers advice for law firms. Our in-house expert, Alex Cronin, will be sharing his experiences as an environmental consultant who has worked with several legal firms. He will offer guidance to those looking to improve their sustainability credentials in the legal sector. Below, you will find the useful resources mentioned in this episode.  

In this episode, we discuss what businesses that belong to the financial sector can do to limit their emissions to ensure global heating does not exceed 1.5C. In this episode, we feature Grant Thornton – the first accountancy firm in the world to set Science Based Targets – as a case study to demonstrate what can be achieved. Karen Higgens, their Head of Sustainability, talks us through their journey, highlights their successes and advises how they overcame their challenges as an organisation. Also featured in this episode is our in-house expert and climate strategist, Emma Littlewood, who shares her insider knowledge and includes a number of valuable signposts to help organisations get started on their sustainability journey with confidence and integrity.

Vijay Eswaran is a highly successful and recognised businessman from Malaysia. Forbes magazine named him as one of Asia’s top 50 philanthropists and has received a lifetime achievement award for regional philanthropy. He is the executive chairman of the QI Group, a multinational conglomerate that ensures sustainable practices throughout its portfolio. He also established the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of the QI group, called the RYTHM Foundation, to invest in the communities in which they operate.

Lora Nikolaeva is the founder of British contemporary womenswear brand, Lora Gene. Lora Gene champions sustainability, size inclusivity and celebrates the diverse beauty of the female form. Their commitment to sustainability is embedded into their products from conception right the way through to their supply chain. Lora Gene is also a B Corporation business, striving to make changes not just to the environment but also to society by addressing inequality, working conditions, and fair wages.

Russell Gong is the Co-founder and Head of Brand and Product for Cabinet Health, an organisation that strives to be the world's first zero waste medicine company. Cabinet Health is a B Corporation who focuses on improving customer relationships with their health care and their environment.

Debbie Luffman is the Product Director at Finisterre, a certified B corp outdoor apparel company. Debbie talks about the collective passion for the environment at Finisterre, and shares what they are doing as a business to tackle the climate crisis. She also speaks about the campaigns they are running to help build relationships between people and the sea.

Debbie has over 16 years’ experience in the fashion and textiles industry and offers advice to consumers who wish to buy more sustainably and how to avoid greenwashed goods.