When an EV battery is no longer fit to power a vehicle, that is not the end of its useful life. Connected Energy takes those batteries and effectively doubles their lifespan by using them in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for grid management services before they are ultimately recycled. Founder and CEO Matthew Lumsden explains how the business models for both sections of that process work, giving fascinating insights into a fast moving world at the cutting edge of clean energy.

To get the incredibly good value Net Zero for Business training course mentioned in the pod, click here and use the code NETZERO - it all helps keep the show on the road!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Regular listeners may have noticed the normal rhythm of our episodes is three guest interviews followed by a solo effort by yours truly. I'm pleased to launch a new version of that fourth episode – a monthly round up of news, interviews and other reflections which I hope you will find useful if not inspiring. This month we cover the ongoing situation in the Gulf, the IEA energy review, changes to the UK electricity pricing system, US bullying and Dale Vince's less than useful intervention on heat pumps. This is very much a work in progress and all feedback is gratefully received.

This episode is brought to you by Terra Infirma Ltd - Bringing Sustainability to Life

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm joined by Frédéric Dalsace, Professor of Marketing at the prestigious IMD business school and co-author of a new book, Clean Winners. The book looks at where high profile corporate sustainability ventures have failed, notably Unilever, and sets out 'Sustainability 2.0' to address those shortcomings. As you'll hear, we don't agree on everything – the role of premium Sustainability products/services is a notable example – but we do agree on the fundamental point that Sustainability must deliver business benefits to survive. We both have plenty of opinions!

The offer of a place on my Achieving Net Zero: A Practical Guide for Business course for just £11.99 can be found here. That's incredible value and you'll be helping keep the podcast on the road. The link will expire on 17 May 2026, so don't dawdle.

The episode is brought to you by Terra Infirma Ltd - Bringing Sustainability to Life.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I chat to Nick Brown, founder of waterproofing brand Nikwax, the outdoor clothing brand Paramo and his latest venture Green Levers. We talk about fighting pushback from vested interests, embedding biomimicry principles in product design and how Paramo gave Colombian prostitutes not only an escape from the streets but a path to being company owners. Fascinating stuff!

This episode is brought to you by Terra Infirma Ltd - Bringing Sustainability to Life

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of the pod, I talk to Laura Elms, Sustainability Manager at Forest Bikes. We delve into how public bike share works, the sharing economy, why some schemes survive and some disappeared, how Forest tackle their scope 1-3 emissions, and their project to plant Giant Sequoias in Wales. And, yes, I ask why not native trees – and there's a good answer!

This episode is brought to you by Terra Infirma Ltd - Bringing Sustainability to Life

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 10th of my 10 Rules for Corporate Sustainability is build a climate resilient value chain – as always there are a few ways of doing this to maximise the effectiveness of your efforts and exploit co-benefits and I run through some of the best approaches I have found working with clients.

The pdf version of 10 Rules for Corporate Sustainability can be downloaded from the Terra Infirma website.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With electrification winning the race to Net Zero, this week we delve into the world of heat pumps with Martin Fahey, Head Of Sustainability at Mitsubishi Electric UK. We talk about how heat pumps work (think heat, not temperature!), how the market is developing and why costs aren't falling the way that those of, say, solar are. We go on to air conditioning, including refrigerants, before talk about Mitsubishi's own Net Zero targets and the challenges of meeting them.

Martin mentions the Uxbridge Fallacy episode which can be heard here.

This episode is brought to you by Terra Infirma Ltd - Bringing Sustainability to Life

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the pod, I ask Andrew Griffiths of PlanetMark about the big trends in Sustainability for the year ahead. We talk about upheaval in the reporting standards sector, whether Net Zero should be retired as a brand and the ins and outs of engagement. Plenty to chew on!

This episode is brought to you by Terra Infirma Ltd - bringing Sustainability to Life

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If we didn't have transformers on our electricity grid to step up and step down voltages then we would get nothing out of it; everything would be lost in transmission. Those dull grey boxes are essential to modern life and critical to Net Zero as they enable renewable energy generation, electric vehicle charging and battery storage systems. On the other hand ageing transformers are 'silent energy guzzlers'; across Europe they lose 3 times the electricity consumption of Denmark. In this fascinating episode of the pod, Ayah Alfawaris, Marketing and Sustainability Director of Wilson Power Systems explains all.

This episode is brought to you by Terra Infirma Ltd - Bringing Sustainability to Life

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the ninth of 10 special episodes to mark the publication of my guide '10 Rules for Corporate Sustainability' where I sum up the lessons I have learnt delivering Sustainability over the last 25+ years. In this episode, I cover Rule 9: Learn to Love Offsetting.

Click here to download 10 Rules for Corporate Sustainability

The Matteo Deidda episode can be found here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.