The Responsible Edge Podcast

What if the real measure of sustainability isn’t your carbon footprint — but your handprint?

In this episode of The Responsible Edge, we explore how the built environment can move from compliance to creativity with Useful Simple Trust’s Head of Sustainability.

🔹 Why ESG reporting can distract from true transformation

🔹 The rise of “handprint” metrics that measure positive impact

🔹 How small businesses can lead big change through culture and collaboration

🔹 Why giving nature a “seat at the table” could reshape corporate decision-making

This episode is for anyone in design, architecture, or business leadership asking how to make sustainability real — and measurable.

Watch now to learn how data, design, and ethics can come together to build a regenerative future.

#Sustainability #BuiltEnvironment #RegenerativeDesign #EthicalBusiness #ResponsibleLeadership #ClimateAction

What if China’s clean energy boom holds the biggest lesson in responsible leadership today?In this episode, sustainability author and board advisor Gib Hedstrom joins host Charlie Martin to explore how China’s renewable revolution is changing global energy — and what Western boards can learn.💡 In this conversation:- Why China’s clean tech rise surprised even the experts- How long-term planning became its advantage- What boards can do to escape short-term cycles- The tension between coal, growth, and responsibility- Gib’s call to action for leaders, families, and Gen Z“China’s clean energy portfolio is right at the steep part of the S-curve,” says Gib. “They plan in decades. We plan in quarters. That’s the gap.”Watch now to understand the real energy transition and what it means for business and the planet.#Sustainability #EnergyTransition #Leadership #ESG #China #ResponsibleBusiness #CleanTech

Can an oil and gas legacy company truly reach real zero? Kent’s VP of Sustainability faces the challenge head-on.

Can a global engineering firm built on fossil fuel projects really lead the energy transition?

In this episode of The Responsible Edge, Kent’s VP of Sustainability Emma Scott talks about what “real zero” looks like when your business still keeps the lights on for the world.

Emma shares how she started from nothing — no emissions baseline, no clear data — and built a sustainability strategy grounded in facts, honesty, and uncomfortable truths. She explains why transparency matters more than perfection, and how progress in high-carbon industries depends on facing what’s real, not what’s easy.

You’ll hear insight on:

- The hard truth behind real zero vs net zero

- Building sustainability inside a fossil fuel heritage business

- Why honesty is the hardest — and most powerful — climate tool

- How inclusion and well-being connect to real responsibility

This is not a story of glossy wins — it’s about persistence, integrity, and progress from within.

Watch now to learn how Emma Scott is helping Kent turn sustainability from an aspiration into action.

#RealZero #Sustainability #EnergyTransition #ResponsibleLeadership #EmmaScott #KentEngineering

A chemist and a marketer built a British rum distillery that measures everything from sugar cane to cocktails, and then removes what is left. Real sustainability, no greenwash.

In this on site episode, we meet Russ and Gemma in their working distillery in Exeter to explore how premium rum can be made from scratch in Britain without adding to the planet’s tab. They explain their full life cycle assessment, from sugar to shipping to the ice cube in your glass. They share the hard choices that follow, including ads they will not buy, and why they put credibility above hype. We also discuss climate storytelling: how to balance joy and data, why choosing one clear focus (their north star is carbon) keeps you honest, and how tours turn curious visitors into loyal customers. Gemma shares her vision for a destination distillery where sustainability is clear and fun, while Russ explains the business logic of an internal carbon price and durable removals.

If you are a founder, marketer or sustainability lead, this episode offers a clear blueprint: cut what you can, remove what you can’t, and make the tough choices visible.

Chapters

00:00 The smell of the stills

04:50 Why carbon negative from day one

08:30 LCA: sugar, shipping, and use phase

22:10 Saying no to high footprint ads

36:30 Storytelling that stands up

49:50 Magic wand: price carbon

#CarbonNegative #Rum #SustainableBusiness #LifecycleAssessment #DirectAirCapture

“Perpetual growth on a finite planet can’t be sustainable.”

“The most sustainable building is the one that already exists.”

In this episode, construction leader Saul Humphrey lays out a clear, practical roadmap for a sector that’s still hooked on concrete and quarterly targets. From CLT, glulam and hemp to retrofit-first logic and whole-life value, Saul explains how to cut embodied carbon while improving performance and asset value.

Saul is Senior Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Building and Managing Partner of a certified B Corp consultancy focused on sustainable delivery. He also teaches as a professor of sustainable construction—bringing real-world practice into the classroom.

What we cover:

- Operational vs embodied carbon—why materials now matter most.

- Post-Grenfell realities, regulation and where bio-based materials fit.

- Retrofit over rebuild: reusing what we have before pouring new concrete.

- Supply chains, warranties and the business case (whole-life costs, stranded-asset risk).

- Leadership and legacy: how longer-term decisions protect both planet and profit.

If you’re an architect, developer, investor—or anyone who cares about the built environment—this conversation will arm you with language and levers to push for better.

Guest: Saul Humphrey — Senior Vice President, CIOB; Managing Partner, Saul D Humphrey LLP (B Corp); Professor of Sustainable Construction (Anglia Ruskin).

Listen, share, and join the shift.

#SustainableConstruction #EmbodiedCarbon #RetrofitFirst #TimberArchitecture #CIOB #BCorp

What does it mean to build a company with purpose? In this episode of The Responsible Edge, we sit down with Mark Goyder, founder of Tomorrow’s Company, to explore the lessons of failure, the fight to keep values alive in business, and why he believes leaders must sometimes “be a rebel, be a pirate.”

Mark shares his journey—from community service volunteering and politics to decades spent shaping corporate governance and embedding the idea of enlightened shareholder value into UK company law. He reflects on the challenges of scaling values-driven businesses, the cautionary tale of Ben & Jerry’s, and how Tomorrow’s Company is now inspiring the next generation of leaders in schools.

🔑 In this episode:

- Why failure is never wasted

- The birth of Tomorrow’s Company and its lasting impact

- Lessons from Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever on protecting purpose

- How education can unlock the next wave of responsible leadership

- Why being a “pirate” might be the most important career advice

👉 Don’t miss Mark’s call to action for a new generation of leaders to rethink ownership, governance, and the future of responsible business.

🔗 Connect with Mark:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-goyder-72713827/

- Tomorrow’s Company: https://www.tomorrowscompany.com/

🎙 Listen to more episodes of The Responsible Edge: https://theresponsibleedge.com/

#ResponsibleBusiness #Governance #Leadership #Sustainability #Purpose

Fashion has no shortage of sustainability promises — but where’s the action? Simon Whitmarsh-Knight joins The Responsible Edge to discuss what frustrates him most about the industry, and why regulation, digital product passports and fibre innovation are the three pillars that could finally make change real. Plus, his magic wand solution: clarity.

How do you get business leaders to take sustainability seriously? Senior strategist Rebecca Ward believes the answer lies in linking environmental and social impact to financial performance. In this episode of The Responsible Edge, Rebecca shares her journey from geophysics to corporate strategy, her fight for gender equality in STEM, and why optimism is essential in a world of daunting climate challenges.

Andy Last — author of Business on a Mission and co-founder of Salt — joins The Responsible Edge to explore the hard realities of leading responsibly. From Lifebuoy’s breakthrough in combining health and profit, to the trust gap created by greenwashing, Andy reveals why governance, honesty and integration matter more than ever.

Can luxury fashion really be sustainable? La Pochette founder Justine Rouch joins The Responsible Edge to discuss how she’s challenging the industry’s waste culture, designing for longevity, and making tough leadership choices in an era of overproduction.