Transforming Tomorrow

It has been too long since we had an accountant on the show, so it’s time to rectify that! Jan and Paul welcome Dr Mahmoud Gad to talk with them about his important work with the Financial Reporting Council and the UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner on companies’ modern slavery reporting.

What effects do regulations have? How can we encourage companies to treat modern slavery reporting as more than a tick-box exercise? How can AI be used to help tackle the larger problem? How can it be that only 15%of companies work with their suppliers to improve labour rights practices? Can Jan and Paul stop themselves going off on too many tangents? And does Jan really call statistics meaningless?

Find out more about the work taking place on modern slavery in Lancaster University Management School here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/spotlight/modern-slavery/

Read the report Modern Slavery Reporting Practices in the UK, here: https://media.frc.org.uk/documents/FRC_Modern_Slavery_Reporting_Practices_in_the_UK_2022.pdf

In the aftermath of COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, Jan drags Paul back from his Christmas break for a special episode. They discuss the agreements made between nations, and the implications for business.

There are almost five million family businesses in the UK alone. They are all around us, and have been for thousands of years. But what do we mean when we talk about family businesses?

Dr Allan Discua Cruz, Director of the Centre for Family Business at Lancaster University Management School, speaks to Jan and Paul about his personal experiences growing up in a family business, the issue of succession and longevity, how family firms address sustainability and consider the Sustainable Development Goals, and how faith and religion can impact their environmental behaviours.

Find out more about the Centre for Family Business here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/research/areas-of-expertise/centre-for-family-business/

Global climate change has local impacts. So, how important is it that local government and the general public have an input into sustainability policies and actions?

Dr Jekaterina Rindt joins Jan and Paul to discuss the I-Connect project, which is looking at the future of Lancaster and Morecambe when the Eden Project arrives. How can the journey to Eden be made Eden-like? With a focus on the Net-Zero agenda; sustainable, accessible and inclusive transport; and the need to consider communities, health and sustainability across all areas of policy, its design and impact, there is much for everyone to consider.

Read more about the I-Connect project here: https://doc.your-brochure-online.co.uk/Lancaster-University_FiftyFourDegrees_Issue_20/14/

And here: https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/i-connect/

Jan and Paul welcome Richard Spencer, Director of Sustainability at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), to discuss how sustainability and accounting are interlinked, and why it is important for all accountants to embrace the connections.

Discover more about Jan’s work with the ICAEW on educating the next generation of accountants on sustainability here: https://doc.your-brochure-online.co.uk/Lancaster-University_FiftyFourDegrees_Issue_18/14/

Episode Transcript

Jan and guest Dr Dasha Smirnow try to convince a sceptical Paul that sustainability benchmarks – rankings based on companies’ performances relating to certain criteria – are actually worthwhile.

Find out whether benchmarks have any effect on companies’ actions, if poor performers care that they are not doing well, and whether the World Benchmarking Alliance really is an organisation set up just to benchmark benchmarks (hint: it’s not). Can Paul’s natural cynicism be overcome?

Episode Transcript

Professor Adrian Friday joins Jan and Paul to talk about the many ways technology can influence sustainability efforts – both good and bad.

We discover how he came to be a Professor of Computing and Sustainability – and just what that means – why having fewer people in offices does not always result in less energy being used, and why Adrian – to Jan’s shock – is not a big fan of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Plus – is beer sustainable? The answer to this question will delight the drinkers of North West England.

You can find out more about Adrian’s work here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/scc/about-us/people/adrian-friday

Episode Transcript

Jan and Paul are joined in the studio by Professor Katy Mason to discuss digital infrastructure and inequalities – and why naughty trees and inconsiderate weather affect planning large-scale projects in more isolated areas.

Katy discusses two projects – Mobile Access North Yorkshire (MANY) and 5G Rural Integrated Testbed (5GRIT) – that brought digital technologies to rural areas in the North of England. She explains why isolated areas can miss out when new tech is rolled out, how these technologies can help in unexpected ways – from assisting mountain rescue teams to tracking sheep on the fells in heavy snow – and the importance of involving communities in the rollout.

You can find out more about the MANY project here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/research/innovation-in-place/#d.en.520893 and about Katy’s research projects here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/katy-mason

WARNING: This episode contains language that may upset some listeners, as ‘infrastructuring’ is used as a verb in defiance of all rules of English.

Episode Transcript

Jan and Paul welcome Distinguished Professor Linda Hendry to talk about an area that affects tens of millions of people worldwide - modern slavery.

Linda's work looks at modern slavery in company supply chains. It takes in the impacts - good and bad - of legislation, how companies are responding to issues, and how businesses work together to improve practice and modern slavery detection. There is also accounting, to Jan's delight.

Read more about Linda's work here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/linda-hendry

Episode Transcript

Jan and Paul are joined in the studio by Duncan Pollard, whose career has taken him from Nestle to the WWF - not the wrestling version, to Paul's disappointment - forestry to Shell, and now to the Pentland Centre.

Duncan has worked across NGOs and corporate sector on issues regarding biodiversity and sustainability, and explains the importance of companies understanding their impact on the climate and the biosphere, and how work at the Pentland Centre is looking at what good reporting on that impact would look like, and whether companies understand that.

You can read Duncan's blogs on business and biodiversity here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/pentland/news-and-events/blog/

Reporting on Nature 2022: A Navigation Guide: Reporting on Nature 2022 - Lancaster University

And find out more about the Pentland Centre's interest in the area here: https://doc.your-brochure-online.co.uk/Lancaster-University_Transforming-Tomorrow/13/

Episode Transcript