We have recorded 208 episodes of the Sustainability Solved podcast. Over 20,000 followers. Guests from every corner of the climate space. And the thing that changed my thinking most was not a guest. It was a pattern.

When we started the podcast, I expected to learn about new technologies, new regulations, new frameworks. And we did. But the pattern that kept coming back, episode after episode, was this: the organisations making the most progress on climate were not the ones with the biggest budgets or the most ambitious targets. They were the ones that treated their people with empathy.

We could be much more empathetic to how hard this is for businesses. Proving people wrong, shaming them for not acting fast enough, making them feel stupid for not knowing what Scope 3 means: none of that drives action. It drives defensiveness.

The oil and gas industry learned from the tobacco industry's playbook. They spent decades sowing doubt. And our response, too often, was to respond with frustration instead of understanding.

After 25 years and 500+ organisations, the single most effective thing we can do is listen first, then help. Not lecture, not judge, not score points. Just help.

That is why we built our model at 51toCarbonZero around named Climate Success Managers, not faceless dashboards. Because the transition is ultimately a human one.

What has changed your approach to talking about sustainability with people who are not yet engaged?

#Sustainability #Podcast #ClimateAction #Leadership #ESG

This week, the world got a brutal lesson in what energy dependence really costs. Europe is weeks away from running out of jet fuel. Airlines are cancelling tens of thousands of flights. Fertiliser prices have doubled. And in the middle of all this, clean power quietly overtook coal globally for the first time in over a century.

We break down the top 10 sustainability stories of the week, ranked by what the world is talking about most, plus three environmental facts that will stop you in your tracks.

Whether you work in Food & Beverage, Media & Advertising, or any organisation with a turnover above 50 million, these stories directly affect your strategy, your costs, and your supply chain.

At 51toCarbonZero, we help organisations turn sustainability from a reporting exercise into a business advantage. If you want to be part of our network, drop a comment or send me a message.

https://www.51tocarbonzero.com

https://www.51tocarbonzero.com/referral/

#sustainability #netzero #carbonaccounting #energycrisis #climateaction

This week in sustainability, we are covering the story that almost no mainstream business outlet is connecting properly: the carbon removal market just lost 96% of its demand overnight, a global energy war is reshaping every supply chain assumption we had, and some of the biggest corporate climate commitments are quietly being walked back.

I cover ten stories ranked by impact, including: the Microsoft carbon removal pause, Delta Air Lines downgrading its net-zero goal from a target to an "aspiration", China's accelerating dominance in renewable energy, why EU Deforestation Regulation compliance is still failing one in three businesses, and the EV surge driven not by policy — but by war.

If your organisation has net-zero commitments, a sustainability reporting obligation, or any exposure to energy costs or supply chains — this week matters.

Find out more about how 51toCarbonZero supports large organisations with carbon strategy and reporting: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com

Interested in our referral programme for sustainability consultants and advisors? https://www.51tocarbonzero.com/referral/

Ten of the UK's leading climate experts walked into Westminster last November and delivered one of the most evidence-based briefings Parliament has seen. Now it is a film, and it changes the conversation for anyone running a business.

This is not abstract environmentalism. The National Emergency Briefing connects climate science directly to the things business leaders care about: health systems, food supply chains, national security, and economic stability. It features Lord Deben, Chris Packham CBE, and Professor Michael Mann, and they make the case that emergency-level action is also an enormous economic opportunity.

In this video, I break down what the film gets right about business and sustainability, and why we are hosting a private screening at The Garden Cinema in London on 6 May 2025.

Doors open at 5:30 PM. Film starts at 6, followed by a Q&A, drinks, and conversation. If you work in business and sustainability, we would love to have you there.

If you want to stay across the stories that matter for business and climate, subscribe and turn on notifications. We publish new content every week.

👉 Find out more about 51toCarbonZero: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com 👉 Join our referral network: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com/referral/

#NationalEmergencyBriefing #ClimateAction #Sustainability #NetZero #BusinessAndClimate

The Iran war is reshaping energy policy worldwide, and this week's sustainability news is packed with signals that every business leader needs to pay attention to.

In this week's top 10 countdown, I cover how the conflict is simultaneously threatening climate legislation and accelerating the global shift to renewables. We look at the CDP data showing that companies hitting emission targets are outperforming their rivals. I break down why US states are wavering on climate laws, how food supply chains are buckling under pressure, and why energy efficiency is saving businesses millions right now.

Plus, three mind-blowing environmental facts that did not make the mainstream news.

This is your weekly sustainability intelligence briefing. If you work in sustainability, lead a business, or advise organisations on climate strategy, this is the content that keeps you ahead.

If you want to join our network of sustainability professionals and consultants, drop me a message or comment below.

Learn more about 51toCarbonZero: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com

Explore our referral programme: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com/referral/

#Sustainability #NetZero #CarbonAccounting #IranWar #ClimatePolicy

I'm filming this from Morocco, halfway through a two-week family trip with Intrepid Travel. And what I'm hearing from farmers, guides, and rural communities out here is stopping me cold.

Morocco is responsible for 0.18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Less than two-tenths of one percent of the problem. It ranks 6th in the global Climate Change Performance Index, ahead of most of Europe. And yet it has just come through six years of protracted drought, its driest year in eight decades, and per capita water availability has collapsed from 2,500 cubic metres per person in the 1960s to under 600 today. The international scarcity threshold is 1,000.

In this video I cover what Morocco is actually doing on climate, which is genuinely impressive; what is happening to rural smallholder communities who depend on rainfed agriculture with no safety net or subsidy; the structural inequality underneath the headlines, including water-intensive export crops expanding while wells run dry; and what all of this means for the businesses we work with at 51toCarbonZero.

Average cereal yields fell by nearly 40% in drought years. The World Bank projects 1.9 million people will migrate from rural to urban areas by 2050. That migration has already started. We're driving through villages where it is visible.

The organisations we work with that take carbon strategy seriously are making a material difference to that trajectory. Not as a moral gesture. Because cumulative emissions have cumulative costs, and those costs land on specific people in specific places.

If you want to understand what net zero actually means beyond the reporting framework, this is a good place to start.

Find out more about how we work with organisations at https://www.51tocarbonzero.com Explore our referral programme for sustainability professionals: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com/referral/

#ClimateChange #NetZero #Sustainability #CarbonAccounting #ClimateJustice

This week's sustainability news is packed with stories that will affect how businesses operate for the next decade. We cover the UK's world-leading wind generation record, why the clean tech market is heading for $3 trillion, and what AI agents going rogue means for your business.

I break down the top 10 sustainability stories of the week, from the UK's new Future Homes Standard to climate risk hitting listed firms for $1.3 trillion this year. We also look at why Google says your data security needs to be quantum-proof by 2029, and how social media just had its Big Tobacco moment.

If you work in sustainability, lead a business, or want to understand the forces reshaping how companies operate, this is your weekly briefing.

Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that helps you make better business decisions.

https://www.51tocarbonzero.com

https://www.51tocarbonzero.com/referral/

#Sustainability #NetZero #CleanEnergy #ClimateRisk #CarbonAccounting

Everyone says echo chambers are bad. But they helped us build something remarkable.

When we started helping organisations reduce their environmental impact at Green Element, most of the world thought what we were doing was a bit odd. The answer wasn't to seek out sceptics. It was to find our people: the B Corp network, sustainability-minded founders, people like James Gibb and Darren Chadwick who understood why this work mattered.

That echo chamber normalised what we were doing. It gave us endorsement and validation at a time when the mainstream hadn't caught up yet. Being surrounded by people who get it doesn't just feel good, it actually helps you push further and faster.

There's a lot of noise about the dangers of echo chambers, and I'll cover the bad side in a follow-up video. But if you're pioneering something new in sustainability or net zero, choosing your circle carefully isn't a weakness. It's a strategy.

Subscribe for more honest takes on what actually works in sustainability leadership.

Find out more about how we work: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com

#Sustainability #NetZero #SustainabilityLeadership #EchoChamber #GreenBusiness

This week in sustainability, one story dominated everything else — and it is not the one you would expect.

The Iran War is turbocharging the clean energy transition at a speed no policy ever managed. BYD showrooms in Manila sold a month's worth of EVs in two weeks. VinFast in Hanoi quadrupled customer visits. In San Francisco, petrol hit $6.81 a gallon and used EV dealers are overwhelmed with appointments. Pakistan is saving $6.3 billion this year by using solar instead of oil.

And one fact that stopped me in my tracks: Southeast Asian countries now have EV adoption rates of around 40% — higher than the UK and Europe.

In this week's top 10 sustainability news countdown, we cover all of that, plus:

• Why Qatar's largest LNG plant emitted the equivalent of 20,000 cars' annual CO2 in just three weeks
• How long-duration iron-air batteries are reshaping the data centre energy story
• Why poor countries will face 10 times more heat deaths than rich ones by 2050
• What New York's climate law U-turn tells us about building resilient carbon strategies
• The UK flood insurance scandal that is benefitting the wealthy instead of the vulnerable
• And three mind-blowing environmental facts you will not hear anywhere else this week

If you work in sustainability, lead a business, or advise organisations on their carbon strategy; this is your weekly briefing.

Follow for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle.

Find out more about 51toCarbonZero: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com

Join our referral programme: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com/referral/

#Sustainability #NetZero #CarbonStrategy #CleanEnergy #EVs

We had a record April. The quarter before that was brilliant. And I still sat the whole team down and told them the business was going to have a serious cash flow problem by September.

That decision changed everything.

In this video I talk about what happened when we chose complete transparency with our team during one of the hardest periods we had ever faced as a business. We didn't have to do it. We chose to. And the way every single person responded made me genuinely proud.

There's something important here for any leader who has been in that position where the numbers are heading the wrong way but you don't want to panic anyone. The instinct is to protect people by keeping them in the dark. I've come to believe that's completely the wrong call.

What you actually need is the kind of culture where honest conversations are normal, not just in a crisis, but every single week. We had spent over a decade building that at Green Element, and when the moment came, it held.

If you're leading a team through uncertainty right now, whether that's financial pressure, a restructure, or something shifting underneath the business, I hope this helps.

Subscribe for more practical, honest content on leadership, sustainability, and building businesses that last.

#Leadership #BusinessTransparency #SustainabilityLeadership #TeamCulture #NetZero