Sustainable Matters

Tessa Khan is an international climate change lawyer and campaigner.. She is also the founder of Uplift - a group who support a transition away from oil and gas production in the UK through legal advocacy and campaigning. In 2019, Tessa was named by TIME magazine as one of fifteen women leading the fight against climate change. She is also an awardee of the Climate Breakthrough Project.Tessa started her career in a large commercial law firm in Australia but with a passion for climate matters she moved from Australia to the Hague, Thailand, North America and the UK, pursuing roles that combine legal expertise with climate activism. That meant taking quite a few career risks but Tessa says “If there’s something you’re really passionate about, there’s a cost to not pursuing that…”.In this episode she talks all about that and about her life moving from country to country, culture to cultureSustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura Elms is the VP of sustainability and Corporate affairs at Forest, which provides e bikes for commuters and tourists in London. She joined the company when it started in 2020, embedding sustainability into plans for growth from day one. Forest is the only shared e-bike operator to power its entire fleet - including service vehicles - with renewable energy from the outset. It is one of the world’s first micro-mobility companies to have B Corp accreditation and the only micro-mobility company to have achieved Verra validation. Before joining Forest, Laura worked at Dataminr, where she managed financial institution accounts across EMEA. She began her career at FGS Global, advising leading FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies on corporate positioning and market engagement.In this episode, she talks to Sarah about the challenges of the start-up world, including how to manage the logistics of an e-bike company across so many separate boroughs!Website: https://www.forest.me/Insta: https://www.instagram.com/forestbike_uk/See a video of the Forest team and their carbon offset tree planting project hereSustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen Meech heads up The Climate Coalition, a membership organisation that lobbies for action on nature and climate. The group was established in 2005 based on the core belief that people are powerful especially when they get together. So collective action is at the heart of all of their strategies. Every campaign, event and report they produce is designed to push our political leaders to act in making climate and nature a top priority. Nature’s central to Helen’s CV, with a career working for the National Trust, RSPB, Rewilding Britain, Wildlife Trust and The Oak Project. Now at The Climate Coalition Helen is involved in multiple campaigns to galvanize collective action like the Great Big Green Week held every summer. She says that people coming together to act for the future is “not just popular, it’s essential”. In this episode, she talks about where her love of nature comes from, how she pushes leaders to make change and the importance of joy.Sustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ajay Tegala is a conservationist, podcast and TV presenter and full-time National Trust ranger, whose love for the natural world started very young: he has clear memories as a toddler, of being into birds!After doing a week's work experience at Wicken Fen National Trust Nature reserve in Cambridgeshire - aged just 15 - he decided to become a conservationist, and went on to do a degree in Nottingham Trent university in Countryside Management. He now works full-time at Wicken Fen, and is passionate about safeguarding the Fenland landscapes, and says his job is to "talk positively" about things. He is a passionate communicator, hosting the National Trust's podcast Wild Tales and has written two books, 'The Unique Life of a Ranger' (2022) and 'Wetland Diaries: Ranger Life and Rewilding on Wicken Fen' (2024) .In this episode he talks to Sarah about all of that, plus the changes in nature and biodiversity as well as outcomes from COP30.This special episode was recorded live for the first time for ISEP's 2025 Connect conference for members on 10th December.Sustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Claire Poole is the founder of Sport Positive, which she set up in 2018 to help the global sport industry place sustainability right at the heart of the sector. Claire oversees massive projects like in-person events and data gathering through the Sport Positive Leagues - which highlight positive environmental initiatives at top level sports clubs.She also organises the annual Sports Positive Summit which brings together hundreds of sports organisations focused on sustainability to meet in person, listen and connect.In this episode she talks to Sarah about how athletes are the historical figures of our time and how being pragmatic and staying hopeful can help fight against greenlash.  She was nominated for the podcast by double Paralympian Alexandra Rickham, who you can hear talk to Sarah here. Sustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexandra Rickham is a double paralympic bronze medalist and five-time world champion in sailing.When she was 13, she was paralysed in a diving accident in Jamaica. Later, after years of rehab, she was offered sailing training which she says appealed to her competitive spirit.You can see Alexandra in action here, with her sailing partner Niki Birrell at the 2016 Paralympics.She’s now retired from professional sailing competition, but remains very connected to the sport, through her work as the director of sustainability for World Sailing - the sport's international governing body.The organisation is renowned for leading the way in promoting voluntary climate action at every stage of the sport. Alexandra's mission is to make the sport more inclusive and sustainable.In this episode, she talks about her accident, competing professionally, and about how sport is such a useful way to enthuse people about sustainability.Sustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gary Punter is something of a guru when it comes to factories, and has become the go to expert for advising companies on working towards an agile and waste-free factory future. He is also visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing, where he leads research into the future of circular business models. Gary was nominated to appear on the show by Tim Minshall, who was the guest on episode 14 of Sustainable Matters. Gary's work at Wissington sugar factory is detailed in Tim's recent book Your Life is Manufactured.In this episode, Gary talks about working as a market trader, being a technologist at heart and why the idea of sustainability has become over complicated. For more on Gary's work in factories, head to The Cambridge Sustainability Improvement Method - (also known as Sustain8). It provides a foundation for sustainable transformation by engaging front-line factory workers in improvements and has been successfully employed in 35 factories across many sectors and is proven to deliver 15-30% improvements in energy, waste, materials and water.Sustainable Matters … a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable futureda0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Tim Minshall heads up the Institute for Manufacturing and Management at the University of Cambridge. The department’s aim is simple: to “help manufacture a better world”. And so Tim has spent hours fostering links between engineering students and companies to help put their new ideas into practice.  He’s recently published the book Your Life is Manufactured which takes a deep dive into the world of manufacturing. He argues that the systems that make things in our modern world are extraordinarily fragile, almost invisible to us and that has worrying consequences.  Tim studied at Cambridge as a PhD student before leaving in 1993 to work at the St John’s Innovation Centre - a business incubator in Cambridge for tech startups. He rejoined the university in 2002 and was named the very first endowed chair in innovation in 2017.    He talks to Sarah about the critical need for industrial sustainability in manufacturing processes and how some of the incredible systems we’ve built are also destroying the planet. Sustainable Matters … A podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: transforming the world to sustainabilityda0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Solitaire Townsend is the 'Chief Solutionist' at Futerra, the organisation she founded.  Futerra helps companies work towards a sustainable future. Solitaire gave herself that job title because she says if she’s “not serving solutions every day, by default that means she’s serving destruction.” Solitaire became involved in sustainability action aged thirteen, when she saw a flyer on her school bus saying a nuclear processing company was planning to build near her hometown. After a successful local opposition campaign, she was converted to the business of change making.In this episode she talks to Sarah about working with the world's largest bakery, helping F1 make a commitment to Net Zero and the challenges she faced at the start of her career.  She also talks about how crucial storytelling is to her work, ahead of the publication of her first novel Godstorm, described as a ‘gladiatrix adventure’ set in a petrol-fuelled Roman Empire.  Solitaire has already published The Happy Hero – a book about how to feel good by doing good – and The Solutionists – a handbook for businesses to help create a more sustainable society.  Sustainable Matters is a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP): transforming the world today for a sustainable future.da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maria Zeb Benjamin lives and works in Cumbria, where she strives to bring farming, nature and ethical business together.Her partner is a sixth generation farmer, and together they run Dodgson Wood, the farm’s diversification business that makes the most of what they produce in an ethical and sustainable way. They make Jersey cow’s milk soap under the brand The Soap Dairy, they co-founded The Wool Library to promote British wool breeds and established Lake District Tweed. Maria also oversees the farm’s off-grid eco holiday accommodation. . 'Maria tells Sarah her story, starting in Scotland, a spell at art school, making films in London and eventually the Lake District.You can find out more about the work done at Dodgon Wood here https://dodgsonwood.co.uk/'Maria Zeb Benjamin was nominated for the show by our previous guest, the fashion educator and TikTok star Andrea Cheong.Sustainable Matters … A podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by IEMA: transforming the world to sustainabilityda0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.