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[192] – AI, the internet, and the environmental impacts, with Tam Hussey
27 Feb 2026
00:58:33
Is AI bad for the planet? Should I feel guilty if I use ChatGPT? What is the carbon and water footprint of an AI search?
These were some of the questions I was looking for answers for when I posted on Linked In a while back. I got a lot of great replies, and it turns out there's a LOT of information out there. But oh my goodness it's confusing!
In this episode I'm chatting to Tam Hussey, who has a background in digital strategy and now runs her own strategic consultancy, Halo By Design, utilising behaviour change principles to help companies meet their sustainability targets. We dive into some of the facts and figures, looking at where the biggest impacts come from with internet usage, and some of the things that we can do to reduce our own digital footprints, and influence wider change as well.
For full disclosure, some of the editing of this podcast, the generation of transcripts, and some of the short clips I share on social media are all done with the assistance of AI. Which feels hugely hypocritical, but I guess comes down to the mindful and targeted use of it..?!
Very aware this episode might result in more questions than answers! Do let me know if you have any questions you'd love answered, and we can always to a follow up!
[…]
[191] – Ch-Ch-Ch-Changeprint! With Isabelle Sparrow from Carbon Copy
20 Feb 2026
01:06:03
I think we're all pretty familiar with the term carbon footprint, but there's a new kid on the block when it comes to talking about the full impact of the actions that we take when you come together.
Isabelle Sparrow is Head of Comms, and the podcast host, at Carbon Copy - a platform that champions collective action, and the power it has to help turn our individual concern about the climate into a collective impact. In this episode we chat about what collective action is, how you can join in if you're not someone who likes joining in, and how we've all got something to offer. And we also dig into the new concept that Carbon Copy have created, called the Changeprint - here's the explanation of what that is from the Carbon Copy website: "A Changeprint is the collective impact created when you join with others to make something happen. While a carbon footprint is about doing less harm, a Changeprint is about doing more good. It’s a positive approach to addressing the climate and nature crisis, centred on the place and the people around you".
If you are ever in need of a spot of inspiration for practical do-able projects that work in local communities up and down the country, do check out the Carbon Copy website - there are literally hundreds of examples on there, and each of them has had their Changeprint added on, to give an idea of the sum of the different impacts that they have had on their local community and on the environment more broadly.
I love the concept of the Changeprint - I'm going to think about how I can introduce it into my Carbon Literacy courses, and also how I could apply it to this podcast; to the Sustainable(ish Clubhouse - my membership community - which is re-launching soon, watch this space; and to all my Sustainable(ish) work.
https://carboncopy.eco/https://carboncopy.eco/changeprint
What do you think? Do you like the concept? Are you excited to think about how you might be able to apply it to some of the groups, organisations, or projects you might be involved with? Do let me know!
[…]
[182] The Climate and Nature Bill (and how to make your voice heard in a crucial election year) with Zero Hour
29 Mar 2024
01:00:15
One of the things that frustrates many people, is a lack of action from governments around the world to protect nature and mitigate the worst impacts of the a warming and rapidly changing climate. The UK government was one of the first to come up with a Net Zero target back in 2019, and declared a ‘climate emergency’ that same year. However the problem with both of these commitments is that they often don’t translate into the urgent and radical action that is needed. Apparently half of the world's population is heading the polls for elections in 2024, including the UK, making this a crucial year for climate action. In this week’s episode I’m delighted to be chatting to Amy McDonnell and Oliver Sidorczuk, co-directors of Zero Hour, a campaign that is working to get a new bill, the Climate and Nature Bill, passed into law, which would ensure that UK government policies are in line with the latest science. With an election looming at some point this year, support for this bill in the run up to that, not only shows MPs and prospective MPs that this is an issue that the electorate care about, it will also mean that the campaign will have the momentum it needs to hit the ground running, when a new parliament sits after the election. Studies repeatedly show that most people are concerned about the climate and nature crises, but especially when it comes to politics and elections, it can feel like we can make a difference, due to our electoral system. Supporting the Climate and Nature Bill is a brilliant (and very easy!) way make your voice heard by your local politicians, and we can amplify our own individual support by asking businesses and organisations that we’re involved with to support it to.
Ask your local politicians to support the Climate and Nature Bill!
Have you done it yet, have you done it yet, have you done it yet..?!! Please do head over to the Zero Hour website and show your support, and then have a think about who you could share this with. Do comment below if you've signed and if you've shared it with anyone else!
[…]
[092] HOW TO GARDEN THE LOW CARBON WAY WITH SALLY NEX
05 Mar 2021
00:54:45
It’s starting to feel like spring is springing isn’t it? We’re into March, I’ve seen daffodils poking out when we're out on our daily walks, and I even went out without a coat on the other day – wild times...! And with the longer days and warmer weather, many of us will be looking forwards to spending more time outdoors and maybe indulging in a spot of gardening. Good for the mind, body and soul. And good for the planet too right? After all, what can be greener than getting your hands dirty and growing stuff.
Well……it turns out that sometimes gardening might not be all that green. I know, is nothing sacred any more? Why does everything have to be so blooming complicated? What on earth can possibly be wrong with gardening?!!!
Listen in to my chat with Sally Nex, the author of How to Garden the Low Carbon way as we chat about:
Why gardening might not be as green as we assume
The wonder of soil and how we can help it
The huge potential that our gardens have to help wildlife, ecosystems and the climate crisis
Why we need to dig less (or not at all!)
Why we need to mow less
What compost we should choose
How we can use less plastic in our garden (and why we should worry about it)
[091] MAKE YOUR PENSION MATTER (NOT AS BORING AS IT SOUNDS!)
26 Feb 2021
00:46:08
We’re talking pensions! I know! Exciting stuff right!!
I never imagined that I would get excited about pensions but this episode has proved me wrong. Don’t get me wrong, pensions are still pretty high up on the boring adult-ing scale of things but the potential that our pensions have to create a better world has blown me away a little! Because did you know, that your pension, that you probably think very little about, other than when you see the section on your pay slip each month telling you how much has been taken out for it, could be investing your hard earned money in fossil fuels? So we’re busting our guts trying to make the world a better place with the choices that we’re making, and all the while our pension money could be working directly against us. See! Now you’re getting interested right? And maybe not a little enraged!
The good news is that change is afoot. I’m chatting to Henna and Kenneth from an organisation called Make My Money Matter – a people-powered campaign fighting for a world where we all know where our pension money goes, and where we can demand it’s invested to build a better future.
We chat about...
The $2.5 hole in funding for the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)
The £3 TRILLION sat in the UK's pension pots and what they might be funding
[090] MEND IT, WEAR IT, LOVE IT – WITH ZOE EDWARDS
19 Feb 2021
00:59:32
You'll be relived to hear we have a guest! So you don’t have to listen to me rambling on endlessly. And it’s a cracker of a guest! I’ve been stalking Zoe on line for years, after first coming across her annual Me Made May challenge online, and I was SO excited to find out that she’s written an actual book! All about mending and loving our clothes, a subject very close to my heart as a reformed mender who never even thought she would be able to sew on a button!
We chat about...
Making your own clothes
Why making your own clothes might not necessarily be the most sustainable option
The problems with fast fashion, including Zoe's own experiences of working within the fast fashion industry
Another solo episode from me this week, as I haven’t been able to conjure up any extra time or headspace for getting guests organised – I’ve been super busy getting ready for The Knackered Mums heading back on out on Eco Tour – this is my FREE 5 day eco challenge that’s kicking off on Monday 15th Feb. Do come and join us – it’s probably the most fun you’re going to be able to have in half-term. AND you get to slash your carbon footprint at the same time as whinge about how tired you are and how hard it is to get your kids off their screens, with a bunch of similarly knackered types. Excited to say that I have not one but TWO interviews in the diary for next week, so we should be back on a roll with some fabulous guests from next week!
It’s Valentines Day in just a couple of days time, and I’m well aware that if you do celebrate it, then this episode may well be too late if you’re an organised type. Bear it in mind for next year if that’s the case, and don’t stop listening if you don’t celebrate Valentines Day (we gave up on it years ago!) because I’m going to be sharing some fascinating stats and some alternative gifts that are a great way to say ‘I love you” or “thank you” or “you’re really rather brilliant” at any time of the year.
Giving ‘stuff’ has become our way of saying I love you hasn’t it? And who doesn’t love a present? But the problem with Valentines’ gifts, and indeed most gifts is that that although they might say “I love you” to the recipient they aren’t usually saying “I love you’ to either the people who made the gift, or to the planet.
We are at peak stuff, we are using up resources at an astonishing rate, the people who make much of our stuff are being exploited, and most of us are struggling to find anywhere to put anymore stuff in our homes. Oh, and our landfills are full to bursting.
God I’m SUCH a party pooper aren’t I? Never fear – this isn’t a whole episode about how terrible everything is, there is some good news –there ARE some fabulous ways we can do Valentines (and indeed other gifts) that don’t cost the earth (see what I did there).
Episode 88 of the podcast is a solo episode! I’d love to pretend that this was planned, but the reality is that my already poor organisational and forwards planning skills have taken a bit of a battering whilst attempting the home schooling/keeping a business afloat/saving the planet juggle and I’m not going to lie, I failed miserably to get a guest organised for this week. Hence also why this is going out a day later than usual – apologies to the many thousands of you that I know will have been obsessively hitting ‘refresh’ on your podcast app waiting for a new episode to drop (in case you can’t detect the irony in that sentence, please note that was said very tongue in cheek…!)
In this episode I share with you one of my favourite Greta quotes:
"Of course we need hope. But the one thing we need more than hope is action. Because once we start to act, hope is everywhere."
OMG, she's so eloquent and generally amazing isn't she?
So in this episode I dive on into the taking action bit - because it sounds super simple doesn't it? Take action, but anyone who has ever tried to get fit, or change any kind of habit, will tell you, just because it's simple doesn't mean it's easy. How can we make it as easy as possible to take action?
Sustainable(ish) Facebook group If the Knackered Mums Tour isn't your thing, but you'd love a friendly supportive online space to help keep nudging you to take action, do come and check out the FB group.
[087] THE CRAP ACTIVIST – A YEAR OF IMPERFECT ECO-ACTION
29 Jan 2021
00:53:13
In this episode I have a treat in store for you if you're looking around the world and feeling a little....erm....despairing?! If you're looking at your kids and wondering what their future will hold, and worried that when they're old enough to understand what's going on that they'll be viewing their own futures with trepidation and despondency rather than the excitement that we probably felt as we embarked on our adult lives.
Rachel (aka The Crap Activist on Instagram) in an inspiration. She told me she had massive imposter syndrome coming on the podcast following on from last week's episode with Sian Berry, but genuinely what she has done and been doing has inspired me, and I'm pretty sure it will inspire you too. She was worried about the future her kids were facing, and how that potentially affected their mental health. So she went a step beyond worrying, and decided to spend a year doing one thing a day to make the world a better place. To be a better citizen of the world.
And she's only gone and bloody well done it (we recorded this episode on day 365 of her year!), during a pandemic, she's managed to bring the rest of the family along for the ride too. She's shown her kids that she thinks their future is worth fighting for. That it's worth making some changes, and maybe some sacrifices for. She's shown them that we can all be activists. That we don't have to simply put up with, and despair about, the status quo, but that we can take steps to empower ourselves and to create positive change. And she's done it with humour and honesty about the good bits AND the not-so good bits - it's not a curated Insta perfect story, thank goodness...
It's so important that the stories we share, the people we celebrate, the people we admire, aren't just the Greta's and David Attenborough's (although clearly they're doing amazing stuff). There are millions of awesome crap activists out there, having a go, getting it wrong, trying again. Who are changing the world without the recognition and accolades and applause.
Enjoy this episode, let me know what you think and if you're inspired to take action and indulge in a little everyday activism, crap or otherwise..!
[086] ALL THINGS POLITICS WITH SIAN BERRY – CO-LEADER OF THE GREEN PARTY
23 Jan 2021
00:51:19
Hmmm politics.... I don't know about you but I think it's pretty easy to feel disengaged from politics - lots of (mostly) white, (mostly) men, working things for their own advantage and dragging their heels on stuff that would and could make a real difference. When it comes to the climate especially it feels like there's a lot of hot air and not a lot of action.
Which is why it was so refreshing to chat in this episode to Sian Berry, co-leader of The Green Party. The Knackered Mums in the Knackered Mums Eco Club get to come along to listen in to the podcast recordings live, and then ask a few questions at the end. I LOVED this comment after the event “she was human and encouraging and passionate and that gave me hope.”
Politics can feel like it's this big world of smoke and mirrors and that it's very difficult to effect change as an individual. It was great to chat to Sian and to hear that this doesn’t have to be the case – she gives us all lots of ideas for how to get involved, as busy people, and how we can have an impact on both local and national politics. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed recording this – do share your thoughts on the comments below or get in touch via social media.
[085] IS IT REALLY GREEN? WITH GEORGINA WILSON-POWELL
16 Jan 2021
00:35:08
Happy New Year! Although 2021 clearly didn’t get the memo, and is looking suspiciously like 2020 at the moment – how are you coping with it all? I have to say that I’m realising there’s a very good reason, in fact lots of very good reasons, why I’m not a teacher, and we’ll just leave that there….
Lots of us have hopefully made New Years resolutions to be a bit more sustainable(ish) this year but my goodness it can be confusing sometimes to figure out what’s the ‘right’ or the ‘greenest’ thing to do can't it? There’s so much information out there on the interweb super highway, often contradictory, that sometimes it all gets so confusing that we end up feeling completely bamboozled and the easiest thing is to do nothing. Which is why I’m really excited to be chatting in this episode to Georgina Wilson-Powell, founder and editor of Pebble magazine, and now published author! Is it Really Green?came out last week, and dives into over 140 of the commonest eco conundrums, like which is better for the environment, washing up by hand or using a dishwasher, and what’s the environmental impact of loo roll. It really is a fab book (I’ll post a link to it in the show notes ), very dip in and out-able which for those of us juggling all the things right now is just the ticket.
[084] THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF CHRISTMAS (AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT)
11 Dec 2020
01:07:49
Christmas is coming! In fact, it's kind of here as we're currently just two weeks away from 'the Big Day'... There’s a lot to think about Christmas isn’t there? The food, the gifts, the cards, the wrapping paper, the relatives, the stockings – it goes on and on. And while some of us might be giving a little more thought to the waste and plastic mountains that can result at this time of year, how many of us give much thought to the carbon footprint of our Christmas? I have to say that I hadn’t really. I mean, it sounds like the ultimate party pooper buzzkill doesn’t it? To be thinking about the carbon impact of our Christmas. I think we can all guess that it’s pretty bad right? But just how bad? And what can we do about it? And can we get rid of it without getting rid of Christmas?
Lots of questions about this which is why it was great to chat to Luke Gaydon, one of the co-founders of Terra Neutra – an organisation that has the aim of creating a carbon positive world that provide guidance, services and tech in support of that vision. I’ve chatted to Luke before about carbon footprints and off-setting more generally during the Sustainable(ish) online festival that happened during lockdown in May this year and I’ll link to that below for anyone who wants to have a watch/listen. Luke is a great guest and I hope that our chat leaves you feeling inspired and informed about some of the things you can do to cut the carbon this Christmas!
This week’s episode is a great chat with Ric Casale from Carbon Copy, an online hub that connects local communities, councils and companies who share the goal of a carbon zero future. Their aim is to help more people in taking local climate action and collectively in building something better.
Now, I don’t know about you, but when I hear the words Climate Action, there’s a part of me that starts to shrink. A part of me that associates climate action with getting shouty with a placard, and that associates local climate action with dreary meetings in cold church halls where everyone has a good old whinge but nothing much actually happens. Thankfully this isn’t the case!
Climate action will mean different things to different people, and that’s ok. Your climate action might be reducing your plastic, or your meat consumption, or your general consumption, or something else entirely. And local climate action can look different in different places, or even different action in the same place!
Local climate action is all about getting together with the people in your local area to take ACTION. And it’s that action that is important. You could set up a Repair Café, of a secondhand school uniform service, or a plastic-free buying group. Or you could get involved with something more technical like a local energy co-operative. It doesn’t really matter what it it – what matters is thinking about your skill set and how you might be able to contribute towards to making something bigger happen. There are so many benefits, as you’ll hear Ric and I discuss in this episode, and coming together with others is a great way not only to amplify your individual actions or take them to the next level, but also to meet others and to know that you’re not alone in your quest to make the world, both globally and locally, a better place.
[181] The Party Kit Network (ripples in action!) with Isabel Mack
22 Mar 2024
00:58:36
This week’s episode feels a little bit liking coming full circle on an episode from nearly 5 years ago! If you’re a long-time listener, and have an excellent memory, you might remember, way back in 2019, I interviewed the wonderful Tillie Mabbutt who runs Frome Eco Party Kit, renting out a party kit of reusable plates, cups and bowls to avoid the waste associated with disposable partyware. At the time, Tillie was one of the first people in the UK to be running a reusable party kit and we dived into the idea, how it works, and how she got started. Well… today’s guest Isabel was listenting to that episode, and not only started her own Party Kit off the back of it, but went on to create the Party Kit Network, which now has 360 kits listed in the UK, over 100 in Australia and is starting to branch out into North America too. I Could. Not. Love. This. More!
In this episode we dive into party kits, what they are, how they work, how to find one, as well as how to start one if you’d love to have near you and there isn’t one. We also talk more broadly about the sharing economy – so this is the idea of an economy based on renting and sharing things rather than the linear buy, use, dispose model we currently have. We explore some of the difficulties around trying to do business in a different and lets face it, conter cultural way and Isabel’s ambitions for the Party Kit Network.
I hope you enjoy listening to this one as much as I enjoyed recording it!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one Had you heard of Party Kits before? Have you got one near you? Are you now going to rent one for your next party? Or are you tempted to start one if there isn’t one available locally? I would love the ripples to carry on and more party kits to pop up on the map after this episode. Let me know in the comments!
[…]
[082] SECRET SUPERHEROES
27 Nov 2020
00:58:31
After last week's solo episode, I've got something a little different for you again this week! Because more change and uncertainty is what we all need right now yes..?!!
This week’s episode is a live recording done from the virtual podcast stage at Future Fest, an amazing online event from Pebble Magazine that happened at the beginning of November about the solutions and the people who are going to drive the change to net zero.
It took me a while to work out what I wanted to talk about, and who I wanted to chat too, but then in an actual (low carbon LED) lightbulb moment, I realised it was you guys. It can be all too easy to feel like the solutions and the people who are going to drive the change to net zero are somehow super human people – those who are setting up amazing circular fashion businesses, or pioneering new technology. It’s very easy to over-look the fact that you and me, ordinary knackered people, juggling ordinary jobs, and kids and laundry and cooking endless meals, that we also play a huge role in creating a different future.
So I put a post in the Knackered Mums Eco Clubhouse (my annual membership) asking for volunteers to come and chat with me about their experiences of getting started with Sustainable(ish) changes, their successes and their failures. I wanted it to feel like we were sitting around my kitchen table (albeit via Zoom and with people watching!) with a cuppa and sharing our stories, our challenges, having a laugh, and hopefully inspiring some other people to get started too. Because it’s so important that we recognise that we are part of the solution. That people making changes are ordinary people like us. There’s no secret superhero breed that are secretly wearing special green pants that give them extraordinary powers. There’s just normal people, who’ve dared to care, who are bumbling along like the rest of us, making one change at a time. And that we can learn from each other, and we can inspire each other. And that that matters.
[081] MAKE A START ON A SUSTAINABLE(ISH) CHRISTMAS
20 Nov 2020
00:16:28
Today I’ve got a solo episode for you – I’d like to try and pretend it was planned, but the reality is obviously that I failed spectacularly to plan ahead enough to have a guest for this week.
Sooooooooo, I’m diving right on into the C-word. No, not corona virus. No, not that one, go and wash your moth out.
I’m talking Christmas. Of course I am. There will be some of you who are saying "Why the hell are you talking about Christmas, it’s November” and there will be others saying “Well you’re a bit late love, I’m all done and dusted and the tree’s going up this weekend”. So essentially I’ve just realised that this is probably an episode that is going to please no-one but I’m going to plod on because as I said, I haven’t got a guest for you this week. Sorry about that.
Right then. Christmas. It can indeed be the most wonderful time of year. Especially if you’re under the age of about twelve, but it can also be hugely stressful, and one of the most wasteful times of the year.
[080] COUNT US IN – CLIMATE ACTION FOR A BILLION PEOPLE
13 Nov 2020
00:38:14
I am SO excited for this episode! Last month I was aimlessly scrolling through Twitter waiting for the kettle to boil and stumbled across a tweet about a project called Count Us In - which is aiming to get a BILLION people taking climate action!!
DID YOU KNOW:
Individual lifestyles actually make up more than 65% of the total global carbon pollution
The world's wealthiest 10% are responsible for just over 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions
You are part of the world's wealthiest 10% if your salary is above £27k a year. The average salary in the UK is somewhere around £30k.
These stats aren't to make you feel guilty, I'm sharing them to empower you and to help you to recognise the enormous power we hold to create change.
Count Us In have got the experts to pull together 16 steps that they agree are some of the most impactful things we can do an individuals, and now they want us to pledge to do them! We don't have to do all of them, we might already be doing some of them. But according to their website:
"If 1 billion people made changes in how they travel, the energy they use and the food they eat, this could directly reduce carbon pollution by almost 1/5 of the total reduction needed."
And the beauty of Count Us In is that they've joined forces with so many of the other existing platforms and campaigns out there to provide one place, one voice, one carbon counter, that brings together all of our climate actions under one umbrella.
Today I'm chatting to Angela Terry, founder and CEO of One Home, who is also one of the founding partners of Count Us In, all about the project - how it came about, what it's hoping to achieve, and really importantly, how WE can get involved.
There's an awful lot that's wrong with the world right now. In fact, some would say, there's a lot that feels broken. So how about some inspiration and practical ways you can mend just a teeny tiny bit of the world? Today’s episode is all about mending and repair!
DID YOU KNOW..?
Keeping clothes in use for just an extra 9 months can reduce their carbon and water footprints by 20-30%
80% of discarded textiles are doomed to landfill or incineration
Only 1% of collected textiles are recycled into new yarns or fibres
A study in 2017 found that 60% of us couldn’t sew on a button – one of the most common mends
In this episode I’m chatting to someone who is on a mission to skew those stats and get us all mending our clothes. Ros Studd is the founder of website Repair What You Wear and is passionate about making mending our clothes accessible, and as easy as possible.
...Well, it’s picking up litter, while you jog (or walk!) and it’s a very brilliant thing to do indeed.
Litter isn't just an eyesore, it's also a real risk to wildlife both on land and in our waterways who might mistake it for food, or get tangled up in it. And if litter makes it out to the ocean, it contributes to beach pollution, and also to the massive 'floating islands' of rubbish that are being discovered.
In this episode I’m chatting to Michelle and Dermot, founders of Plogolution, who organise community plogs, and who also work with schools to set up plogging clubs. We chat all about plogging: what it is, how it works, the amazing stuff they’re doing with Plogolution, and importantly, how we can all get involved.
[077] HOW YOUR FREEZER CAN HELP FIGHT FOOD WASTE WITH KATE FROM THE FULL FREEZER
16 Oct 2020
00:58:23
If you’ve been listening along for a little while, you might have heard me banging on about food waste in previous episodes – I talk to Ann Storr about meal planning in Episode 66, to Tessa from Olio, the food sharing app, in Episode 47 and to Ivor from CozZo which is a food inventory app in Episode 41.
So it’s fair to say I’m a big advocate of taking action to reduce food waste. And that’s because food waste is a Big Deal when it comes to the climate crisis. I’ve shared these stats before but I make no apologies for doing so again:
If food waste were a country, it would be the 3rd biggest emitter of global greenhouse gases after the USA and China
50% of food waste occurs in the home. In my home, your home, all of our homes.
One of the best ways to reduce is to meal-plan and I refer you again to my chat with the brilliant Ann from the Storr Cupboard in Episode 66, but today I’m chatting all things freezing with Kate from The Full Freezer. I hope Kate doesn’t mind me saying this, but she is a full on freezer geek – I have never known anyone so excited and so knowledgeable about the humble freezer – how to organise, what we can freeze, how to safely defrost food and much much more. So grab a cuppa, or an ice cream (see what I did there) and settle down for some fascinating freezer chat.
[076] REDUCING THE FOOTPRINT OF YOUR SHOEPRINT WITH REVIVO
12 Oct 2020
01:05:40
Lots of us are becoming increasingly aware of some the many issues for both people and planet that are created by the fast fashion industry. But how many of us think much about the impact of our shoes?
DID YOU KNOW?
25 BILLION pairs of shoes are made globally each year
90% of them will end up in landfill, often within 12 months
An average shoe can have 50-60 different components, making it's manufacture complicated and carbon intensive
The carbon footprint of an average pair of shoes is around 13kg CO2
Clearly the shoe industry needs to clean up it's act - but what are the options? How can the shoe industry become more circular? (If you're wondering what the hell the 'circular economy' is, then check out this great page here from the Ellen McArthur Foundation).
Listen in to this episode with Emma Foster-Geering, Head of Sustainabilty at Vivobarefoot, as we chat about all things sustainability in shoes, and Emma shares news of ReVivo - a new project from Vivobarefoot which aims to drastically reduce the numbers of pairs of their shoes that end up in landfill.
[075] HOW ORGANIC SYSTEMS CAN HELP THE CLIMATE CRISIS
01 Oct 2020
00:53:45
I'm delighted to be working with Organic UK* for a mini-series of podcast episodes to mark Organic September - an annual month long awareness campaign by the Soil Association In collaboration with the Organic Trade Board.
Now I’ve been buying organic food for a while now – we get a weekly Riverford veg box, and I seek out organic products in the supermarket whenever I can. But until recording this series I wasn’t really that aware of the huge potential impact that organic systems can have on the climate crisis. Agriculture and food production get a bad rap when it comes to the climate – agriculture is responsible for 9% of all Greenhouse Gas emissions in the UK. Together with related emissions from changing land use and cutting down forests, it accounts for around 30% of greenhouse gas emissions globally. BUT research by the The Soil Association shows that if Europe’s farmland all followed organic principles, agricultural emissions could drop by 40-50% by 2050. That's a massive chunk of carbon saved right there.
So how does this work? What is it about organic practices that means they pump out so much less carbon? Well I’m glad you asked!
In this episode I’ve got a two parter for you – in the first part I’m chatting to the wonderful Anna de la Vega from The Urban Worm who some of you may remember from episode 38 where she answered all my questions about wormeries. In this episode she’s sharing her knowledge about soil health, why it’s so vital to the planet, why modern agriculture is so bad for it, and how organic systems can help to replenish it. And then in Part 2 I’m chatting to Tim Mead, dairy farmer and owner of Yeo Valley, about how organic and regenerative agriculture works in practice on their farm and what they’ve achieved in terms of reducing their carbon footprint.
It’s a fascinating episode, a total eye opener for me – I think I say the words ‘mind blown' at least 57 times…
As with all things Sustainable(ish), organic doesn't have to be 'all or nothing'. No-one is expecting you to covert to 100% organic, and as Harriet points out in the podcast, you'd struggle even if you wanted to, as there are some products that there aren't organic versions of. But I hope after listening to this episode, and to the others in the Organic September mini-series, you'll be a convert (if you weren't already) to the power that organic farming has to help us to pass on a healthy planet to our kids and grandkids. As consumers we have a lot of power to amplify the impact of organic by making some simple swaps. Next time you're shopping, can you swap one of your regular products for an organic one? Just imagine the surge in demand if everyone who was able to do this, did it!
I'm delighted to be working with Organic UK* for a mini-series of podcast episodes to mark Organic September - an annual month long awareness campaign by the Soil Association In collaboration with the Organic Trade Board.
In the same way that 'sustainability' and 'sustainable living' mean different things to different people, 'sustainable eating' will too. With that in mind, we've collated a brilliant panel to discuss what it means to them, the impacts our choices around food have on the planet, and how we as individuals and families can take some simple steps to eat more sustainably.
Our brilliant panel comprises Melissa Hemsley – self taught cook and author of a stack (technical publishing term..) of amazing cookbooks including her latest Eat Green – based on the 15 most commonly thrown away foods; Ben White from Coombe Farm Organic - an organic farm in Somerset breeding and rearing slow-growing native breeds to produce award-winning meat; and Tim Field, head of sustainability at Daylesford – one of the most sustainable farms in the UK.
As with all things Sustainable(ish), organic doesn't have to be 'all or nothing'. No-one is expecting you to covert to 100% organic, and as Harriet points out in the podcast, you'd struggle even if you wanted to, as there are some products that there aren't organic versions of. But I hope after listening to this episode, and to the others in the Organic September mini-series, you'll be a convert (if you weren't already) to the power that organic farming has to help us to pass on a healthy planet to our kids and grandkids. As consumers we have a lot of power to amplify the impact of organic by making some simple swaps. Next time you're shopping, can you swap one of your regular products for an organic one? Just imagine the surge in demand if everyone who was able to do this, did it!
I'm delighted to be working with Organic UK* for a mini-series of podcast episodes to mark Organic September - an annual month long awareness campaign by the Soil Association In collaboration with the Organic Trade Board.
Most of us are now quite familiar with the concept of organic food, and maybe even organic textiles, but (and I'm speaking for myself here) maybe we don't really have that great a handle on what it actually means. Is it a legal definition? What does it mean if a product is organic? Is it just about pesticides? Is organic really any better for me and the planet?
In this episode we've put together a brilliant expert panel to answer all those questions and more! Lee Holdstock from The Soil Association, Harriet O'Regan from Organic UK, and Guy Singh-Watson from Riverford joined me around my virtual kitchen table for a cuppa, and we dived into all things organic. Even as someone who gets an organic veg box, and regularly seeks out organic produce in the supermarket, I'm not sure I'd have been able to explain the benefits to friends and family in a very articulate or persuasive way. But I hope that after listening to this episode, we'll all feel like we have a greater understanding of what exactly "organic" means, and the role it has to play in the health of the planet and feeding the world.
Organic is...working with nature. It's stewardship. Handing the land over to our children and grandchildren in a fit state. It's about taking responsibility
As with all things Sustainable(ish), organic doesn't have to be 'all or nothing'. No-one is expecting you to covert to 100% organic, and as Harriet points out in the podcast, you'd struggle even if you wanted to, as there are some products that there aren't organic versions of. But I hope after listening to this episode, and to the others in the Organic September mini-series, you'll be a convert (if you weren't already) to the power that organic farming has to help us to pass on a healthy planet to our kids and grandkids. As consumers we have a lot of power to amplify the impact of organic by making some simple swaps. Next time you're shopping, can you swap one of your regular products for an organic one? Just imagine the surge in demand if everyone who was able to do this, did it!
Are you up for the Power of One Challenge? What organic swaps have you already made? What do you think you might swap out this week? Let me know in the comments!
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[180] Food and Climate Change without the Hot Air with Sarah Bridle
15 Mar 2024
00:57:53
In this week's episode I'm chatting to Sarah Bridle, who is possibly our first Professor on the podcast! Professor Sarah Bridle is Chair in Food, Climate and Society at the University of York, researching environmental impacts of the food system and potential impacts of the environment on food availability. She is also the author of Food and Climate Change - Without the Hot Air, an accessible guide to how different foods contribute to climate change, a brilliant book which I would highly recommend!
Food is a big part of all of our lives. And it's a big part of the climate crisis too - around a third of all greenhouse gas emissions come from food. When it comes to 'sustainable food' it very quickly gets very complicated - there are so many different things to think about, and often it feels very difficult to make the 'right' decision.
I loved hearing Sarah's personal story around her career pivot from Astrophysics to food and climate change, and how she has also had to navigate the difficulties of trying to change family diets and habits in her own household, so understands that what can sound like straightforward swaps on paper, are often more challenging!
We cover a LOT in the episode, and I'm very aware that we might have simply opened a whole can of worms and raised even more questions - do let me know if there's bits that you would love to hear more about and dive into a little more detail!
I'm delighted to be working with Organic UK* for a mini-series of podcast episodes to mark Organic September - an annual month long awareness campaign by the Soil Association In collaboration with the Organic Trade Board.
We'll be diving into all things organic - what the term actually means, how we know if something is organic, AND crucially, the impact that organic food and farming has on the planet.
We're kicking off with the brilliant episode with David and Emma Buckley from Buckleys Bees. Talking, unsurprisingly given the name of their business, about bees!
DID YOU KNOW?
Bees and insects are essential pollinators of our food - It's estimated that it would cost UK farmers £1.8 billion a year to pollinate their crops manually if wild bees disappeared
Bee and insect populations are crashing - every square kilometre in the UK has lost an average of 11 species of bee and hoverfly, between 1980 and 2013
In the UK at present there are around 270,000 active honeybee hives, compared to a million in 1900
98% of natural wildflower meadows have been lost in the UK since the early 1900s
Plant, insect and bird life is 50% more abundant on organic farms
Tune in to learn more about the wonderful work of bees, why they's so vital, how organic farming can help to support them, AND how we can help them in our own gardens too.
Enjoy!
(Heads up on the sound quality - it's pretty rubbish at the start of the podcast, but improves quickly, so please do bear with!!)
[071] A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO CARBON FOOTPRINTS WITH JO HAND AT GIKI ZERO
08 Sep 2020
01:07:47
Carbon footprints - we've probably all heard the term, but what exactly is a carbon footprint? And why does it matter? Do I have a carbon footprint? How do I know what it is? How do I reduce it? What do I need to reduce it to?
ALL the questions about carbon footprints!
Luckily in this episode I'm chatting to Jo Hand, co-founder of Giki Zero, an app and website that allows you to easily measure and track your individual carbon footprint. Because I'm a bit of an eco geek, I've tried out a few different carbon footprint calculators, and whilst they're great for giving a ballpark figure, they don't allow for much nuance, and the only way to really see it come down is to do something really drastic, like go car-free, or move to a smaller house - neither of which are hugely practical right now. So when I tried out Giki Zero I was geekily excited to see that this is a calculator that does allow us to factor in many of the smaller changes we're making day to day, and to see our footprint shrink!
Jo answers all of the questions above, and many many more, including sharing her top tips for the big impact things we can do to reduce our footprints.
Listen in, then go and check out Giki Zero! Let me know what your score and your footprint are!
Once upon a time (I'm looking at you 1990's) we were told that all we needed to do to be green was to do our recycling. And although it might have taken a while to catch on, most of us now diligently sort our rubbish out into a gazillion different bins and boxes each week, and feel good that we're doing our bit.
However, sadly we're now realising that there's much more to saving the planet than simply popping our tin cans into the right bin, and that actually even the act of recycling is in itself bloody complicated (technical term for the UK's recycling infrastructure).
One of the reasons that our recycling varies so widely across the country, is that it's managed by local councils, and many of us may have visited our council website or Facebook page for information about what we can and can't recycling where we live. But whilst we might find the information we need, we very rarely find anything else to engage us on the topic, answer some of our trickier questions, and (whispers) entertain us. Which is why Denis the Dustcart, from Exeter City Council, is such a revelation and I was so excited to interview him. Well, not actually Denis himself. He's a dustcart. Actually, he's not even a dustcart, he's an emoji dustcart persona. So I spoke to Merrick Palmer, recycling officer at Exeter City Council and Denis' alter-ego. Who happens to be very funny, and very good well-informed (by the recycling team at the council), and very good at writing engaging posts around all things waste and recycling on the Denis the Dustcart FB page. Listen in as I throw all my recycling questions at Denis, with biggies like which is better (when it comes to the planet and recycling: palstic, glass, or tetrapak. These are genuinely the kind of things that keep me up at night...
[069] SAY IT WITH (BRITISH) FLOWERS WITH SARA WILLMAN
07 Jul 2020
00:59:54
Who doesn't love a bunch of flowers? Well.....it turns out the planet might not be too chuffed with them if you buy a bunch of imported flowers. I don't know about you but I'd never really given much thought to the impact of flowers on the planet, other than to think that they're probably a good thing - they're natural, bees love them, what's the harm?
DID YOU KNOW? A bunch of imported flowers from Holland or Kenya can have the equivalent carbon footprint of a flight from London to Birmingham!
Tune into this great chat with Sara Willman from My Flower Patch where she talks about the impact of flowers and how we can lower that impact (by around 90%!!) by buying British flowers.
This episode is going out at the start of July, and in the eco world, July is all about plastic, thanks to the brilliant Plastic Free July campaign that started in Australia and has since gained traction all over the globe.
It’s also a time when more of us might be contemplating a return to work as coronavirus restrictions lift a little more here in the UK. So I figured it might be a good time to speak to someone about what we can do reduce the amount of waste that is produced at work – whether we work from home, in a traditional office environment, or somewhere a bit different, it can be easy to feel like any efforts we ‘re making at home are cancelled out by the waste produced at work, and also to feel like maybe it’s not our place to be asking questions about work waste.
So it’s great to be chatting to the wonderful Livvy Drake from Sustainable Sidekicks , who took part in two brilliant panels for us during the Sustainable(ish) festival, and who is helping us to feel more confident about some of the simple changes that can be made at work to reduce the waste that’s being produced, and how we can be a part of the solution at work as well as at home
Welcome back to the Sustainable(ish) podcast! My goodness it’s been a while! I thought I’d have a little break after doing 12 podcasts in 12 days for the book launch, and then a month or two passed, and then a global pandemic hit. And now here we are 6 months down the line!
How are you? How is life treating you? How has lockdown been for you? It’s a strange old time isn’t it? When lockdown started I descended into a massive funk. My husband was furloughed for the first four weeks, and it turns out he’s someone who likes to get on and do things, and was very productive in a tidying the house and doing all those jobs we never get round to type way. Me, not so much. I just wanted to lie on the sofa and read trashy novels, in between random bouts of tears and attempting to get my head around home schooling the kids.
But today I want to talk a little bit about ‘lockdown guilt’. I’ve spoken to so many people, online, via e-mail, on webinars I’ve run, and in my six week coaching group, who are feeling really guilty that they’re not able to make some of the changes that they want to because of the circumstances we find ourselves in in lockdown.
Have you been feeling any lockdown guilt? Let me know in the comments!
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[…]
[066] – MEAL PLANNING MAGIC, OR HOW TO MAKE THE FOOD YOU’VE GOT GO FURTHER WITH ANN FROM STORR CUPBOARD
19 Mar 2020
01:04:34
Well.... What can I say? We are living in unprecedented times - it feels surreal, scary, overwhelming, all of the emotions. And this is going out the day after the UK government announced that schools will be closed until further notice. I'm not going to dwell here on the c-word - I think we're all probably getting about as much as we can take right now, so how about a coronavirus free hour?
In today's episode I'm chatting to Ann Storr, from the Storr Cupboard (do you see what she's done there? I do love a play on words) all about food waste. And specifically how to use meal planning to reduce it. We recorded this episode many moons (a few weeks) ago, and there isn't even a mention of the c-word (yay!) but listening back to it in the context of current events, it's actually a really timely episode. With pictures on social media of supermarket shelves stripped bare, we're all starting to think about food in a slightly different way - instead of seeing it as this plentiful and never-ending resource, some people are, for possibly the first time, really waking up to the idea that they need to make the very most out of every scrap of food in the house. With regards to the climate crisis, food waste is a huge issue, and c-word or not, we all need to get better at using up the food we buy. Listen in for some brilliant tips around meal planning, food storage, and clever ideas around using up leftovers, and then head on over to Ann's website to check out all the brilliant resources she has on offer there.
Stay safe and well and sane(ish), wherever you are.
[065] ‘PERIODICAL’ WITH LAUREN FROM WEAR ‘EM OUT PADS
10 Mar 2020
01:09:36
Yay! The podcast is BACK for series FOUR!!
I intended to only take a short break in the New Year and now suddenly it's March - I'd like to say I have no idea how that happened, but the reality is that it turns out launching a book into the world is quite time consuming, and as ever I massively over-estimated what I'd be able to get done each day...!
Right then, this week's podcast is with the wonderful Lauren Derrett, founder of Wear 'em Out, a new brand of reusable pad. We chat all things periods, obviously, but also lots of chat around taking the plunge and starting your own product based business, some of the barriers in the way of 'green living' and why lots of us might not necessarily resonate with, or aspire to 'green living' stereotypes. We recorded this episode way back in October last year, when Lauren had a brand, prototype pads and some great feedback from testers but was waiting for the first delivery of pads. Since that time, their first order arrived, the website crashed with the demand, they sold out, re-stocked and haves sold out again! Lauren posted today on Instagram that they've had 542 orders so far, meaning that over the next three years, 429,264 disposable pads will be saved from landfill (based on the average use of 22 pads per cycle). WOW!! This is where we quickly and easily see impact of individual action, collectively.
Quick word of warning that Lauren is a self-confessed 'potty mouth' and I think drops the 'f-bomb' at one point - my suggestion would be not to listen to this one with the kids in earshot, or if you're not a fan of the odd expletive, to give this one a miss (although you'll be missing out on a great episode!).
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
Day 12! We made it! My goodness me, suddenly writing a 300+ page book feels like a walk in the park after 12 podcast episodes on the trot, mostly edited (and some recorded!) over the Christmas period - I need a lie down... But not before I introduce this last episode in the series, Activism(ish). Now I'm pretty confident saying that I think for lots of us when I say the words "Activism" and "Activist" can be a bit off-putting. A bit aggressive. I would never describe myself as an activist, but actually, when it comes down to it, we ALL have the potential to be activists just by making some different choices every day, and by taking action. In this episode I'm chatting to Jo Moseley, who @healthyhappy50 on Instagram, and is like a ray of sunshine to follow. She's another person who wouldn't describe herself as an activist, by my goodness she takes action! When she was facing an 'empty nest' as her youngest left home, she decided to set herself a challenge of paddleboarding across from coast to coast across the north of England, along canals, picking up litter as she went and raising funds for two great charities: 2 Minute Beach Clean, and Wave Project. Her enthusiasm and her passion is contagious, and if you want to brighten up what is a pretty dull grey January day as I'm sat here writing, I can't think of many better ways to do it than listen to Jo!
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 11 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) CELEBRATIONS
07 Jan 2020
00:21:15
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
Day 11! The penultimate episode in this mini-series! Which calls for a celebration. And serendipitously this episode (and indeed Chapter 11 in the book) is all about celebrations! I'm chatting to Isabel Mack who is the founder of The Party Kit Network, which is a website that supports all of the Party Kits within the UK. Party Kits are a simple and brilliant solution to all the waste that comes with disposable 'stuff' from parties - it's a hireable set of plates, cups, bowls etc that can be rented, used for kids parties and then returned - GENIUS! There are now over 250 party kits in the UK - you can search the website to see if there's one near you. And if there isn't, why not have a think about starting one yourself..?!
In this week's episode I'm chatting to comedian Stuart Goldsmith. I'm a bit of a comedy fan, so I listen to Stuart's podcast, the Comedian's Comedian where he interviews other comedians about their work and he seems to pretty much be BFFs with everyone on the comedy circuit. It might seem a bit random to be interviewing a comedian on the podcast, but as you will hear, in the last few years Stuart has been 'bitten by the sustainability bug' and has started to explore how he can use his skillset as a comedian and a speaker to help tackle the climate crisis. And oh my goodness, I can't tell you how much I love this! I think that one of the big problems we have when it comes to engaging people in all things climate and sustainability is that as human beings we love to put each other into boxes. So I'm assuming that in the eyes of my friends and family I'm very firmly in the crusty green box. Despite my lack of yoghurt weaving skills. And everyone else kind of feels like the greenies are over there doing their fun green hobby, but it's nothing to do with me. They know what they're expecting to hear from us, and probably in many cases, either avoid conversations with us, or start to zone out a little. So when someone 'normal', a non greenie comedian, starts to talk about climate it somehow has much more impact, as it's not the usual suspects talking about this stuff - and that's hugely powerful.
We didn't talk about even half of the things I wanted to dive into. I omitted the most obvious question - how do you make the climate crisis funny? But I really hope that you enjoy this conversation. Right at the very end, Stuart talks about how stepping into the climate space, and starting to talk about climate in his work, wasn't as scary as he thought it would be! Which I would love to be the take home message from this episode. We might not all be stand up comedians, or confident public speakers, but we do all have something we can do, a particular skill set, a superpower that we might not even realise we have, that we can use, to play our part in the tackling the climate crisis.
What's your superpower? How can you use it help tackle the climate crisis? Let me know in the comments!
[…]
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 10 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) TRAVEL & TRANSPORT
06 Jan 2020
00:38:28
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
Day 10 - just 2 days left to go...! Chapter 10 in the book is dedicated to travel and transport - both things that on the face of it, aren't particularly sustainable. But as always, there's lots of options for changing what we do, in big and little ways, to make it more sustainable(ish). In this episode of the podcast, I'm chatting to Jo Hendrickx who is the founder of an amazing organisation called Travel without Plastic, which works to reduce unnecessary single use plastic in the tourist sector. Probably because the vast majority of our holidays are now spent in our caravan with the kids, I simply hadn't really thought about the vast amounts of single use plastic that the tourism sector gets through, from single use plastic glasses at the poolside, to the free mini bottles of toiletries in the bathroom. Tune in to hear about Jo's work with hotels to help them to reduce this, and also what we as travellers can do to help.
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 9 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) AT SCHOOL
05 Jan 2020
00:24:36
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
Day 9 - nearly there..! And today we're exploring Chapter 9 and how to be more sustainable(ish) at school. Whether you've got kids of school age, (or indeed, are a school age kid!), have been coerced on the PTA, or are involved in education in a more formal way, this episode is for you! Edd Moore is a Year 3 teacher at Damers First School in Dorchester and when he arrived at the school seven years ago there was nothing eco going on at all. Tune in to hear his journey of how he transformed the school into one of the country's leading Eco-Schools, who have won a host of accolades including the first ever Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Schools award.
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 8 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) WORK
04 Jan 2020
00:48:09
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
OK, so Day 8 of the 12 Days of Sustainable(ish) – are you keeping up?! I love pretty much every interview I do for the podcast – getting the chance to speak to fabulous people about the wonderful stuff they’re doing is an absolute honour, but this one I know is going to be one of my highlights on 2020. I’m chatting to Cat Fletcher, resource Goddess and one of the co-founders of Freegle. A conversation with Cat could undoubtedly have suited any of the chapters in the book, but alongside chatting about her journey, and the fabulousness of Freegle, we chat about being Sustainable(ish) at work, and she shares some great ideas and resources for both employees and employers to make some simple, but far reaching changes in the workplace.
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 7 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) HOME
03 Jan 2020
00:27:47
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
We’re onto Day 7 of our 12 Days of Sustainable(ish) which is all about Sustainable(ish) Homes. It’s very fitting then that today I’m taking to Angela Terry who is an environmental scientist and the founder and CEO of One Home where you'll find a wealth of information and support about the choices we can make at home to cut our carbon emissions. None of the actions that Angela and I talk about today are especially exciting – in fact, it could be said that they fall very squarely into the sensible and grown up camp – they have none of the IG appeal of beach cleans, or sexy alternatives to single use plastic, but actually, although it pains my inner rebellious child to say it, it’s these possibly slightly dull grown up things that can actually make a big difference when it comes of our personal carbon footprints. So big girl (or boy) pants at the ready – here we go.
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 6 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) FAMILY
02 Jan 2020
00:14:31
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
Day 6 and just now just oneweek to go til the The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide makes it’s way into the world!
OK, confession time. I am not a planner. Which means that pulling together 12 episodes of the podcast with guests to go out 12 days in a row straight after Christmas was always going to be a challenge. I’m feeling very pleased with myself that I’ve been able to line up 11 amazing guests, but the only chapter I’ve failed with is this one, chapter 6, sustainable(ish) family. But hey, I have a family. And I’ve written a whole chapter in a book about it, so I’m going to give you a sneak peek into some of that chapter with a solo episode sharing some tips for how to get your family on board.
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 5 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) FASHION
01 Jan 2020
00:28:01
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
Day 5 of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide, and we're onto Sustainable(ish) Fashion. I talked in the Plastic-free(ish) episode with Cal Major on Day 3 about plastic being almost a kind of 'gateway drug' into a more wider awareness of sustainability, and I think fashion can be the same. We all wear clothes, so beginning to think a little bit differently about what we wear can be a real eye opener, and a brilliant place to start. In this episode I'm chatting to Jade Doherty, a teacher who has been on her own slow fashion journey since the summer of 2018. Along the way she's amassed over 33k IG followers as she shares pictures of her inventive styling. Don't be put off by the beautiful IG aesthetic, Jade talks a LOT of sense, and in this episode shares a TON of brilliant tips for anyone looking in despair (and maybe a bit of embarrassment - there's no shame here!) at their bulging drawers and wardrobe, and wondering where and how to start.
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 4 – SUSTAINABLE(ISH) FOOD
31 Dec 2019
00:24:40
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
Wow Day 4 already of The 12 Days of Sustainable(ish) which means we’re onto Chapter 4, Sustainable(ish) Food. I wasn’t really sure where to go with this episode – when it comes to sustainable food there are so many different areas to explore. I’m really passionate about food waste, which is a massive contributor to the climate crisis and something we can all take steps to reduce, but I feel a bit like I’ve covered food waste quite a bit already on the podcast with interviews with Olio and CozZo, both brilliant apps that help us all to reduce the amount of edible food hitting the bin. So I was really pleased when I stumbled across Annabelle’s website, The Flexitarian, because it seems like the flexitarian approach, eating more plant-based foods, but not excluding meat and diary, fits in very nicely with the the whole ‘ish’ bit of sustainable(ish). So settle in and listen to Annabelle’s story of how she’s slowly making the switch from the traditionally meat heavy diet of her native France, to a much healthier diet, for both her family and the planet.
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 3 – PLASTIC-FREE(ISH)
30 Dec 2019
00:58:24
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
Today we're onto day 3, chapter 3, which is plastic-free(ish). I’ve been internet stalking (in a non creepy way) my guest today for the last couple of years and have been wanting to have her on the podcast for as long as it’s existed, so to get the chance to chat with her for this book launch mini-series feels very special.
Cal Major is an ocean advocate, veterinary surgeon and world record stand up paddle boarder who has done huge amounts to raise awareness around plastic pollution with her paddle boarding adventures around the UK and is a total inspiration. You’ll have to forgive ma little with this episode – I had every intention of keeping all the episodes for this mini series to around 20 minutes, but I knew right from the start that was going to be a challenge when chatting to Cal as she has SO much good stuff to share. So grab a cuppa, or pop this one on if you’ve got a car journey ahead of you, and settle in to enjoy some inspiration and the tale of one incredible woman’s paddle against plastic.
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 2 – ZERO WASTE(ISH)
29 Dec 2019
00:35:45
It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
Today we're onto Day 2, and Chapter 2, which is Zero waste(ish), and I am chatting to my lovely internet friend Lindsay Miles from Treading My Own Path. Lindsay is pretty hot on the zero waste front (whereas I’m pretty hot on the ish bit..!) but manages to do it without making the rest of us feel a bit shit, and to still make it feel do-able. In the book I talk about the IG ideal of the years worth of waste in a jam jar and how intimidating I find that, and I love the bit in our chat where Lindsay talks about the fact that it’s not about the jam jar, it’s about doing what you can with the resources you’ve got. While I think many of us might find the concept of zero waste a bit (a lot!) off putting, I think we can all hopefully sign up to that.
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 1 – CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION
28 Dec 2019
00:24:35
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....! It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - everything you need to know to make small changes that make a big difference. This book is pretty much the distillation of the Sustainable(ish) ethos and is being published by Bloomsbury on January 9th 2020 , and to mark such an auspicious occasion I've put together 12 shortish episodes of the podcast, one for each chapter of the book, where I have a good old chinwag with someone relevant to that chapter.
Today we're kicking off with Day 1, and Chapter 1, which is conscious consumption, and I am SO delighted to get the chance to chat to Sarah Lazarovic, author, illustrator, and creative about her wonderful creation, The Buyerarchy of Needs, which features very heavily in Chapter 1 of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide. We talk about Sarah's own book, A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy, which is half memoir and half instructional manual on how to become more conscious of how much we buy, and she shares some of her top tips for stepping off the treadmill of consumerism.
[178] Small but mighty projects (and how to fund them!) with Misha Dhanak from Spacehive
01 Mar 2024
01:11:28
In this week's episode I'm chatting to Misha Dhanak, CEO of Spacehive, the home of community fundraising. We're probably all familiar with the concept of crowdfunding and may have even funded products and projects on platforms like Kickstarter. Well Spacehive is a similar concept, it's a crowdfunding platform, but it's for community projects - so on there you will find things like a cricket club raising funds for new kit, or a town looking to create a rural arts hub. And as we will hear from Misha, there are a huge number of nature and climate projects too. Many of us might have ideas for projects that we would love to see happening in our local community - whether that's something like a regular repair cafe, solar panels on your kid's school, transforming a derelict bit of land into community garden, or something else entirely. But for most of us, those ideas stay in our heads as dreams, when the reality of trying to find the money to get it off the ground. This is where Spacehive comes in - they have helped to fund over 2000 projects, and raised over £30million for local projects, and they have they highest success rate of any crowdfunding platform with over 85% of their projects getting funded.
Misha talks in the podcast about 'small but mighty' projects and you will probably be able to tell from my reaction that I just love this! Many of the projects on Spacehive are small, they're not going to change the world, but they are going to change their local community. And with governments around the world failing to take the ambitious actions that we need to protect nature and the climate, community action is vital. And so many of the projects come with additional co-benefits, so the original intention might be supporting wildlife, or installing solar panels, but the ripple effects might be improved physical and mental health, or financial savings, and all of them will be bringing people in the local community together, to make where they live a little bit better.
I would love to hear if you have any ideas for local sustainable(ish) projects you'd love to get off the ground, and if this episode has made you feel a little bit braver about it, and possibly even launch your project on Spacehive!
What 'small but mighty' project would you love to see happening in your local community? Could you make it happen with Spacehive? Let me know in the comments!
[…]
[052] CONSCIOUS GIFTING WITH BUY ME ONCE
04 Dec 2019
00:45:01
This episode is going out in the 1st week of December - the Christmas songs are on the radio, the shops are rammed with All The Things, and the pressure is on buy presents for friends and family. And not just to buy presents, to buy the right presents - we all love to gift, and we all love seeing people's faces when they open the gifts we've carefully chosen. But only if we've got it right! And that can be the tricky thing can't it? Finding the right present for the right person, and in budget to boot. It's the Holy Grail of gifting! Apparently around £2.4 BILLION are spent on unwanted gifts each year at Christmas, and that figure is from 2011, so I can only imagine it's actually higher now. £2.4 BILLION!! Just think of all the good that could be done in the world with that money, instead of giving people stuff they don't need or want, because you feel like you should.
In this episode I'm chatting to Tara Button from Buy Me Once, who is a huge fan of conscious, thoughtful gifting. Giving gifts that people will want. That will last. And she's sharing some of her top tips for how to do just that.
This episode is hitting the airways just a couple of days before Black Friday 2019. If you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard of Black Friday, it’s another delightful American import that has made it’s way over here, and is basically where retailers and manufacturers slash their prices in a bid to get you to buy All The Things in the run up to Christmas. And this episode feels very timely (I’m totally patting myself on the back for this and pretending it was all a very strategic plan, when in reality I got behind with the podcast schedule after half-term, but sssshhhh) as I’m chatting to Ollie at the charity Global Action Plan about their #idontbuyit campaign. This is a campaign aimed at teenagers (and their parents. And in fact is relevant to all of us) to raise awareness around the insidiousness (is that even a word) of advertising, especially online, and the steps they can take to try and consume more thoughtfully.
One of the things that is suggested is to time a minute scrolling through Instagram (or Facebook if you’re not on Instagram) and make a note of how many ads and sponsored posts you see, and I would really urge you (teenager or not!) to give this a go and then share the results (you can share with the #idontbuytit hashtag on social media, on any of my social media channels or leave a comment below)– it’s a real eye opener..!
Electric cars - my god it's confusing isn't it? Even just the terminology - EVs, ICE, PHEV... what does it all mean? How do I charge it? Doesn't it take hours to charge? How do I find charge points? What if I haven't got a drive?
ALL the questions!
Well never fear, in this episode I'm chatting to James and Kate of You Tube fame who I wanted to get on the show after watching one of their reviews where Kate points out that you can get the buggy in the back of the car. That's the sort of stuff we actually want to know. Not complicated geeky talk of miles per kilowatt hour. Well, that and how do we make sure we don't run out of charge... James and Kate are full on EV (electric vehicle) fans, and have test driven loads, so I ask them the questions that we all want to ask, in what is hopefully a kind of beginners guide to all things electric cars.