A moment of change – Details, episodes & analysis

A Moment of Change is a podcast created by On Purpose London Associates, participants of On Purpose’s Associate Programme.

For Series 4, the team is looking at an area they’re really passionate about: the circular economy. They’ll be talking to inspiring people and organisations, who share with us ‘Stories of Hope’; stories of their work in the circular economy and the incredible impact they have on our world.

Our current food system is the leading cause of soil degradation, water pollution, deforestation and loss of wildlife. In episode 3 of the podcast, Amy and Will speak to Harriet Cherry, Agriculture Relationship Manager at Wildfarmed, a regenerative food brand on a mission to change farming, transform landscapes and regenerate nature.

In this episode we discuss how farming can restore nature’s ecosystems instead of merely extracting from it. How instead of degrading nature, agricultural practices can build natural capital and shift our farming focus from yields to a more holistic view of improving biodiversity. And critically we learn more about why we need to address this now.

Despite the challenges faced in our agricultural and food systems, Harriet leaves us feeling hopeful about the growing regenerative movement that Wildfarmed is part of. She also remind us of the agency that we all have as individuals to create change through our food choices.

For more information about Wildfarmed and the work they do to transform landscapes through regenerative agriculture, visit their website.

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A Moment of Change is a podcast created by On Purpose London Associates, participants of On Purpose’s Associate Programme.

For Series 4, the team is looking at an area they’re really passionate about: the circular economy. They’ll be talking to inspiring people and organisations, who share with us ‘Stories of Hope’; stories of their work in the circular economy and the incredible impact they have on our world.

In this episode, Miranda and Kate are joined by Thami Schweichler, CEO of United Repair Centre (URC). URC are paving the way to transform the clothing industry by putting people first, one repair at a time. They enable clothing brands to make real social and environmental impact with a digital, one-stop shop for circular solutions. 

This discussion explores the current human cost of our throwaway mindset to clothing. We all want to do our best to consume more responsibly, and this conversation highlights the importance of a mindset and behaviour shift towards thinking of clothing as a long-term investment, which can be repaired repeatedly and kept in circulation for as long as possible. We also discuss URC's business model and how technology has the potential to act as a catalyst for wide-scale adoption of circular thinking in business. 

Thami leaves us feeling hopeful about the future of the circular economy, noting increasing collaboration over competition among brands. Plus, he shares practical tips for integrating circular thinking into your daily life.

For more information about URC  and the work they do to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, visit their website. 

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What exactly is a green job and why do we need a just transition?

Green jobs should be an answer to address both the urgent economic and environmental needs for society, but what exactly are they? And how do we ensure that in the transition to a new green economy that no one is left behind?

This week on the A Moment of Change podcast we’re joined by Denis Fernando, a climate campaigner from Friends of the Earth and Gerry Grattan, a fellow of the On Purpose London programme to discuss green jobs, a just transition, and more personal transitions into the environmental and impact sector. 

In this episode with Denis we discuss insights from Friends of the Earth’s report An Emergency Plan on Green Jobs for Young People, building the case for green job creation particularly for young people, and the role that the state, business and individuals can play to achieve this. 

To view the Friends of the Earth report “An emergency plan on green jobs for young people” go to:

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/whats-green-job-and-how-can-we-create-more-them

The Take Action Website from Friends of the Earth is here:

https://takeclimateaction.uk/

To find out more about Friends of the Earth, what they do, and how to get involved look here:

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/

Link to IPCC report here

https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/

Interested in becoming a placement host for On Purpose London

Are you looking to strengthen your team to develop or deliver important strategy, programmes or projects?

Email Hannah Casey at hannah.casey@onpurpose.org or call on 07931 799 868 to talk through how On Purpose and our Associates can support your organisation from April 2022 cohort, working with our Associates - talented career changers moving into the social and environmental impact sector.

Interested in become an Associate on the On Purpose London programme?

Are you ready to create change? The On Purpose Associate Programme, an alternative to an MBA, equips you with the experience, skills, and support needed to launch a career within the impact sector.

Applications are now open! Apply by Monday, October 25th. 

Read more about the programme here: https://onpurpose.org/en/associate-programme/

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Food affects all areas of life - it drives our bodies, our communities and our politics. The food system is complex, nuanced and powerful, but in this changing environment it can be difficult for us to understand how to move towards a truly sustainable system.

In this episode, we speak to India Langley, Head of Communications at LettUsGrow to consider what a sustainable and healthy diet actually looks like, and what we can do to actually get there, both as individuals and as a society? Join us to learn about the future of food, and how technology and community can help us achieve a more sustainable, edible future.

Useful links:

• LettUsGrow: LettUsGrow
• How much land is used for agriculture: https://ourworldindata.org/land-use 
• Sustainability of vertical farming: https://www.eitfood.eu/blog/post/is-vertical-farming-really-sustainable 
• GHG emissions greenhouse vs plant factory (vertical farm): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321379221_Plant_factories_versus_greenhouses_Comparison_of_resource_use_efficiency
• Water usage in agriculture: http://www.fao.org/3/cb1447en/cb1447en.pdf 
• Agriculture number one cause of deforestation: https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/deforestation_causes2/forest_conversion/
• Deforestation the largest GHG emission source in the food-system: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1402118/icode/
• The planetary health diet: https://eatforum.org/learn-and-discover/the-planetary-health-diet/

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The COVID crisis has further exposed social inequalities and environmental concerns. It has highlighted the demand on food banks, the reliance of many families on school meals and the fragility of our food systems. On the flip side, more people are talking about climate change, food waste and the benefits of growing food at home. In this episode we talk to Carly Trisk-Grove: restaurateur, B Leader and co-creator of a new restaurant concept focused on serving tasty, nourishing food at an accessible price and inspiring a generation of change-makers to level-up their own communities. 

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Since The Marmot Review in 2010, it has been widely accepted that variance in social factors (education, housing, employment and discrimination) lead to variance in health outcomes. A recent review has shown that improvements in life expectancy have been flatlining in the UK during a period of austerity - for the first time since 1900. In this episode we discuss with the leader of a community health organisation his journey in supporting the Caribbean and African community in Manchester and how his work has been impacted by COVID-19.

Our guest speaker is Rev Charles Kwaku-Odoi. Alongside his role as Chief Officer for CAHN, Charles co-leads Command Prayer Centre Ministries International and co-chairs Faith Network for Manchester. He specialises in engaging with the Black community in the Diaspora, and also works closely with Terrence Higgins Trust in their delivery of HIV Prevention England.

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Social isolation has given us reason to reflect and reevaluate many things – not least our consumer habits, and the impact our purchases have on the planet and on humanity. During this episode we’ll be speaking to three guests leading the charge on sustainable living to understand more about the impact of COVID-19 on our spending habits, both good and bad, and more crucially whether we expect these changes to continue into the future. 

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Our speakers are Natasha Parker, Head of Compassion Not Consumerism at Global Action Plan, Jarvis Smith co-founder of My Green Pod and Sarah Divall, a creative partner at the environmental charity Hubbub.

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Useful links:

• Don’t Change video: https://youtu.be/4OmBVeewmjY
• Global Action Plan film mentioned by Natasha: Flickers of the Future https://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/compassion-not-consumerism/flickers-final-five
• Campaign to Stop Targeted Advertising to Kids https://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/compassion-not-consumerism/stop-targeted-advertising-to-kids
• Get My Slice: https://getmyslice.page.link/yDtq3mhM683hVD6d6

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Books mentioned:

• Humankind by Rutger Bregman https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/humankind-9781408898932/
• How Bad Are Bananas? : The carbon footprint of everything by Mike Berners-Lee https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Mike-Berners-Lee/How-Bad-Are-Bananas--The-carbon-footprint-of-everything/24708373
• Drawdown : The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Paul Hawken https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Paul-Hawken/Drawdown--The-Most-Comprehensive-Plan-Ever-Proposed-to-Re/21910985
• The Fragile Earth: Writing from the New Yorker on Climate Change https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-fragile-earth-writing-from-the-new-yorker-on-climate-change?variant=32600769232974

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In this episode, we speak to Bilqis and Elsie, leaders working with Citizens UK on the Settle Our Status campaign to settle the immigration status of our neighbours without documents in the UK, giving them access to full participation in public life, in the economy and in their communities.

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Useful links:

• Settle our Status campaign video: https://settleourstatus.org/
• Read the open letter to Boris Johnson: https://settleourstatus.org/

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With the outbreak of COVID-19, we’ve seen the genesis of a new wave of informal mutual aid groups across the country, pooling volunteers and resources within local communities to help one another through a time of crisis. Could the global pandemic be a turning point in our connectedness to our communities, and to our neighbours in need?

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In this episode we speak to Cathy Wang, Lily McConnell, and Blake Murphy, three London residents who became organisers of mutual aid in their communities. They tell us why they got involved, their successes and challenges, stories from their local areas, and what makes them hopeful for the future.

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Useful links:

• Listeners in the UK can find mutual aid groups operating in their local communities at https://covidmutualaid.org 
• ThirdSector article https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/analysis-does-mutual-aid-mean-charity-sector/volunteering/article/1683331
• Cathy’s article https://medium.com/mutual-aid-as-a-startup/5-community-care-lessons-in-covid-6d4f452db755 

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