Leadership for Sustainability – Details, episodes & analysis

Daniella Vega is Senior Vice President of Health and Sustainability with Ahold Delhaize, a Dutch-Belgian multinational retail and wholesale holding company.

Daniella talks with Osbert about this unusual role and the synergies between reducing emissions and improving health. She also talks about leading on Project Ocean, getting rid of single use plastic, as Group Director of Sustainability at the UK retailer Selfridge.

Listen for insights you can apply in your sustainability work including:

• The value of connecting sustainability with other issues that matter to your stakeholders.
• How making big bold moves can be more effective than starting with the easy stuff.
• How to look after yourself and keep going when things are tough.

You'll find all the links mentioned in this episode in the companion blog post here:

https://realise.earth/making-sustainability-something-people-care-about/

Mentioned in this episode:

Upcoming events

Leadership for Susainability Online Meet Up 22 May 2025 Leadership for Sustainability Netwalks, Edinburgh, various dates Your Wild Nature 3 Day Women’s Retreat, Scotland, 30 May – 02 Jun 2025.

Events for sustainability leaders

“It’s no longer sufficient to think about sustainability through the climate lens. The challenge and the exciting thing now is really grappling with the interconnectedness of the biodiversity crisis and the opportunity and necessity of the circular economy.”

In this episode I interview Sam Gardner, Head of Climate Change & Sustainability with Scottish Power, and formerly Head of Policy at WWF Scotland. In both these roles Sam has been closely involved in the climate and sustainability agenda in Scotland. In the conversation Sam talks about:

• The transformation of Scottish Power from oil and gas to entirely renewable energy sources.
• The importance of continuous engagement with staff and stakeholders, ensuring everyone in the organisation connects their work to climate goals.
• The need for a fair transition to net zero, and to deliver on biodiversity and the circular economy.

Listen for great insights into the challenges of accelerating the pace of change while bringing colleagues with you, maintaining public support and ensuring a just a transition.

Sam also talks about how he has kept motivated over many years of working on sustainability, offering useful ideas we can all apply ourselves and with our colleagues.

You'll find the links mentioned in this episode in the companion blog post here: https://realise.earth/grappling-with-climate-biodiversity-circular-economy-and-a-just-transition/

What if we saw our purpose as helping create the conditions for people and the rest of nature to thrive – whatever happens? Read about Thrivable Field Notes…

Connect with Osbert Lancaster - drop me a message and let me know you listen to the podcast! – and follow Realise Earth.

Mentioned in this episode:

Upcoming events

Leadership for Susainability Online Meet Up 22 May 2025 Leadership for Sustainability Netwalks, Edinburgh, various dates Your Wild Nature 3 Day Women’s Retreat, Scotland, 30 May – 02 Jun 2025.

Events for sustainability leaders

"How do we transition to net zero and build up the renewables we need in a way that respects our planetary boundaries and the natural world?"

"How do you create a circular economy and break the link between business growth and resource use?"

Kate Wallace Lockhart is head of sustainability with SSE Renewables, and in this episode she talks about working with businesses across the sector to create a circular economy for the entire wind industry.

We discuss the factors which have been important the successful development of the Coalition for Wind Industry Circularity – and I draw out some lessons to help sustainability leaders looking to develop circular economy initiatives in their industries.

Read the full show notes with links to resources at https://realise.earth/delivering-a-successful-circular-economy-initiative-insights-from-sse-renewables/

Mentioned in this episode:

Upcoming events

Leadership for Susainability Online Meet Up 22 May 2025 Leadership for Sustainability Netwalks, Edinburgh, various dates Your Wild Nature 3 Day Women’s Retreat, Scotland, 30 May – 02 Jun 2025.

Events for sustainability leaders

"You also need a theory of change. If you haven't understood what the big thing is you're trying to achieve, and you haven't understood how you are going to achieve that thing, then you have no theory of change and you're not going to achieve it."

Bob Gordon told me that when he started out as Head of Sustainability with Nando’s in the UK he didn’t really have a theory of change. 

Bob’s now Director of Zero Carbon Forum, and has a very clear theory of change to support the hospitality sector to reduce, and then eliminate, their carbon footprin

In this interview Bob shares some of his story on that journey, and offers some really solid advice for sustainability directors and  managers who want to get results and make a real difference, even at a time when businesses are facing acute commercial pressures.

Read the full show notes with links to resources at https://realise.earth/more-successful-sustainability-leadership-with-a-theory-of-change/

What if we saw our purpose as helping create the conditions for people and the rest of nature to thrive – whatever happens? Read about Thrivable Field Notes…

Mentioned in this episode:

Upcoming events

Leadership for Susainability Online Meet Up 22 May 2025 Leadership for Sustainability Netwalks, Edinburgh, various dates Your Wild Nature 3 Day Women’s Retreat, Scotland, 30 May – 02 Jun 2025.

Events for sustainability leaders

Discover how Dee made the case for a global sustainability strategy, created Deluxe's first global sustainability role, and then developed and delivered their first sustainability strategy.

Deluxe Media & Entertainment is a leading media services company with over 4,500 people across the world.

Dee talks with Leadership for Sustainability host, Osbert Lancaster, about:

• Moving from localised CSR to a global sustainability strategy
• Making the business case to leadership groups, again and again
• Finding the right approach for different people
• Building a network to make change happen
• Getting into the detail of climate risk
• Pulling together a team for climate risk assessment

And much more…

For full show notes visit https://realise.earth/how-to-create-and-deliver-your-businesss-first-sustainability-strategy/

What if we saw our purpose as helping create the conditions for people and the rest of nature to thrive – whatever happens? Read about Thrivable Field Notes…

Mentioned in this episode:

Upcoming events

Leadership for Susainability Online Meet Up 22 May 2025 Leadership for Sustainability Netwalks, Edinburgh, various dates Your Wild Nature 3 Day Women’s Retreat, Scotland, 30 May – 02 Jun 2025.

Events for sustainability leaders

Run a workshop that encourages colleagues and stakeholders to be actively involved in your sustainability initiative.

• How to plan and facilitate a workshop that builds collaboration
• What are good activities? How to get people engaged?
• Some top tips inspired by our workshop for the Coalition for Wind Industry Circularity

We recently facilitated a workshop for the Coalition for Wind Industry Circularity. Afterwards a number of participants and asked for advice about the exercises we used and how to design and facilitate something similar.

We decided to answer those requests by recording this episode as a 'case story' to share not just the particular activities we used, but also some of the principles behind them, and the thought process that informed our plans.

What if we saw our purpose as helping create the conditions for people and the rest of nature to thrive – whatever happens? Read about Thrivable Field Notes…

Full guide and show notes at https://realise.earth/116

Mentioned in this episode:

Upcoming events

Leadership for Susainability Online Meet Up 22 May 2025 Leadership for Sustainability Netwalks, Edinburgh, various dates Your Wild Nature 3 Day Women’s Retreat, Scotland, 30 May – 02 Jun 2025.

Events for sustainability leaders

Adam Liddle, Head of Sustainability, RoslinCT, on creating a sustainability strategy in an industry, life sciences, that is completely new to him.

What if we saw our purpose as helping create the conditions for people and the rest of nature to thrive – whatever happens? Read about Thrivable Field Notes…

Full show notes at https://realise.earth/creating-a-sustainability-strategy-in-a-new-industry-insights-from-roslinct/

Mentioned in this episode:

Upcoming events

Leadership for Susainability Online Meet Up 22 May 2025 Leadership for Sustainability Netwalks, Edinburgh, various dates Your Wild Nature 3 Day Women’s Retreat, Scotland, 30 May – 02 Jun 2025.

Events for sustainability leaders

Relating sustainability to people's interests and concerns, and to organisational values and culture, is crucial for engagement. Here's why it's so important, with case stories from our experience, and practical guidance on how to put this into practice in your organisation.

What if we saw our purpose as helping create the conditions for people and the rest of nature to thrive – whatever happens? Read about Thrivable Field Notes…

Full guide at realise.earth/114

Mentioned in this episode:

Upcoming events

Leadership for Susainability Online Meet Up 22 May 2025 Leadership for Sustainability Netwalks, Edinburgh, various dates Your Wild Nature 3 Day Women’s Retreat, Scotland, 30 May – 02 Jun 2025.

Events for sustainability leaders

This is part 2 of our interview with Alan Hendry, Sustainability Director at Mott MacDonald

Osbert and Morag discuss what we heard to pull out important insights and offer 10 practical opportunities for action inspired by the interview – with a particular focus on collaboration.

What if we saw our purpose as helping create the conditions for people and the rest of nature to thrive – whatever happens? Read about Thrivable Field Notes…

Full show notes at https://realise.earth/how-to-inspire-collaboration-for-sustainability-10-practical-steps/

Mentioned in this episode:

Upcoming events

Leadership for Susainability Online Meet Up 22 May 2025 Leadership for Sustainability Netwalks, Edinburgh, various dates Your Wild Nature 3 Day Women’s Retreat, Scotland, 30 May – 02 Jun 2025.

Events for sustainability leaders

Alan Hendry, Sustainability Director, Mott MacDonald, a global technical services firm, on supporting colleagues make their services more sustainable.

What if we saw our purpose as helping create the conditions for people and the rest of nature to thrive – whatever happens? Read about Thrivable Field Notes…

Full show notes at https://realise.earth/how-to-inspire-collaboration-for-sustainability-insights-from-mott-macdonald

Mentioned in this episode:

Upcoming events

Leadership for Susainability Online Meet Up 22 May 2025 Leadership for Sustainability Netwalks, Edinburgh, various dates Your Wild Nature 3 Day Women’s Retreat, Scotland, 30 May – 02 Jun 2025.

Events for sustainability leaders