Sustainability Solved – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome back to Sustainability Solved, this time with a twist! Hosts Will Richardson and Charlie Luxton chat with Sam Hamilton-Turner, co-founder of Soundquake, a purpose-driven podcast production company (now making this very podcast!) . Sam shares the story of Soundquake's transformation from a conventional, transactional business into a company with a clear focus on sustainability and purpose. He discusses the challenges, solutions, and lessons learned along the way.

Problem

Soundquake initially operated as a generalist audio production company, taking on various projects without a focus or direction. This approach resulted in a lack of purpose, excessive travel, economic instability, and an unsustainable business model that conflicted with the founders' personal values, especially as they became more environmentally conscious.

Solutions

• Client Selection: The company began working exclusively with clients aligned with sustainability values, turning down projects that didn’t fit this criteria.
• Remote Work: They closed their Cardiff office and moved to remote working, reducing the need for travel and office-related emissions.
• Sustainable Procurement: Opted for high-quality, second-hand equipment to minimise electronic waste.
• Niche Focus: Specialised in purpose-driven podcasts, allowing them to become a go-to provider for other purpose-driven people.

Results

• Greater Alignment: The business is now fully aligned with the founders’ values, leading to deeper fulfilment and motivation.
• New Market Opportunities: Focusing on sustainability has attracted more suitable clients and opened up new business prospects.
• Environmental Impact Reduction: Remote work significantly lowered travel emissions, and using second-hand equipment helped decrease electronic waste.

Takeaways

• Align Business with Values: Choose clients and projects that reflect your organisation’s mission for a more meaningful impact.
• Niche Specialisation Drives Success: Focusing on a specific area can unlock unique opportunities and differentiate your brand.
• Saying No Can Lead to Better Opportunities: Declining projects that don’t align with your mission can open doors to more suitable and impactful work.
• Adopt Flexible, Sustainable Practices: Remote work and sustainable purchasing can improve both environmental impact and business efficiency.

Mentions & Resources:

• Hook Norton Community Land Trust
• The Ministry for the Future
• Clean Creatives
• SDG Action Manager

Green Element Group is an environmental management consultancy offering a range of bespoke sustainability services, products, and resources to accelerate the just transition to a stable climate. The Group consists of Green Element Limited, Compare Your Footprint

In this episode, we explore the world of sustainable housing design, highlighting award-winning projects and the innovative strategies driving the industry forward.

Hosts Will Richardson and Charlie Luxton are joined by special guests David Birkbeck, Managing Director of Design for Homes, and Richard Williams, Development Manager at VELUX.

They dive into the highlights from the 2024 Housing Design Awards, the UK’s longest-running awards program celebrating excellence in housing design. Discover how this year’s winning projects are pushing the boundaries of sustainability and community engagement. 

Sustainability in Housing

• Sustainability is now a core aspect of housing design, evolving beyond energy efficiency to include goals like biodiversity and biophilic design, which foster a deeper connection to nature.
• David Birkbeck explains how architectural awards are setting higher standards for daylight, outdoor spaces, and overall liveability, shaping industry practices.

Innovative Housing Projects 

• The Blenheim Estate’s Hill Rise development exemplifies a model that minimises car use and integrates green spaces, creating more pedestrian-friendly streets.
• A new project in Lewes focuses on shared mobility hubs to reduce individual car ownership and improve community spaces.
• Richard highlights the Alkerden Gateway project’s adaptable living spaces and the Appleby Blue Almshouses’ blend of outdoor spaces with community living for seniors.

Environmental Impact and Design Innovations

• Richard discusses the “Living Spaces” project’s success in lowering embodied carbon by using alternative materials and notes Denmark and the Netherlands as leaders in this approach.
• Velux reinvests 90% of its profits into health and environmental research, demonstrating a strong commitment to healthier living environments.

Future of Housing Innovation

• Innovative designs from smaller developers are increasingly being adopted by larger firms, showing a growing acceptance of high-quality, efficient housing solutions.
• Richard and David highlight the rising focus on mental health in housing design, emphasising the benefits of daylight and environmental quality as shown in recent award-winning projects.

Green Element Group is an environmental management consultancy offering a range of bespoke sustainability services, products, and resources to accelerate the just transition to a stable climate. The Group consists of 

In this episode, Andrew Griffiths, co-founder of the Carbon Accounting Alliance, sheds light on the Alliance’s mission to tackle sustainability challenges through collaboration. Backed by over 100 organisations and businesses, including Green Element and Compare Your Footprint, Andrew explains the Alliance's focus on promoting best practices and robust standards.

Interested businesses can easily join the Carbon Accounting Alliance by filling out a quick form. The process is open and accessible, aiming to create a supportive community without any current costs involved.

Highlights:

Carbon Accounting 101:

·     Andrew simplifies carbon accounting, likening it to financial accounting – but with carbon instead of money! He explains the process of measuring carbon, the significance of carbon factors, and provides insights into achieving net-zero.

·     Andrew discusses the Alliance’s primary objectives including policy alignment, standards, technical coherence, and communications to drive positive change.

·     As of last month, the Carbon Accounting Alliance had measured a staggering 587,000,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and reported 6,000,000 tonnes of reductions.

Challenges and Solutions for Carbon Accounting:

• Andrew delves into data collection as a barrier for organisations looking to manage their carbon footprint. He discusses governmental policy recommendations and initiatives like Project Perseus for seamless and automated data gathering.
• The UK government has shown genuine interest in the Alliance’s proposals, signalling a potential bridge between business-led action and policy change.
• The Carbon Accounting Alliance plans to streamline data collection, analysis, and assurance using technologies like open banking but for carbon data.

Collaboration is Key:

• Andrew drives home the importance of collaboration in the industry and creating a safe space for professionals to connect, collaborate, and share experiences openly.
• For the Carbon Accounting Alliance, success in the next 12 months relies on collaboration, influencing policy makers, and engaging with standards like ISO and net-zero guidelines to drive change.

This episode of Sustainability Solved is sponsored by Business Declares, a not-for-profit business network who inspire, encourage, and accelerate action within businesses to address the climate, ecological, and social emergency. 

They are an active network of 100+ businesses who back our commitments to reach net-zero, restore and protect nature, and advocate for regulatory change. 

Join Business Declares as a member to get help accelerating your action on net-zero targets and on nature targets for your business from the network. Find out more here: Business Declares 

Adam Hall is the head of sustainability at Internet Fusion, a group of online retailers that operate in majority outdoor sports, such as mountain sports, ocean sports, and action sports.

Don't miss out our weekly interviews with sustainable businesses from different industries and sizes. Get inspirational insights that you can implement in your day-to-day and other bespoke content for you. Subscribe now!

Karli Hiscock works at Bates Wells, a full-service law firm established in 1970. They call themselves a city firm with a difference: they have a lot of positive impacts. They have significantly evolved since 1970 and embedded a much more outward-looking set of values. 

Don't miss out our weekly interviews with sustainable businesses from different industries and sizes. Get inspirational insights that you can implement in your day-to-day and other bespoke content for you. Subscribe now!

Martin Rich is the cofounder of Future-Fit Business, a UK based charity, whose vision is the creation of a future-fit society. What do they mean by that? A society that protects the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on earth forever by being environmentally restorative, socially just, and economically inclusive. How do they achieve that? The objective of future Fit is to produce free to use open source tools that help businesses to become truly sustainable.

Don't miss out our weekly interviews with sustainable businesses from different industries and sizes. Get inspirational insights that you can implement in your day-to-day and other bespoke content for you. Subscribe now!

Tim Wookey is the Cofounder and Managing Director of Amamus. As his business name tells 'we love' in Latin, Tim and his team are passionate about beautiful coffee. The company supplies speciality coffee to like-minded businesses setting new standards in quality, service and taste. Their ambition is to be innovative and disruptive within the coffee sector with the ultimate purpose of making moments more meaningful.

Don't miss out our weekly interviews with sustainable businesses from different industries and sizes. Get inspirational insights that you can implement in your day-to-day and other bespoke content for you. Subscribe now!

Kathryn Luckock is a coach for social entrepreneurs. She set up Share Impact nearly three years ago with a vision to help social entrepreneurs measure and communicate the impact better, in order to run sustainable and profitable businesses.

Don't miss out our weekly interviews with sustainable businesses from different industries and sizes. Get inspirational insights that you can implement in your day-to-day and other bespoke content for you. Subscribe now!

Cotswold Fayre is a wholesaler of artists on food and drinks who buys lots of nice food and drink products from producers all over, mainly the UK but also from outside. They sell those products to independent retailers in the UK, such as farm shops, delis, food halls, convenience stores, department stores, as well as some larger grocers. They are the connection point between small producers and small retailers, which are vital parts of the community.

Don't miss out our weekly interviews with sustainable businesses from different industries and sizes. Get inspirational insights that you can implement in your day-to-day and other bespoke content for you. Subscribe now!

Catherine Manning is the Operation Manager from Social Value UK and Social Value International. Social Value UK is a national membership network with a professional body for people who are working in social impact or value. They are the national network of the UK, which is a part of social value International. They are working towards a shared global mission to change the way the world accounts for value.

Don't miss out our weekly interviews with sustainable businesses from different industries and sizes. Get inspirational insights that you can implement in your day-to-day and other bespoke content for you. Subscribe now!