50 Shades of Green: A Climate Group Podcast

Katie and Adam kick off this episode with their usual warm banter (groundhogs, hay fever, and gardening included) before diving into a seriously inspiring conversation with Sam Elfman, Director of Response at World Central Kitchen (WCK) — José Andrés’ disaster-response outfit that gets food to people fast when climate-driven storms, floods, fires and conflicts strike. Sam walks us through what being “first on the ground” actually looks like: rapid deployment, working with local chefs and restaurants, buying fresh food locally (no mystery MREs), and getting hot, culturally familiar meals to people on day one. From a surprise flood response in Texas to a category‑5 typhoon in Saipan, WCK’s model is simple but powerful — feed people with dignity, support local economies, and move fast. Sam also explains clever resilience work they do, like handing out long‑lasting water filtration bags and community filters so places don’t become flooded with disposable plastic water bottles after disasters. We hear about the tough realities too: unpredictable logistics, airports and ports closed, responding to fires and conflict zones, and the need to keep teams safe while being quick. Sam estimates most of WCK’s work now addresses climate-related disasters — floods, hurricanes, fires — and describes an innovation team working on future tools to make responses smarter and greener. Katie and Adam reflect on why this matters: food is immediate, human, and easy to support — Sam says even $10 can cover a meal and a bottle of water. They discuss how celebrity support (think Colbert and José Andrés) can amplify donations, why storytelling and practical language matter for climate conversations, and how aid is increasingly politicized despite being fundamentally about helping neighbors.Find out more at https://wck.org/

In this episode of 50 Shades of Green, hosts Adam and Katie chat with Cecilia Brenner, Managing Director of Design for Good, about how design skills are being mobilized globally to tackle the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Design for Good is a global non-profit that convenes a global alliance of companies, design schools and NGOs to co-create open-source solutions for real community problems. Cecilia explains their two-year SDG cycles (past: clean water & sanitation; current: quality education; upcoming: people and planet health combining SDGs 3 & 13), and how local NGOs provide briefs and community access while volunteer designers form cross-functional task forces to prototype, validate and implement solutions.Key themes:Open-source approach: How alliance members waive IP so solutions can be adapted and scaled, shifting from ownership to shared impact.Practical impact: Learning about campaigns like a water-saving social media initiative which reached millions;Design practices: How they co-design with communities, systems thinking, life-centered and regenerative design, and treating climate impacts as design constraints rather than afterthoughts.Capacity-building: Updates of how a partnership with the Royal College of Art and the Design for Good Academy has trained over 1,200 designers to design for measurable impact, including sustainability and AI ethics topics.Scale and ambition: Find out how over 2,000 designers mobilized across 30 countries with a goal to improve 10 million lives and help regenerate the planet by 2030. You can find out more about Design for Good here: https://www.designforgood.org/Fifty Shades of Green is produced by Climate Group North America and recorded in New York City. Climate Group is a non-profit with a global impact. You can support this podcast and our wider work here: https://support.theclimategroup.org/give/280085/#!/donation/checkout

In this episode of 50 Shades of Green, Adam and Katie sit down with Jamil Wine, founder of the Hazelwood Network, for a wide‑ranging conversation about climate finance and climate tech—from the fast‑moving innovation hubs of the Middle East to the practical realities of scaling solutions in vulnerable countries. Jamil traces his accidental entry into climate work, explains why regions like the Gulf are both urgent hot spots and hubs of ingenuity, and lays out the “ecosystem” ingredients—talent, diverse capital, governance and markets—needed to build climate tech at scale. He shares lessons from advising governments, NGOs and corporations, reflects on how necessity drives invention in the world’s most affected places, and offers actionable career advice for young people: build social capital, embrace networking, and be willing to fail. The conversation also spotlights adaptation and resilience as growing investment priorities and ends on an optimistic note about cross‑sector collaboration and the role events like Climate Week NYC play in accelerating action. Practical, hopeful and full of on‑the‑ground insight, this episode is a must‑listen for anyone curious about where climate innovation is happening—and how to get involved.

On this episode of 50 Shades of Green hosts Adam Lake and Katie Lanagren interview Jennifer Hinton, co‑founder of Carve Designs, about building a performance swimwear brand rooted in sustainability. Jennifer explains how Carve developed recycled‑bottle and natural‑blend fabrics (including coconut‑infused blends), the challenges of recyclable swim materials, and the company’s shift from local manufacturing to certified partner factories. They discuss logistics and carbon reductions, the importance of supply‑chain visits and ethical factory choices, and ambitious plans to create fashion recycling loop. Jennifer also shares her observations of changing seasons from an outdoor‑athlete perspective, and how policies such as California's textile producer responsibility legislation is starting to push the industry toward end‑of‑life solutions.

As we prepare for Smart and Sustainable Mobility Week, where cities showcase their progress on clean transportation and identify the steps needed to advance effective mobility policies in their region, we're joined by the Québec Government Office in New York and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to take us through the agenda and identify how, why and where companies, transportation agencies, and community partners are primed to take action on these issues. This episode features: ⭕ Richard Parker, Senior Manager, Transportation Programs, Climate Group North America⭕ Frederic Langlois, Transportation and Energy Attache, Québec Government Office in New York⭕ Alessandra Guido, Commercial Attache, Québec Government Office in New York⭕ Emily Duncan, Manager of Business Innovation, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)⭕ Rachel L. Lamb, PhD, Assistant Secretary, Maryland Department of the Environment

What does effective climate action look like in a conservative state, and how can clean energy actually save people money?In this episode of 50 Shades of Green, host Phil sits down with Sarah Wright, Founder of Utah Clean Energy, for a wide-ranging conversation on practical, people-centered climate solutions. Drawing on her background in geology and public health, Sarah explains why Utah Clean Energy focuses on energy efficiency, building electrification, zero-emission homes, clean transportation, and grid decarbonization, and how these strategies improve both air quality and household affordability.Sarah shares how reframing climate change as a health, community, and economic issue has helped bring together unlikely allies, including the creation of Utah’s Climate and Clean Air Compact with more than 200 business, faith, and civic leaders. She also discusses why fuel-free resources like wind and solar protect families from volatile energy costs, and how smart building design can deliver billions in long-term savings.The conversation closes with lessons from nearly two decades of climate advocacy, from finding shared values in tough negotiations to making sure renters and low-income households aren’t left behind.

In this episode of 50 Shades of Green, we’re joined by Peter Colavito, Executive Director of Invest in Our Future (IOF), to explore how community-led clean energy deployment can unlock economic opportunity while accelerating climate action.Peter shares how IOF bridges the gap between policy and project implementation, ensuring federal clean energy investments like those from the Inflation Reduction Act actually reach the communities that need them most. We dig into the biggest barriers slowing clean energy deployment, from siting and permitting challenges to financing gaps, workforce shortages, and a deeply polarized public narrative.You’ll hear why local voices - workers, farmers, school leaders, and community advocates - are far more persuasive than top-down messaging, and how IOF is helping build a national network of “builders” who can tell the real stories behind clean energy success. We also look at powerful examples of collaboration between the private sector, government, and grassroots organizations, and what funders can do right now to keep momentum alive.

What does it take to protect the Amazon when your life is on the line?In this powerful episode of 50 Shades of Green, we sit down with Academy Award–winning filmmaker Fisher Stevens and forest guardian and co-director Chelsea Greene to talk about their urgent new documentary, WE ARE GUARDIANS.The film follows Indigenous leaders, activists, and even loggers caught inside the world’s most dangerous environmental conflict—where illegal deforestation, corporate interests, and climate change collide. From uncontacted tribes and frontline forest guardians to the global supply chains driving destruction, We Are Guardians reveals the human stories behind the Amazon crisis and why this fight matters to all of us.We explore:The real risks facing Indigenous land defenders in the AmazonHow documentaries can spark political and cultural changeConcrete actions viewers can take, from boycotts to banking choicesWhy protecting the rainforest is inseparable from protecting humanity’s futureWe Are Guardians premieres globally on Earth Day and streams worldwide across major platforms.Listen now to understand why we are all guardians, and what’s at stake if we fail.