Sustainable Matters

Claire Poole is the founder of Sport Positive, which she set up in 2018 to help the global sport industry place sustainability right at the heart of the sector. Claire oversees massive projects like in-person events and data gathering through the Sport Positive Leagues - which highlight positive environmental initiatives at top level sports clubs.She also organises the annual Sports Positive Summit which brings together hundreds of sports organisations focused on sustainability to meet in person, listen and connect.In this episode she talks to Sarah about how athletes are the historical figures of our time and how being pragmatic and staying hopeful can help fight against greenlash.  She was nominated for the podcast by double Paralympian Alexandra Rickham, who you can hear talk to Sarah here. Sustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.

Alexandra Rickham is a double paralympic bronze medalist and five-time world champion in sailing.When she was 13, she was paralysed in a diving accident in Jamaica. Later, after years of rehab, she was offered sailing training which she says appealed to her competitive spirit.You can see Alexandra in action here, with her sailing partner Niki Birrell at the 2016 Paralympics.She’s now retired from professional sailing competition, but remains very connected to the sport, through her work as the director of sustainability for World Sailing - the sport's international governing body.The organisation is renowned for leading the way in promoting voluntary climate action at every stage of the sport. Alexandra's mission is to make the sport more inclusive and sustainable.In this episode, she talks about her accident, competing professionally, and about how sport is such a useful way to enthuse people about sustainability.Sustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.

Gary Punter is something of a guru when it comes to factories, and has become the go to expert for advising companies on working towards an agile and waste-free factory future. He is also visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing, where he leads research into the future of circular business models. Gary was nominated to appear on the show by Tim Minshall, who was the guest on episode 14 of Sustainable Matters. Gary's work at Wissington sugar factory is detailed in Tim's recent book Your Life is Manufactured.In this episode, Gary talks about working as a market trader, being a technologist at heart and why the idea of sustainability has become over complicated. For more on Gary's work in factories, head to The Cambridge Sustainability Improvement Method - (also known as Sustain8). It provides a foundation for sustainable transformation by engaging front-line factory workers in improvements and has been successfully employed in 35 factories across many sectors and is proven to deliver 15-30% improvements in energy, waste, materials and water.Sustainable Matters … a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future

Professor Tim Minshall heads up the Institute for Manufacturing and Management at the University of Cambridge. The department’s aim is simple: to “help manufacture a better world”. And so Tim has spent hours fostering links between engineering students and companies to help put their new ideas into practice.  He’s recently published the book Your Life is Manufactured which takes a deep dive into the world of manufacturing. He argues that the systems that make things in our modern world are extraordinarily fragile, almost invisible to us and that has worrying consequences.  Tim studied at Cambridge as a PhD student before leaving in 1993 to work at the St John’s Innovation Centre - a business incubator in Cambridge for tech startups. He rejoined the university in 2002 and was named the very first endowed chair in innovation in 2017.    He talks to Sarah about the critical need for industrial sustainability in manufacturing processes and how some of the incredible systems we’ve built are also destroying the planet. Sustainable Matters … A podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: transforming the world to sustainability

Solitaire Townsend is the 'Chief Solutionist' at Futerra, the organisation she founded.  Futerra helps companies work towards a sustainable future. Solitaire gave herself that job title because she says if she’s “not serving solutions every day, by default that means she’s serving destruction.” Solitaire became involved in sustainability action aged thirteen, when she saw a flyer on her school bus saying a nuclear processing company was planning to build near her hometown. After a successful local opposition campaign, she was converted to the business of change making.In this episode she talks to Sarah about working with the world's largest bakery, helping F1 make a commitment to Net Zero and the challenges she faced at the start of her career.  She also talks about how crucial storytelling is to her work, ahead of the publication of her first novel Godstorm, described as a ‘gladiatrix adventure’ set in a petrol-fuelled Roman Empire.  Solitaire has already published The Happy Hero – a book about how to feel good by doing good – and The Solutionists – a handbook for businesses to help create a more sustainable society.  Sustainable Matters is a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP): transforming the world today for a sustainable future.

Lord Turner chairs the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of companies, NGOs and experts working to achieve a net zero economy by 2040.In this episode, he talks about: giving up his ambition to get into the cabinet when he realised he wasn’t prepared to play party loyalty games: the influence and encouragement of his intellectually curious mother; his fears about what Trump's presidency will mean for the Paris Accord, and his belief that the technical solutions for climate change already exist.Sustainable Matters … A podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by IEMA: transforming the world to sustainability  BIO Lord Turner was appointed as an independent peer to the House of Lords in 2005 and is also an honorary fellow of the Royal Society (the UK academy dedicated to promoting science excellence). He became a Trustee Emeritus of the British Museum after serving on its board of directors from 2013 until 2020.Lord Turner advises regularly climate and government bodies - including the COP Presidency and ministers in the EU, UK, China and Australia, and is often featured in global media as an expert on the energy transition, including in the Financial Times, Economist, BBC, CNN and Bloomberg.He holds several roles in industry: he is the Chairman of insurer group Chubb Europe; Chairman of UK bank Oaknorth Ltd.; and on the Board of AESC Japan, the manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. More recently he was appointed adviser to Watershed Technologies Inc.During his public policy career, Lord Turner chaired the Financial Services Authority (2008- 2013) where he played a lead role in the redesign of global banking and shadow banking regulation. From 2008 to 2012 he chaired the Climate Change Committee, an independent body advising and overseeing the UK’s government on their path to a zero-carbon economy. The recommendations set out in their first report "Building a low-carbon economy” were adopted by the UK government in full. Between 2002 and 2006 he chaired the UK Pensions Commission and recommended the creation of a system of defined contribution pensions which included an ‘opt-out’ element that proved transformative. He also chaired the Low Pay Commission (2002-2006) and was Director General of the Confederation of British Industry(1995-2000).Lord Turner is the author of “Between Debt and the Devil” (Princeton 2015), and Economics after the Crisis (MIT 2012). 

Andrea Cheong is a fashion educator who thinks her work dovetails with sustainability activists.She hosts the podcast Fashion Our Future, has written a book called Why Don't I Have Anything To Wear? and created the viral Mindful Monday Method. Through all these, she hopes to encourage people to shop more responsibly and minimise their impact on the planet.In this episode she talks to Sarah about how she accidentally became an influencer, how learning to sew can transform your relationship to fashion and nominates a shepherdess as her sustainability hero!Sustainable Matters … A podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by IEMA: transforming the world to sustainability

Professor Sir Jim Skea has spent over forty years working in climate science research and was once referred to as “the most important scientist no one’s ever heard of.” Since 2023 has chaired the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (or the IPCC). The panel’s work is described as a “code red for humanity”.  Sir Jim is also Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London, hosted by the International Institute of Environment and Development.  In this episode, ahead of UN COP29 Climate Summit, he talks to Sarah about the art of getting global agreement and the importance of sharing the results, as well as why he has grounds for optimism. Sustainable Matters … A podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by IEMA: transforming the world to sustainability