The Purpose Pod

“Climate change is applying pressure to a society’s weakest fissures” Europe is by some distance the world’s fastest warming continent and the Mediterranean is one of the fastest warming seas. In this half an hour chat, author and environmental journalist Peter Schwartzstein describes the lessons learned from his many years of research on the front lines of climate conflict including Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, detailed in his new book, The Heat and the Fury, and explains why Europe is already on the front lines of climate conflict, including:- Why first person, often dangerous, reporting is the only way to prove climate change's contribution to violence- Why "Water is the messenger by which climate change comes to your doorstep"- How changing tuna migration patterns in the mediterranean are creating conditions for flashpoints between Greek and Turkish fishermen and their coastguards- The role of social enterprises in mitigating climate related hostilities between communities- Why the defence industry climate national security considerations narrative may in fact be the best way to apply positive pressure to rowing back on the tearing up of climate related policies and commitments- The connections between increasing heat and violence against women- How climate related drought has led to high olive oil prices which in turn has led to a spike in agricultural crime in Greece and the region- How hard line populist parties are benefitting from the lack of clear messaging surrounding climate change- Reading history as a coping mechanism to dealing with current crises, careers advice for young writers - and more!Peter Schwartzstein The Heat and the Fury UK BooksellerThe Heat and the Fury US BooksellerPeter Frankopan - The Earth TransformedAkshat Rathi - Climate CapitalismHannah Ritchie - Not the End of the worldUS Department of Defence: 2018 U.S. Department of Defence ReportSocial Value InternationalHellenic Impact Investing Network (HIIN)UN Sustainable Development GoalsImpact EuropeImpact FrontiersGlobal Impact Investing Network

"Globally, just 1-2% of financial assets are managed by women or people of colour"In a climate in which the business value of DEI is increasingly undermined, this wide-ranging discussion with Bonnie Chiu, MD of The Social Investment Consultancy, sets the record straight on how the inclusivity debate should be re-connected to innovation and finding the best talent, how she is helping to shape the new SDG Standards assurance framework for private equity funds to combat SDG washing, and:- The power of grandparents- How to support social enterprises and funds to better understand and scale their impact- How to tackle the shocking stat that only 1-2% of financial assets globally are managed by people of colour and/or women- How it feels to experience DEI discrimination- How to use your individual lived experience to catalyse systems change- How to unlock the commercial value in NGOs and Charities to help them transition into self sustaining social enterprises to thrive and scale their impact- Why mindsets are the key to success within founding teams- The beauty of London life, tips for parents with young children, inspiring books and podcasts, and more!"It doesn't matter if you have the best business idea or business plan. It comes down to mindset of people"The Social Investment ConsultancySocial Value International SDG Impact Standards Assurance latestUN Sustainable Development GoalsLensationalThe Parable of the Sower by Octavia ButlerPoetry Unbound PodcastExpats (Amazon prime)Investing for Purpose

"On our current path, there will be more plastics in our oceans than fish by 2050"Lefteris comes from generations of fishermen, though by his own admission he is not a natural... However, when out on fishing boats as part of a Greek fishing school run by his start up during the financial crisis, he witnessed a fisherman hauling plastic out of the sea along with their catch - and simply throwing the bottles, cans, plastic bags, old nets and even fridges back into the ocean. That's when the idea came to him: What if someone could harness the power of fishing fleets to haul out plastics from the ocean and offer them an additional revenue stream by bringing it in bulk back to shore for recycling and reuse?This is the incredible story of how, starting with one fisherman (his father), he and Enaleia have scaled into an operation of over 6500 vessels covering most of the mediterranean coast enabling over 1.5m tons of plastics to be recycled, including:- How to use the tipping point theory to mobilise communities into action (including using charm and tradecraft to persuade the household decision makers!)- Evolving social enterprise models to deliver systems change to prevent plastics entering the ocean in the first place- How Enaleia turn over 57% of the plastics retrieved into commercial products including furniture, kayaks, clothing and trainers- How to build a circular economy network combining the raw power of fishing communities with cutting edge blockchain to verify end-to-end traceability- Details on the CO2 efficiencies of melting down recycled plastics to create new products vs virgin plastic processing- How Enaleia's circularity operations in Egypt include repurposing plastics at scale into urban products including street paving- The future potential of plastic credits- The power of simplicity, the value of being authentic, how to gain people's trust - and so much more..!"Clean-ups are great but we are just treating the symptom of the problem. There are 1000 rivers in the world responsible for 80% of plastics pollution in our oceans"#Circularity #MarinePlastics #Tippingpoints #SystemsChangeLefteris portrait picture credit + Enaleia article from The Washington PostEnaleiaEthereum FoundationAshokaEcoAlfGravity WaveSkyplastAntipollutionEldiaPolyecoCreta RecyclingInvesting for PurposeEllen Macarthur FoundationUN SDGS

“Why are we measuring Impact? To make sure we are maximising impact”  Across the impact investment industry there is an ongoing evolution of impact measurement. But how often do you hear details of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that impact funds are actually using and the reasons that they were chosen? In this impact masterclass, Lara Viada of Creas, Spain’s pioneering impact investment intermediary, now in the process of raising a third fund of €70m, reveals all, including:- The magic ingredients impact investors are looking for in founder teams- Detailed IMM framework and KPI examples across elderly care, nutrition and education- How the European Investment Fund (EiF) has been instrumental in scaling the impact investment sector- The advantages of impact fund sector/vertical specialisation and why Creas transitioned to 'Empowering people, Caring for People and Regenerating the Economy'- Using Theory of Change to identify actionable impact KPIs that inform strategic decision making- How Creas use the EiF impact carry model to tie in the impact performance of their funds with 100% of their potential carried interest to safeguard and maximise their impact- How funds can stand out to entrepreneurs in an increasingly competitive impact fund marketplace- Novel approaches to getting into the impact finance sector, book recommendations, inspiration from India and more!“If the social impact multiple of the fund is below 60%, then we don’t get any carried interest” Creas - Impact FundCreas 2024 Impact Report (EN)Creas investees discussed:QidaZenEducateSmileatThe European Investment Fund (EIF)EIF and Creas Impacto II FundA day in the life of Abed Salama, by Nathan ThrallInvesting for PurposeImpact EuropeSocial Value InternationalImpact FrontiersGlobal Impact Investing NetworkSDG Goals#ImpactInvesting #ImpactKPIs #Marketbuilding

“Within the next decade the financial system has to make some progressive moves to protect our way of life, because if we don’t, the economy as we’ve known it for the last 150 years is going to break.” With the meaning and value of Diversity Equity and Inclusion increasingly undermined, Beth Knight, Head of Social Sustainability at Lloyds Banking Group, shares her lived experience of the necessary and tangible gains made from engaging with underserved stakeholder groups across the globe, in her refreshingly personal, frank and illuminating style, including:- Career lessons through a social/environmental lens spanning Accenture, E&Y, NGOs to co-ordinating Amazon’s global humanitarian response to the Ukraine War- The meaning of sustainability and the joy of training cohorts as a fellow of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership- How to successfully host a room of indigenous leaders representing 80% of the worlds biodiversity and 30 financiers possessing transformative power but limited attention spans- Unpacking the complexities of the critical junctions where equity meets environmental impact - A cheat code for being a successful CSO- Why family owned businesses and funds tend to embody exemplary legacy thinking - The role of finance to enable sustainable livelihoods and the impact of insurance- How to stay well in a time of upheaval (Spoiler alert: Includes outdoor walking meetings and picking up the phone) and more!….“The social aspects of sustainability have been mobilised around poverty to a certain extent, but where where equity meets environmental impact is critical”LinksLloyds Banking GroupCambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)Task force for Socially Related Financial Disclosures Shining Hope for CommunityThe Centre for Synchronous LeadershipMindful Exclusion ReportE&Y Four FuturesE&Y CSR in financial servicesAccenture Development PartnershipsPeter Pan - JM BarrieTickling Sharks - John Elkington Green Swans - John ElkingtonTony Juniper & King Charles: Climate Change Ladybird Book

“I would like to invite impact investors to look at the region as an opportunity for revival”  After 20 years of leading effective capacity building across social enterprises in the MENA regional through venture philanthropy, Alfanar are now launching the first regional impact investment fund for the Arab world, aimed for investing in scalable enterprises matching purpose with profit. Richard Mullane caught up with Alfanar Country Director for Lebanon Maya Rahal at the Impact Europe Bilbao conference to find out how Alfanar have managed to support so many brilliant start-ups, delivering critical social and environmental solutions, often under extreme circumstances, including: - Stories from flourishing regional Social enterprises across edtech, circular fashion and culture- What it takes to stay working towards positive solutions in zones devastated by conflict - How Alfanar select enterprises and help them transform from being reliant on philanthropy to being self-sustaining- Lessons learned from 20 years on the ground for other global venture philanthropists - How Maya made the journey from being a journalist and communications expert to an Impact leader- Why the relationships between funds and enterprises can be like a marriage, the social ingredients that make Lebanon such a special place to live, tips for staying grounded and healthy - and more! “It’s rare for you to be in a job when you can actually see the results in people’s faces” Alfanar Venture PhilanthropyAlfanar: Tabshoura: Digitising education across Lebanon and the region Alfanar: Fabricaid - Socially and environmentally conscious value chain for the apparel industry: optimizing the collection, sorting, up-cycling, and resale of secondhand clothesd Alfanar: Inaash - dedicated to improving the lives of women in the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon, while preserving the embroidery culture and traditionThe Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of LivingThe Lighthouse PodcastBerrytechBeat Podcast“If you are born every day with one seed in your hand, then you have to plant it”#venturephilanthropy #socialenterprise #menaimpactfundInvesting for PurposeSocial Value InternationalImpact EuropeImpact FrontiersGlobal Impact Investing NetworkSDG Goals