Forward Talks

ESG – a holistic concept that has roots dating back to the 1960s, has evolved over the decades gaining more traction in recent years within the corporate sustainability context. Referring to the environmental (‘E’), social (‘S’) and governance (‘G’) pillars within the sustainability framework, they are key to addressing the impacts of corporate activities and investments on people and the planet....

Tatiana is joined on this episode by Paul Newnham, Chair of the Public Engagement Task Force for the UN Food Systems Summit and Vice Chair of the Food System Champion Network. He is also Director of the SDG2 Advocacy Hub Secretariat and the Chefs’ Manifesto Coordinator. Paul heads up the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 Advocacy Hub as Director, an initiative bringing together NGOs, advocacy g...

In this episode, Tatiana is joined by Tarek Al Khoury, Regional Coordinator for Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Consumption and Production at the West Asia Office of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). They talk about UNEP initiatives to promote the UN Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, more precisely SDG12, and how we can all work together to reduce food waste. Rece...

Philip Morris International's ongoing sustainability efforts include working to lower emissions, use energy more efficiently, and combat deforestation. In addition, PMI is determined to fight the environmental damage caused by plastic and post-consumer waste from their products - particularly cigarette butts. Around the globe, PMI teams have organized litter cleanups, launched awareness campaigns,...

This week, digging into the National Pavilion of the UAE for the Biennale Architettura 2021 Wetland, which is curated by Wael Al Awar and Kenichi Teramoto. The prototype is created from recycled industrial waste brine, handcast into organic shapes to recall the UAE’s traditional coral-built houses and spans 7m by 5m, with a height of 2.7 meters. We’re joined on the episode by Laila Binbrek who has...

We're back with a new episode, talking to Rasmus Astrup, a partner at SLA Architects, the company behind the Al Fey Park in Abu Dhabi. Al Fey Park is the first urban park in the UAE, spanning 27,000 square meters and with a focus on biodiversity featuring over 2,000 local flora.

A lot of people think of decluttering as merely cleaning up or getting rid of things but not many understand its link with living a low impact life. When someone else uses something we get rid of, it reduces their consumption and impact just as much as our own. And as we consume less, we need fewer cupboards, shelves, boxes and even smaller living spaces. This week, we're joined by Shelina Jokhiya...

According to the The NY Researcher Market Watch, the electric 2-wheeler market is expected to grow at a compound rate of 4.6% to reach US$6.9 billion by 2024. This week, we're joined by Adam Ridgeway, the founder & CEO of One Moto here in Dubai, which finds itself at the forefront of this growth in the region. It is the first company in the UAE whose bikes have been approved by the local Roads...

This week, we're joined by Her Highness Sheikha Intisar Al Sabah, a princess of the royal AlSabah family of Kuwait. Sheikha Intisar is a philanthropist, entrepreneur, author and columnist. She believes in using her knowledge, experience and personal discoveries to inspire people to look, feel and do better and is now on a mission to empower one million Arab women. In 2013 she launched Alnowair, th...

This week, we're joined by Sunil Lalvani, the founder of  Project Maji  which seeks to bring sustainable access to safe water across rural sub-Saharan Africa through solar-powered water kiosks. Sunil shares his experience on starting & operating a social enterprise in the region and the overall impact having safe drinking water has on the youth and their quality of life.

This week, we’re sharing a conversation from a few months ago when we attended (and had a live podcast station) the Global Forum on Innovations for Marginal Envionrments held by ICBA in Dubai; the opening address by Her Excellency Mariam Bint Mohammed Almheiri, the Minister of State for Food Security in the UAE. Our guest is Patrick Crowley who founded Chapul 8 years ago when he came across a wate...

As we all continue to deal with the impacts of the restrictions in place to control the spread of the Novel Coronavirus, we’d like to encourage you to support your local businesses at this time in any way possible—whether it is ordering from them, donating to them, sharing their information to help spread the word, as some businesses are offering buying their services upfront at a discount for whe...

This week, we're joined by David Ramos Álvarez, Senior Manager of Sustainability at HSBC and Keith Bradley, Founder & Managing Partner at Globally. The two companies have partnered together as part of the Living Business Programme which aims to help startups adopt more sustainable practices in their operations. Tune in to find out more about the partnership, how you can get involved as well as...

This week, we're joined by Abdulaziz AlMulla, the founder & CEO of Madar Farms about the realities of water consumption and its effect on food security, how they’re handling this imbalance as well as helping educate the masses about the problem. The realities of just 1% of our land being farmland while more than 80% of our water consumption going towards agriculture is a terrifying imbalance....

This week, on the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh in 2013, which killed 1,138 people and injured many more, we encourage millions of people to come together to campaign for systemic change in the fashion industry. We are living in a climate emergency and the fashion & textiles sector is one of the most polluting and wasteful industries. So why are we featuring a po...

We're joined this week via web conference by Saeed Al Jabbar, founder & MD of AESG, a specialist consultancy firm focused on energy, sustainable development and urban improvement. We talk to Saeed about AESG's approach to better urban development, the impact of the current world situation on the construction industry & his take on a more circular approach to construction.  We'd love to hea...

We hope you and your loved ones are safe, and that you're listening to this episode from the comfort of your home.  This week, we're sharing our conversation with Maria Sillanpaa, founder of Sustainability Advisory. This was a conversation we did much before the restrictions were put in to control the spread of the Novel Coronavirus. Maria joins us to talk about the first-of-its-kind Conscious Con...

This week, we're joined by Tanzeed Alam, MD of Earth Matters — they are a consultancy focusing on strategy & advisory services to help find practical solutions around climate crises and human development. Tanzeed shares his thought on climate change and how they're enabling the businesses they work with. We also talk about the current pandemic and what businesses can learn from its impacts wor...

With March 22 being World Water Day, we're joined on this episode by Adam Torrey from The Water Project, a non-profit focused on reliable water projects around clean water and sanitization in sub-Saharan Africa. Adam shares how The Water Project meets its goals as well as helps put various aspects around our water consumption into persepctive for us. Later this week, we'll be sharing our conversat...

On this episode, we’re joined by Maggie Doyne, founder of Blink Now Foundation, which provides quality education & a safe environment for children in Nepal. With thanks to Dana Al Matrook, founder of the Kind Human Collective.

This week, we're talking to Dr. David Roze, from the Dr. Roze & Associates Dental Clinic and the first member of our Fair Care initiative to provide affordable dental care to those who need it. Dr. Roze also explains why everything is linked to our teeth & how holistic medicine including dentistry is the future.  You can follow us on  Instagram  and find all the episodes of the show in you...

We had the opporutnity to sit down with the team from the Abu Dhabi Distribution Company during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which brings together policy makers, industry specialists and the next generation of sustainability leaders under one roof. Engr. Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Project Director, and Humaid Al Shamsi, Reveneue Management Division Manager, told us about their new recycled water proje...

Happy New Year everyone! We're back this week with the inspiring Elham AlQasm, the first Arab woman to ski to the North Pole in 2010. As she was looking for her next venture, she launched the Natural Laundry Company in 2015 to correct the perceptions people have about dry cleaning and to help both customers and employees live a toxin-free life. Once again, we want to thank you for joining us on ou...

Assia Riccio is the founder of Evolvin Women, an organization that provides a platform to prepare unemployed women from less privileged backgrounds in Africa. In just 3 years, Evolvin Women provides support, including 550+ hours each month of mentorship to the women they help as part of their program.

This week, we're talking to Yann Borgstedt, a Swiss entrepreneur turned philanthropist who started the Womanity Foundation in 2005 with a focus on empowering women in countries such as Afghanistan, Brazil, India and the Middle East & North Africa.