Forward Talks

We recently celebrated World Energy Day, and when we talk about energy, one of the major considerations is that of transportation. On this episode we're we’re talking to a company that is looking to tackle this issue of awareness of electric vehicles (EVs), and help improve their adoption through people and community initiatives in Dubai -- Evera, which stands for Electric Vehicles for Environment...

Our guest today is Sallyann Della Casa is the founder of GLEAC and Chief Tree Hugger at the Growing Leaders Foundation, something she started in 2010. Sallyann used to be a real-estate lawyer, but by 2012 she was already working on upskilling youth through workshops and training. This evolved into her current role as Chief Identity Hacker at GLEAC, a tech platform that helps discover and strengthe...

We are joined this week by Nicholas Brooks, a local entrepreneur dedicated to Sustainability. As a passionate cyclist, him and his friend Stewart Howison started riding regularly in Al Qudra, later founding Cycle Safe Dubai. Along the way they were approached on the road by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to discuss the creation of the now famous Al Qudra Cycle Track. In 2018, together with...

This week, we’re talking to Adrienne Doolan, CEO of Green Touches, about how she got started with using Ozone as a cleaning agent and why she believes we should talk about environment ‘sincerity’ rather than just sustainability. Combining a genuine passion for the environment, promoting a sustainable way of life and working with integrity, her company Green Touches, founded in 2015, has brought an...

This week our guest is a scientist & urban planner who has been working on the Sustainability aspect of projects such as the Abu Dhabi Capital Plan 2030, The Sharjah Strategic Plan 2040 and the Dubai Expo 2020 bid. Huda Shaka is a Dubai-kid who returned to the city after studying abroad and achieving her Masters in Urban Planning. She is now an Associate Director with ARUP, a multinational pro...

This week, we're joined by Sian Rowlands, Owner & Chief Storyteller at Retold, about how her own wardrobe dilemma formed the basis of her business and how broken the fashion industry really is today. Retold is a boutique store in Dubai dealing exclusively in pre-owned fashion.

Part 2 of our talk with Monaem Ben Lellahom, Founding Partner & Group CEO of Sustainable Square. This episode discusses the 2018 State of CSR & Sustainability in the MENA Region report published by Sustainable Square earlier this year. In case you haven't heard it yet, do check out Part 1 where we talk about how Sustainable Square got started and Monaem's outlook for the future of sustaina...

Part 1 of our talk with Founder Partner & Group CEO of Sustainable Square, Monaem Ben Lellahom about how they got started, and how he views the regional landscape of sustainability compared to CSR. On Part 2 , also available now, we discuss the 2018 State of Sustainability & CSR Report published by Sustainable Square earlier this year.

On this episode, we’re joined by Sabrin Rahman, Head of Sustainability at HSBC talking about her own journey & how the bank is looking to shape sustainability for the region.

This week, we’re joined by Anita Nouri, co-founder of Green Energy Solutions, discussing waste management and landfills, gas-to-energy benefits, transitioning to renewable energy and other sources of sustainable energy in the Middle East.

On this episode, we’re joined by Dana Liparts, co-founder of EcoCoast, a marine protection company about the work they’re doing to protect our coastlines & tackling plastic waste in the ocean at a large scale.

Last week, we published episode 10 and so we wanted to take you guys a little behind the scenes with Forward Talks. So on this special episode, we’re by joined by CSR of One , another podcast from the production house behind Forward Talks, Amaeya Media. Host of the show Courtney Brandt joins us to chat about what got us into podcasting, what the experience is like so far, and what we hope to achie...

A bonus episode with Luca Gagliardi, General Manager at PierChic, about the chefs who inspire him. If you haven’t yet, you can check out Luca’s full episode where he talks about how PierChic addresses sustainability throughout their operations in your podcast player, or on the web .

This week, we’re talking with Luca Gagliardi, General Manager at PierChic, one of Dubai’s most iconic restaurants, on how he started out as a sommerlier in Italy, and how PierChic’s incorporates sustainability into their operations.

This week, we talk to Jeremy Crane, founder of Yellow Door Energy, about solar energy in the region, their operating model and how they are growing towards their 300 megawatts solar capacity target by 2020.

Oceans flow over nearly three-quarters of Earth, carry 97% of its water, and produce 70% of our oxygen. For every 10 breaths we take, seven of them come from the ocean. It is the true lifeblood of our planet. To help us understand what is being done to help protect our oceans, we’re joined this week by Paul Holthus, Founding President & CEO of the World Ocean Council. Thanks to our partners [O...

A quick bonus episode with our guest, Elena Kinane. You can listen to the full episode with Elena here.

This week, we chat with Elena Kinane, founder of Greenheart Farms on the importance of ‘clean food’ and how to grow it. She also shares their expansion plans into other sustainable initiatives around their makeup and cleaning products.

We live in an era where social responsibility and profit are no longer disconnected. More and more companies are adopting sustainability as a way of doing good while making a profit. One such company is Neutral Fuels. This week, their founder & CEO Karl Feilder chats with us about their work to improve carbon footprint through recycling cooking oil into biodiesel. Karl also shares his thoughts...

1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every single year. For every person who is malnourished, there are two who are overweight or obese. How do you go about dealing with the growing food needs of the world and balancing that out with the continuing amount of waste generated? This week we’re talking to Ryan Ingram, founder of Terraloop about their solutions to commercially handle food waste in the...

On this episode, we talk to Ayla Bajwa, founder of  Ampuz  and Board Member at the  United National Global Compact UAE . Ayla shares her drive to measure the impact of sustainability which led her to found Ampuz and the current challenges faced in operationalizing the UNGA Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

This week, we talk to Alex Malhouf, Corporate Communications Manager at Procter & Gamble and a fellow podcaster. Alex shares his thoughts on how P&G views sustainability as being a collective responsibility, and how they’re doing more to educate as well as designing products to make it easier for consumers to do the right thing for the environment.

This week, we talk to Kamelia Zaal, the first Arab landscape designer to participate at the Chelsea flower show and best known for her landscape design at Al Barari. Kamelia shares numerous sustainability initiatives taken up at Al Barari—the greens, the water and the waste, how she hopes to redefine play areas in the region and her tips on improving sustainability in the UAE.

Welcome to Forward Talks, a new podcast by Goumbook , bringing you weekly conversations with leaders & professionals who, through their work, entrepreneurship & commitment, promote positive impact and sustainability in the UAE and beyond. On our inaugural episode, we talk to Stefanie Schachtschabel, founder of Globally Connected Companies: Stefanie pivoted her media company in 2014 to focu...

We look forward to bringing you conversations with sustainability changemakers in April 2019.