Sustainable(ish)

Climate Change, sadly, has become increasingly polarised in the UK over the last couple of years. And MPs consistently underestimate public support for climate action – they read the same skewed media that we do, and the minority who oppose more ambitious, or indeed any, action, often have the loudest voices. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s really worth getting in touch with your MP, or how b...

In this episode I'm chatting to Michelle Miles, founder of the Sustainable Wedding Alliance. But don’t turn off if you’re not planning a wedding anytime soon, or you’ve been there done that and aren’t intending to do it again! All of the elements that go into a wedding, and it’s impact, are all things that we might want to think about if we’re planning any kind of event, whether that’s a party, or...

90% of businesses in the UK are classes as SMEs, or small and medium businesses, having 205 employees or less. So chances are, you might work for one, or even run one. Did you know that SME's account for around half of the total emissions for businesses? So making it easy, or easier for SMEs to get started with climate action, is a pretty big lever for reducing emissions. But time and money are us...

Fashion is one of the most polluting industries on the planet, and we no longer talk about 'fast fashion' but 'ultra-fast fashion' with the rise of retailers like Shein and Temu churning out over 100billion items of clothing every year. Consumption has doubled since the year 2000, but many of us will relate to the feeling of having nothing to wear, whilst we simultaneously feel overwhelmed at the...

This episode is a rare solo episode, so no guest this week, and a shorter episode of me, chatting to myself... Let me know if you like it! I'm reflecting on my experience of hosting a screening of the People's Emergency Briefing film in Warminster, where I live, and giving a bit of a 'how to' and some encouragement to anyone thinking about hosting their own screening. USEFUL LINKS: Podcast ep - 18...

I'm chatting with Hugh Montgomery, intensive care doctor, and one of the expert speakers from the National Emergency Briefing on Climate and Nature. We dig into climate science, climate and health, and the wonderful idea of 7 acts to save the world, told to seven people. USEFUL LINKS Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change UK Health Alliance on Climate Change Real Zero National Emergency Bri...

Today’s guest is Victoria Page, founder of Love Haslemere Hate Waste , a local group in Surrey who run Repair Cafes, and host a community fridge and a Library of Things. Victoria has combined her professional comms expertise and her business experience, with a desire for local climate action, and created not just one, but three local projects that are not only reducing waste and emissions, and nor...

Britain is a nation of nature lovers, yet we live in one of the most depleted countries in Europe. The State of Nature report that came out in 2023 stated that 1 in 6 species in the UK are at risk of extinction. These kinds of stats are staggering, and more than a little depressing. But this is something that we can all do something about, in our own gardens, or in communal green spaces. In this w...

Welcome to Episode 200!200 episodes feels a little bit mad! A LOT has happened: globally, in the sustainability space, and for Sustainable(ish).In this solo episode, I take a little trip down memory lane, share the Top 5 episodes by download numbers, and share your podcast ripples ie the things that you've gone and done, the changes you've made, after listening to an episode. I'm going to be havin...

Did you know we have lots 97% of our species rich graslands in the UK since the 1930s? This has had a huge knock on impact to the rest of the food chain that are relaint on that habitat, things like our insect pollinators especially, but also our birds and mammals that were part of this ecosystem. The good news is that this is something most of us can do something about! If you have a garden, or h...

Pets can bring a huge amount of joy into our lives, but as with everything, they have an environmental impact, and in this episode we're going to dive into where that impact comes from and what we can do to reduce it. Now I'm very aware that 'sustainability' can sometimes look like being told that all of the things that you love doing, or having, are bad, and that to be truly 'sustainable' you hav...

This is Part 2, or a 'double header' episode with the brilliant Sara Grimes from Bath and West Community Energy. Part 1 is all about community energy, and takes a bit of a dive into solar and heat pumps, as well as things like the governments's Warm Homes Plan (it's honestly more fun than it sounds if you haven't already listened to it!)And this is Part 2, where we talking about all things home re...

This week's episode is the first ever two parter! This was supposed to be an episode on home retrofit, and I'm chatting to SaraG Grimes from Bath and West Community Energy about some of the brilliant work that they're doing, and what people can do in their own homes. This first part is looking bigger picture and is quite a wide ranging chat! We cover community energy generally, as well as hearing...

If you were to google 'how to be more sustainable' you would get a slew of posts sharing 'ten top things to do to cut your carbon footprint' or similar. Very few (if any) mention the huge potential influence that we can all have, by sharing the things that we're doing, talking to other people, voting etc etc. Which is why when I first came across a paper called ' Choices for climate action: a revi...

Football and sport don't perhaps at first glance seem like a natural 'in' for climate action. But did you know..?- Over 100,000 grassroots football matches are cancelled every year due to bad weather such as flooding- Over 80% of football fans want are concerned about climate change- 65% of football fans want their clubs to take more climate action It was such a joy to get the opportunity to chat...

To change the world, you've got to throw a better party than those destroying it". This is a quote from Louisa Ziane at Toast ale, and is one of my faves, and something I try and keep front of mind. 'Sustainability' has an image problem and is very often seem as something that is dull and dry and bleak, and for the keen greenies over there wearing lots of hemp, or for the lone Sustainability Manag...

I can't wait for you to dive into this week's episode with Samantha Drury Shore who is the Chair of Sustainable Devizes, not too far from me in Wiltshire, and who has spear-headed their brilliant swap events that now run on a regular basis. Sam shares with us how they got started with their first event and shares her experiences of what works for these kind of events, and the nitty gritty of the l...

Is AI bad for the planet? Should I feel guilty if I use ChatGPT?What is the carbon and water footprint of an AI search? These were some of the questions I was looking for answers for when I posted on Linked In a while back. I got a lot of great replies, and it turns out there's a LOT of information out there. But oh my goodness it's confusing! In this episode I'm chatting to Tam Hussey, who has a...

I think we're all pretty familiar with the term carbon footprint, but there's a new kid on the block when it comes to talking about the full impact of the actions that we take when you come together. Isabelle Sparrow is Head of Comms, and the podcast host, at Carbon Copy - a platform that champions collective action, and the power it has to help turn our individual concern about the climate into a...

Today we are diving into all things plastic, and specifically counting plastic with Daniel Webb, founder of Everyday Plastic and the drive behind The Big Plastic Count . Longer term listeners might have noticed that I am mildy obsessed with people's back stories and one of my first questions is always 'how did you get here'. I'm genuinely fascinated to hear the journey that people go on to get to...

Could you really explain climate change to your kids, or to your nana if you needed to? By and large, I think the vast majority of people are aware of climate change, understand that it means the planet is warming and that it's bad, but if pushed for detail beyond that, we might struggle. Climate Fresk is an interactive card based workshop that invites participants to uncover the science of climat...

Money makes the world go around, or so the saying goes. But did you know that YOUR money, might be making fossil fuel companies go round (aka fund them!), without you knowing? Do you want a few bonkers stats?- The “Big 5” UK high-street banks – Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Lloyds andNatWest – have financed the fossil fuel industry with more than $556 billion between 2016 and 2023 (1)- In 2023 alone,...

In this episode, I'm chatting to Charlotte Mason-Curl, who is the founder of No Crap Parties and the Kids Party Pact campaign. Charlotte has a background in marketing and comms, and not only does this help to explain how she's done such a bloody great job with getting her message out there, also means she's written herself a really good bio. I had to write myself a bio when The Sustainable(ish) Li...

In this episode, I'm chatting to Nick Oldridge, founder of Climate Science Breakthrough, and co-founder of the National Emergency Briefing. What Nick has done with both of those projects, as you will here, is incredible, but I'm also really fascinated in his back story and his journey to where he is now (side note, really think I need to do an episode on insurance as a lever for climate action!).I...

Well this is exciting isn’t it? As it turns out I was wise to say never say never when I said back in April 24 that that was probably the last ever Sustsainable(ish) podcast episode, because I’m back! And in this first episode back after a looong old break, I’m answering a pretty fundamental question… is it all just bollocks? Does individual action really matter, or is it, in the words of Green pa...