The Lens – UK Responsible Business Podcast

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Vicky Davies, CEO, Danske Bank and new Chair of Business in the Community Northern Ireland; and Tomas Flier, EMEA Inclusion Lead and Diversity Business Partner for Spain, Italy and Portugal, Google, USA.   In this episode, we’ll take a deep dive into workplace inclusion – how can businesses ensure that everyone’s voice is heard and what companies...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Damian McAlister, Chief People Officer, Ulster University; and Ayan Said, Founder of Voicing Voices, an organisation that embeds intersectional inclusivity into its clients’ culture, policy and community.   In this episode, we will discuss how employers can create a human-centred approach to people in the workplace – what it means, what things bu...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Ajaz Ahmed, Founder and CEO of AKQA, a global design and innovation agency owned by WPP and providing ingenious solutions for companies like Nike, Volvo, Sony, Sky and even Tinder; and Diana Paredes, CEO & Co-Founder of Suade, a platform that allows financial institutions to transparently deal with their regulatory calculations and reporting.&nbsp...

In this bonus episode, our host Sarah Travers shares stories from One Young World Ambassadors who visited Belfast in October 2023 for the One Young World Summit.   She shares who they are, where they work, what part of the world they are from, and of course why they are attending the Summit. Importantly, she gets to the nitty gritty of how they plan to change the world and finds out what they...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Dr Adam Read, Chief Sustainability & External Affairs Officer at SUEZ UK – a leading global provider of environmental solutions; and from Germany, Philipp Eder, Sustainability Strategist / Procurement Strategy, AUDI AG.    In this episode, we will explore the circular economy from two very different organisations, but from our two guests...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Tony Judd, Managing Director of Verizon Business for the UK and Ireland. Verizon is one of the largest communication technology companies in the world, and we hear about Verizon’s plans for the future and how it is taking its responsibility for people and the planet to the next level. And our second guest is Loek Hageman, Early Careers Talent Developm...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Tom Burke, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director at a very well-known global brand - Coca-Cola and Svanika Balasubramanian, Co-Founder and CEO at rePurpose Global - the world's first Plastic Credit Platform.  In this episode, we will explore packaging with purpose. We’ll look at how one of the world’s biggest drinks production companies...

In this bonus episode, our host Sarah Travers hands over the reins to her ex-colleague BBC's Health Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly, who interviews two-weight world champion boxer, Carl 'The Jackal' Frampton. Marie-Louise interviewed Carl at a recent Business in the Community event (please be aware that this episode contains background noise). Carl has proven himself as one of the world’s lead...

Sustainability and profitability – complement or competition? This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Anna Moore, Partner at global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, and One Young World Ambassador, Robin Spierings, Project lead – The Sustainable Flight Challenge, KLM and   In this episode, we will explore whether sustainability and profitability can work hand in hand,...

In this special one-off episode, we meet with Business in the Community’s new Chief Executive, Mary Macleod to discuss the future of responsible business in the UK. With a plethora of challenges for business, how can businesses not just survive, but thrive and fully meet these challenges for the benefit of people and the planet? Find out more by listening to the latest episode of The Lens with Mar...

Building a responsible business culture This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Pippa Clarke, Chair and Partner at Bishop Fleming Chartered Accountants – experts in accounting, audit, tax, and advisory needs; and Hamzah Sarwar, Global Social Impact and Partnerships Director at Reckitt – a multinational consumer goods company that produces health, hygiene and nutrition products.   In th...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Troy Douglas, Founder of drinks company Nexba. The company is taking the world by storm and has already removed more than 5 billion grams of sugar from global diets, and it’s just getting started. Our second guest is Taylor Quinn of Tailored Foods, whose ambition is to be a key catalyst in ending hunger by 2030 by building delicious, nutritious, low-c...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Adrian Curry, Managing Director of glass manufacturer, Encirc , and Wen-Yu Weng, Principal Consultant of Energy and Utilities Practice, PA Consulting . In this episode, Sarah and her guests explore how businesses are addressing the pressing issues of climate change and environmental degradation as the UK heads towards meeting its goal of net zero by 2...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Lisa Brankin, Managing Director, Ford Britain & Ireland , and Kofi Gyamfi, Strategic Sourcing Analyst for Unilever West Africa .   In this episode, Sarah and her guests explore supply chain and sustainability. We discover how one of our guests, who hails from Northern Ireland has developed in her career to become a leader of one of the UK’s b...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Will Major, Chief Change Officer at Unum – a leading employee benefits provider that offers expert health and wellbeing support, and financial protection through the workplace. Our second guest is Madeline Debney, Co-Founder & CPO, Otto Finance , an innovative company that helps people develop the knowledge and confidence they need to take care of...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Peter Perry, CEO of Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Annina Lux, Senior Manager at Capgemini Invent , Head of Strategic Foresight. In this episode, Sarah and her guests explore an issue that is at the heart of all businesses today – the cost of living crisis.  We’ll also hear how one of our guests started life as an apprentice, and how responsible disru...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Niall Martindale, CEO, firmus energy , and Luke Gibson COO of Field Energy UK . In this episode, Sarah and her guests energy in all of its forms – the demand for energy, the current challenges with the energy crisis, how energy firms are taking the responsible route despite things that are out of their control, and why taking care of the planet will a...

In this special one-off episode, we meet with Business in the Community’s Chief Executive, Amanda Mackenzie to discuss the challenges of the world in which we live. In particular, we will discuss the cost-of-living crisis – what’s the reality, how business can and must help and 12 calls to action that every business should consider. Find out more by listening to the latest episode of The Lens with...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by James Bain , Chief Executive, Worldline which is a global leader in secure payments and trusted transactions, and Jemima Lovatt , Founder of Thrive Future CIC which is a social enterprise addressing gender equality by tackling taboos. In this episode, Sarah and her guests explore how businesses can support young people and others to have a balanced fu...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Shuchika Sahay, Chief Human Resources Officer at Firstsource and Sabrina Wuersch, Product Manager Milling Solutions, Bühler Group, Switzerland.   In this episode, Sarah and her guests explore gender, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, championing kindness and so much more. They discuss the working world for women, inclusion in all forms, a...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Ella Bennett, Group People Director at easyJet Airline Company Limited and Leonard How, Vice President, Digitisation & Product Transformation at Citi Commercial Bank Asia-Pacific.   In this episode, Sarah and her guests discuss how businesses can act responsibly in an ever-changing people landscape, and how digital is transforming products, p...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Camilla Drejer, Managing Director Citizenship, Sustainability & Responsible Business at Accenture and Diwigdi Valiente, Sustainability Officer at Panamanian Ministry of Tourism, and One Young World ambassador.   In this episode, Sarah and her guests explore nature and biodiversity. We’ll be looking at the role businesses, big and small, can p...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Claire Valoti, Vice President, EMEA Snap and Morgan Hewett, Co-Founder and CEO, Options MD.   In this episode, Sarah and her guests explore responsible digital innovation. We’ll look at how a business than runs one of the biggest social media platforms – Snapchat – is empowering people to express themselves, how it takes its responsibility seriou...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Yasmin Diamond, Executive Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs at IHG, and Cecily Liu, Communications Specialist, Finance Journalist, INSEAD MBA.   In this episode, Sarah and her guests discuss the importance of having a skilled workforce and how employers have a role to play in continuing to develop people throughout their careers. We’ll s...

This month our host Sarah Travers is joined by Jon Lewis, Chief Executive of Capita, and Kalm Paul-Christian, Investment Banker, Financial Institutions Advisory Team at NatWest Markets and One Young World Ambassador.   In this episode, Sarah and her guests discuss the role employers can play in future proofing opportunities for all young people, and the importance of this in a time of unprece...