Transforming Tomorrow

There are always humanitarian crises somewhere in the world. We just don’t know about all of them. Lancaster University’s Dr Nonhlanhla Dube, an ‘accidental humanitarian’ turned expert humanitarian logistician, joins us to fill in the gaps in our knowledge on the humanitarian sector, particularly on refugees.   We think about how we learn of humanitarian crises around the world, how our knowledge...

Step into the Transforming Tomorrow time machine, as we head back to look at the work between Lancaster University and Lake District Farmers on working towards net-zero meat production. Dr Laura Giles – now studying for another doctorate at the University of Dundee – brings us up to date on the final outcomes of a partnership that looked at carbon stocks in farm soil and carbon accounting across s...

How much waste is produced then your clothes are manufactured? And it there anything that can be done to reduce that? The Pentland Centre’s Dr Madiha Ahmad joins us to talk about her PhD research at Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh, which involved looking at sew-free techniques that dramatically reduce fabric wastage. Madiha tells us about textiles in her Pakistan homeland, where it is an $18b...

What do the public think about climate change? How do they think governments should act? These are the people who will often be most affected by policy and action, so how do we find out their views? This answer may lie in citizens’ assemblies. Dr Andy Yuille, is an interdisciplinary qualitative social scientist (!) from the University of Manchester. He takes us through citizens’ assemblies and the...

How can businesses – and business schools – have a positive effect on their regions? And do we need to reconsider the connections between us all? Ellie Hamilton is Professor Emerita at Lancaster University Management School, with a lengthy background in entrepreneurship and working with businesses. She is also the co-author of a new book, Rethinking Entrepreneurship and Regional Development , with...

How can healthcare achieve net zero? Where do sustainability considerations stand in the long list of priorities for England’s National Health Service? And could your anaesthetic be better for the planet? Dr Cliff Shelton, a consultant and professor in anaesthesia and perioperative medicine in the NHS and at Lancaster University Medical School; and Dr Fanny Burrows, Senior Lead on Net Zero Researc...

What can companies do to better look after their workers? What makes an ethical employer? And how can businesses do more to care for their communities? These are all things we consider as we welcome Brett Mendell, Managing Director of Thomas Kneale & Co Ltd. Brett leads a company that pays the Real Living Wage, that is employee owned, and that takes its responsibilities to decent work and sust...

Health is not just about us as individuals. It’s about the whole planet. It’s time we think about health on a worldwide scale. Professor Jemilah Mahmood is Executive Director of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health at our old friends Sunway University, in Malaysia. As a medical professional who has helped deliver 15,000 babies(!), she knows healthcare from the personal level. But she also has de...

At a time when employment rights in the UK are evolving all the time, we look at how and why. Alice Martin, Head of Research at the Work Foundation thinktank at Lancaster University, joins us to talk about the Employment Rights Act of 2025, and why it is important for you if you are in a job, seeking a job or looking to employ someone. We look at the key issues around job insecurity, how this ties...

Can you be a scientist and an activist at the same time? Where do you draw the line between being a detached expert and stepping on the front lines of climate change protests? Dr Samuel Finnerty, from Lancaster University’s Department of Psychology, joins us to discuss individual and group climate change activism from social and psychological perspectives. Sam explains how his background in anthro...

Why would a global company take a public stance on racial equality? Why would your favourite ice cream brand be vocal on climate change? Lewis Nicholas is a PhD researcher in Lancaster University Management School, and he is here to talk to us about how and why businesses take a stand on contentious socio-political issues. We find out how corporate political activism first emerged, what makes for...

Find out how knowing more about your energy use can help businesses operate in a more sustainable way. It’s time for some sustainability analytics! Dan Lavinskas is the founder and CEO of Citera, a Montreal-based company who lead on digital energy and emissions calculations and consultations. And it all started for him when he studied a unit on environmental accounting at university. Dan tells us...

WARNING: This episode includes some mild bad language. How do we get more people to leave the car behind and take the bus? When public transport can make such a positive difference to the planet, the task is to get the public to use it. Ben Wakerley is a Lancaster University graduate – and long-time friend of Paul – whose lifelong love of buses has taken him on a journey from driving them around M...

You might find accessing the commercial world straightforward. Not everyone does. One in five people in the UK have a disability, so how do we make the marketplace more accessible for them? Dr Leighanne Higgins and Dr Killian O’Leary are here to talk about their Marketplace & I project, which works with organisations to improve their accessibility for consumers through specialist training. We...

There is a big difference between doing things we might not like, being assigned a task at work not to your particular liking, and being forced into a job by your government. And there is just a radical a difference between reading about forced labour in a textbook and speaking with someone who had experienced it first-hand. Farmon Asadov is now a PhD researcher at Lancaster University, but before...

Once you go sustainable, you never go back. Careers in sustainability may not always be obvious, but once you get involved in the sector, it has its claws in you. Richard Mason is Positive Business Director at Pentland Brands – who include Speedo, Canterbury, Berghaus, and many more brands under their umbrella – and is a two-times Lancaster University graduate. Richard talking us through how susta...

We’re boarding the EU Omnibus to see how European corporate reporting regulations affect businesses – tens of thousands of them – within the EU and beyond. The EU has been a major innovator when it comes to sustainability regulation, but it has not come without controversy. Professor Andreas, from the Copenhagen Business School Centre for Sustainability, joins us to talk about the changes that we...

What is a taxonomy? Why are they important? How do they touch upon sustainability? And why should anyone with an interest in financial markets pay them attention? Dr Charika Channuntapipat knows more about taxonomies than most people – certainly than Paul – and is perfectly placed to answer all these questions. Charika is a researcher and social scientist based in Bangkok, Thailand, where she work...

Introducing Transforming Tomorrow, where we make the complex understandable, the theory practical, as we guide you through the ever-changing and often exciting world of sustainability in business.

Are innovation and sustainability natural bedfellows? Can you have one without the other – and would you even want to? We’re talking to Barbara Salopek, an innovation strategist; the founder and CEO of Vinco Innovation in Bergen, Norway; a Lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School; and the author of Future-Fit Innovation . She knows her stuff when it comes to innovation and business! We look at how...

You need individual accountability if you are going to be a good leader, but not everyone has it. Sanjay Rishi is a leadership coach with experience around the world, and the founder of @intersections. He is also an Entrepreneur in Residence in Lancaster University Management School, and he comes to us having seen how sustainability and leadership go together (or not). Sanjay talks us through his...

How much will it cost to look after old people in the future? What can we do to help plan for this expense? And what will happen if we don’t prepare? More than 1.1 billion people on Earth are aged 60 and over – this is how old people are defined (whether you may like it or not), and at 65 you are seen as elderly. That number is only set to grow and grow. So, how do we manage social care and protec...

What can be done to make your building greener? How can centuries old castles and churches be sensitively adapted to the modern age – becoming more sustainable while retaining their historic character? Alfie Stephenson-Boyles is an architect with Donald Insall Associates, who specialise in conservation and heritage architecture. He brings his experience across working on ancient buildings and new...

It’s time to rethink how family businesses think about and act on sustainability issues. It’s not always about being willing to act – but being capable. Professor Alfredo De Massis, of Lancaster University Management School; the University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy; and IMD, in Switzerland, has worked on family businesses and entrepreneurship for decades – striving to produce knowledge that these f...

Step onto the terraces and discover how sustainable – or not – the global phenomenon that is football really is. Paul puts his decades of sports reporting experience to good use as we talk to Dr Idlan Zakaria, from the University of Birmingham. Idlan returns to her old Lancaster University stamping grounds and brings with her passions for both football and sustainability. She talks us through a lo...