Transforming Tomorrow

Nature is naturally on the move. But how does wildlife move through and across urban environments that are not designed for it? And what can people and businesses do to support movement? This is where nature corridors come in. Duncan Pollard, Honorary Professorial Fellow with the Pentland Centre, joins us to expand on his previous discussion of business and biodiversity with a talk about helping s...

How do teachers, students and researchers carry on in a time of war. In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and life changed overnight. Dniprotech University, in Dnipro, is in an area that has experienced power outages, bombing, drones and jets flying over. Yet, they have maintained a full education programme – utilising blended learning – and continue to build relationships with business and w...

What do you think of the economy? What would you do if you couldn’t afford insurance? What does a thriving community look like? And how can economic policy help that flourishing? These are all key questions when it comes to addressing societal equality and resilience. Susan Murray is Director of the David Hume Institute, an Edinburgh-based economics-focused thinktank – despite not classing herself...

We talk to a lot of researchers and businesspeople about sustainability, now bring on the politician! On our 100th episode, we welcome Nik Nazmi bin Nik Ahmad, the former Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability in the Malaysian government, to tell us about his career, and how he has seen governments around the world tackle sustainability challenges. Nik has gone from the sel...

Do you know your Omega 3 fatty acids from your Ultra Processed Foods? Your salmon from your sardinella? Dive in, as we look at the importance of seafood to the diets of millions of people – and how global industries and consumption patterns are taking it away from those who really need it.  Professor Christina Hicks, from Lancaster Environment Centre, is a leading expert on fisheries – particularl...

For a podcast from a nation obsessed with the weather, we’ve been remarkable restrained in discussing it so far. No more! We’re going full-on into weather forecasting and measurement, to discover what Lancaster can tell us about the world. Dr James Heath, from Lancaster Environment Centre, is one of the team taking daily readings from the Hazelrigg Weather Station, which measure temperature and ra...

Words matter. How you use them when you want to get your sustainability messaging across is key – especially when fossil fuel companies spend billions on advertising. As we wonder whether sustainability is even the right word to reach right audience, Florencia Lujani, co-founder and Strategy Director of ACT Climate Labs, joins us to talk about language and communication in winning the battle. Flor...

How can net zero be built into major projects? Does being a trend setter in this area make it harder – but easier for those who follow? Anna Cockman, Head of Estate Development (Project Delivery) at Lancaster University, was once the hands of BBC2 (really), but is now overseeing a huge project to build the Net Zero Energy Centre. After discovering exactly what project management is, we discuss the...

Broadsword calling Danny Boy. We’re going where eagles dare to investigate the sad fate of beautiful birds of prey in 19th century Scotland. A concerted effort to hunt golden eagles led to a massive reduction in their numbers in the 1800s. But why were they persecuted? And what can we learn from how many were killed to tell us how many there used to be? Jason Harrison, who combines being a PhD res...

How can courts enforce the right to a healthy environment? And how are international courts, individuals and companies shaping the laws that will affect our futures? It’s time for us to bring the law back to Transforming Tomorrow, to look at how the legal system is evolving as the climate is changing. Camilo Cornejo Martinez, a PhD researcher in Lancaster University School of Law, joins us once ag...

It’s time to go back to outer space – and to explore another frontier region – as we push the boundaries of sustainability in new directions. We bring together Donald Trump, satellites, Greenland, rocket launches, polar bears – and penguins – to explore the connections between the Arctic and Outer Space. Dr Mia Bennett, from the University of Washington, has seen a polar bear in Svalbard, but her...

The future is coming – who will be there to lead us into it? Some companies are operating with the future in mind, but how much and how so? What legacy will they leave behind? Professor Nick Barter, from Griffith University, in Australia, returns to discuss the concept of generational governance – where organisations consider the next generation in their actions. Nick tells us whether we are close...

Did you make an action figure avatar of yourself? Do you ask ChatGPT every time you have a question? Does Co-Pilot write your emails for you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, did you think about the energy consumption and sustainability consequences? We tell you how much energy a ChatGPT search uses – and as generative AI becomes increasingly commonplace, and infrastructure spring up...

People are trafficked illegally around the world every day. They are coerced and exploited – the victims of criminal gangs, of war, of poverty, and are exploited for commercial and sexual means. We return to the topic of modern slavery, this time with someone who has experience on the ground in the UK, Greece, Australia, and Bangladesh, and who has some shocking tales to tell. Kyla Raby is an anti...

What’s the weather like in space? This isn’t the British obsession with the weather gone made, it really exists! It may not be covered in the TV forecasts, but it affects our lives – and on technology. This is not Michael Fish and telling us about rain on Mars, or storms on Jupiter, but how solar activity influences us on earth. Jim Wild is President-Elect of the Royal Astronomical Society and a P...

It has been a turbulent nine months for the world of sustainability – and for Transforming Tomorrow. So, what have we learned? Paul and Jan look back over the series and discover themes that run through our guests’ thoughts on sustainability – whether they were with us to talk about plastics or biodiversity, Morecambe Bay or Malaysia.   It’s a chance to talk about how things have already changed s...

You might not see climate change on your doorstep every day, but you can see biodiversity loss. Find out what businesses are doing to address biodiversity concerns, and how they can be helped to improve their actions. Dr Michael Burgass is from Biodiversify, a consultancy company that uses cutting-edge science to develop biodiversity strategies for some of the world’s largest companies. He has lon...

Discover how you can embed sustainability across a Higher Education organisation. Dr Alex Ryan, Director and Founder of Learning Energy, returns to her old Lancaster University haunts to tell us about her work inside and outside universities on the ‘great big gobbling monster’ of sustainability. Alex helps people and organisations address sustainability challenges: work is not always easy. We disc...

Antibiotics have been around for hundreds of thousands of years – no, we didn’t know that either! They are harmful to bacteria, and without them we would have a world where life is much harder. But in recent decades, overuse of antibiotics has led to the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This evolutionary response has been accelerated as humans have developed more and more antibiotics – lead...

Culture is visibly lacking from the Sustainable Development Goals – but why? History, tourism, the arts, and even video games all have a part to play in the sustainability picture, so we need to consider the sector’s importance. Dr Chiara Donelli, from the University of Venezia, is an expert in cultural sustainability and she is here to keep us informed. She explains why culture does not have a sp...

If you carry out fascinating work on entrepreneurship and sustainability, you still need for people to understand it. Professor Sreevas Sahasranamam, from the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow, pipped Jan and Paul to the Management Publication of the Year Award – but do they hold a grudge? No, they don’t! Sreevas is a keen proponent of communicating research and expertise in...

What is the reality for a small business when it comes to adopting sustainable practices? How hard is it to turn ideals into practical applications?   In the first of our Local Heroes episodes, Steve Parkman, from Cumbrian design studio 42 Creative Thinking talks us through the changes he has made to his company’s operations to make it more sustainable. Steve has been part of the Transforming Tomo...

What is servitization? Could it be the future for more businesses? How does it link to productivity and sustainability? And why is it spelt with a z? We answer at least three of these questions as we explore an area that is relevant to giant global corporations and small businesses alike. What if, instead of a crane, you charge by the number of lifts it carries out; if instead of selling a physica...

A location for romance, violence or murder – sleeper trains in film and fiction are always places for drama. But the reality may be somewhat different. As a sustainable travel option that is enjoying a resurgence in Europe – and, perhaps surprisingly, in China – they link big cities and are evolving to meet modern needs. Lancaster University Management School Marketing Lecturer Dr Nicole Bulawa ma...

How can we educate university students around the world on important sustainability topics? You cannot talk to them all in the same way as those in other countries – because different countries and cultures have different attitudes and priorities. Dr Stephen Homer has gone from being a commercial fisherman and a fishmonger to a leader on sustainability education at Sunway Business School in Malays...