Do One Better with Alberto Lidji in Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship

Latest Episodes:

Beth Breeze, Director of the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss her latest book “In Defence of Philanthropy” — we explore the arguments and opportunities Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

It’s been said that philanthropy is under attack. In this episode we explore key arguments in favour and against philanthropy and highlight opportunities for the road ahead.

No matter your views on philanthropy, you will find this episode informative and thought-provoking.

Beth worked as a fundraiser and charity manager for a decade before co-founding the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent in 2008.

She researched and wrote the annual Coutts Million Pound Donor Report from 2008-2017, co-authored Richer Lives: why rich people give (2013), The Logic of Charity: Great Expectations in Hard Times (2015) and co-edited The Philanthropy Reader (2016).

Her last book The New Fundraisers: who organises generosity in contemporary society? won the AFP Skystone Research Partners book prize for 2018, and her new book, published in Autumn 2021, ‘In Defence of Philanthropy’, is a timely response to growing critiques of private giving.

Thank you for downloading this episode. For information on nearly 150 episodes with remarkable thought leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship, visit our website at Lidji.org

Naghma Mulla, CEO of the EdelGive Foundation, talks about philanthropy in India and their new GROW Fund — supporting 100 NGOs in India and backed by the likes of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Dec 13, 2021

Show notes

This episode provides clear insight into how the EdelGive Foundation developed, structured and executed a highly collaborative fund to support 100 NGOs in India, securing funding from the likes of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and the Chandra Foundation.

The EdelGive Foundation is a grant-making organization, helping build and expand philanthropy in India by funding and supporting the growth of small to mid-sized grassroots NGOs committed to empowering vulnerable children, women, and communities.

This approach has enabled the foundation to be a go-to partner of choice for Indian and foreign funders wanting to engage with the Indian development ecosystem.

The Grassroots, Resilience, Ownership and Wellness (GROW) Fund is aimed at building the capabilities, resilience and future readiness of grassroots organisations.

The GROW Fund aims to strengthen 100 high impact grassroots organisations over 24 months, through capacity building and support of key organisational functions.

Thank you for downloading this episode. For information on nearly 150 interviews with remarkable thought leaders in philanthropy. sustainability and social entrepreneurship, please visit our website at Lidji.org

Matt Hyde, CEO of the Scouts UK, and volunteer Andrew Bollington join Alberto Lidji to discuss ‘the Squirrels’ — a new Early Years provision for 4 and 5 year olds Dec 06, 2021

Show notes

Get a behind-the-scenes look at how ‘the Squirrels’ came about and how the programme is providing 4 and 5 year olds with skills for life when it matters most by promoting key skills like working together, communication and language, as well as creativity and community awareness.

Gain insight from an in-depth conversation covering the entire journey of how the Squirrels went from initial concept to successful funding, evidence-based piloting, execution and meaningful scale.

We hear of the many challenges that had to be overcome, the funding sources that were tapped and the diverse stakeholders who were brought on board to make this initiative a success.

Thank you for downloading this episode. For information on nearly 150 interviews with remarkable thought-leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship visit our website at Lidji.org

Simon Sommer, Co-CEO of the Jacobs Foundation, and Sharath Jeevan, Founder of Intrinsic Labs, join Alberto Lidji to explore motivation in the world of foundations Nov 29, 2021

Show notes

A great conversation on how foundations are able to nurture the organisations they fund and support. We look at the power dynamic between grant-maker and grantee, delve into fostering trust and explore how foundations are able to provide support that goes beyond financial grants.

Simon Sommer is Co-CEO of the Jacobs Foundation, which has 7 billion Swiss Francs in assets (roughly USD $7 billion), granted out nearly 90 million Swiss Francs in 2020 and is a strong backer of education, internationally.

Sharath Jeevan is the Founder of Intrinsic Labs, which helps leaders and their organisations tackle deep motivation challenges. He is the author of the recently-published book “Intrinsic”.

Thank you for downloading this episode of The Do One Better Podcast. For information on nearly 150 interviews with remarkable thought leaders in the world of philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship visit our website at Lidji.org

Let’s get “out-of-school girls” back into school! Safeena Husain, Founder of Educate Girls, talks about their work in 20,000 villages in India and launching the first development impact bond (DIB) Nov 22, 2021

Show notes

Safeena Husain founded Educate Girls in 2007 and today they operate in more than 20,000 villages across three states in India.

They’re mobilising communities in the most marginalised and remote areas to get out-of-school girls back into school and ensure they stay in school and are actually learning.

They’ve grown at a fast pace and today have a team of 2,200 full time employees and 15,000 volunteers.

Under Safeena’s leadership, and in conjunction with the UBS Optimus Foundation and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), they launched the first development impact bond (DIB). This was a highly innovative approach to align performance with funding.

Educate Girls was the service provider; CIFF was the outcome payer (who were purchasing two results: (1) getting out-of-school girls back into school and staying in school, and (2) ensuring learning outcomes); and the UBS Optimus Foundation was the social investor.

We hear the ins and outs of what turned out to be a highly successful initiative. Educate Girls took the risk of performance, UBS took the financial risk and CIFF got to purchase the impact.

We also hear how Educate Girls was the first Asian organisation to become an Audacious Project — an initiative run by TED that brings philanthropists together to collaborate and back really innovative, big bets that improve the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic is severely impacting girls and women, and Safeena's view is that if action isn’t taken it could well set girls’ education back by a decade, if not more, so let's work together to get out-of-school girls back into school!

Thank you for downloading this episode of The Do One Better Podcast. For information on nearly 150 other interviews, please visit our website at Lidji.org

If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and follow, share with others and leave us a review and rating. Thank you very much!

Let‘s recycle everything! Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO of TerraCycle, on managing waste to minimise climate impact. Nov 15, 2021

Show notes

Tom founded TerraCycle 20 years ago when he was a student at Princeton. Today, TerraCycle is the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste.

They work with more than one hundred major brands — including Tesco, Heinz and Coca-Cola — in twenty countries across the globe to collect used packaging and products that would otherwise be destined for landfills.

Through their ‘Loop’ initiative, they are changing the way we shop by creating sustainable new packaging solutions and enabling consumers to enjoy their favoruite products from popular consumer brands in refillable containers.

A fascinating and thorough exploration of the world of recycling, with key insight into the economics, solutions, opportunities and challenges. We can all make a difference.

Thank you for downloading this episode. Visit The Do One Better Podcast website at Lidji.org for information on around 150 interviews with remarkable guests in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Let’s harness the power of global diplomacy and interfaith dialogue to tackle climate change! UK Ambassador to the Vatican, Chris Trott, joins Alberto Lidji during COP26 Nov 08, 2021

Show notes

On 4th October 2021, Pope Francis and leaders from other faiths gathered to appeal for robust commitments from political leaders in the run up to COP26 (2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference).

Chris Trott, the UK's ambassador to the Holy See, shares his views on the significance of this extraordinary gathering and its highly consequential nature.

The Pope has been a long-standing voice on matters pertaining to sustainability. In 2015, he issued an encyclical called Laudato si’ in which he called for care for our common home and decried environmental destruction.

On 25 September 2015, Pope Francis addressed the UN General Assembly and he made the appeal for a common plan for our common home. On that day, world leaders adopted Agenda 2030 and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UK is hosting COP26 right now and Chris Trott shares a unique insight into the importance of faith communities in helping drive positive change by advocating for responsible behaviour towards climate.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs, an expert in sustainable development, noted a few years back that “Pope Francis has been a champion, together with other religious leaders who are, of course looked to for guidance and admired worldwide within their faiths and well beyond their particular faiths, in helping the world to understand why sustainable development is the challenge of our time.”

This episode of The Do One Better Podcast underscores this view and provides unique and timely insight during COP26 and in the face of the climate crisis.

Thank you for listening to The Do One Better Podcast. Please subscribe and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show. For information on nearly 150 interviews with remarkable thought leaders, please visit the show’s website at Lidji.org

Let’s decarbonise one million hotel rooms! Keith Barr, CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), joins Alberto Lidji to discuss how they’re improving and innovating to become more sustainable Nov 01, 2021

Show notes

With a presence in more than 100 countries, IHG has 6,000+ hotels, employs 350,000 staff and caters to many segments across 17 brands, from Holiday Inn to Crowne Plaza, InterContinental and Six Senses. They recognise the tremendous opportunity to drive positive change.

We learn what Keith and his team are doing to reduce their carbon footprint, improve operations and reduce waste. They’re embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and new technologies to fluctuate energy utilisation more effectively and are challenging every aspect of their supply chains to innovate for more sustainable solutions.

Annually, IHG disposes of around 2% of their hotel properties, which is a significant number when one considers they have more than 6,000 hotels. Many of these properties are removed because they are older, no longer commercially viable and are often high energy inefficient.

Reducing the carbon footprint of their existing hotel portfolio is key. This is complemented by a focus on designing the hotels of tomorrow for low or zero carbon and, also, by leaning into renewable energy.

No matter how efficient the operations become, it is imperative that they can tap into renewable energy. This is where government needs to play an active role to decarbonise energy grids.

Governments are quite good at setting grand targets for future carbon emissions but they are not necessarily as good when it comes to presenting the transition roadmap to reach their net zero destination.

This is where private business is taking the lead; individual industries are much more aware of what needs to be done to decarbonise in their space. Consequently, there is much governments can learn from industry leaders as nations transition away from fossil fuels.

The hotel experience will likely change more now and in the next 10 years than it has in the past 50 years. The race to decarbonise one million hotel rooms is on, so watch this space!

Thank you for listening to The Do One Better Podcast. Please subscribe, share and leave us a rating and review. For information on nearly 150 interviews with remarkable thought leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship visit our website at Lidji.org

Let’s transform food systems! COP26 Special. President of WWF Int’l & CEO of GIST, Pavan Sukhdev, and Executive Director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Ruth Richardson, call for action Oct 25, 2021

Show notes

COP26 starts this Sunday and the world’s attention is focused on climate. Food systems are an integral component and we need to recognise their hidden costs and positive benefits.

Traditional accounting often fails to account properly for negative externalities, such as habitat destruction, soil erosion and water contamination, or positives such as carbon sequestration, insect pollination and resilience to natural disasters.

True-value accounting and true-cost accounting paint a much more holistic, comprehensive view which, in turn, helps inform food pricing, policy documents and balance sheets. If we are serious about sustainability, we need to account for the whole picture.

Pavan and Ruth provide insight, call for action and shed light on the invaluable work of WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), GIST Impact and the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. The evidence is robust and the arguments are clearly laid out in this podcast episode.

Ruth delves into their recently-published “True Value” report, which was launched just days ago by the Global Alliance for the Future of Food and identifies ‘beacons of hope’ to understand the breadth and depth of food systems’ positive impact.

We also learn from Pavan and Ruth of a 6-year old project in Andhra Pradesh, India, focused on natural farming, where more than 700,000 farmers (mainly women), have committed to a natural farming model, which has led to higher yields, lower water usage, lower on-farm and off-farm disease and positively impacted climate, soil benefits and various other components.

As we approach COP26, Ruth notes that we need countries to step up and recognise the importance of food systems to the climate agenda, in order to make the connections between food, climate, nature, equality etc — there is currently a disconnect.

Pavan notes that many SDGs are influenced by food systems. It’s not just SDG2 and sustainable food but also SDG3 (health), and SDG1 (poverty), SDG5 (gender equity), SDG4 (education), SDG6 (water) and SDG13 (climate) etc.

If we don’t see the whole picture and properly account for the hidden negatives and positives, we are simply not going to get to the solutions that are so desperately needed.

Thank you for downloading this episode of The Do One Better Podcast. Please subscribe and leave a review and rating if you enjoy the show. Visit Lidji.org for information on nearly 150 other interviews with remarkable thought leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Dr Sanford “Sandy” Greenberg shares his philanthropic ambition to end blindness. Sandy is blind, highly accomplished and talks with passion about adversity, hope and driving medical breakthroughs Oct 18, 2021

Show notes

Sandy lost his eyesight in 1961 from glaucoma while he was a student at Columbia. At that point, he promised God that he’d do everything he could for the rest of his life to make sure no one else should go blind — he has led a successful life full of purpose.

Just days ago, Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Wilmer Eye Institute established the Sanford and Susan Greenberg Center to End Blindness.

Sandy sheds light on the Center’s drive to support the next generation of researchers who have high risk, high reward ideas but lack funding and mentorship. The Center aims to raise $100 million and they have already secured half that amount.

Sandy also shares fascinating anecdotes, including how his college roommate (music legend) Art Garfunkel would read to him when he lost his sight; his emotions as he wrote his book ‘Hello Darkness My Old Friend”; and his relentless pursuit of education at Columbia, Harvard and Oxford.

If you want to hear a touching, personal story where optimism overcomes adversity and where purpose tackles blindness, this episode is for you.

Thank you for listening to The Do One Better Podcast. Please subscribe, follow and share with others. For information on nearly 150 episodes, please visit our website at Lidji.org

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