Forward, Better

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Latest Episodes:

The Art of Sustainability Transformation Jan 02, 2023

The world is entering a new era of sustainability – one where sustainable solutions aren’t just developed to fix the wrongs of the past but to also predict the needs of the future.

Throughout Forward, Better, Professor Hannah Fry has been joined by the entrepreneurs, innovators, and academics of this era, exploring the ways in which they’re powering global progress.

As the podcast comes to an end, Fry brings them together for one last time to discuss the secrets of a successful Sustainability Transformation.

In this final episode, discover the tips you need to kick-start your own impact journey and how to use technology to move in the right direction.

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Incredible Innovations Dec 26, 2022

From the launch of the internet in the 1980s to the current rise of the metaverse, the world’s technological capacity has been expanding at hyperspeed. As soon as one innovation drops, the next one is always hot on its heels – which would be overbearing if it weren’t for the people preparing businesses and societies for their arrival.

When it comes to making these preparations, Shivvy Jervis is one of the most trusted voices in the industry. As a former journalist, she uses her inherent investigative skills to track down the must-know developments in digital, science, and psychology. Her mission is to demystify and democratize access to them so everyone can be as future-ready as possible.

In this episode of Forward, Better, Shivvy sits down with Professor Hannah Fry to discuss her predictions for the future. How will sustainability influence the job market? How will resilience define the supply chain? And how will technology create a mixed reality? As she identifies the next innovations, discover her tips for using them in a way that enhances life and doesn’t replace it.

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Something From Nothing Dec 19, 2022

Amid an ongoing climate crisis, carbon is a damaging by-product of modern life. But what if the world was to find a new relationship with carbon and view it as a natural resource, instead of a catastrophic polluter? Working to make this hypothesis a reality is a sister act, dedicated to recycling over 99% of carbon from manufacturers’ waste streams.

Neeka and Leila Mashouf are the masterminds behind Rubi Laboratories, which uses proprietary technology to produce carbon-negative textiles from thin air. It “focuses on reimagining supply chains to be planet-positive,” explains Neeka, and does this by mimicking the carbon reactions that make up our natural ecosystem.

In this episode of Forward, Better, Neeka and Leila join Professor Hannah Fry to discuss how they are scaling their sustainable solution to transform the fashion industry. Discover why it’s not so much about creating a band-aid to a problem; it’s about creating a product that allows consumers to live symbiotically with the planet.

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A Matter of Movement Dec 12, 2022

The bridge between reality and its digital alternative is becoming ever shorter due to technological advances like digital twins – the virtual replica of a physical structure. As a former specialist in digital twins, Professor Jacqueline Alderson knows the potential of this technology in breaking new frontiers all too well.

And nowhere is this potential larger than in healthcare. By “cloning” the human form, medical professionals can make more personalized interventions and informed predictions about their patients’ health. The challenge is ensuring they do it in a way that is purposeful, transparent, and fair, which is where Alderson now directs her focus.

She defines her area of expertise as “the science of biomechanics and the governance of technology.” And so, in this episode of Forward, Better, Professor Hannah Fry seeks to understand the series of events that led her to this intersection. Listen to discover what it looks like when the promise of technology doesn’t match up with reality.

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Building Smarter Dec 05, 2022

Our physical environments are never still. They’re forever keeping up with growing populations and their growing demand for an improved way of life. As this new reality takes shape, more needs to be done to ensure our man-made systems exist in harmony with the natural ones they are built in and around.

Working to meet the needs of both people and the environment from opposite sides of the world are Taichi Kuma, a Japanese architect whose building designs are an ode to soft materials, and Pekka Timonen, the mayor of Lahti in Finland – crowned the European Green Capital in 2021 for its pioneering approach to environmental action.

In this episode of Forward, Better, Taichi and Pekka join Professor Hannah Fry to discuss their image of the cities of the future. As they set the scene, discover why sustainability should never be a surface project. To make a real difference, it should be rooted in the people who make up an urban community, the buildings they connect with, and the principles they live by.

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Turning Wine into Water Nov 28, 2022

The world has always captured water from rain, surface, and underground reserves, not realizing that all the while an additional resource was hiding in plain sight – in the plants that make up its natural ecosystem. That was until Terry Paule launched Botanical Water Technologies and began harvesting “invisible” water from fruit and vegetables in the industrial process.

Today, Paule’s innovation is making a global impact with the support of the company’s digital transformation partner – Fujitsu. Together, they have developed a proprietary blockchain platform for trading sustainable water, streamlining the supply chain, and supporting the millions of people who are victims of water scarcity.

In this episode of Forward, Better, Paule and Frederik De Breuck from Fujitsu take Professor Hannah Fry back to the start of their shared sustainability journey. Discover how technology enables positive progress, what defines a successful collaboration, and why a crazy idea often makes the most sense.

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Banking on Change Nov 21, 2022

Across the globe, millions of manual laborers are lost in the supply chain simply because they lack an economic identity. It is a vicious circle that makes extreme poverty inevitable, but one that this social entrepreneur is on a mission to break.

Ashish Gadnis is the Co-Founder and CEO of BanQu, a software company that uses blockchain technology to provide global brands with transparency and traceability of the entire supply chain. Most importantly, it ensures every worker has access to their transaction data so they can become truly bankable. All that’s required is a mobile phone and SMS.

“Technology is not the real game-changer,” explains Gadnis. “It’s the responsibility of brands in taking supply chain verification seriously.” And so, in this episode of the Forward, Better podcast, he joins Professor Hannah Fry to discuss the role of accountability in powering sustainable change, bettering people’s lives, and creating a just world.

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Forward, Better Trailer Nov 16, 2022

Forward, Better with Professor Hannah Fry brings a collective of industry pioneers together to discuss the secrets of a successful sustainability transformation. In each episode, hear the inspiration behind their impact missions, the solutions that are driving them forward, and the insights you need to jump-start your own.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.