Sustainability Champions

Latest Episodes:

Could Cell-Based Seafood Save Our Food Supply? May 18, 2020

Show notes

Global demand for seafood is at an all-time high and will most likely continue to rise, as the human population grows. The Coronavirus crisis has uncovered cracks in the American meat supply chain; similarly, our global supply for seafood cannot keep pace with our demand. Populations of marine species have halved since 1970 due to overfishing, illegal fishing, rising ocean temperatures, acidification, the damaging effects of trawling, and a number of other environmental, social, and political challenges. When finding solutions for global problems, we need revolutionary innovations, and today’s guest is taking the steps toward a new and different future.

In this episode of Sustainability Matters Today, I interview Lou Cooperhouse, Co-Founder, CEO and President of BlueNalu, and Champion of Cell-Based Seafood. BlueNalu is leading the research of creating cell-based seafood and will produce real fish directly from fish cells that is safe and healthy for people to eat, humane for animals, and sustainable for our planet. The first product they’ve made is yellowtail and Lou says it tastes great!

BlueNalu will be a third option available to consumers to supplement the current industry practices of either farming or catching fish. Awaiting checks from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they plan to be launch-ready at the end of 2021, and are aiming to produce industrial volumes of fish between 2025-2030.

Considering that the US imports the majority of its fish from around the world and marine biodiversity is harshly affected by overfishing, cell-based seafood is looking like an incredible solution for the future of our food supply!

If you like what you hear, please subscribe to find out about new episodes and leave a review to support us!

BlueNalu Resources:

Green Taxis: For A Greener Future May 12, 2020

Show notes

Reversing climate change and achieving sustainability means analysing every step of our day-to-day lives and finding out how we can reduce our carbon footprint. One of the hidden and elusive contributors to carbon emissions are taxi companies. The transport industry has always been in the spotlight of climate discussions, but the taxi sector is easily overlooked.

In this episode of Sustainability Matters Today, I speak with Jonny Goldstone, Founder and Managing Director of “Green Tomato Cars” and Champion of Green Mobility. Green Tomato Cars is a climate friendly, green and ethical taxi service, operating over 600 of its own electric, hybrid and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles in London. Apart from taking their own steps towards making carbon-neutral transport the norm, this Uber-like car service double offsets their emissions, making the company carbon-negative! It shows their dedication to making a real difference.

To learn more on the commitment Green Tomato Cars has made to fixing climate issues, while leading a financially sustainable business, listen to this episode!

If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a review!

Green Tomato Cars Resources:

Website: greentomatocars.com
Twitter: twitter.com/greentomatocars
ISO 14000 FAMILY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: iso.org/iso-14001-environmental-management.html

Offsetting Carbon by Shopping Online May 07, 2020

Show notes

“We know what causes climate change, and we know how to stop it, what we don’t know is how to pay for the transformation to going carbon neutral.” The words of today’s guest ring true with what we’ve discovered in many episodes of the Sustainability Matters Today podcast: to prevent climate change we need to both reduce humanity’s carbon emissions and offset the emissions we can’t reduce.

There are hundreds of carbon offsetting programs all over the world, ranging from planting trees to capturing carbon dioxide from the air. And if we’re serious about sustainability, we need to be funding these projects even more. We need ways to incorporate carbon offsetting into our everyday lives. UCapture makes this easy.

Listen to Avery Michaelson, Founder & CEO of UCapture and Champion of Funding Carbon Offsets, in the latest episode of Sustainability Matters Today Podcast.

Start reducing your own carbon footprint, for free, when you shop online by joining UCapture: https://ucapture.com/sc

UCapture is a browser add-on that gets 25,000+ partner stores to offset your carbon footprint, at no extra cost, when you shop online.

When you shop with UCapture’s partners, they receive a small affiliate fee, most of which is donated to a carbon offset project that removes CO2 from the atmosphere. UCapture also includes an automatic discount code feature, which applies the best discount code for you. That way when you buy products or services online, you can effortlessly support carbon offset programs while saving money! The Chrome extension is intuitive and simply pops up whenever you land on one of their partnered sites.

I hope you enjoy the episode! Please be sure to subscribe to find out about all new Episodes and leave a review to support us!

UCapture Resources:

Website: https://www.ucapture.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/U_Capture
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/u_capture
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UCapture
LinkedIn: https://www.facebook.com/UCapture

Designing Buildings For A Healthy Environment May 05, 2020

Show notes

Buildings and their construction produce 39% of global CO2 emissions according to the UN Environment Program. With humanity’s population rising, cities are becoming denser as demand for new property continues to grow. Now more than ever, greater building efficiency is necessary to minimise their carbon footprint.

Keeping heating costs low through good isolation, making sure electricity usage is kept to a minimum by increasing the natural light that comes through, and even designing with natural catastrophes like hurricanes in mind are all practices that are part of a sustainable approach to construction. Planning for the future, to ensure buildings last as long as possible, avoids unnecessary costs down the road. Today’s guest is an expert on these ideas!

In this Episode of the Sustainability Matters Today Podcast, I speak with Mike Brown, “Energy Engineer”, host of the 3P Theory Podcast, and Champion of Sustainable and High Performance Buildings. As an Energy Analyst & Energy Systems Design Engineer with HKS, Mike works alongside architects and engineers to assist building owners and developers create high performance buildings that save energy and are healthy for the environment.

An Engineer in Training, LEED Accredited Professional, and Building Energy Modeling Professional, Mike has been in the green building industry for over seven years collaborating on a variety of projects all over the U.S.. Utilizing building energy modeling and other innovative sustainability tools, he has been able to help building owners save an estimated $7.2M in energy costs and over $1.3 M in water costs on both LEED and non-LEED projects.

Passionate about his profession, Michael is currently involved in many professional organizations including as a Board Member of the Texas U.S. Green Building Council, as a member of the North Texas National Association of Energy Engineers, and the National Society of Black Engineers.

I hope you enjoy the episode! Please subscribe to get the latest episodes and leave a 5-star review if you like what you hear!

Resources:

3P Theory Podcast: https://www.3ptheory.com
HKS: https://www.hksinc.com
LEED Rating System: https://www.usgbc.org/leed
Hurricane-Proof House: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/21/how-to-build-a-hurricane-resistant-house.html

Making Moving Sustainable And More Efficient Apr 30, 2020

Show notes

If you’ve ever moved from one apartment to another, you may be familiar with the chaos that comes with packing a life’s worth of possessions into cardboard boxes.

With the millions of families typically moving each year, hundreds of millions of trees must be used to produce the cardboard boxes that are oftentimes thrown away afterwards. This problem also exists - and usually on a significantly larger scale - with corporations that move from one office to another.

Today’s guest is fixing this problem and has saved over 35 millions trees in the process! In this episode of Sustainability Matters Today, I speak with Nadine Cino, Co-Founder and CEO of TygaBox and Champion of Moving Sustainably. TygaBox invented a plastic moving box and dolly system which can stack five boxes at the same height that other systems can only stack four, thereby reducing labour costs by 25%!

In addition to an innovative dolly that doesn’t need you to lift a box, TygaBoxes are built to last; in fact, many of the boxes they made during their initial production in the 90s are still in use today! Since these plastic boxes completely replace cardboard, they result in a 30% reduction of moving costs and 100% elimination of waste-to-landfill.

It’s always important to think of the three R’s of Sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. If we can reduce the amount of cardboard we use by replacing it with materials that are cost-efficient and reduce labor costs, we are already healing the planet!

Listen to our conversation to find out how Nadine went from working in the fashion industry to inventing an efficient moving system and her plans to continue innovating with trackable shipments, and much more!

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Resources:

Compostable Coffee Pods Apr 28, 2020

Show notes

Over the past 10 years, coffee has become an incredibly accessible commodity. Everybody can enjoy the wonderful and varied tastes that come with different intensities and in different forms like an Espresso or a Latte Macchiato. These drinks are now easily made at home, using the little, loud and colourful coffee machine that takes a capsule and makes a perfect caffeinated beverage.

Each cup of coffee we make requires a brand new capsule, which is made from a combination of plastic and aluminium. Even though many of these capsules are recyclable, 80% nonetheless end up in landfills and oceans. In 2018 alone, the coffee industry produced 60 billion coffee pods. The good news is Halo Coffee created a simple solution to avoid pod pollution.

In today’s episode, I interview Sarah Lim, Business Development Director at Halo Coffee, and Champion of Compostable Coffee Capsules. Halo Coffee produces Nespresso-compatible, home-compostable coffee pods, which contain speciality-grade, high-end coffees. The capsules are made from a byproduct of the sugar cane industry and degrade in as little as 28 days in your compost heap or garden. What’s more, their packaging is also home-compostable and takes only 90 days to break down!

This episode was recorded in April 2020, amid the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. Until June 2020, Halo Coffee is donating two boxes of sustainable coffee pods to hospitals in London for each new subscription they receive and is offering special discounts for all NHS workers. During these trying times, it’s great to see the world coming together and supporting each other!

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Resources:

Website: https://halo.coffee
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HALO_Coffee
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HaloCoffeeltd/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/HALO_Coffee_co/

Why Organic Cotton Is Not Sustainable And Eucalyptus Is Apr 22, 2020

Show notes

Happy Earth Day, Champions!

“If you like puns, sleeping and sustainability, potentially even in that order – Sheets and Giggles is the brand for you!” A perfect way to introduce this guest and his company! Today, I speak with Colin McIntosh, Founder and CEO of Sheets and Giggles (and, yes that’s a pun), and #Champion of Sleeping Sustainably.

Sheets and Giggles makes sustainable, 400-thread count sateen bed sheets out of Eucalyptus trees, which don’t use insecticides or pesticides. Compared with cotton, the production of their eucalyptus lyocell requires 96% less water and 30 % less energy! And if those numbers aren’t compelling enough, their sales pitch is simple: “Our Eucalyptus Lyocell sheets are softer, more breathable, and more sustainable than both cotton and bamboo.” And they’re bed serious.

Listen to this episode to find out about:

Their simple solutions to a wasteful textile industry;
How the 3-year-old company pledges some of its profits to a wide variety of charities (including 20% of every sale to COVID–19 Emergency Relief Funds);
How Colin came up with the pun title!

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Resources:

Website: sheetsgiggles.com
Koala Charity Blogpost: sheetsgiggles.com/blogs/news/over-17-000-raised-to-save-endangered-koalas
WWF Koala Charity: donate.wwf.org.au/donate/one-off-donation/help-koalas
Twitter: twitter.com/SheetsGiggles
Instagram: instagram.com/SheetsGiggles
Facebook: facebook.com/sheetsgiggles

Sustainable Living: When You Buy Better, You Buy Less Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

Companies and industries realised one thing: consumers don’t buy many products if the products are built to last. On the other hand, short-lived products will be replaced, so building fragile items means companies create additional “demand” and in the end, more profit.

In today’s world, this regular and repeated consumerism has been indented into our lives. From Seasonal Fashion to feeling invigorated when buying new furniture, we’re used to receiving positive feedback from following our shopping urges. These shopping habits are not always good for the planet because of the amount of waste created from making these products.

Take it from Tara Button, marketing expert, and founder and CEO of Buymeonce.com and a Champion of Buying Less, and Buying Better. “BuyMeOnce” sells all kinds of products that are built to last. Whether it’s pots and pans, fashion, healthcare, bed linen, bottles, backpacks or bikes, all their featured products are sustainably produced and chosen because they’re meant to last a long time.

Their code of business is an idea worth following: “We’re demanding longer-lasting products, better guarantees and responsible manufacturing. By offering only the most long-lived products out there, we want to empower consumers to buy less, and buy better.”

As you might imagine, changing our society’s fundamental behaviour won’t be easy. Listen to this episode, to find out more on the origin and future of consumerism!

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Resources:

BuyMeOnce Website US: buymeonce.com
BuyMeOnce Website UK: uk.buymeonce.com
Tara Button’s Website: tarabutton.co.uk
Tara Button's Book “A Life Less Throwaway: The Lost Art of Buying for Life”: amazon.com/gp/product/0399582517/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0

Capturing CO2 To Combat Climate Change Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

When talking about Climate Change, the elephant in the room is always our carbon emissions. Most of our guests find amazing ways of avoiding pollution altogether, but today’s guest takes a whole new approach:

In this episode of Sustainability Matters Today, I interview Louise Charles, Communications Manager at Climeworks and a Champion of Recycling Carbon Dioxide.

Founded in 2009 with the aim of capturing 1% of global carbon emissions per year by 2025, Climeworks is the first company in the world to absorb carbon dioxide straight from the air with fans and storage devices, in order to ultimately repurpose it. The Switzerland-based company has a direct air-capture technology that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and recycles it into different products like beverages and renewable fuels.

Climeworks offers amazing subscription plans, where you can support their technology, and thereby offset some of your personal carbon emissions. That’s also an amazing gift option!

As of January 2020, Climeworks will be collaborating with Svante Inc. to develop carbon capture technology solutions to transition to a net-zero emission future.

Please make sure to subscribe to the Sustainability Matters Today podcast to learn more about other champions of sustainability like Louise.

I hope you enjoy the episode!

The Hidden Power Of Your Used Coffee Grounds Apr 09, 2020

Show notes

Coffee – the world’s favourite energiser – from the streets of Turkey to the cafés of New York, it’s unilaterally enjoyed everywhere. When brewing coffee, thereby extracting the caffeinated aroma from coffee beans, we end up with a waste product of coffee grounds. And with an estimated 2,25 billion cups of coffee made every day, that leaves us with about 500,000 tonnes of wet, waste coffee grounds. Typically just dumped into general waste bins, this byproduct emits methane, a greenhouse gas 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

How can we prevent this waste problem from contributing to climate change? Simply denying the billions of morning warriors, late-night labourers and hipster Starbucks writers their coffee would get us into a hot mess. In comes Bio-Bean.

In this Episode I interview Matt Keniston, Commercial Head of Bio-Bean and #Champion of recycling coffee grounds. Bio-Bean offers a range of products, made from these otherwise destined for landfill coffee grounds. They are the world’s biggest coffee recycler, processing thousands of tons of waste into sustainable bio products. To find out what Bio-Bean produces, make sure you listen to this episode!

I hope you enjoy the episode!

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