Sustainability Champions

Latest Episodes:

Eco-Friendly Holiday Destinations Sep 01, 2020

Show notes

In this Episode of Sustainability Champions, I speak with Bob Garner, Co-Owner of Casal dei Fichi and Champion of Sustainable Holidays. When we take a vacation, we oftentime enjoy luxuries beyond imagination in destinations around the world, whether artificial beaches and 5-star hotels in Dubai, enormous resorts in Mexico, or cruises that travel around the world. When we get our well-deserved breaks from everyday life, we tend to ignore how wasteful and carbon-inefficient travelling can be. Air conditioning every step you take, lunch-buffets that end up wasting food, and electrical bills we’re glad we don’t have to pay. A step towards eco-friendly holiday destinations is a step in the right direction. Casal dei Fichi is a farmhouse with holiday apartments, built and renovated with sustainability in mind such as solar panels, replacing air conditioning with smart window-placement and architecture, long-lasting, efficient LED lights with movement sensors and much more. They even installed a charging station for electric cars to encourage greener transportation. To further their sustainable mission even more, they also have an offset-program with local restaurants, which plants trees when you eat at their partner restaurants. If you enjoyed this episode, please give the Sustainability Champions podcast a 5-star review in the Apple Podcast app and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode is released! Resources: Website: https://www.casaldeifichi.com (https://www.casaldeifichi.com) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Casaldeifichi (https://www.facebook.com/Casaldeifichi) -- Hosted by Daniel Hartz Sustainability Champions https://www.sustainabilitychampions.com Instagram: @SustainabilityChampions Facebook: @SustainabilityChampions LinkedIn: @Sustainability Champions

Data Makes The Trucks Go Greener | Tracks For Trucks Aug 27, 2020

Show notes

In this Episode of Sustainability Champions I speak with Jakob Muus, Founder and CEO of Tracks For Trucks and Champion of Sustainable Supply Chains. Did you know that the road freight industry is responsible for roughly 6% of the European CO2 emissions? Our global world depends on intricate supply chains to move food and goods from centralized production facilities to sales points all around the world. Optimising our network of transport, whether trucks, ships or trains, will lead to both reduced CO2 emissions while also saving money for the companies moving the goods. Especially because the road freight industry runs on small margins, all cost savings helps. So do we go about improving the situation? Tracks For Trucks is an analytics firm that compiles data from freight trucks to help reduce environmental footprints and increase their efficiency. Every modern truck comes with a constantly-updating SIM card that sends data from multiple sensors to cloud-servers, Tracks for Trucks uses that data to develop strategies and solutions for greener supply chains. And considering the fact that before Tracks For Trucks, data analysis was done in lengthy spreadsheets with an error factor of up to 400% , their solution can impact the entire freight industry on a large-scale. If you enjoyed this episode, please give the Sustainability Champions podcast a 5-star review in the Apple Podcast app and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode is released! Resources: Website: https://www.tracksfortrucks.com (https://www.tracksfortrucks.com) Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tracksfortrucks (https://www.linkedin.com/company/tracksfortrucks) Twitter: https://twitter.com/TracksForTrucks (https://twitter.com/TracksForTrucks) -- Hosted by Daniel Hartz Sustainability Champions https://www.sustainabilitychampions.com Instagram: @SustainabilityChampions Facebook: @SustainabilityChampions LinkedIn: @Sustainability Champions

Eating Insects For Food Aug 25, 2020

Show notes

In this episode of Sustainability Champions, I speak with Francesco Majno, Co-Founder and CEO of Crické Food, and Champion of Insect Proteins. To facilitate our growing populations and to reduce the waste, inefficiency and the negative environmental impacts of meat farms, we need alternative proteins. On this podcast, we’ve already spoken about highly technical solutions like plant-based and cell-based meats, and now we’re looking at a different approach. To solve global problems, we need to think radically and be open to a wide variety of strategies. And that’s where we see that insects are a sustainable alternative protein. In fact, up to two billion people around the world eat insects as part of their regular diet. So what’s the easiest way to popularize this idea in countries where this is not common? Crické Food produces crackers made with cricket powder and flour, making a hyper-sustainable, protein-rich and nutritious snack for anyone. Crickets and insects, in general, are both a great source of protein and environmentally-friendly. When compared with cows, crickets require 0.05% the amount of water, 7.5% the amount of land, and they emit 1% the amount of greenhouse gas. Additionally, they contain almost twice the amount of protein as beef and are rich in vitamins and iron. In this episode, we talk about the challenges of getting beyond the taboo of eating insects in Europe and North America, other insect cuisines we can expect in the near future, and the efficiencies insects could bring to our food system. If you want to try Crické Crackers, you can order them on their website linked below (currently only in Europe)! If you enjoyed this episode, please give the Sustainability Champions podcast a 5-star review in the Apple Podcast app and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode is released! Website: https://crickefood.com (https://crickefood.com) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crickefood (https://www.instagram.com/crickefood) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crickefood (https://www.facebook.com/crickefood) Twitter: https://twitter.com/crickefood (https://twitter.com/crickefood) -- Hosted by Daniel Hartz Sustainability Champions https://www.sustainabilitychampions.com Instagram: @SustainabilityChampions Facebook: @SustainabilityChampions LinkedIn: @Sustainability Champions

Luggage That Doesn't Break After Every Flight Aug 20, 2020

Show notes

In this Episode of Sustainability Champions, I speak with Christine Riley Miller, Head of Sustainability at Samsonite, and Champion of Sustainable Luggage. We love seeing global companies commit to sustainability. It shows that being planet-friendly is possible even for the biggest players on the market, without disappointing their shareholders. When a company's products are made from sustainable materials and are built to last a long time, you could argue that sellers are missing out on revenue. We live in times where new kitchen appliances, clothes and electronics will only last a few years, while the same things that have been passed down from grandparents have stood the test of time. Today’s guest knows that building to last is the right thing to do. Samsonite is a global luggage and travel accessories manufacturer that takes the helm of brands like TUMI, Hartmann, American Tourister and others. They value sustainability highly and have implemented a number of policies across their global lines of products, from recycling materials, to easy repairs and products that last. Learning how an industry leading corporation like Samsonite implements their philosophy is truly fascinating. If you enjoyed this episode, please give the Sustainability Champions podcast a 5-star review in the Apple Podcast app and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode is released! Resources: Website: https://www.samsonite.co.uk (https://www.samsonite.co.uk) Instagram: http://instagram.com/mysamsonite (http://instagram.com/mysamsonite) Twitter: https://twitter.com/MySamsonite (https://twitter.com/MySamsonite) Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/samsoniteeurope (https://www.youtube.com/samsoniteeurope) -- Hosted by Daniel Hartz Sustainability Champions https://www.sustainabilitychampions.com Instagram: @SustainabilityChampions Facebook: @SustainabilityChampions LinkedIn: @Sustainability Champions

Carbon Neutral Homes Are Possible! Aug 18, 2020

Show notes

In this Episode of Sustainability Champions, I speak with Ian Pritchett, Co-Founder and Director of Ssassy Property and Greencore Construction and Champion of Making Sustainable Homes. On a global scale, households are responsible for 24% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Building housing with energy and carbon efficiency in mind, doesn’t only benefit the planet, it also saves families a lot of money. Whether it’s better insulation and airflow, green energy providers or solar panels on roofs, gardens and more green areas for higher biodiversity, the list of ways to improve construction is endless. Unfortunately, the average construction of a home emits about 50-60 tons of greenhouse gas. As we’ve seen with many other products and ventures, the possibilities exist for construction and homes to be carbon neutral, or even carbon negative. Ssassy Property is a property development firm that constructs sustainable, efficient and beautifully designed homes in and around Oxfordshire. Following the philosophy of Greencore Construction, they build high performance, low carbon buildings using natural materials (predominantly hemp, lime and timber). Listen to this Episode to find out about the amazing difference thoughtful property development can make, and why carbon negative homes are even possible! I hope you enjoy the episode! If you do, make sure to leave a review and subscribe to support us! Resources: Ssassy Property: https://ssassyproperty.com (https://ssassyproperty.com) Greencore Construction: https://www.greencoreconstruction.co.uk (https://www.greencoreconstruction.co.uk) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ssassyproperty (https://www.instagram.com/ssassyproperty) Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ssassy-property-ltd (https://www.linkedin.com/company/ssassy-property-ltd) -- Hosted by Daniel Hartz Sustainability Champions https://www.sustainabilitychampions.com Instagram: @SustainabilityChampions Facebook: @SustainabilityChampions LinkedIn: @Sustainability Champions

Alternatives to Meat-Based Proteins Are On The Rise Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

We’ve spoken with a number of companies revolutionising the food industry with plant-based, cell-based and cultivated meat, dairy and fish products on the Sustainability Champions podcast in the past.

Over the past few years, these sustainable innovators have become the center of attention and investment all over the world because of the methods they are developing to produce animal protein that don’t harm animals, don’t have lengthy and inefficient supply chains and don’t emit massive amounts of greenhouse gasses. These disruptive ideas can make a massive difference to our future and the bright minds behind these companies are getting lots of support!

In this episode of Sustainability Champions, I speak with Andrew Ive, Founder and Managing Partner of Big Idea Ventures, and Champion Of New Protein Investments. Big Idea Ventures is a venture capital and accelerator fund solving the world’s biggest challenges by supporting the world’s best entrepreneurs.

Their first fund and accelerator (based in both New York & Singapore) invests in plant-based foods and ingredients as well as cell-based proteins in order to positively impact climate change, animal welfare and people’s health. With applications to join the accelerator open until September 4th, 2020, they’re constantly looking to support ground-breaking businesses to help them reach global markets.

If you enjoyed this episode, please give the Sustainability Champions podcast a 5-star review in the Apple Podcast app and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode is released!

Resources:

Website: https://bigideaventures.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bigideaventures/

Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bigideaventures/

Smarter Farming - Clean. Green. Pure. Aug 06, 2020

Show notes

Much of the agriculture industry is broken. Global concerns around food security, extreme weather and increased costs to both the consumer and the environment must be addressed. Currently, there are three ways of growing crops: outdoor, greenhouse and indoor; however each method has its challenges.

Outdoor farming leaves us at the mercy of mother nature and as a result many farmers rely on pesticides, which can be harmful to the environment. Greenhouses may be efficient, but don’t unleash the full potential of crops because glass windows block out UV-light. And with indoor farms, artificial lights can’t replace natural sunlight, which is crucial to a plant’s growth. Combining all the options to create a clean, green and pure option is what we need now.

In this Episode of Sustainability Champions, I speak with Ingo Mueller, CEO of AgriFORCE, and Champion of Farming in a Biosphere. AgriFORCE has developed an environmentally-friendly and clean form of growing high-value crops that can be set up in almost any weather environment around the world.

Their intellectual property is designed to grow both pharmaceutical and agricultural crops in a way that leads to a 30-35% increase in crop yield, while using up to 90% less energy, 90% less water and 40% less fertilizer than most traditional indoor/greenhouse facilities.

If you enjoyed this episode, please give the Sustainability Champions podcast a 5-star review in the Apple Podcast app and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode is released!

Resources:

Website: https://agriforcegs.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agriforce-growing-systems-ltd/

Communities Can Accelerate The Transition To Sustainability Aug 04, 2020

Show notes

Transitioning to a more sustainable future takes time and effort. Despite piling consumer pressure and groundbreaking technological innovations, not all businesses are taking the steps towards protecting the planet.

When the old ways of doing business are easier than the sustainable choices, companies could do with some support in transitioning, and today’s guest knows exactly how to offer a helping hand.

In this Episode of Sustainability Champions, I speak with Carl Pratt, Founder and CEO of Future Planet and Champion of Creating Communities. Future Planet is a platform that helps empower people to connect with likeminded changemakers in order to build a world that works in harmony with nature.

Members of Future Planet are part of a dedicated community, they can attend themed events, and contribute to amazing campaigns. Rubbing shoulders with sustainable entrepreneurs, business leaders and activists, helps to accelerate the transition to better, healthier and climate-friendly businesses. With love and support, Future Planet is helping build a better future all around the world.

If you enjoyed this episode, please give the Sustainability Champions podcast a 5-star review in the Apple Podcast app and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode is released!

Resources:

Website: https://futureplanet.love

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futureplanetlove

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OurFuturePlanet

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturePlanetLove

Linkedin: https://www.facebook.com/FuturePlanetLove

Combining Quality, Sustainability And Recycling Jul 30, 2020

Show notes

This company has turned 1 million plastic bottles that would otherwise have gone to landfill or ended up in the ocean into luxury travel bags! What a great way to divert waste and reduce energy consumption.

Cheap technology and fast-fashion products often break after just a few uses, wasting all the materials and energy used in production. Incorporating sustainability into our everyday lives often means buying products that are built to last. It also means making products from recycled waste like plastic. And today’s guest does both: recycling plastic bottles into high-quality products that can last generations.

In this Episode of Sustainability Champions, I speak with Victor Sanz, Creative Director at TUMI and Champion of Sustainable Bags.

TUMI is a high-end American manufacturer of totes, backpacks, luggage and travel accessories that are built to last. Longevity has always been one of TUMI’s core principles and following their recent announcement, they’re launching lines of high-end bags made from recycled materials, specifically plastic bottles.

As a leading brand in the luggage space, they are living their slogan, “innovative by nature, sustainable by choice”, while maintaining the standard for which they are known.

If you enjoyed this episode, please give the Sustainability Champions podcast a 5-star review in the Apple Podcast app and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode is released!

Resources:

Website: https://uk.tumi.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tumitravel/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TumiTravel

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tumitravel

Can Vegans Drink Cow's Milk? Jul 28, 2020

Show notes

What if cows were treated so ethically that vegans drink their milk?

The dairy, meat and fish industries have come under a lot of scrutiny over the years. As a result, many conscious consumers around the world are switching to a vegan diet to avoid animal products altogether. But what if there were an animal-friendly and humane approach to treating cows that would make their milk suitable for anyone concerned about ethics?

In this Episode of Sustainability Champions, I interview Nimai Pandit, co-owner of Gopal Farm, and Champion of Ethical Milk. Located in the Hudson Valley in New York, Gopal Farm specializes in growing both specialty, heirloom Indian vegetables, spices and Ayurvedic herbs, as well as ethical milk products from their small herd of dairy cows.

In Sanskrit, Gopal means "Friend of the Cow" to highlight the special care Nimai and his team treat their cows. Even though vegans don’t eat or drink any animal products, Nimai believes their cows’ milk is suitable for anyone with ethical concerns about the dairy industry.

As an example of one of the many things Gopal Farms does differently, Nimai puts aside some money from each sale into a “retirement fund” for his cows so they can continue to live on his farm even if they don’t produce any milk!

In this episode we discuss the philosophy of keeping cows, the state of the dairy industry, and whether ethical farming is economically viable in the 21st century.

If you enjoyed this episode, please give the Sustainability Champions podcast a 5-star review in the Apple Podcast app and subscribe so you’ll know when the next episode is released!

Resources:

Website: https://gopal.farm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gopal.farm
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gopal-farm

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected