Sustainability Forward

S4E17: The $2.6 Trillion Question: How to Make Public Money Work for Nature

What if the trillions of dollars governments spend every year are actually accelerating the depletion of our most critical natural resources? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we are joined by Lucy Coast, Global Communications Director at Business for Nature. We explore the staggering reality of environmentally harmful subsidies and how reforming these financial incentives can make the resilient choice the commercially rational one. Lucy shares her insights on bridging the gap between global businesses and policymakers, the importance of the Global Biodiversity Framework, and even a memorable encounter with Sir David Attenborough. What You’ll Discover - The $2.6 Trillion Problem: How public money across agriculture, fisheries, and energy often unintentionally rewards resource depletion and what can be done to redirect it. - Nature as the Ultimate Supply Chain: Why resource security is economic security, and how businesses are waking up to the fact that their future depends on healthy ecosystems. - Designing Fair and Predictable Reform: Why successful incentive reform isn't about abruptly switching off support, but rather phasing in changes alongside the communities and businesses they affect. This conversation is a powerful reminder that we don't necessarily need to find new money to solve our ecological crises - we just need the money already in the system to work smarter. By aligning public spending with long-term sustainability, we can create an economy where both businesses and nature thrive.

S4E16: Beyond ESG: Why We Need Systemic Investing with James Vaccaro

Are we actually changing the financial system to save the planet, or are we just reordering bits of it? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we sit down with James Vaccaro, a leading voice in systems innovation and regenerative business. James shares his 25-year journey from shaping strategy at Triodos Bank to helping design the UN Principles for Responsible Banking. We dive deep into why current ESG and impact investing models fall short, the vital difference between sustainable and regenerative finance, and why the financial system must reconnect with the real world to drive true change. What You’ll Discover - Moving Beyond the Spreadsheet: Why the modern financial system has become dangerously separated from the real world, and how returning to relationship-based trust can unlock true impact. - The Rise of Systemic Investing: How shifting from isolated "green" projects to funding entire system transformations can push us past positive tipping points. - Regenerative vs. Sustainable Finance: Why simply "doing no harm" is no longer enough, and what it actually looks like to build an economy that restores nature and communities. Building a truly regenerative economy requires more than just ticking boxes on a voluntary framework. It demands a relentless curiosity, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and the courage to ask whether our current models are actually fit for purpose. If you have ever wondered what lies beyond standard ESG metrics, this conversation is for you.

S4E15: Decarbonising Industrial Heat with Caldera's James Macnaghten

What if the key to unlocking the next phase of the energy transition isn't about building more wind and solar, but about completely rethinking how we use industrial heat? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we are joined by James Macnaghten, the founder and CEO of Caldera. James shares his journey from leading early grid-scale energy storage at Isentropic to tackling one of the most invisible yet critical sectors of global emissions: industrial steam. We explore why low-temperature industrial heat is actually much easier to decarbonise than the headlines suggest, and how electric thermal storage can bridge the gap between surplus renewable energy and factory floors. What You’ll Discover - The Invisible 10% of Global Emissions: Why low-temperature industrial steam used in food, drink, and pharmaceuticals accounts for more emissions than every car on the road combined, and why it has been left until last. - The Power of Hybridisation: How factories can seamlessly switch between gas and electric storage boilers to take advantage of cheap, surplus renewable energy without disrupting their daily operations. - Surviving the Hardware Valley of Death: The realities of building a climate-tech hardware business, why minimum viable products rarely work in heavy industry, and why perfect timing beats genius every time. Building a sustainable future requires us to look beyond the obvious solutions and tackle the hidden infrastructure of our modern world. By redesigning industrial demand to match our clean energy supply, we can make massive strides toward net zero without waiting for a miracle.

S4E14: The Forgotten Father of Modern Wind Power: The William Heronemus Story

Today, wind power is a mainstream part of the global energy system. But in the early 1970s, it was widely dismissed as outdated, impractical and incapable of producing electricity at scale. One man saw a very different future. William Heronemus was a decorated U.S. Navy engineer who helped design and build nuclear submarines before becoming one of the earliest champions of modern wind power. In 1972, he was already imagining vast offshore wind farms, floating platforms, multirotor turbines and wind-powered electrolysers producing hydrogen for use when the wind stopped blowing. In this episode of Sustainability Forward, award-winning science journalist Peter Fairley joins Wrishi and Carmine to tell the remarkable and largely forgotten story of Heronemus. They explore the early history of wind energy, Denmark’s experiments with wind-produced hydrogen, the rise of the California wind industry, and why consistent policy helped Europe move ahead while the United States repeatedly lost momentum. The conversation also looks forward to floating offshore wind, offshore hydrogen production, multirotor turbines and the climate technologies that may appear unrealistic today—but obvious in the future. A story about engineering, energy policy, persistence and the people who see industries before they exist. Peter Fairley recently profiled Heronemus' innovation and impact for IEEE Spectrum magazine: https://spectrum.ieee.org/william-heronemus-wind-energy

S4E13: Sustainability After the Backlash - Mike Barry on What Serious Businesses Do Next

Are we simply moving from the easy phase of corporate sustainability into a harder, more realistic era where companies have to prove they were serious in the first place? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we sit down with Mike Barry, one of the pioneers of business sustainability in the UK. Best known for his time at Marks & Spencer, where he helped develop and lead the groundbreaking 'Plan A', Mike shares his insights on the current state of the sustainability movement, the realities of corporate transition plans, and why the social dimension of our future can no longer be ignored. What You’ll Discover - Moving Beyond the Press Release: Why ambitious net-zero targets are worthless without a unique, actionable transition plan and how the era of easy sustainability is officially over. - The Legacy of Plan A: How Marks & Spencer successfully turned sustainability into a core business strategy by redefining "quality" for the 21st century and saving £750 million in the process. - The Emerging Social Dimension: Why the future of sustainability must focus on human connection, trust, and community resilience in the face of rapid AI disruption and global food system challenges. Building a meaningful, sustainable business requires a balance of short-term survival instincts and long-term vision. By focusing on core values and remaining transparent, you can create an organisation built to last for decades. If you've ever wondered what really goes on behind the scenes of corporate sustainability or if you just need a dose of optimism about our collective future - this conversation is for you.

S4E12: Canicule - Europe’s Heatwave Wake-Up Call

Europe has just lived through another extreme heatwave — and this one felt different. In this episode of Sustainability Forward, Wrishi and Carmine unpack “Canicule” - Europe’s Heatwave Wake-Up Call: what happened, why temperatures became so extreme, and what this tells us about the climate reality Europe is now facing. We look at the human impact of the heatwave, from health risks and school closures to pressure on hospitals, farms, rivers and infrastructure. We also explain the science behind the event — the role of hot air masses, high-pressure systems, warming seas, and the way climate change is shifting the odds of extreme heat. But this episode is also about what comes next. How do cities stay liveable when summers become more dangerous? What does adaptation really mean for homes, hospitals, transport, energy grids and vulnerable communities? And why do we need to cut emissions faster while also preparing for the heat that is already here? This is a conversation about climate change as a present-day reality, and about the practical choices Europe now has to make.

S4E11: The World Cup’s Climate Problem - Can Football Go Global Without Burning the Planet?

The 2026 World Cup has kicked off - bigger than ever, more global than ever, and possibly more carbon-intensive than ever. With 48 teams, 104 matches and host cities spread across the US, Canada and Mexico, this tournament is a celebration of football’s global reach. But it also raises an uncomfortable sustainability question: can the world’s biggest sporting event keep expanding in a warming world? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, Wrishi and Carmine look beyond the pitch to explore the climate and energy story behind World Cup 2026. We discuss why fan travel is likely to dominate the tournament’s carbon footprint, why using existing stadiums is positive but not enough, how extreme heat and humidity could affect players and fans, and whether FIFA’s sustainability strategy goes far enough. We also ask what a genuinely sustainable World Cup would look like — from regional scheduling and transparent carbon accounting to heat-aware match planning, public transport, credible offsets and host-city legacy. This is not an episode about feeling guilty for watching football. It is about asking whether the world’s game can adapt to the world it is played in. Listen now for a practical, human and analytical look at football, climate risk and the future of global sport.

S4E10: The Week London Couldn’t Breathe

In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we introduce a new type of content: a story-led sustainability deep dive. Instead of our usual conversation format, we step back into one defining moment in environmental history: the Great Smog of London. For five days in December 1952, London was trapped under a thick, toxic blanket of coal smoke and fog. Streets disappeared. Transport stopped. Hospitals filled. Thousands of people died. And eventually, the disaster helped force a political and social reckoning that led to the UK’s Clean Air Act. But this is not just a story about air pollution in the past. It is a story about what happens when environmental harm becomes normalised. It is about systems that appear to work until their hidden costs become impossible to ignore. And it is about the role of policy, public pressure and leadership in changing what society is willing to tolerate. As cities, companies and governments today confront climate change, air pollution, water stress, biodiversity loss and other sustainability challenges, the Great Smog offers a powerful reminder: sustainability failures rarely arrive out of nowhere. They build slowly, often in plain sight. This episode asks a simple but urgent question: what are we breathing in today without noticing?

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S4E9: Can Electricity Ever Be 100% Clean?

Electricity is becoming the backbone of the modern economy — powering transport, heating, industry, cooling, digital infrastructure and increasingly, AI. But as demand grows, can we really build a power system that is 100% decarbonised? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, Wrishi and Carmine explore what “100% clean electricity” actually means, and why the final stretch of decarbonisation is often the hardest. They discuss the role of wind and solar, storage, grid expansion, demand flexibility, firm clean power, geothermal, market design and public acceptance. The conversation also looks at real-world examples, including Uruguay’s near-100% renewable electricity system and South Australia’s rapid shift towards high levels of wind and solar. The episode opens with a striking comparison between a proposed 9 GW AI data centre campus in Utah, the Boeing Everett factory, and the electricity consumption of the entire state of Utah — a reminder that the clean power challenge is not just about today’s grid, but the much larger grid of the future. A practical, accessible conversation on whether 100% decarbonised electricity is possible — and what it would actually take to get there.

S4E8: Change in Motion with Jennifer Motles

In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we speak with Jennifer Motles, Chief Sustainability Officer at Philip Morris International, about what sustainability leadership looks like inside a complex global business undergoing transformation. Jennifer shares her journey into sustainability leadership and explains how she sees the role of a CSO: not as a side function, but as a driver of long-term value creation, resilience, and business transformation. The conversation explores why sustainability must start with a company’s most material impacts, how systems change requires action far beyond one company alone, and why transformation should be understood not as a project with a clear end point, but as continuous “change in motion.” We also discuss what it takes to drive change across a large organisation, how senior leadership alignment shapes progress, and why credibility comes from outcomes, evidence, and transparency around both achievements and limitations. Jennifer offers a candid perspective on trade-offs, accountability, and the realities of working on difficult sustainability challenges where change is often slower and messier than outside observers expect. This episode will be especially relevant for sustainability professionals, business leaders, and anyone interested in how real transformation happens inside large organisations. Topics covered: Jennifer Motles’ journey into sustainability leadership Why sustainability matters in the context of business transformation Systems change and the role of business in tackling complex challenges How to drive change across strategy, operations, and leadership Credibility, accountability, and evidence in sustainability Why transparency about trade-offs and limitations matters Advice for people trying to create meaningful change inside complex organisations A thoughtful episode on leadership, realism, and why the hard work of sustainability happens from within.

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S4E7: Retrofitting the Future

In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we turn our attention to one of the most practical — and often underestimated — parts of the climate challenge: buildings. After previously exploring the carbon footprint of individuals, we saw that while transport dominates, the home is not far behind. And unlike transport, buildings are one area where change can happen now. To help us unpack the challenge, we are joined by Ascanio Vitale, a sustainability science expert with more than 30 years of experience in environmental advocacy and decarbonisation. With a background spanning engineering, policy, and consulting, Ascanio has worked with Greenpeace, WWF, the European Commission, and now leads Stop CO2, where he advises on sustainability and ultra-efficient buildings. Together, we explore why building retrofit is still moving too slowly, what households can do first to reduce energy use and bills, why commercial buildings struggle with split incentives, whether current grants and subsidies are working, and which technologies are genuinely promising. This is a conversation about more than carbon. It is about comfort, health, resilience, affordability, and how better buildings can become a real part of the transition.

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S4E6: The New Logic of Clean Resilience

In this episode of Sustainability Forward, Wrishi and Carmine explore the new logic of clean resilience. Against the backdrop of the current Middle East crisis, they examine why the implications go far beyond oil prices. The conversation looks at three connected themes: how renewables are coming into sharper focus as an energy security lever, why water resilience and desalination can no longer be separated from power-system design, and how disruptions to critical commodities such as fertiliser and helium reveal the fragility of global supply chains. Rather than treating clean energy as only a climate solution, this episode asks a bigger question: are we entering a period in which clean energy, clean water and diversified supply systems become essential pillars of resilience? A timely discussion on energy, infrastructure, security and what the future may demand from more resilient systems.

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S4E5: AI, Cloud & Sustainability: Reality vs. Hype

AI is everywhere in sustainability right now — but what’s genuinely changing on the ground, and what’s still hype? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, hosts Wrishi Sutradhar and Carmine Fiume sit down with Carlos Silva Willson, a global technology and partnerships leader at Microsoft Middle East with prior experience across GE/Baker Hughes and AWS. Carlos brings a practical, “been-in-the-room” perspective on what AI and cloud can realistically deliver for sustainability — and what leaders should be cautious about as adoption accelerates. In the conversation, we cover: Where AI + cloud are already creating measurable sustainability value (beyond dashboards and buzzwords) Why partnerships and ecosystems matter if climate solutions are going to scale The hard questions around AI’s footprint: data centres, energy demand, and water use How to think about trust, accountability, and credible impact claims The changing talent landscape: the skills that will define climate-tech careers in the years ahead If you work in sustainability, climate-tech, energy, or digital transformation, this episode will help you separate signal from noise — and focus on what’s scalable, credible, and useful.

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S4E4: Growing Food Where Community Happens

What if the modern version of a UK allotment isn’t a patch of land—but a classroom? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we speak with Alex Tyink, co-founder and CEO of Fork Farms, whose unlikely journey from opera singer to urban farmer began on a rooftop in Brooklyn—and turned into a mission focused on food access with dignity. We explore why food is one of the most practical entry points into sustainability: it’s daily, personal, and deeply connected to health, community, and resilience. Alex explains why Fork Farms focuses on enabling others to grow (rather than operating farms themselves), why highly perishable foods like leafy greens matter most, and what changes when students grow food that ends up on the school lunch line. We also get into the real-world side of scaling: what breaks in deployments, how you design for people who have never grown anything, and where AI can genuinely help day-to-day operators without becoming hype. In this conversation: Alex’s Brooklyn rooftop turning point—and how growing food reshaped purpose and wellbeing Food access beyond price and calories: dignity, trust, and control Why schools are the best place to start—and what happens when kids eat what they grow Scaling distributed indoor growing without the “giant vertical farm” trap Where automation and AI can improve consistency and operational confidence If you’re looking for sustainability that feels human, practical, and achievable, this episode is for you.

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S4E3: When AI Becomes a Teammate

As energy systems become more complex and data intensive, organisations face a critical challenge: how to scale reliability, throughput, and decision quality without proportionally scaling headcount. In this episode of Sustainability Forward, hosts Wrishi and Carmine explore how agentic AI represents a shift from AI as a productivity tool to AI as a trusted teammate embedded directly into operational workflows. Joined by Subodh Kumar, they discuss: Why cognitive load is the real constraint inside modern energy organisations The difference between traditional AI copilots and agentic AI systems Real world applications across maintenance diagnostics, process safety, engineering handovers, and operational decision support How to design human oversight and accountability in AI enabled environments How leaders must rethink organisational structure and governance to deploy AI safely The episode draws from Subodh’s book, Agentic AI for Leaders, which offers a practical executive framework for integrating AI into enterprise decision making while preserving accountability and safety. 📘 Book link: https://a.co/d/0aNdOMSK If you are a leader in energy, oil and gas, renewables, utilities, or industrial operations, this episode explores how AI can strengthen system resilience and unlock sustainable performance gains. Subscribe to Sustainability Forward for more conversations at the intersection of energy, sustainability, technology, and leadership.

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S4E2: The Era of Water Bankruptcy

What happens when the world doesn’t just face water scarcity — but water bankruptcy? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we unpack a stark new warning from the United Nations: many of the world’s freshwater systems are now so over-used and degraded that they may never recover to their historical levels. We explore what “global water bankruptcy” actually means, why this framing is different from how we’ve talked about water crises before, and what the implications are for food systems, economies, geopolitics, and climate resilience. From collapsing aquifers and rivers that no longer reach the sea, to the hidden role of groundwater in global food production, this conversation connects water to some of the biggest challenges facing societies today. Most importantly, we discuss what can still be done — and why managing water bankruptcy requires political courage, hard limits, and a fundamental rethink of how we value water. This episode is for anyone interested in sustainability, climate risk, food security, and the invisible systems that underpin modern life.

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S4E1: Your Biggest Climate Impact Is Not What You Think

We often think individual climate action is about small, visible choices — what we eat, what we recycle, or whether we switch off the lights. But do those actions really matter most? In the first episode of the new year, Wrishi Sutradhar and Carmine Fiume take a data-driven look at where personal emissions actually come from. Using concrete examples, we walk through the biggest drivers of individual climate impact: cars and mobility, flying, home energy and heating, food choices, and consumption. Along the way, we unpack why some actions dominate emissions while others receive disproportionate attention — and why context matters so much. Where you live, how your energy is produced, your travel patterns, and your housing all shape your footprint in very different ways. This episode isn’t about being a “perfect green consumer.” It’s about understanding impact, prioritising the right levers, and moving the conversation away from guilt and toward agency. If you’ve ever wondered where to actually focus your energy when it comes to climate action, this episode is a good place to start.

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One Story, Sixteen Chapters

In this Season 3 finale of Sustainability Forward, hosts Wrishi Sutradhar and Carmine Fiume look back on the year — but not as a simple recap. Instead, we retell Season 3 as one connected story: a journey through the messy middle of sustainability, where progress depends on incentives, trust, execution, and real-world adoption. Across the season, we explored the topics shaping today’s sustainability and energy transition conversation — from impact investing and climate finance, to electrification of heating (heat pumps), resilience and food systems, and the growing importance of data, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV). This finale brings together the biggest insights from our guests and episodes, including: Can we make money while saving the planet? (impact investing + incentives) Why heat pumps and electrification matter for decarbonising homes Resilience at household level: backyards, preparedness, community Soil health, regenerative agriculture, and making climate tangible through food Sustainability communication, trust, and avoiding greenwashing Science, solar, and the realities of scaling the energy transition AI for climate: opportunity, risk, and rising energy demand Methane transparency and why MRV is becoming market infrastructure The ESG backlash: reporting vs performance, and the role of corporate courage Capital markets and what “mobilising trillions” really requires Planetary boundaries and why sustainability is bigger than carbon Emerging markets and renewables: India and Pakistan — same sun, different stories We close with our key learnings from the season and a forward-looking view of what 2026 may demand: proof over promises, better execution capacity, credible disclosure, and trust as a foundation for climate and sustainability action. If you want a thoughtful, practical synthesis of sustainability, ESG, climate tech, climate finance, and the energy transition — this episode is for you. Subscribe for more conversations on sustainability strategy, real-economy decarbonisation, climate risk, and the future of energy.

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Same Sun, Different Stories - The Renewable Boom in India and Pakistan

What happens when people stop waiting for the grid — and build their own energy transition instead? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, Wrishi and Carmine travel across India and Pakistan to unpack one of the most dynamic – and least understood – clean energy stories in the world. Wrishi draws on childhood memories of Indian power cuts and today’s giant solar parks to explain how India became a renewables heavyweight: ambitious national targets, ultra-cheap solar auctions, and state-level champions like Gujarat and Rajasthan. At the same time, coal still acts as India’s safety blanket, revealing the tensions at the heart of its energy politics. Then the focus shifts to Pakistan, where the official numbers say renewables are tiny – but rooftops tell a very different story. We explore: The silent rooftop solar boom reshaping homes, factories and farms How cheap panels and batteries are changing daily life under chronic load-shedding The hidden risks around grid finances, groundwater, and energy inequality What “getting it right” could look like over the next decade Two countries under the same sun, facing different constraints, making different mistakes – and offering powerful lessons for the global energy transition. 🎧 Listen in if you care about climate, development, or just want to understand what the energy transition really feels like on the ground.

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5 Sustainability Myths Every Leader Must Stop Believing

This week, we sit down with IMD Professor and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, Julia Binder, to tackle the biggest misconceptions shaping corporate sustainability. From ESG confusion to climate myopia, “sustainability is expensive” narratives to the belief that sustainable products don’t sell — we break down the stories that have quietly distorted how leaders think and act. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why ESG was never meant to measure positive impact, and what companies get wrong when they treat it as sustainability. How climate has become a shorthand for sustainability, and the planetary boundaries we’re dangerously overlooking. Why sustainability isn’t a cost centre — and how leading firms turn it into a strategic investment. What really stops sustainable products from selling (hint: it’s not consumers), including performance, pricing, and sales-team barriers. Whether we’re facing “sustainability fatigue” — and why the feel-good era is over, but the real work is just beginning. Julia brings clarity, candour, and optimism to one of the most misunderstood areas of modern business. If you’re a business leader, innovator, sustainability professional, or just curious about what’s really happening behind the headlines — this conversation is for you. 🎧 Listen now and subscribe to Sustainability Forward for more conversations with global thinkers shaping the future.

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