The phrase ‘origin story’ is overused, but Jon’s reflection on his experience of being born prematurely with low survival odds, has instilled in him a deep sense of purpose and giving back.

Inspired by a passionate geography teacher, Jon determined to pursue landscape architecture, kickstarting his career with a creative, self-made CV road trip that landed multiple job offers. A later period of burnout and isolation, after working for a large PLC where culture and purpose had eroded, became a turning point, motivating him to build a workplace centred on wellbeing, trust and community.

What began as a desire to ‘enjoy work again’ has grown into a 130-person business focused on ecology, arboriculture, landscape planning and green infrastructure,  helping clients navigate planning while restoring nature.

Tyler Grange operates a triple balance sheet for people, planet and profit. A certified B Corp, it uses the framework to improve accountability and reshape its supply chain towards ethical providers (e.g., Honest Mobile; refugee-led soap makers in Orkney), while introduction of a four-day work week has increased productivity and reduced sick leave significantly, demonstrating how purpose-led initiatives can drive commercial performance.

Culture is key: a ‘loud leadership’ model encourages all voices, while recruitment focuses on storytelling (‘ditch the CV, recruit a human’). The business invests heavily in wellbeing support and transparent communication, including open financial discussions and visible strategy.

Jon also leads The Kindness Forecast, a social experiment linking small acts of kindness to wider behavioural change. Jon cites among his influences The Second Mountain by David Brooks, and the work done by ‘nature on the board’ pioneers Faith in Nature.

Visit Tyler Grange  at: https://tylergrange.co.uk/

Connect with Jon at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-berry-65816510/

What began as a half‑tennis‑court‑sized experiment has grown into around 100 acres of single‑estate peppermint, the foundation of Summerdown’s award‑winning chocolates, teas, bodycare and home fragrance.

Jo describes Summerdown as ‘the peppermint people’, but the business is far more than a brand. It is a vertically integrated farm‑to‑product operation: the team grows, harvests and distils peppermint on site, alongside chamomile, lavender and cereals.

Their oats are produced through a nature‑positive partnership with Jordans, requiring wildflower margins and land set aside for biodiversity. Manufacturing is carried out by long‑term UK partners before products return to the farm for fulfilment and distribution.

A defining theme of Jo’s leadership is the idea of ‘right‑sized growth’. He likens it to an oak tree: expansive in its early years, then regenerative rather than extractive once mature.

Summerdown’s strategy focuses on cutting carbon, connecting people with place, and cultivating natural stewardship - an approach reflected in its 75 km of hedgerows, rare wildflowers, and the return of species such as stone curlew.

When a long‑standing manufacturing partner collapsed, Summerdown faced a choice between cheaper commodity chocolate and a higher‑quality single‑origin chocolate from a fellow B Corp. The latter reduced margins but strengthened ethics, flavour and carbon performance—an easy decision once viewed through their value lens.

Two themes stand out: Jo’s belief that place is the heart of the brand, and his conviction that regenerative business requires taking the harder, longer‑term path to create shared value for land, people and partners.

Visit Summerdown at: https://summerdown.com/

Connect with Jo at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-c0/

While volunteering with the Uganda International Marathon, Sarah discovered that girls were missing up to 25% of their education because they didn’t own a pair of underwear. The realisation that something many of us take for granted  ‘has such an impact if you don’t have it’ became the catalyst for her work.

Sarah’s background is in the charity sector, including at Oxfam and the MS Society. Once she began researching how underwear is made, she was confronted with fashion’s toxic supply chains — pesticides, pollution, and widespread exploitation. She refused to ‘solve one problem and create another’, and built Y.O.U Underwear on a different foundation: Fairtrade‑certified organic cotton, SEDEX‑audited factories, and a commitment to paying everyone in the supply chain properly.

Y.O.U. operates a clear buy‑one‑give‑one model, donating each purchased pair through Smalls for All, to vulnerable women and girls in the UK and across Africa. Some collections also support communities in Kenya and Tanzania, and a pink range raises funds for breast cancer charities.

A defining theme in Sarah’s story is her personal and financial commitment. She has bootstrapped the business entirely, working freelance for years and returning to paid work recently. Stock purchase requires up-front spend, with Fairtrade cotton minimums and long lead times. Growth has been slow by design, but steady: Y.O.U Underwear now has a shop in Oxford, a second opening in Brighton in summer 2026, and annual turnover of around £350–370k, with over 10,000 pairs of underwear sold last year.

Sarah’s experience shows that slow fashion is structurally hard — but for her, doing things fairly is ‘the only way she can sleep at night’, and the only way business should be done.

Visit Y.O.U. at: https://www.youunderwear.com/

Connect with Sarah at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbjordan/

Sophie’s route into leadership has been shaped by a long‑standing belief in the value of cultural understanding and human expertise. Comtec provides localisation and translation services across more than 200 languages, working with clients in B2B and B2C sectors, as well as creative, marketing and learning agencies. Sophie believes localisation is about creating an experience that “really resonates and connects with the audience,” going far beyond direct translation to consider cultural nuance and context.

A major theme in our conversation is how Comtec balances purpose and profit in an industry transformed by AI. The company was the first translation business to become B Corp certified, a framework Sophie says aligned naturally with their long‑held values. Even as AI opens opportunities to localise at scale, Sophie is clear that human linguistic and cultural expertise remains central to quality and fairness.

We explore Comtec’s tools such as Pronto (a self‑service machine translation platform) and Clara (a content‑generation tool), and how transparency with clients — showing the difference between AI‑led and human‑led outputs — has become a defining part of their approach.

Two things to take away:

• AI has reshaped the translation sector at extraordinary speed, and Comtec’s human‑centred approach has been essential to navigating that shift.
• Not all languages respond equally well to AI — and guiding clients through those nuances is now a critical part of Comtec’s value.

Visit Comtec at: https://www.comtectranslations.co.uk/

Connect with Sophie at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiehowecomtectranslations/

Douglas has spent over 20 years working across emerging markets, sovereign wealth funds and new asset classes, always with a belief in the ‘efficient deployment of capital’. It was reading Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save which crystallised his desire to focus on the world’s biggest challenges.

Future Planet Capital now manages just under £500m, investing across three interconnected strategies:

• Global Growth — backing later‑stage companies emerging from the world’s top centres of innovation
• National Deep Tech — including management of the UK government’s deep tech fund, commercialising research from 50,000+ UK researchers
• Regional Impact — currently focused on the West Midlands, supporting local innovation ecosystems

Douglas describes the model as combining profit discipline with purpose, anchored in the three principles of global benchmarking, impact clarity and data-driven objectivity. 

• Two themes stand out:
  Impact and returns are mutually reinforcing — without profitability, institutional capital won’t flow to solutions that matter.
• Bias is a structural risk in venture investing, and Future Planet uses both data and competing innovation hubs to counter it.

Visit Future Planet Capital at: https://futureplanetcapital.com/

Connect with Douglas at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhansenluke/

Adam’s route into sustainability began unexpectedly. After moving to Canada in his early twenties, he took a job as a door‑to‑door canvasser for Greenpeace, expanding the canvassing operations over time. Returning to the UK, he joined Friends of the Earth as a campaigner, leading lobbying on what became the Environment Act 1995. That early focus on accountability and transparency became, as he puts it, a “red thread” running through his entire career.

Adam moved into sustainability communications and then consulting, working with pioneering organisations long before sustainability became mainstream. His client roster includes the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, Brompton, The Guardian, Seasalt Cornwall, and notably Adidas, where he served as their lead outsourced sustainability consultant for 15 years. He joined Junxion Strategy in 2013, and was an early mover in the B Corp movement in the UK, with Junxion becoming one of the first consulting firms to offer B Corp certification support. A decade on, he and his team have deep experience helping companies navigate both the original and the newly updated B Lab standards.

We explore how Junxion positions itself as an exemplar of purpose‑driven business — a company that sees profit as fuel for purpose, not the purpose itself. Two themes stand out: the importance of relationships over transactions, and the need for courage rather than box‑ticking in a sector that must “meet the moment” if businesses are to play their part in addressing global challenges.

Connect with Adam at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamgarfunkel/

Visit Junxion Strategy at https://junxion.com/

Will shares the story behind his shift into sustainability. After early roles with major brands including Trainline, Gala Coral and Siemens Communications, he spent a decade at consultancy Iris Concise, helping complex organisations build new commercial capabilities. A mid‑career pivot came through a role at QA, where a digital transformation project unexpectedly “almost completely decarbonized the business.” That experience gave him the credibility — and the conviction — to move fully into sustainability.

We explore how Whitbread, owner of Premier Inn and several branded restaurants, with 850+ hotels in the UK and rapid expansion in Germany, positions itself within the wider sustainability landscape. Will talks us through work done at Whitbread to balance purpose with scale: electrifying kitchens, replacing gas boilers with air‑source heat pumps, reducing water and energy use, designing out food waste, and embedding renewable energy across the estate. He also explains how platforms like HRS and Booking.com increasingly reward operators who provide emissions data — turning sustainability into a driver of revenue as well as resilience.

A central theme is the practical reality of delivering sustainability inside a large, operationally intense business. Will reflects on the governance required to unlock long‑term capital investment, the psychology of customer nudges, and the importance of cross‑functional ownership — from procurement and property to finance and operations. His metaphor is memorable: the sustainability team as “fire starters,” convening the right people, lighting the flame, and then stepping back as the organisation takes ownership.

Finally, Will shares where he sees the sector heading. With rising expectations around reporting, supply‑chain ethics and energy transition, he believes the next decade will reward organisations that prioritise the biggest levers, act transparently and focus on solutions that deliver both impact and commercial value.

Connect with Will at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-silverwood/

Tom shares the story behind OCEANR’s evolution. What began as three friends in West Cork spotting an overlooked product category – the humble rash vest – has grown into a 90‑person international business with design and production in Latvia and commercial teams in Ireland.

After an early attempt at building a consumer brand, demand from organisations looking for credible sustainability partners reshaped the company’s direction.

Today OCEANR delivers bespoke uniforms and merchandise for clients such as Necker Island, blending performance apparel with measurable environmental impact.

We explore how OCEANR positions itself within the wider sustainability landscape. Tom breaks down their People, Product, Planet framework, from ethical manufacturing and innovative materials to lifecycle analysis, take‑back schemes and partnerships that remove river‑bound plastic and plant mangroves.

OCEANR’s B Corp certification reinforces this approach, offering clients external validation in a space where transparency matters.

A central theme is the practical reality of building a purpose‑led business while scaling. Tom talks candidly about the challenges of growing through COVID, the long road to profitability, and the constant balancing act between commercial pressures and sustainability commitments.

He also reflects on how organisations are increasingly seeking real solutions rather than surface‑level “green” claims — and how OCEANR aims to meet that need.

Finally, Tom tells us where he sees the sector heading. With rising expectations around reporting, supply‑chain ethics and environmental accountability, he believes the next decade will reward brands that combine transparency, innovation and genuine impact.

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-cotter/

Visit OCEANR at https://oceanr.co/ 

The harsh reality of children dying because families couldn’t afford monthly fees for lifesaving medication, set Geoff on a new path and resulted in co-creation of Beyond the Orphanage, a model focused on reuniting street-connected children with family and supporting them through education into adulthood.

Geoff’s story as a driver of positive change doesn’t stop there. In 2019 he launched Work for Impact — a for-profit platform connecting global employers with talent in low-income countries.

We take a deep dive into how the business works today: a lean fee structure well below industry norms, 140,000 people on the platform, and contractors typically earning three times local wages. Clients range from Nasdaq-listed companies to small non-profits, and the company’s B Corp status underpins its commitment to transparency and ethical tech.

Geoff also reflects on what he’s learned along the way — from balancing purpose with commercial reality to recognising that progress often comes from working with ‘amber’ organisations, not just the ‘perfect’ ones.

A conversation about purpose-led entrepreneurship, practical impact, and the small operational decisions that make big social outcomes possible.

Contact Geoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-hucker/

Find out more about Work for Impact: https://www.workforimpact.com/

Jay shares the story behind PACT’s growth. Four and a half years ago it had just a few dozen members and one course. Today it has more than 400 members across the UK and internationally, delivering accredited training and influencing the future of the profession.

We explore how PACT sits within the wider animal welfare ecosystem, working alongside the Animal Behaviour and Training Council and helping shape standards across charities, trainers, behaviourists, and regulators.

A big theme is the unexpected reach of dog trainers. Jay argues they’re not just working with animals – they’re teaching people. Because dog ownership spans all of society, trainers often work with everyone from families to senior executives.

That creates an opportunity: using everyday conversations with dog owners to raise awareness of sustainability and environmental impact.

Jay also shares how sustainability runs through PACT’s model. The organisation publishes impact reports, measures its carbon footprint, and has donated more than £80,000 through scholarships, charity support, and sector initiatives.

We hear about their unusual training venue – a three-acre former horse paddock turned into a nature-rich site with wildflowers, renewable energy, compost systems, and biodiversity projects.

The conversation also explores PACT’s B Corp journey and what ethical business means in practice – from supplier choices and ethical banking to challenging poor industry norms.

Finally, Jay reflects on where the sector is heading. With stronger standards and new certification frameworks emerging, he believes the next decade could see a major step forward in professionalism and animal welfare.

A fascinating episode on dogs, sustainability, professional standards – and how a small organisation can influence a much larger system.

Connect with Jay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-light-89a71259/

Visit PACT Dogs: https://www.pact-dogs.com/

Darren shares the story of a business built over 35 years, shaped by family and a strong sense of care, humility, and responsibility - now central to how it approaches sustainability.

We hear how the company has evolved since Covid. Changing workplace patterns, shifting customer needs, and a more complex procurement landscape have pushed Aston and James to become more consultative and responsive.

The conversation explores what responsible business looks like in a product-based company. Darren talks about eco delivery days, reducing van journeys, helping customers consolidate orders, and making more thoughtful choices around packaging, logistics, and sourcing.

We also look at the challenge of influencing behaviour. Aston and James isn’t just selling products - it’s encouraging customers to buy less often, buy better, and reduce waste. Darren explains how clearer product information, approved ranges, and reuse schemes support that shift.

There’s a discussion on supplier realities too. Progress is happening, but slowly. Darren reflects on the challenge of improving data, transparency, and supply chains as a smaller business without huge buying power.

Internally, we hear about the Green Council - bringing people together to turn good intentions into steady action, from recycled materials to more ambitious reuse initiatives.

Darren is open about the commercial tensions. More sustainable options can cost more, and not every idea is straightforward. But he makes a strong case for focusing on practical progress rather than perfect solutions.

A grounded episode on practical sustainability, family business values, supply chain complexity, and the small changes that add up over time.

For more on Aston & James visit https://www.aston-james.co.uk/

Contact Darren on Darren@aston-james.co.uk

Latte is one of three recruitment agencies globally to have pledged against recruiting for agencies with fossil fuel clients, instead championing roles that use comms as a force for good. 

Dean shares what it’s like to run a recruitment business in a volatile sector, where demand shifts quickly and hiring trends give an early read on the wider agency market - and why things are starting to look more positive again.

But the heart of the episode is values. Dean explains how Latte became involved with Clean Creatives, the movement encouraging agencies not to support fossil fuel clients. What began as a team conversation has become a clear line in the sand.

We explore what that means in practice - turning down work, ending client relationships, and building a framework for navigating grey areas like networks and less visible client connections.

Dean is honest about the tensions involved. This is not abstract ethics. It’s real revenue, real trade-offs, and moments where a small business owner chooses between short-term income and long-term principles.

The conversation opens up a wider view of recruitment’s role in driving change. Dean argues recruiters are not neutral - they shape talent flows, influence agency choices, and can apply pressure by refusing to work with organisations that conflict with their values.

We also discuss the ripple effects - from educating candidates to the idea that working on certain accounts could become a genuine career constraint.

There’s a thoughtful reflection on how values evolve inside a business. Latte wasn’t founded as climate-focused - that perspective grew over time, shaped by the team and a sense that business should stand for more than profit.

Finally, Dean looks ahead - from the rise of AI roles in agencies to a future where recruiters need to offer more strategic value as transactional models come under pressure.

A candid episode on recruitment, values, climate accountability, and what it takes for a small business to back its principles when money is on the line.

For more about Latte visit https://www.wearelatte.com/

Nick shares his route into charity recruitment, moving from a more traditional path to finding a better fit in the non-profit world. Ten years on, he leads a business working across charity, education, and social impact roles, from place-based hiring to senior leadership and trustee appointments.

A central theme is what impact really means for a recruiter. For Charity People, it goes beyond filling vacancies. Nick talks about supporting life decisions, helping organisations hire better, and strengthening the sector’s long-term resilience.

We also explore the internal side of impact - from staff wellbeing and flexible working to becoming wholly employee owned. Nick explains why they chose an employee ownership trust, what it changes in practice, and how it sharpens thinking on fairness, accountability, and shared success.

There’s an honest discussion about the realities of purpose-led business. Nick reflects on a difficult period after the move to employee ownership - including market slowdown, limited access to capital, and the challenge of staying transparent with staff.

The conversation then turns to equity, diversity and inclusion. Nick shares how Charity People works to make hiring fairer, while recognising the pressures many charities face. It’s a thoughtful look at the tension between long-term goals and short-term needs.

We also touch on governance, B Corp, and the role of structure in making purpose credible. Nick argues that businesses serious about impact should think carefully about who benefits and how decisions are made.

Finally, Nick looks ahead to the future of recruitment - including AI - while arguing that human judgement, trust, and partnership remain central.

A thoughtful episode on recruitment, employee ownership, transparency, and building a business that tries to do right by its staff, clients, and sector.

For more information visit https://charitypeople.co.uk/

Connect with Nick at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickbillinghamcharityrecruiter/

Amanda shares the story behind Forster’s founding in 1996, inspired by the Body Shop era and the belief that business can be a force for good. That ambition still shapes the agency’s work, client choices, and how it runs day to day.

We explore what it means to be selective about clients in practice. Forster works across sectors, but with clear red lines - and a constant question: will this work contribute to real change, or just polish the surface?

Amanda talks through how those decisions are made - using evidence, research, and judgement - and the tension of balancing purpose with commercial reality in a values-led business.

We also look inward at the people and processes behind the model. From colleague-led impact groups to sustainable travel incentives and a plant-based office, this is about building a healthier, fairer business from the inside out.

Not everything is straightforward. Diversity remains a challenge. Recruitment is slow. And some initiatives take time to land. But Amanda makes a strong case for small businesses treating agility as a strength.

There’s a wider discussion on the role of communications too. In a noisy, distrustful environment shaped by misinformation and greenwashing, Amanda argues the industry has a vital role to play - building trust, clarity, and support for change.

We close by looking ahead - from growing European partnerships to preparing for new B Corp standards - and why small businesses should lean into their ability to experiment, learn fast, and lead.

A thoughtful episode on purpose-led communications, client choice, trust, and the power of small businesses to move things forward.

For more information visit forster.co.uk, and connect with Amanda on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-powell-smith/ 

Priory Direct is a £10 million packaging business helping more than 16,000 UK e-commerce businesses ship products to customers — with as little waste as possible.

We hear how they’re taking on one of e-commerce's most overlooked problems. Secondary packaging — the boxes, mailers and dispatch materials that move products from warehouse to doorstep — is a massive and growing waste stream. Josh's mission is to make it as efficient and as harmless as possible.

Josh traces his journey from cutting out address labels for a teenage kite surfing side hustle, to a beach in Cape Verde littered with plastic, to the light bulb moment that gave Priory Direct its purpose: minimise the impact of e-commerce on the planet.

We explore what sustainable packaging means in practice — forecasting demand, filling lorries, reducing shipped air, and coordinating supply chains across 16,000 UK businesses. The insight that sustainability and commercial efficiency can be the same thing runs throughout.

Josh gives an honest account of embedding sustainability into the business — putting carbon footprint and waste streams on the same KPI dashboard as turnover and profit, democratising responsibility across every department, and letting people surprise you when you get out of their way.

We get into the realities of certifying as a B Corp, working with fast fashion clients without conflict, and why EPR legislation is finally forcing large retailers to scrutinise their packaging spend. 

The conversation turns to what's next — a machine learning forecasting platform funded by Innovate UK, a new life cycle assessment tool covering 14 environmental factors, and an open letter campaign to ban misleading recyclability claims on soft plastic.

Finally, Josh makes a grounded case for why marketing and sustainability belong together — and why green hushing may be more dangerous than greenwashing.

A practical, energetic episode on purpose, packaging, and the unglamorous work of making supply chains less wasteful — one lorry load at a time.

Find out more about Priory Direct at https://www.priorydirect.co.uk/

Ruth is co-founder of Oxygen, an Oxford-based creative agency and certified B Corp working with purpose-led organisations. Their work spans brand, design and websites, with a growing focus on low-carbon web design. 

In this short episode we learn how Oxygen started as the marketing team at Oxford HR, a leadership consultancy serving the global for-purpose sector such as WWF, Greenpeace and Médecins Sans Frontières and developed into a standalone agency.

Ruth also shares a little of her own story - from studying at the LSE to building a career centred on purpose-led work, climate awareness and responsible business.

Find Ruth on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-davis/

Learn more about Oxygen at designedbyoxygen.com.

• How earned income now accounts for over 95% of Oxford Wood Recycling’s £800k annual revenue
• The circular economy in action - collecting, reclaiming and reusing wood locally
• How environmental impact is measured through tonnes of waste saved and CO₂ avoided
• Supporting people into employment through practical skills and confidence building
• The cultural reality of running a warm, neurodiverse workplace alongside commercial discipline
• Why marketing isn’t just about sustainability messaging - but value, service and trust
• The challenge of building footfall when your best asset is hidden off the high street
• Growing demand for reclaimed materials - and the opportunity for national expansion

Adrian also reflects on the wider future of the sector: a UK where reclaimed wood services are available everywhere, making reuse the easy, everyday choice.

And his one piece of advice? Look carefully at what you already have - your expertise, your community, your audience. Somewhere in that sits value others are willing to support or pay for.

Website: https://www.oxfordwoodrecycling.org.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OxfordWoodRecycling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oxfordwoodrecycling/

Karen has spent her career exploring the intersection of business, sustainability and education. Today, her focus is clear: green skills - and why every job is now a green job.

We talk about what that really means in practice. Not just specialist sustainability roles, but marketing, operations, supply chain and leadership. The 99% of roles that need baseline carbon literacy, systems thinking and the confidence to act.

Karen delves into why demand for green talent is outstripping supply, why many managers still lack clarity about their role in delivering net zero, and why resilience and influence are now core leadership skills.

We explore the emotional toll on sustainability professionals - and why organisations must support them properly if they want progress to stick.

You’ll also hear about:

• Why sustainability must be meaningfully embedded in education
• The gap between education for sustainable development and real-world green skills
• The visibility problem in job descriptions - and why organisations miss talent by failing to signal their sustainability ambitions
• Carbon literacy training - and why no business graduate should leave university without it
• The growing communities of climate professionals supporting each other
• The role of marketing and internal communications in mobilising the 99%
• Why advocacy is a professional skill - and influencing change without becoming “the activist in the room”

Karen also shares encouraging signs of progress: packed green skills webinars, rising student demand for purposeful careers, and businesses continuing the work despite political headwinds.

Karen’s one piece of advice for employers:

Start with awareness. Reflect on how climate risk, regulation, talent expectations and cost efficiencies already affect your business. Then ask who in your organisation could act on that. That’s your green job.

Contact Karen at kcripps@brookes.ac.uk

Find Karen's book at: Cripps, K, and Ho, C. (Eds.) 2026 (forthcoming). An organisational guide to skills for green workforce transformation. Abingdon: Routledge.

Recent reports and publications: 

• Holding back climate progress - sustainability's critical skills gap - with Climate Change Coaches
• Sustainability in early careers, UK 2025 - with Windō
• Leading the Pathway to Net Zero - with the CMI

Tom’s idea is simple: if you want people to live more sustainably, make it easy and make it affordable.

Decent Energy’s platform cuts carbon and saves users money. And Decent Energy only gets paid when customers do.

Tom explains their first product, Shîfter - software that helps households optimise when they use and store electricity, based on half-hourly shifts in UK energy prices and grid carbon intensity.

We explore Decent Energy’s risk-reward model: no savings, no fee. Trust sits at the heart of it, backed by full transparency about what the software does and why.

You’ll also hear about:

• Why “green tariffs” don’t remove the importance of when you use energy
• How Decent Energy measures impact - money saved and CO₂ avoided, tracked against changing baselines
• The unexpectedly hard part: producing a bill that clearly proves the savings
• Early traction with councils, and why inverter integrations matter
• The roadmap ahead: Shîfter; Flex̃er (flexibility markets with cash payouts); Switcher (tariff recommendations based on real usage); and, longer term, peer-to-peer energy trading

Tom’s one piece of advice for sustainability-focused start-ups:

Make sure the sustainability business case is watertight. Whatever your mission, it still has to be commercially viable - because saving money is a message everyone understands.

Tom’s 10-year vision:
A shift towards hyper-local energy systems, where communities intelligently balance their own demand using rooftop solar, batteries and smart software. Less strain on the grid. Lower carbon. Lower bills. And a model that avoids the grid congestion already seen in parts of Europe.

Find out more at decentenergy.io, and try Power Hour - a simple tool showing the cheapest and lowest-carbon time to use electricity.

Meet Ali Peck, Head of Communications and Engagement at a net-zero committed pension fund.

We hear how an £8bn public sector pension fund, responsible for around 100,000 members, thinks about climate change not as a moral add-on, but as a material financial risk. Flooding, heat, supply chains, stranded assets – if investments aren’t resilient, pensions aren’t either.

We explore the fund’s net zero commitment, and why fiduciary duty now means actively understanding and managing climate risk in portfolios that span everything from global equities to UK infrastructure.

Ali gives a rare behind-the-scenes view of how a small communications team operates at serious scale – covering the full marketing mix, being deliberately vocal, and using transparency to influence asset managers, suppliers, and even other city pension funds around the world.

We also get into the realities of reporting: imperfect data, evolving frameworks, and the challenge of explaining complex investment decisions in plain English – without slipping into greenwashing or going quiet.

The conversation widens to divestment versus engagement, the limits of “just pulling out”, and why LPFA has also committed real capital to climate solutions – backing renewables, infrastructure, and technologies that support the transition.

Finally, Ali shares a grounded take on sustainability inside large systems: real change comes from working both inside and outside the system, using transparency, pressure, and persistence – and from engaging employees, members, and partners rather than relying on top-down declarations.

A thoughtful, practical episode on influence, money, risk – and how communications can be used to drive change where it really counts.

In this episode we discuss Emma’s personal journey, her philosophy of designing events around people, place and emotion, and her B Corp journey. We also explore a challenge many event professionals will recognise: that few people notice when events work well, which makes it hard to prove value.

Emma offers a practical critique of waste in the events industry, from single-use “sustainable” materials (is a bamboo fork really better than a reusable metal one?) to habits that are rarely questioned (does your event really need merch, or a branded backdrop?). She shows how questioning these defaults can save money and create better events with fewer materials, less clutter, and a more human experience.

She’s also fascinating on the importance of using local suppliers, as a way of reducing emissions and keeping money flowing into local communities rather than faceless supply chains.

Emma introduces Eventkind, her newly launched community for events managers – created in response to burnout, loneliness, and the lack of practical peer support in the sector. We finish by touching on Eventkind’s longer-term ambition: giving a collective voice to the doers in the industry and helping drive meaningful change from the ground up.

Contact Emma at emma@warwickevents.co.uk

Find out more about Warwick Events here: https://warwickevents.co.uk/ 

Learn about EventKind here: https://www.eventkind.org/ 

We discuss Andy’s journey from consultancy into property, and how he’s grown the business while deliberately keeping it local, human and design-led.

We dig into the realities of making office space more sustainable – from LEDs, insulation and waste contracts to carpet recycling, bat boxes, beehives and bee-friendly planting. We also explore why Andy decided not to go down the B Corp route, and the importance of telling honest sustainability stories without overclaiming.

Andy’s 10-year vision for the sector? For it to become a bit like the brewing industry - good quality local operators, connected to their communities and suppliers, although he fears it’ll be mopped up by bigger corporate entities, standardised and with costs driven out.

And his one piece of advice for businesses juggling impact and profit? “Understand your landscape. Make a plan. Get on with it. Pick the first thing, do it, then move to the next. It’s not much more complicated than that.”

Contact Andy at andy@pointofdifference.co.uk, and visit https://pointofdifference.co.uk/

In this short episode you’ll hear how the podcast came about and the types of guests we chat with: business leaders working to meet near-term financial needs while creating lasting wellbeing for people and planet.

You’ll also meet Season One co-host Ally Dunnett. Ally’s a sustainability consultant with experience in deforestation legislation, responsible sourcing, and an interest in optimising the life of wood products through reuse, repair and recycle. 

And what's the role of marketing, media and communications in all of this? I'm on a mission to find out by talking to business leaders who are balancing purpose and profit.

I'm Ned Wells and this is the Impact Files podcast. 

Join me as I chat with leaders from across business, exploring their personal stories and the leadership challenges of balancing purpose and profit.

Here's a flavour of what's coming up in season one.