Net Hero Podcast – With Sumit Bose

Insects: Nature’s waste warriors!

Insects are the kings of the planet. They live everywhere and are the most numerous animal on Earth.
We’ve heard endless stories about how eating insects will be the key to cutting our emissions from our food chain. I’m not so sure we’d all be switching to a cockroach curry or stick insect pie.
But they are nature’s ultimate waste disposal experts and one company has come up with a way to use them for just that.
In this podcast I speak to Larry Kotch, co-founder of Flybox. It does what it says and makes modular boxes which grow soldier fly larvae, they are voracious eaters and can munch through organic waste. But not only do they eat the waste, so you don’t have to incinerate or send to landfill, they are also a great feed stock for the petfood, fishing and agriculture sectors.
So you make money, reduce waste and cut emissions all naturally! Now that’s a real buzz, listen now and subscribe.

Decorating the net zero way!

What if you could recycle your floor tiles or wall decorations time and again?
 
The start of Spring is almost here and it’s generally the time to throw things out and spruce stuff up. DIY shops get very busy soon as everyone looks at a home makeover.
Walls and ceilings can be repainted. Furniture can be repaired and replaced but floors? We’re normally stuck with them for years.
But what if changing your floor wasn’t as expensive? What if it wasn’t as bad for the environment either?
Designer Susana Lopez  has created a company called ALDStone which specialises in sustainable flooring. She’s come up with a reusable underlay, which can have, wood, tiles or carpet laid on it time and time again. It’s brilliant for thermal insulation and made of sustainable materials.
So is this the future for green flooring? Listen in and let me know what you think. For me it’s a very clever idea!  Enjoy the podcast and share it with your friends.

The science of better heating...

The weather is all over the place right now but it's certainly been cold and I'm sure you've had your heating on.
The affordability of heat is a real issue for society, politicans and the energy industry. We have people despite government subsidies, really struggling to pay to keep warm. Our homes leak heat endlessly and our businesses and industries are no better.
So how can we tackle the heat question? How can we keep warm or cold, (think of the growing need for air conditioning around the globe), in the most low carbon way? That's part of the conundrum being studied at Leeds Beckett University's Sustainability Institute. I spoke to Professor David Glew who is Director of the institute to discuss what we can do to address the issue of heat and the wider science behind cutting emissions.
Listen in to a brilliant discussion which covers a wide range of subjects on how important science based testing of net zero technologies is for our future.
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Fashion that doesn't cost the Earth?

Can you look good without killing the planet? We all know the cost of fast fashion not just on resources but also on people, from child labour, to using chemical polluting dyes, it’s an industry that has come under scrutiny a lot over recent years.
But there is another side to it that is perhaps less discussed, that’s the enormous carbon footprint. Clothes are generally made from natural or synthetic fibres. The latter we all know are mainly by products from the hydrocarbon industry but natural fibres like silk and cotton also have a huge emissions impact.
On this week’s podcast Ietje Klaver is my guest and she’s from a company called Pyratex, which is trying to cut the carbon from our clothes right at the start of the journey – the original fibres. They are using recycled cotton fibres from old clothes, ones grown from seaweed, orange and banana waste and using new techniques trying to make textiles which can be reused again and again.
So could this innovation keep fashion on the right side of the climate catwalk? Listen in and subscribe!

What God can teach us about net zero!

Is climate change a religious topic ? Can we learn from those who believe in God when it comes to convincing us to change our ways?
Is the truth that net zero is missing the heavenly touch? That’s what I discussed with Michael Pollitt Professor of Business Economics at the Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge.
He’s looked at how the messages of climate change pushed out by environmentalists, companies, politicans and the media measure up against the word of God.
In essence does all the negative messaging about doom, gloom and 1.5C+ act against our collective psyche and so, instead of encouraging change make us more resigned to inaction?
Michael and I discuss if we need to reframe the messages to be more positive and if the power of people with faith, which is the vast majority of the planet, is the key way to get us all to cut emissions.

Polish people power - how a pressure group changed their country

The air we breathe is probably the biggest marker of how we feel.
In parts of the world, cities are choked with smog and during the pandemic one of the clearest indications of our effect on the environment, was the sight of clear skies and fresh air, when everyone was locked down and vehicles were off the roads.
From chimneys and smoke stacks, to oil flares and vehicle exhausts. We are constantly polluting our air and this has a direct effect on climate and our health. On this week's podcast I speak to Anna Dworakowska from Polish Smog Alert, a group of concerned citizens who took action to clean up the air in their city and their country!
What started as a pressure group in Krakow, became a national movement which forced politicians to act and now pollution laws have been tightened up, improving the quality of the air across the nation.
Polish Smog Alert were recent finalists for the Earthshot Prize, so what has Anna learned and what can we do to change the climate where we live for the better?
 

Xmas special!

Well what a year it’s been. As we say goodbye to 2023, I thought I would look back on the stories I thought gave a real flavour of the state of net zero.
As we end with a ‘sort’ of commitment to phase out all fossil fuels made at COP28, has it been a good or bad year for our 2050 target?
Join me as I remember some of the stories and guests who made me think twice; from antibiotics gathered from the sea, to cleaning up nuclear and my chat with Chris Skidmore on Mission Zero.
It’s been a great year for the podcast and we have also moved to video, please keep following us, subscribing and sharing what we are doing. Big thanks to the team here who produce it, particularly Garima, Rob and Sohee.
Have a great Xmas and happy new year, we will be back in January with more Net Heroes to celebrate!

The business benefits of tapping into water’s potential to gain efficiencies, improve resilience and cut carbon

Water can be an untapped opportunity for businesses – and exploring it further can power energy and carbon savings. Small actions with business water can deliver wider results – and they don’t need to be high cost to see lasting impacts.
 
Looking more at water use at sites is critical to future business growth and success link this sentence to: https://www.futurenetzero.com/category/water-plus-news/. Knowing more around how water’s used helps keep businesses operating, reducing risks and improving resilience.
 
Join Cherie Guthrie, a Key Account Manager with the UK’s largest business water retailer, Water Plus (link words Water Plus to https://www.futurenetzero.com/water-plus/ , who works with a range of sectors including multi-sites, manufacturers and food and drink companies, to find out approaches and areas that can deliver great results.
 
Water Plus has won 16 awards since July 2022 including a UK Customer Satisfaction Award, a Best Business Water Retailer award, two National Sustainability Awards, eight Green Apple Environment Awards and a Global Gold for Water Management in the Green World Awards 2023 for work with organisations around their water use and its steps to increase water efficiency, help reduce water waste and support projects that help communities.
 
To partner with the experts at Water Plus, email hello@water-plus.co.uk and include “FNZ Podcast” in the subject heading - and find more of the range of services available at: www.water-plus.co.uk/better-ways-with-water .

The bugs that will grow clothes made from thin air!

Imagine having tea, in a cup, while sitting on a table, wearing trainers, that are all made from greenhouse gases!
Bonkers, right? Well maybe that's around the corner. This week's guest is Mark Herrema from a company called Newlight Technologies, which has taken carbon capture into a whole new dimension, by using bacteria to absorb carbon emissions and convert them into a plastic like material.
They call the process Air Carbon and have used it to make products like cups, straws and plates so far but the possibilities, are endless. The team have discovered bacteria that like to 'eat' methane and CO2, absorbing it from the air and convert it into an amazing array of products.
It's taken two decades of science but they are finally ready to start making things at scale. I loved it! Hope you will find the story as fascinating as I did, listen or watch now.
Net Hero Podcast Episode 107

Money, money, money in a net zero world

Time to cough up? If we want to get to net zero we really need to get the money side of it sorted. Join my chat with leading economist Vicky Pryce as we talk cash!
This week, as COP28 continues we discuss the central issue in the whole net zero debate…. money.
Vicky Pryce, Chief Economic Adviser at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, told me net zero will require significant investment and that’s the central issue. Who will pay? How will it be funded, by states or by companies?
Is carbon taxation the only route to ensuring there is an equitable market, where poorer nations are not suffering while richer nations use loopholes to appear cleaner than they are?
I chat through all these issues with Vicky. Listen in and please comment and share your thoughts on social media.