#19 Ben Wynn: Inside the Prize Draw Removing CO2 from the Atmosphere
In this episode, Philippa talks to Ben Wynn, co-founder of Glad Climate, about why guilt and sacrifice will never be enough to drive climate action at scale, and how a prize-draw-funded nonprofit is trying to make atmospheric cleanup something ordinary people and ordinary businesses can actually participate in. Ben spent more than two decades in the tech world building products, teams and marketing across early-stage startups and scale-ups in FinTech, transport and home services. A "midlife c...
2 Sept 2026
#18 Sarah Adams: Why sustainable investing needs better questions, not perfect answers
In this episode, Philippa talks to Sarah Adams about why the sustainable investing conversation has been distorted by an all-or-nothing mindset, how genuine stewardship actually plays out inside the real estate market, and why the most surprising thing about engagement is not what investors say to companies, but what companies quietly ask investors to say back. Sarah Adams is co-founder and Chief Sustainability Officer at Vert Asset Management, where she designs the firm's shareholder engagem...
8 Jul 2026
#17 Vernon Dennis: Why every business failure is really a governance failure
In this episode, Philippa talks to Vernon Dennis about why he has come to see governance and culture as the real reasons businesses succeed or fail, why ESG is not a separate compliance exercise, and what directors actually need to do to discharge their duties in a world where "non-financial" misconduct is anything but. Vernon Dennis is a partner at Howard Kennedy Solicitors, where he leads the firm's business advisory practice and specialises in restructuring, insolvency and corporate turnar...
25 Jun 2026
#16 Steve Watters: Can investing drive real change? How Paradigm Norton aims to be a force for good.
In this episode, Philippa talks to Steve Watters about what it really means for a financial planning business to be a force for good, why excluding the worst offenders from a portfolio isn't enough on its own, and how stewardship and engagement can change the conversation between investors and the companies they own. Steve Watters is Head of Impact at Paradigm Norton. Trained as an engineer, he spent much of his early career in international development and charitable work in East Africa, Pal...
2 Jun 2026
#15 Peter Smith: How Bristol’s Ashton Gate Became a Force for Change
In this episode, Philippa talks to Peter Smith about how a football club becomes a force for environmental change, why operations and sustainability are inseparable, and why honesty matters more than perfection on the road to net zero. Peter Smith is Head of Change and Sustainability at Bristol Sport, the organisation behind Bristol City Football Club, the Bristol Bears Rugby Club and Ashton Gate Stadium. He has spent 17 years with the club, moving from match-day work into stadium development...
20 May 2026
#14 Anne Johnstone: Why Heat Is the Invisible Giant of Net Zero
In this episode, Philippa talks to Anne Johnstone about why heat has been overlooked for decades, what it actually takes to move buildings off gas, and why energy security is as much about storage and infrastructure as it is about generation. Anne Johnstone is ESG Director at Vital Energi, a company delivering low-carbon heat at scale through heat networks, large heat pumps and long-term energy infrastructure. She has spent more than two decades working across sustainability, the built enviro...
7 May 2026
#13 Eileen Akbaraly: Why Fashion's Future Is a Living System, Not a Brand
In this episode, Philippa Hann talks to Eileen about what it takes to build a luxury fashion business where dignity, sustainability and profitability reinforce one another, why the concept of a brand is too limiting for what she is creating, and what other industries can learn from rebuilding a supply chain around the people inside it. Eileen Akbaraly is the founder and CEO of Made for a Woman, a luxury fashion social enterprise based in Madagascar working with handwoven raffia. Half Italian,...
6 May 2026
#12 Kate Allan & Emma Chaplin: Why TV's Waste Problem Is Really a Community Opportunity
In this episode, Philippa Hann talks to Kate and Emma about what it takes to spot something that feels wrong inside your own industry and actually do something about it, why a clearance solution turned out to be a community story, and what other sectors can learn from how PropUp Project has reframed waste as a resource. Kate Allan and Emma Chaplin are TV producers turned co-founders of PropUp Project, a non-profit social enterprise that rehomes, resells and recycles leftover sets, props and c...
24 Apr 2026
#11 Adam Flint & Louise Robson-Turner: What Schools Can Teach Businesses About Sustainability and Behaviour Change
In this special episode, our Head of Impact, Steve Watters, talks to Adam and Louise to explore what it actually takes to shift behaviour inside complex, time-poor institutions, what businesses can learn from schools, and why better design is usually more powerful than louder messaging. Adam Flint is Education Manager at Keep Britain Tidy, overseeing the delivery of EcoSchools in England. He spent 14 years at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester designing learning experiences and the...
22 Apr 2026
#10 Louisa Ziane on Food Waste, Net Zero, and Building a Business That Gives Its Profits Away
Louisa Ziane is the co-founder and COO of Toast Brewing, the UK's first B Corp brewery, known for making beer from surplus bread that would otherwise go to waste. She trained as a management accountant, started her career at the Financial Conduct Authority, and then spent several years at the Carbon Trust working on carbon measurement and climate change mitigation with corporates and governments including the Mexican government. That background shapes everything about how Toast approaches sus...
9 Apr 2026
#9 Alice Chapple on Impact Investing, Measuring What Matters, and Why the System Is Broken
Alice Chapple is an economist, chartered accountant, and the founder of Impact Value. She has spent over three decades working in sustainable finance, long before ESG became a boardroom talking point. She developed the sustainable finance online course for the University of Cambridge's Institute for Sustainability Leadership and served as its head tutor. Her work focuses on the systems, incentives, and frameworks that shape behaviour in financial markets, helping funds, institutions, an...
24 Mar 2026
#8 How One Firm Rewrote the Rules on Opportunity with Tom Lyas of Browne Jacobson.
In this episode, Philippa welcomes Tom Lyas, Head of Resourcing and Social Mobility at Browne Jacobson, where he has built one of the most impactful social mobility programmes in the UK legal sector and the architect behind FAIRE, an initiative that has opened up real work experience to over 87,000 aspiring legal professionals, many from communities historically shut out of the professions entirely. Under his leadership, Browne Jacobson became the number one ranked employer in the Social Mobi...
10 Mar 2026
#7 Responsible Business, Culture and the Road to Net Zero – A Conversation with Roxanne Folke
In this episode, Philippa welcomes Roxanne Folke, Head of Responsible Business at Burges Salmon, where she leads the firm's work across sustainability, inclusion, community engagement and pro bono. Roxanne brings over two decades of experience working with businesses across Europe on sustainability and responsible business strategy, including contributions to research for the UN, the UK government and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Since joining Burges Salmon in 2019,...
24 Feb 2026
#6 Law, Leadership and the Road to Net Zero – A Conversation with Ross Fairley
In this episode, Philippa welcomes Ross Fairley, Senior Partner at Burges Salmon and one of the UK’s leading legal voices in clean energy and the transition to net zero. Ross shares his journey from environmental law into the fast-moving world of renewables, where he has spent more than two decades advising on offshore wind, hydrogen, carbon capture and landmark decarbonisation initiatives such as Bristol City Leap. Alongside his legal work, Ross has helped shape the wider industry agenda thr...
10 Feb 2026
#5 Stewardship for a Sustainable Future – A Conversation with Amelia Tan
In this episode, Philippa welcomes Amelia Tan, Head of Responsible Investment and Stewardship at Legal & General Asset Management, for a wide-ranging and thoughtful conversation on what responsible investing really looks like in practice. Amelia shares her journey from the global financial crisis to helping shape stewardship and engagement strategies at one of Europe’s largest asset managers. Together, they explore how investors can move beyond box-ticking ESG frameworks and instead use c...
13 Jan 2026
#4 Redesigning the Legal Profession for the Next 100 Years - Dana Denis-Smith OBE
In this episode of Life Matters More, Philippa speaks with Dana Denis-Smith OBE, founder of Obelisk Support, about what it really takes to build a more flexible, human way of working in a profession that has long rewarded tradition and endurance. Together, they explore the gap between what organisations say about flexibility and what people experience in practice, especially at the point where careers and life collide. Dana also reflects on the principles behind creating a business desi...
15 Dec 2025
#2 Pioneering ESG Law and Shaping the Transition Economy – A Conversation with Vanessa Havard-Williams OBE
In this episode, Philippa speaks with Vanessa Havard-Williams OBE, one of the most influential figures in ESG and environmental law. Vanessa joined Linklaters in 1988, became partner in 1999 and, across a 37-year career, built and led the firm’s environmental, climate, human rights and crisis management practices long before ESG became a global priority. Her work spans private practice, government and international markets, including leading the UK Transition Finance Market Review...
15 Dec 2025
#1 What Authentic ESG Really Looks Like – A Conversation with Simon Colvin
In this episode, Philippa is joined by Simon Colvin, Partner at Weightmans, a long-established environmental lawyer and the firm’s ESG lead. With roots in environmental biology and more than two decades specialising in this field, Simon has played a central role in helping Weightmans secure ISO accreditations, a platinum EcoVadis rating and recognition across several Legal 500 ESG categories. Simon shares: How a childhood experience sparked his commitment to environmental work and led h...
15 Dec 2025
#3 Building a Law Firm for the Climate Era – A Conversation with Joshua Domb
In this episode, Philippa sits down with Joshua Domb, founder of Gen-R Law — a new firm built on the belief that every area of legal practice can and should be viewed through the lens of climate change and ESG. After a career in white-collar crime and regulatory investigations, Joshua experienced a growing sense of climate anxiety and a realisation that his work wasn’t contributing to the issues he cared about most. During a year of travelling, he confronted that tension and ultimately ...
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