There’s no denying that continuing to treat the natural world as we do will lead to ecological breakdown. We don’t seem to take into account how our consumption of natural resources affects the planet – which, ultimately, may stop providing those resources in the first place. UK economist Kate Raworth has developed a model, called doughnut economics, which provides an alternative system where humans can thrive without breaching planetary boundaries. In her landmark book, “ Doughnut Economics: se...
Jul 03, 2025•40 min•Season 4Ep. 21
From heating and cooling to construction materials and power demand, buildings are responsible for up to a third of global emissions – but rarely get the political or media attention they deserve. This week, Felicia talks to Lord Adair Turner , chair of the Energy Transitions Commission , to explore why that needs to change now. We dig into why electrification is the only real path to decarbonising the built environment, and why heat pumps – not hydrogen – are the smarter, more efficient bet for...
Jun 26, 2025•50 min•Season 4Ep. 20
In this week’s episode Felicia Jackson talks to Phil Korbel , co-founder and director of advocacy at The Carbon Literacy Project , about what it truly means to move beyond awareness into action. Too often, climate conversations are filled with well-meaning phrases and distant threats. We hear about melting ice caps, rising seas, and catastrophic futures—but what do these really mean for our daily lives, our work, and our ability to shape the world around us? We dive into what carbon literacy act...
Jun 19, 2025•39 min•Season 4Ep. 19
With extreme weather disrupting harvests, food prices spiking, and soil health declining globally, regenerative agriculture is emerging as a compelling solution – not just for farmers, but for everyone who eats. This week, Felicia talks to Andrew Voysey , chief impact officer at Soil Capital , about why regenerative agriculture matters to farmers, industry and individuals. Regenerative agriculture isn’t just about greener farms: it’s about the resilience of our food system in the face of increas...
Jun 12, 2025•40 min•Season 4Ep. 19
There are many ways to take climate action: one of these involves going to court. An increasing number of groups worldwide are driving change through legal means, in a process commonly known as climate litigation. Climate litigation matters because it brings climate responsibility into the legal arena, where science, rights, and accountability can meet enforceable action. It's not just about winning court cases—it's about creating leverage for systemic transformation. The strategic use of law ha...
May 22, 2025•41 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Not long ago, climate ambition was peaking: companies were racing to make net zero pledges and get approvals by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). But now, the mood has shifted. While most businesses haven’t completely walked away from climate action, many of them are rethinking their plans, moving deadlines forward or cutting their targets. Unfortunately, some are abandoning their initiatives altogether. In this week’s episode, which was our first-ever live recording, co-host Felicia ...
May 15, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 17
It's a turbulent time for the global economy, which is leading some companies to row back on their sustainability commitments and focus their efforts on what is deemed essential spending. However, environmental impacts go both ways: a company can create environmental damage, for example by polluting the air or water, but it can also be at the receiving end of this damage, when ecosystem breakdown leads to flooding or wildfires. Last week we introduced the concept of climate risk, what it is and ...
May 08, 2025•42 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Extreme weather is here. Supply chains are vulnerable. Insurance costs are rising. And whether or not governments pull funding for climate science or roll back disclosure rules, businesses, economies, and insurers still have to grapple with the very real impacts. Insurers can’t afford to ignore mounting losses, and companies can’t afford to ignore their exposure. Risk still needs to be priced, especially in a world where the costs are only going up. In the latest episode of Shaken Not Burned, ho...
May 01, 2025•46 min•Season 4Ep. 15
Our economic system is based on extracting as much value as possible from natural resources, without taking into consideration the principles and processes that power our ecosystems. Somehow, as humans, we have come to believe that we are not part of the natural world in an “us and them” situation. But, really, we are all the same. How can we survive without the Earth? Keeping our planet liveable means integrating our activities with nature, protecting and serving ecosystems, rather than exploit...
Apr 24, 2025•47 min•Season 4Ep. 14
Cement might not be sexy, but it is responsible for 8% of global emissions – and it's in everything from critical infrastructure to homes. It's fundamental to development and its decarbonisation is critical to net zero success. This week, Felicia dives into the future of construction with Grant Quasha, CEO of Eco Material Technologies, the largest supplier of low-carbon cement alternatives in North America. They unpack how industrial waste like coal ash and steel slag are being transformed into ...
Apr 17, 2025•34 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Welcome to another week of Shaken Not Burned! If you live in today's world, you may be inclined to think that capitalism is the only viable way for our economies to exist. After all, it's been like that for centuries, but this system is not serving the vast majority of people, and certainly not the environment. Most companies today have the main goal of growth : expanding their market share, increasing revenue and profits, boosting returns to shareholders. However, we live on a planet that has f...
Apr 10, 2025•31 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Over the last couple of years forest carbon credits have become an increasingly contentious solution to the climate challenge because of questions around additionality, permanence and leakage . Scandals have emerged over how carbon credits are estimated and assessed, much of which stems from outdated or flawed methodologies. The risk of greenwashing is a core concern, that credits have been used by companies to appear climate-friendly without delivering real impact. With advancing technology, st...
Apr 03, 2025•36 min•Season 4Ep. 11
In our current economic system, a company director's primary responsibility is widely considered to be to maximise profits for its shareholders. Their interests take precedence over those of other stakeholders – such as employees, communities, and customers – but this comes at a cost. When the return on investment is prioritised, the consequences are socialised: for example, air pollution caused by industry affects public health, which local communities and, ultimately, the government are likely...
Mar 27, 2025•32 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Agriculture is responsible for around a quarter of global emissions, yet the environmental impact isn’t reflected in the cost of food. The food industry faces the challenge of balancing supply and demand in a world of finite resources, alongside the externalities that modern food production has created – from biodiversity loss to rising health concerns linked to ultra-processed foods. This week Felicia talks to Alastair Cooper , head of venture at Cibus Capital , to explore one of the most press...
Mar 20, 2025•41 min•Season 4Ep. 9
The energy transition is firmly part of the mainstream discourse: politicians and companies often talk about it but, at times, it can feel like an abstract concept. Maybe our lives don't look much different at the moment – sure, there are more electric vehicles on the road and solar panels on roofs – but there is a huge amount of work going on in policy and industry to decarbonise our energy systems. While these new strategies require a whole set of changes on the supply and demand side, they br...
Mar 13, 2025•32 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Climate resilience is essential to protect communities in vulnerable regions against extreme weather events. But the volume of funding for adaptation in the Global South, which bears the brunt of climate change, remains far smaller than that for mitigation, which is driving communities to find their own homegrown solutions. Richer nations, which contribute the majority of emissions, must be held accountable. This week, Felicia talks to Ashfaq Zaman , strategic communication advisor for Aspire to...
Mar 06, 2025•34 min•Season 4Ep. 7
In order to transition the global economy to a more sustainable basis, we have to reshape economic systems to balance growth with environmental protection and social equity – and that means putting people at the heart of that transformation. The just transition is about ensuring that nobody is left behind; it's about upholding human rights, minimising negative impacts on workers, and boosting equality and opportunity. In this week’s episode, Giulia interviews Gosbert Chagula MBE , co-founder and...
Feb 27, 2025•42 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Multilateral treaties underpin so much of what's needed to achieve climate and sustainability goals, but few understand the complexities of international treaties or the real challenges of global cooperation. Nearly 200 nations with different economic and geopolitical interests have to negotiate emissions cuts, financial responsibilities, commitments and strategies for how to achieve their goals. Is it any wonder that most of us look at the annual climate meetings and wonder why progress is so s...
Feb 20, 2025•35 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Biodiversity is the foundation of nature’s ability to function, yet it’s vanishing at an alarming rate; so much so that experts call it the sixth mass extinction . With over half of the world’s GDP relying on nature, businesses ignoring this crisis risk major disruptions: biodiversity loss, largely driven by resource extraction and industrial activity, already has major effects on global supply chains and the economy. This week, Felicia chats with Nicole Sherwin , chief impact officer at sustain...
Feb 13, 2025•33 min•Season 4Ep. 4
An effective sustainability strategy is now a necessity, but sometimes it can feel like yet another task to add to the pile. In times of uncertainty, however, sustainability isn’t just another chore – it’s the foundation for resilience, competitive advantage, and long-term survival. In this episode, Giulia interviews Mike Penrose , co-founder of sustainability management and reporting ecosystem Sustainability Group and FuturePlus , who argues that sustainability needs to be integrated into core ...
Feb 06, 2025•39 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Climate change is a super wicked problem: time is running out to address it; the same people who caused the problem are also the ones responsible for fixing it, from governments to the fossil fuel industry; and there's no central body or authority to turn to. On top of this, policymakers are in the habit of discounting the future, meaning they look at short-term wins rather than long-term solutions for which they may not be rewarded. For example, if the UK had pushed heavily into renewables earl...
Jan 30, 2025•41 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Sustainability has become a business imperative. What years ago may have been dismissed as “hippie, tree-hugging” talk in the boardroom is now being seriously demanded by investors, customers, and consumers. But how did we get here? In the first episode of the fourth season, Shaken Not Burned co-host and co-founder Felicia Jackson takes the guest seat, interviewed by fellow co-host and co-founder Giulia Bottaro . Felicia has over two decades of experience in the sustainability world as a lecture...
Jan 23, 2025•46 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Season 4 of Shaken Not Burned is about to start! Our new iteration is all about providing the tools to build sustainability literacy. Many professionals are being thrust into a world they are not familiar with, having to learn new jargon or come up with strategies to keep up with what's going on in their industry and beyond. We have compiled a list of topics that are ever-present and ever-changing in sustainability debates, such as the history and outcomes of the Paris Agreement, the concept of ...
Jan 16, 2025•2 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Eight million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean annually, averaging to about 22,000 metric tons per day – roughly equivalent to dumping one garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute. That plastic ruins rivers and shorelines, affects fish, birds and corals, and harms ecosystems and communities. We need both upstream (design, reduction) and downstream (collection, recycling) solutions. Felicia talks to Tom Peacock-Nazil , founder of Seven Clean Seas , an organisation with a dual ap...
Nov 14, 2024•48 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Did you know that the Internet and communication technology (ICT) sector is estimated to account for 1.5% and 4% of the world’s carbon emissions? In comparison, aviation represented 2% of the global carbon footprint in 2022. This figure doesn’t even take into account the use of water to cool down data centres, or the extraction and processing of materials to produce our devices, which have considerable impacts on climate and nature. All data generated online (including this podcast) has its foot...
Nov 07, 2024•43 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Businesses face challenges and opportunities in adapting to climate change regulations and sustainability reporting. Linking sustainability strategies to performance and progress is a crucial aspect of this journey. In this episode, Felicia talks to Stuart McLachlan , chief executive of sustainability firm Anthesis , about the shift from traditional business models to sustainable practices, emphasising the need for organisations to take responsibility for their externalities and adopt circular e...
Oct 31, 2024•39 min•Season 3Ep. 9
In this week's episode, Felicia talks to Pablo Fernandez , chief executive of global climate solutions company EcoSecurities . The carbon markets are a contentious, but effective, tool for leveraging finance for action on climate change. Carbon offsets, an important tool within these markets, allow companies to invest in emissions reduction projects, often in developing countries, as a cost-effective way to meet climate goals. However, issues such as weak demand, inconsistent pricing, and trust ...
Oct 24, 2024•55 min•Season 3Ep. 8
This week, Giulia interviews Helen Clements, director, innovation & behaviour change lead at GoUnpackaged , a UK-based consultancy that helps retailers switch to refill systems. It’s not just about the individual piece of packaging that ends in the hands of the consumer: there is a whole supply chain behind it to revolutionise. GoUnpackaged is behind the Refill Coalition , an initiative to create a standardised solution for supermarkets. Its current members are Aldi and Ocado, which are both...
Oct 17, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 7
The world is grappling with numerous environmental challenges and, while COP29 (the world’s most important gathering on the environment) is expected to focus on climate finance, we need solutions that benefit everyone – especially the most vulnerable. We need to revolutionise agriculture, including how we use soil. Indeed, soil plays a crucial role in combating climate change, ensuring food security, and maintaining biodiversity. This week’s guest is Praveena Sridhar , chief science and technolo...
Oct 10, 2024•41 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Giulia speaks to Alisa Murphy, a coach helping purpose-driven professionals build careers rooted in nature, climate, and community. They talk about her journey to regenerative work, what regenerative means, and what questions people should ask themselves when they feel ready to change their work lives – or to spot corporate greenwashing. It can be scary to leave the corporate world, but we need everyone, whatever their skills and experience, to enact systemic change. Find Alisa on LinkedIn and o...
Oct 03, 2024•41 min•Season 3Ep. 5
