Episodes

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 behin...

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 ...

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 ...

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 flexib...

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 sustainabi...

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 o...

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 ...

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 l...

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 resi...

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 constr...

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, e...

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 consumpti...

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 electrificat...

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-lev...

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 w...

Is ESG broken — or just leaderless? Lawyer-technologist Scott Lane, founder & CEO of Speeki, joins Sustainability Forward to argue the bottleneck is corporate courage, not cost or complexity. We cover boards’ ESG literacy, reframing the conversation around risk and resilience, compliance vs. true performance, customer-pulled sustainability, China’s scale, and how AI/agentic automation will reshape decisions. Scott’s advice to CEOs: have courage. In today’s episode, Wrishi and Carmine sit down wi...

How can we move the machinery of global finance fast enough to meet the urgency of the climate crisis? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, hosts Wrishi Sutradhar and Carmine Fiume sit down with Steven Rothstein, Chief Program Officer at Ceres and the founding Managing Director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. With over four decades of experience spanning nonprofits, government, and finance, Steven shares what it really takes to turn investor intentions into mea...

Renewables have officially overtaken coal as the world’s largest source of electricity — a historic first. But beneath that milestone lies a much more complex story. In this episode of Sustainability Forward, Wrishi and Carmine unpack BP’s Energy Outlook 2025 to reveal what’s really shaping the global energy transition. From the “two futures” of rapid clean tech expansion in Asia versus fossil resurgence in the West, to the ten key insights that define BP’s latest scenarios — including oil’s lo...

The planet just got a health check — and the results are alarming. In this episode of Sustainability Forward, Wrishi and Carmine revisit one of their most downloaded topics: the 9 Planetary Boundaries Framework — the scientific model that helps us understand how human activity is pushing Earth beyond its safe operating space. The 2025 update brings a sobering milestone: for the first time, scientists confirm that ocean acidification has crossed its boundary. That means 7 out of the 9 planetary...

Methane may not grab the headlines like carbon, but it’s one of the most powerful greenhouse gases—and tackling it is critical if we’re serious about slowing climate change. In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we sit down with Georges Tijbosch, CEO of MiQ, to explore how methane certification is bringing trust and transparency into the energy transition. Georges shares his personal journey into climate leadership, the story of how MiQ was founded, and the progress made so far in gettin...

As heatwaves scorch Europe and global electricity demand surges—up 4% in 2024 alone—can artificial intelligence be part of the solution to climate change rather than the problem? In this episode of Sustainability Forward, Wrishi and Carmine explore the double-edged sword of AI’s environmental footprint. From the staggering water and energy consumption of data centers to AI-driven breakthroughs in energy efficiency, methane detection, wildfire response, and food waste reduction, this conversatio...

What does a loaf of sourdough have to do with fighting climate change? In this episode, we sit down with Maddie Hamann, co-founder of PACHA Bread, to explore the unexpected connections between regenerative farming, food allergies, zero-waste packaging—and the future of sustainability. Maddie shares how she made the leap from ocean science to sourdough, and what it’s really like building a purpose-driven business while raising a young family. We talk about sourcing from regenerative farms, ...

In this episode of Sustainability Forward , we’re joined by renowned chemist and energy expert Nicola Armaroli to unpack the state of the global energy transition. As a research director at Italy’s National Research Council and a leading voice in science communication, Nicola brings both deep technical insight and a clear-eyed perspective on the societal and narrative challenges slowing our progress. We ask: If you had gone to sleep in 2022 and woken up today—what would you see? We explore...

In this episode of Sustainability Forward , we sit down with Helen Neal , founder and CEO of HN Communications , a multi-award-winning sustainability communications and events agency. Helen shares expert insights on how global brands like HEINEKEN, Bosch, and The Climate Group are navigating the complexities of sustainability messaging, partnerships, and stakeholder engagement. We explore why clear, authentic communication is essential for sustainability success, how companies can move beyond...