117.3K
Downloads
185
Episodes
Stories from the front lines of business and sustainability innovation.
Episodes
Friday Apr 23, 2021
Friday Apr 23, 2021
Population empowers home and fashion brands to embed an integrated approach to sustainability into their business models, brand strategy and marketing. As consultants they blend the creative and strategic to build authentic narratives, safeguarding against performative marketing and greenwashing.
From widespread extraction and pollution to over-consumption and waste, industries had been reckoning with their impacts on the planet. We were already at a tipping point, when a global pandemic hit. Fashion brands cancelled orders leaving numerous manufacturers and workers unpaid. Not long after, garment workers put their own health and safety at risk making PPE. And in the midst of all this, George Floyd’s murder catalyzed a racial reckoning and a wave of wokewashing. It may not seem like it, but these problems are interconnected.
For this special episode of the Impact Report, Series Producer, Katie Ellman speaks with Population co-founders Lauren Hill and Catherine Tedrow and their co-host of the Unspun podcast series, Danielle Arzaga.
Friday Apr 16, 2021
Friday Apr 16, 2021
Strategy As A Service: Gary J. Nix, Founder and Chief Strategist, The BRANDarchist
Gary J. Nix is a strategy executive who earned his stripes as a disruptor, innovator, and predictor in the entertainment, magazine publishing, and marketing industries. Known for merging traditional marketing principles with modern marketing techniques, he has used his in-house and agency experience with Fortune 500 companies to open the brandarchist: strategy as a service. Additionally, his expertise & distinct point-of-view has positioned him as a frequently sought after source in the advertising trades, guest lecturer, as well as a subject matter expert on ethics, culture, and community as a business necessity. Furthermore, his perspective led him to be named a 2020 Innovator by the Advertising Club of New York.
When not tending to his consultancy, he serves as a senior leadership member for 100 Roses from Concrete & The G.R.O.W.T.H. Initiative and a strategic advisor for the communications agency Bold Culture by Streamlined.
Bard MBA’s Olivia Taussig speaks with Gary for this episode of The Impact Report.
ImpactReportPodcast.com
Friday Apr 02, 2021
Friday Apr 02, 2021
Addressing Embodied Carbon's Role in Climate Change: Stacy Smedley, Executive Director of Building Transparency
Building Transparency, a 501(c) nonprofit organization that provides open access data and tools that support broad and swift action across the building industry in addressing embodied carbon’s role in climate change.
Formed in 2020, Building Transparency hosts, manages and maintains the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool, which provides thousands of digital EPDs in a free, open-source database. Building Transparency strives to provide the resources and education necessary to promote adoption of the EC3 tool, including through the official materialsCAN program, and works with global policymakers to shape a better building future.
In her role at Building Transparency, Stacy leads the continued management and development of the EC3 tool and works to educate and engage the building industry on actionably reducing embodied carbon emissions of building materials.
Bard MBA’s Sahara James & Kiana Cardwell speak with Stacy for this episode of the Impact Report.
Friday Mar 19, 2021
Friday Mar 19, 2021
Investing for Good: Peter Krull, CEO & Director of Investments, Earth Equity Advisors
Peter Krull is a well-known leader in the green business community and a long-time advocate for fossil fuel free and sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing.
He was selected to the 2018 Investopedia 100 list of the one hundred most influential financial advisors in America, and was one of the first individuals to earn the Chartered SRI Counselor™ designation from the College for Financial Planning.
His responsibilities at Earth Equity Advisors include managing all of the firm’s sustainable, responsible and impact portfolios. He also coordinates the firm’s marketing activities and works closely with the team to improve operations and processes.
He has guided Earth Equity Advisors rapid growth as well as the firm’s rise to prominence as a four-time Best for the World Certified B Corporation.
Bard MBA’s Johnathan Pham speaks with Peter for this episode of the Impact Report.
Friday Mar 12, 2021
Friday Mar 12, 2021
Media as a Mode for Social & Environmental Good:Jessica Thurston, Director, ESG Strategy at ViacomCBS
Jessica Thurston leads ViacomCBS’ environmental, social, and governance strategy. She oversees the development and implementation of key ESG programs across the global company, including ESG reporting and engagement with rankers, raters, and investors.
Jessica’s background is in ESG and sustainability strategy and communications. Previously, she worked at New York-based agencies supporting clients including Chipotle, Carhartt, Keurig Dr Pepper, Merck & Co., Inc., and more. She previously worked in sustainability at Tiffany & Co., and started her career at the U.S. General Services Administration, where she worked in sustainable procurement policy and communications.
Bard MBA’s Olivia Taussig speaks with Jessica for this episode of The Impact Report.
ImpactReportPodcast.com
Friday Mar 05, 2021
Friday Mar 05, 2021
Making Cities More Resilient By Eliminating Food Waste: A Conversation with Natasha Dyer, Senior Recycling Program Coordinator for the City of Atlanta
In her role with the Mayor’s Office of Resilience, Natasha Dyer focuses on creating municipal programs that increase wasted food diversion from landfill as part of the City’s Climate Action and Food Access plans. This includes programs that recover edible surplus food to feed food insecure residents and collaborating with external partners to create decentralized composting systems that then benefits local urban agriculture. In her role with the City, she has also created and administers a citywide Sustainability Ambassador Leadership Program that graduates just under 100 participants per year.
Bard MBA's Emma Chandler speaks with Natasha for this episode of the Impact Report.
Friday Feb 26, 2021
Friday Feb 26, 2021
The Future of Agriculture is Local and Greenhouse-Grown: A Conversation with Paul Sellew
Paul Sellew, founder and chief executive officer of Little Leaf Farms, had a vision to grow lettuce in New England year-round after mastering the growing and distribution of greenhouse-grown tomatoes with his previous company, Backyard Farms.
Founded in 2015, Little Leaf Farms grows flavorful, crisp, leafy baby green lettuce in a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient, sustainable greenhouse facility in Devens, Mass. By innovating greenhouse growing, capturing rainwater, and using sunlight, Little Leaf Farms is an industry leader in controlled environment agriculture, allowing the company to grow lettuce and ship it to stores within 24 hours thereby surpassing competitors on taste and quality. Little Leaf Farms is able to reduce food miles and waste by growing locally as compared to 95 percent of the lettuce grown and trucked cross-country from California and Arizona. Using captured rainwater allows the company to use 90 percent less water than field-grown lettuces. Using natural sunlight over electric lights contributes to the company’s efficiency in growing practices. No human hands touch Little Leaf Farms’ lettuce throughout the growing process to ensure safe growing practices and to reduce any risk of contamination. A socially responsible company, Little Leaf Farms also works with nonprofit charity partners, Greater Boston Food Bank, Loaves to Fishes, and Daily Table, to name a few.
Friday Feb 12, 2021
Friday Feb 12, 2021
Reducing Risks for Responsible Mining: A Conversation with Karen Chovan, CEO & Founder of Enviro Integration Strategy
Enviro Integration Strategies is focused on helping leaders to rapidly integrate sustainable choices and practices into mining designs and operations.
After 20 years in mining, CEO and Founder, Karen Chovan has gained a breadth of experience and knowledge working as a geological engineer and project manager. She has also worked as an organizational change agent helping teams to solve environmental problems, avoid risks in future major projects, and create programs and protocols to improve performance within the sustainability realm. From problem identification, all the way through to change implementation, Karen has helped teams get to the other side, and she has a very large network to find any unique support the project might need to get there.
Bard MBA’s Patrick Connolly speaks with Karen for this episode of the Impact Report.
Friday Dec 18, 2020
Friday Dec 18, 2020
Collaborating to Accelerate the Textile Industry's Move From Linear to Circular: A Conversation with Karla Magruder, Founder & President of Accelerating Circularity
Karla Magruder has 35 years of global experience from fiber to finished garments. Accelerating Circularity is a 501(c)3 with a mission to divert textiles from landfill and incineration for textile-to-textile circular supply chain systems.
Karla also founded Fabrikology International, a textile consulting company in 2003. She led the apparel launch of Ingeo fibers, the 1st manmade fiber created from 100% annually renewable resources and developed Textiles Exchange’s first preferred fiber and material strategy and their rPET Working Group. During her tenure leading the group she successfully facilitated a commitment of over 60 major brands and retailers to increase their recycled polyester use by 25% by 2020. Karla is currently a Textile Exchange Governance Board member, UNFCCC Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action Steering Committee Member and Co-Chair of the Raw Material Working Group and a Gr3n Advisory Board Member.
Bard MBA's Kirstie Dabbs speaks with Karla for this episode of the Impact Report.
Friday Dec 04, 2020
Friday Dec 04, 2020
The Great Pivot: A Conversation with Ben Vandenwymelenberg, Chairman & Founder, WOODCHUCK USA
WOODCHUCK USA manufactures technology-driven wood products and specializes in customization. WOODCHUCK USA was founded with a simple mission: putting nature back into people's lives. Their passion is to be a daily reminder of our planet's vulnerability by using real wood products and planting a tree with every product sold. Their way of making a better world for future generations is us bringing jobs back to America while bringing quality products to our consumers.
Ben founded WOODCHUCK USA as an undergraduate senior at the University of Minnesota and is the true visionary behind the company. Ben graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2012 with a degree in Architecture and Landscape Architecture. He grew up on a small farm in Wisconsin and learned the importance of strong morals, hard work, and a deep love for nature, which he infuses into everything the company does today. Ben was named “40 Under 40” by the Minneapolis/ St. Paul Business Journal, “Power 50” by Minnesota Business Magazine, and “32 Under 32” by the Minnesota Ad Federation.
For this episode of the Impact Report Series Producer, Katie Ellman speaks with Ben about entrepreneurship, learning from missteps and putting people and planet first in business.