Carbon Times

Inthis the latest episode of the Carbon Times Podcast we speak to Molly Allingtonwho is the CEO and Co-founder of Albotherm.Albothermare developing glass coatings that reversibly transition from transparent towhite to reduce solar gain in hot weather, allowing buildings and greenhousesto regulate their own temperature without electrical input. Our coatings aretunable to transition temperatures between 18 °C and 45 °C to createcomfortable internal temperatures in a range of climates. Temperatureregulation is one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gasemissions with air conditioning alone accounting for 20% of electricity usagefrom buildings and 10% of total global electricity usage. Glass buildings inparticular have problems with overheating as they trap solar radiation. Thetechnology has been developed at the University of Bristol and is beingcontinued at Albotherm by our CTO Dr Sian Fussell and Scientific Advisor ProfessorPaddy Royall.Wetalk to Molly about the journey so far the exciting proof of concept and trialprojects they have completed, and are still ongoing. We explore the potentialof the product and all of many building challenges it could help to address.Wehope you enjoy the episode, thank you for listening. As always we want toprovide interesting and insightful content to keep the sustainabilityconversation going, we all have a responsibility to consider how we create amore sustainable world.

In our latest episode we speak to Daniella from Biophilica about their reach in to the textiles market looking to provide a sustainable alternative to leather.Anyone who has looked in to leather alternatives will know it can be a real minefield, there are many alternatives out there which do not use animal products so can talk about providing more sustainable products. However many of these alternatives use plastics and other polymer products that may not be a suitable alternative for many consumers, we have all learned over the years the damage plastics do to the environment and how long their effects are around. Biophilica have developed their product ‘Treekind' as a sustainable alternative to leather, their product is made entirely from green waste like leaves and twigs…! As well as the core product being more sustainable the process itself boasts some great credentials, for example the process uses less than 1% of the water required to produce leather from animal products.We hope you enjoy the episode, as always we are finding interesting conversation to keep us all talking. Lets learn more and share experience so we can all do our part to build a more sustainable future together.

In the 17th Episode of the Carbon Times Podcast, we speak to Tom King from CompAir – a company producing low-cost, portable air pollution monitors that can see, measure and reveal harmful pollution in our atmosphere, enabling everyone to work together to reduce it. Starting the journey in the construction industry, we discuss how the concept has been developed and its current and future applications. We discuss the rising challenges associated with both indoor and outdoor air quality and how it fits in with wider health and wellbeing agendas. As we seek to improve the buildings we occupy, improving building fabric is going to be a key factor. Making sure we understand the potential implications on health and wellbeing of occupants is a key consideration. Technology like that provided by CompAir can play a critical role in both analysis and management. Thank you for listening, we hope you enjoy the episode! As ever, we want to bring you great content to keep the conversation going. We all have a responsibility to drive towards a more sustainable future. See you next time, on Carbon Times.

Today we launch our 16th Episode where we have a great conversation with Daniel Hemsley, a co-founder of Beagle Button. Beagle button provides a web browser extension aimed at helping us all make more sustainable choices when we shop online. Shopping sustainably online can be a daunting experience, from finding the right products to making sure that the claims the product makes are real, we all probably have experience of trying to do the right thing but getting caught out through misinformation or false/misleading sustainability claims. What we need is to be able to be guided in the right direction with confidence in our decisions. This is where Beagle Button sit, they are a proud holder of the title of ‘Greenwash Police' -Beagle Button only recommends products that have been through Beagle's thorough approval process. We talk to Dan about the journey they have taken to get where they are, the challenges along the way and what they hope to achieve. We hope you enjoy the episode as much as we did recording it...! Thank you for listening

In this, our 15th Episode of Carbon Times, we have a great conversation with Isabel Aagaard, Co-Founder of Last Object - in her own words 'She is fighting for a less trashy world.' LastObject is a Danish manufacturing company, based in Copenhagen, that sells sustainable products online and in retail globally. Having been launched in 2016, it launches new products through crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. The company is best known for producing LastSwab, a reusable cotton swab. We have a really engaging conversation about the journey they have taken, why they have taken the direction they have and the benefits of their products. Conversations like this can really make you think about your own purchasing decision and challenge your perceptions..! I am sure that we can all do more to reduce single use products in our lives. We hope you enjoy the episode, as ever, we strive to bring you interesting conversations with people who are really driving the changes we all need to embrace to create a more sustainable future for everyone.

In this, our 14th episode, we speak to Agnes Czako who is the Co-founder and CEO at AirEx Technologies about their journey through the launch of their product to where they are today. 'AirEx have created the worlds first smart air brick to reduce the home's energy bills, helping to end fuel poverty and climate change with a simple building retrofit'. We have a really interesting discussion about the journey to bring the product to market and all the key steps along the way. We also discuss how the AirEx product is now registered in the EPC software as a recognised solution for decarbonisation which is a great achievement for the organisation. It is great to speak to individuals and organisations who are driving innovation specifically aimed at the decarbonisation of buildings. There is a huge challenge to overcome to decarbonise UK real estate in both the domestic and commercial markets and without organisations like AirEx bringing change, it is hard to see how we would get their. We hope you enjoy the episode, our goal as ever is create interesting content to get everyone talking to get us all sharing knowledge, experience and innovation as we all seek to build a more sustainable world for the future. Thank you for listening.

In the latest Carbon Times episode we are delighted to be joined by Chris Forbes the Co. Founder of Cheeky Panda, we are also joined by Eleanor Turner from the team at Cheeky Panda. Cheeky Panda make sustainable beauty products, as they say 'We make household, baby and beauty products out of glorious bamboo that are kind to you, and our planet too'. We discuss how the idea came about and the journey Chris and his wife Julie undertook to get the product ready for the market. We discuss the benefits of their products, what it means to their consumers and how corporate organisations are embracing a simple yet high impact business change. We talk to both Chris and Eleanor about the challenges and benefits of running your business with high ethical and social values with Cheeky panda being a B Corp and of course why they are an important part of the journey to a more sustainable world. We hope you enjoy the episode, thanks for listening. Our drive as ever to create interesting conversations the share knowledge, experience and innovation - keeping the conversation going.

In this episode we talk to Vicky Cotton about her newly appointed role with the Better Building Partnership. Vicky explains how the partnership is driving access to knowledge and how their tool kits are becoming an essential tool for any property manager. We explore some of the challenges facing the market at the moment and professionals like Vicky are driving the essential conversation through their corporate roles and involvement in extra activities such as the Better Building Partnership. We are fortunate in our industry to have so many people with a true passionate for driving change through positive influence, we all have to pull together to drive decarbonisation in all of our activities. Vicky is a great example of someone in a position of influence who is using the opportunity to drive the right conversations. Thank you for listening, we hope you enjoy.

On this Episode we are delighted to be joined by Ben Morton from Sifa Strategy, Ben has had a interesting career advising global businesses on their ESG strategies in corporate roles. Ben now spends his time advising a range of clients on the how to go about identifying what their ESG requirements are and how to manage the associated risks through policy and process development. Sifa strategy are also a partner of Carbon Profile who sponsor the Podcast so this episode discusses how the two organisation are working together. This helps to prove the point we have raised many times, there is no one solution to helping clients on their journey to Net Zero. Organisations to collaborate and find ways to contribute effectively to combined service offerings to provide the guidance organisations need to implement effective strategies to minimise their negative impact on the climate. As ever our aim through this podcast is to get the industry talking so we can all share knowledge and experience and learn together. We all have the responsibility to create a more sustainable future.

We are delighted to bring you an interesting discussion with Andy Aitken a co-founder of Honest Mobile - the worlds first net zero mobile phone operator. Bold claims to make which they have backed up with an equally bold strategy placing them ahead of any other mobile phone operator in the global drive towards providing a net zero business structure. Honest mobile are also a B Corp, one of less than 700 in the U.K. We really enjoyed the discussion hearing about the journey Andy and his co-founder Josh took to launch Honest Mobile, what they have achieved is commendable. We hope you enjoy the episode and our new Podcast structure. As ever, our aim is to get people talking, to share knowledge, experience and ambition as we move towards a more sustainable future. Thank you for listening.

In episode 3 we are excited to be joined by Russ Williams, Russ and his family have been on a great journey to living in a decarbonised home. We discuss the journey to date the process of undertaking the journey, living with the challenges of building your own home, costs and cost control, living in a home ‘different technology and design features' and everything in between.  It is really interesting to hear how embarking on the project with the Graven Hill estate in Oxfordshire led to a natural hierarchy for good sustainable decision making during the design and build stages. Anyone interested in what is possible through building your own home or you are looking for ideas for your own retrofit project we know you find what Russ has to say interesting.

Continuing the theme for series 2 of exploring the challenges and opportunities associated with the decarbonisation of domestic homes in the UK, in episode 2 we are speaking to Jason Hewins and Jonathan Bourke both of whom work for Elmhurst Energy, one of the UKs leading accrediting bodies. We discuss the recent release of the updated Part L requirements and how this is going to impact both new building and those being refurbished, we discuss the major changes and the impact these may have. We also discuss PAS 2035 for retro fit projects and its role in ensuring high quality outcomes from retrofit projects, we also discuss the key roles defined in PAS 2035. Anyone involved in either new build or retrofit projects will no doubt find the conversation interesting.

We are starting 2022 talking about our homes, the challenges and opportunities presented by the decarbonisation agenda and how we might go about improving domestic homes in the UK. We are speaking to industry specialists, regulators, consultants driving the conversations forward and home owners who are making the journey to net zero a reality. In episode 1 we are joined by Will Waller from Arcadis. Will is a Senior Director with Arcadis and has a broad knowledge of the UK housing market with particular specialist knowledge in the build to rent sector. Will and I discuss the social housing market and the private rented sector exploring topics around funding and general drive and desire to make the shift to more energy efficient homes. We discuss how the private rented sector is in many areas already providing high quality energy efficient homes in response to both investor driven requirements and buyer habits amongst other things. We hope you enjoy this episode and will join us for the following episodes where we explore this fascinating subject further.

In episode 6, the final episode of series 1 we discuss the outcomes from COP26 and what they mean for the UK real estate industry. We are delighted to be joined by 3 team members from Macfarlanes for this discussion. The Following is taken from their website to give a bit of detail on the organisation. 'We are a unique firm. Our unrivalled blend of expertise, agility and culture means we have the flexibility to meet our clients' most challenging demands and adapt to the changing world around us. Our approach is simple. Our firm is built and shaped around the needs of our clients who we form long-lasting relationships with. They entrust us with their most difficult and complex problems in the areas in which we practise. We also find, recruit and train talented people from all backgrounds, who will one day shape and lead the firm. To achieve this, we operate differently.' We hope you enjoy this episode - next week we are starting a series to look at domestic housing.

In this, Episode 5 of the the podcast we discuss the important role collaboration plays in driving decarbonisation in real estate. We discuss the challenges associated with the wide reaching engagement that is needed to drive the conversations and get some great insight from our guests on how they are driving collaboration in their roles. We are joined by Amira Hashemi from Frasers Property UK and Jonathan Hale from BNP Paribas Real Estate. We hope you enjoy.

In this Episode we speak to Peter O'Brien from Avison Young, Peter is the MD and Principle at the valuation consultancy and joins us to discuss how the decarbonisation agenda influences property values.

In this, the 3rd episode of series 1 we are exploring if there clear signs either way that clients are willing to pay for the inevitable costs associated with decarbonisation. We talk to Vicky Cotton from Workman and Tom Malcom Green from Avison Young about their experiences over the past few years and discuss what we can all do drive better collaboration.

In this the 2nd episode in series 1 we talk to Josh Wakeling, Head of Operations at Elmhurst energy. Elmhurst are the leading accreditation body for energy assessors in the UK and they work closely with UK Governments, other regulators and the customers to drive energy efficiency. We discuss the tools available and some of their limitations, the resources available and challenges that presents and we talk EPCs and their role on helping to drive the journey towards the decarbonisation of UK real estate.

In our first episode we discuss how the messaging from COP26 aligns to the real estate challenges. We interview a key industry specialist, David Tudor Morgan to set the tone for the Podcast series. We discuss what is driving the sustainability agenda, what needs to be improved, where funding can come from, the role of the government and share personal experiences.