The Brand Activism Podcast

Solitaire Townsend, 'Ethical Entrepreneur of the Year' in the UK and award-winning author of 'The Solutionists', shares her infectious enthusiasm and insight into how we can all be part of the solutions that will help save the planet. Solitaire also talks about the urgent need for more joy, fun and desirable stories to inspire sustainable human behavior change.    Host: Christian BudtzShort cuts: 5:15  What's a Solutionist?9:30  The making of Love Bug, an insect-based cat food brand18:00  How Netflix "Game Changers" changed the story of vegan 20:50  Brand lessons from Who Gives A Crap 24:50  Take-aways from talking with Bill Gates 31:00  The Solutions Economy in an age of uncertainty 35:00  Solitaire's advice for marketing creatives

Suvi Reinikkala, Marketing Director, led the global launch of Koskenkorva Vodka 'Climate Action' - the World's first vodka made entirely with regeneratively farmed barley. Suvi shares the fascinating story of how a small Finnish village is fighting the climate crisis by making vodka. Host: Christian BudtzShort cuts: 04:15  The cultural connection between Finland and vodka06:00  The story of Koskenkorva Vodka12:00  The 'Drink Sustainably' brand platform 17:30  Unpacking the impact of regenerative farming 21:30  How to make sustainability entertaining24:30  From brand idea to real business transformation30:45  Tracking impact33:00  The path to commercial sustainability36:00  The future role for marketing, innovation and brands 

Lauren Bartley, Sustainability and CSR Director at the Danish B Corp fashion brand GANNI, shares her insights into how being scrappy can make a smaller brand punch above its weight in the quest to change a global industry for the better. Lauren also discusses transparency, circularity and the power of fashion to change culture. Host: Christian Budtz  Short cuts:  02:25  Lauren's journey in fashion 08:30  The state of the fashion industry 15:00  How GANNI is working with circularity18:30  The dialogue with the GANNI community 24:00  Lauren's take on sustainable consumption 27:30  GANNI's new strategy30:00  From carbon off-setting to carbon in-setting35:00  GANNI's opportunity as a smaller player40:45  Why Lauren feels optimistic working in fashion 

Johan Pihl, Co-founder of Doconomy, shares the inspiring story behind the Swedish climate tech, which was named one of The World's Most Innovative Companies of 2022 by Fast Company. Johan talks about creativity, the deep urge to change the world and why testing ideas that aren't allowed is critical to tackle the climate crisis. Host: Christian BudtzShort cuts:02:30  Johan's view on creativity, advertising and innovation06:45  The story of how Doconomy started 12:00  The big idea behind the DO Black project with MasterCard 16:45  Johan explains the award-winning tool "The 2030 Calculator" 22:45  How Doconomy is making sense of data 31:30  Johan's philosophy on radical innovation 39:30  Advice for advertising creatives

Mark Curtis, co-founder of design agency Fjord, now Head of Innovation and Thought Leadership at Accenture Song, explains why brands must design better human experiences to enable the real behaviour change needed to combat the environmental crisis. Host: Christian BudtzShort-cuts:03:00 The story of why Mark co-founded Fjord /08:40 The three catalysts for innovation /12:30 Designing sustainable experiences / 18:20 Circularity as a business model / 24:30 Mark's key take-aways from COP26 and The World Economic Forum /30:40 Rethinking the concept of growth / 

Thomas Lingard, Global Sustainability Director at Unilever, provides a unique insight into how global companies can drive positive change. Thomas also talks about the power of brands, repairing capitalism, and the need for big hairy audacious goals in messy transformations.Host: Christian BudtzShort cuts:05:00 Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan / 10:00 How Dove & Hellmann's put purpose at the core / 13:00 Thomas' learnings from working with sustainability /17:00 Unilever's new sustainability strategy /23:00 The role of global brands in driving change / 32:00 Repairing capitalism /36:00 How to think about sustainable growth / 40:00 Thomas sharing his experience from the COP26 / 45:00 How to drive a change agenda within large organizations /

Jasmin Hume, CEO & Founder at food tech startup Shiru, is on a mission to change our global food system. Working at the intersection of tech, science, biology and creativity, Jasmin shares her fascinating vision of how we can fight the environmental crisis by redesigning foods.Host: Christian BudtzShort-cuts: 3:00 Jasmin's journey into food tech / 6:00 The idea behind Jasmin's startup, Shiru / 10:00 What's wrong with our food system today / 15:00 Jasmin talks about climate change / 17:30 Why ingredients are so important / 21:00 How Shiru's technology is different / 25:00 Creating a step change for large food companies / 27:00 The importance of brand building / 30:30 The power of purpose / 34:30 How to find the right investors / 41:00 Barriers facing food tech /43:30 Jasmin's advice for entrepreneurs / 

Tamsin Omond, climate activist and founding member of Extinction Rebellion, shares the inside story of how the activist group Extinction Rebellion became a global phenomenon. Tamsin also talks about meeting with Greta Thunberg, the power of mind bombs and the need for non-violent civil disobedience to fight the climate emergency. Host: Christian Budtz/ Short cuts :02:30  Tamsin's journey into grassroots activism / 07:00  How Tamsin became the face of the environmental movement in the UK / 16:30  The activist toolbox /22:30  The founding of Extinction Rebellion /29:30  The story of Tamsin & Greta Thunberg joining forces /37:30  Disrupting  London Fashion Week /43:00  Organizing around a global de-centralised model / 52:00  Changing the narrative to "climate emergency" / 55:30  Bridging the commercial and activist agenda /

Thomas Kolster aka Mr. Goodvertising talks about why brands need to transform and how the advertising industry needs to shift from fast ideas to entrepreneurial ideas. Host: Christian Budtz  Shortcuts:03:10 How the Copenhagen Climate Summit triggered Thomas to take action /  06:00 Thomas' mission behind his first book "Goodvertising" /  08.00 The influence from Oliviero Toscani /  12:00 How P&G CMO Mark Pritchard championed the company's sustainability agenda /   16:00 The challenge of sustainability wear-out and trust decline /  19:50 How brands need to move from 'purpose' to 'transformation' /  21:40 Thomas talks about his latest book "The Hero Trap" /  24:20 Companies need to ask: Who can we help people become? /  25:25 How KIND Snacks promote kindness /  27:30 Companies fail to empower people's creativity /  28:40 How the Movember movement allowed people to engage /  30:30 The role of creativity in driving change /  39:20 Thomas talks about optimism and risk-taking 

Rachel Konrad, former Executive at Impossible Foods and Tesla, offers a powerful perspective on how to exploit capitalism to save the planet. Rachel shares unique insights from working with Elon Musk and on how to disrupt incumbent industries to drive positive change. Host: Christian BudtzShortcuts 05:30 What Rachel learned from working with Elon Musk09:20 Elon Musk's strategy to make Tesla culturally cool 16:30 Rachel's first meeting with Pat Brown, Founder of Impossible Foods 19:30 The big idea behind Impossible Foods 22:10 The technology behind Impossible Foods26:00 Impossible Foods' go-to-market strategy27:50 The partnership with Burger King and the launch of "The Impossible Whopper"31:40 How eco-alternatives need to break into the mainstream34:20 Myths about changing our food habits37:45 How disruptive companies are fightning incumbent industries 45:30 What agriculture will look like in 30 years  47:45 Three disruptive food tech companies that Rachel joined as a Board Member52:15 The future of activism56:00 Rachel's advice for climate entrepreneurs

Former Patagonia marketing chief, Joy Howard, tells her inspiring story of how she turned brand activism into a success strategy for both business growth and social & environmental impact. Joy shares a wealth of insights from her career as a CMO and marketing leader working for brands such as Converse, Sonos, Lyft and – of course – Patagonia. In 2020, Joy made the Forbes "World's Most Influential CMO" list and in 2021 she founded her own company, Early Majority. Host: Christian Budtz

James Carnes, former adidas VP of Global Brand Strategy and Sustainability, shares the unique stories and insights behind adidas' most game-changing sustainability projects: The adidas x Parley partnership that turned ocean plastic waste into sports shoes and the recent collab with Allbirds that turned competitors into partners in the quest for a carbon-free sneaker. Host: Christian Budtz

John Grant, brand strategy guru, talks about his latest book, "Greener Marketing". John shares a wealth of case stories and insights from working with brands such as Unilever, Nike and IKEA in driving the sustainability agenda. 

John Schoolcraft, Global Creative Director at OATLY, shares his incredible story of how the Swedish rebel brand made oat milk cool. We also talk to John about being fearless, killing the marketing department and using creativity as a force for good.