Start Somewhere

We’re closing off 2021 with another incredible episode about health and wellbeing, this week with the fabulous Nicola Mendelsohn, who is the Vice President, Global Business Group at Meta. Nicola also is the chairperson of the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation, which she founded in 2019 after herself being diagnosed three years prior.  Whilst trying to understand her own condition she connected with the 'Living with Follicular Lymphoma' Facebook Group. This gave her the insight, advice and support from a close-knit on-line community going through the same journeys. Over time, Nicola became more involved in the stories and experiences of the individuals in the group as well as her own treatment. This led her to develop relationships with leading clinicians and investigators in the field, who convinced her that by raising awareness and funds, so much more could be done to transform the lives of FL patients.In this episode, Nicola tells us about how her drive to help and support others throughout her life has been guided by her faith, the challenges she faced after receiving her FL diagnosis and why she remains hopeful for a cure. For more information about Follicular Lymphoma or to support Nicola in finding a cure, please head to https://www.theflf.org/ The ask: Head to the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation website to learn more about Follicular Lymphoma, spread the word and donate to stop this incurable disease.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of Start Somewhere, I’m delighted to speak to an amazing trailblazer in sustainability and female empowerment. Joining me is the incredible Natalie Deacon, Executive Director Corporate Affairs and Sustainability for the iconic beauty brand Avon. Natalie is also the President of the Avon Foundation for Women. In this episode, Natalie tells us the compelling story of Avon’s founder and champion of women, David H. McConnell. And Avon, through their foundation, have made it their mission to speak up about gender-based violence and empowerment of women. We also speak about the role of brands in guiding consumers to live more sustainably and the latest innovations in biotech that Avon is using to push the envelope on what is possible with natural ingredients.   The ask: It’s all about making small steps and small changes. Even if everyone listening to the podcast would recycle beauty product waste from their bathrooms, or would share one post on social media raising awareness about domestic violence, it would incrementally create an unstoppable movement for change.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this week on Start Somewhere, I’m thrilled to be joined by the wonderful Helen Cox, Global Environmental Reporting Lead for one of my favourite beauty brands, LUSH. Like myself, Helen is part of the Sustainable Beauty Coalition Steering Committee. Before joining Lush, Helen worked in financial services, specialising in international cosmetics retail, then shifted to the financial reporting process, with an interest in climate change. An avid sustainability advocate, she wants to make sustainability accessible to and actionable by all.In this episode, Helen tells us about her ‘full circle’ career path at LUSH, how LUSH has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to sustainability and purpose and why more beauty brands should be in coalition with one another. The ask: If we do nothing, nothing is going to change except get worse. If you want to do something, just go and do it. No action is too small.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Start Somewhere, I’m so overjoyed to be speaking to the incredible Inge Theron, who is the Founder & Creative Director of FaceGym. The already iconic FaceGym provides a signature workout for the face, consisting of warm up, cardio, sculpt and cool down, enhanced with powerful non-invasive machines to lift, sculpt and tone your facial muscles.In her Financial Times column ‘Chronicles of a Spa Junkie’, Inge gradually learned that the traditional approach to ageing was broken. When a face-lifting procedure left her house bound, Inge realised there must be a better way to age confidently. That’s how Face Gym was born. In this incredible episode, Inge tells us about how her boundless enthusiasm and determination landed her some of the most exciting jobs, what makes FaceGym’s approach so different and the power of manifesting your life’s vision. The ask: Be crystal clear about what it is you want to do. Don’t be put off by not having the skill set or the money. Close your eyes every day and see yourself where you want to be and manifest. Make sure the next place you put your foot is in the right direction.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Start Somewhere, I’m thrilled to be speaking to the trailblazing Jayn Sterland. Jayn is the Managing Director at Weleda UK, a world-leading manufacturer of holistic natural cosmetics which has been creating natural health and well-being products for 100 years. I also work with Jayn for the Sustainable Beauty Coalition. In this episode, Jayn tells us about her early upbringing working at her parent’s farm and how she later on moved from her initial career in textiles and fashion in pursuit of her purpose. We also speak about the incredible innovations that happen at Weleda, both its products and within the company itself, what collaborative leadership looks like and how the pandemic has enabled us to show up more authentically as ourselves in the workplace. The ask: We all have to consume less. Whatever you’re going to buy, buy less and buy better. Every organic thing you buy is an act of activism for the planet. Life is a journey of getting to know yourself. Try to understand how to be authentically you and (re)connect with your life’s purpose.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re all familiar with the devastating impact of plastics in the oceans, but how does plastic affect our own health? This week on Start Somewhere, I sit down with the incredible Dr. Shanna Swan, Ph.D., one of the world’s leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists who recently published her book ‘Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts’. If you would have told young Shanna, a child actress, that she would be spending more than 20 years studying how chemicals in plastics are causing our fertility to decline, she probably wouldn’t have believed it, but her work has been absolutely integral in the growing body of work sounding the alarm about the long-term negative effects on plastic on our environment - including our own bodies. In this episode, we dive deep into the science behind Shanna’s shocking discovery, why & where these harmful plastics can be found in our homes and how you can Start Somewhere to plastic-proof your life. The ask: In order to avoid these plastics, you’ll need to look at the world with a whole new set of glasses. There may be many things you might need to change about your lifestyle, but don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Start Somewhere Series 4 about sustainable and purpose-led beauty, health and wellness, I’m joined by my former colleague and friend Chris Davis from The Body Shop. Chris has been with The Body Shop since 2003 and currently heads up the company’s sustainability and activism strategy. It was together with Chris that I had the honour of working on a three-year campaign by The Body Shop to call on governments around the world to take urgent action to stop the trafficking and exploitation of children and young people. The petition, which attracted more than 7 million signatures in more than 50 countries, was one of the largest petitions ever to be presented to the United Nations.In this incredible episode, we hear about how standing up for other people has been part of Chris’s philosophy ever since his childhood, the work that makes The Body Shop a true activist brand and what it means for Chris to Start Somewhere. Ask: Find a mentor you look up to who can help you. Trust your instincts and speak up, even when it feels really hard to do.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the last episode of the Start Somewhere COP26 Climate Emergency special, I’m thrilled to introduce you to an incredibly important voice in the indigenous movement, Lola Cabnal. She is a Mayan Q'eqchí woman from a rural community in the municipality of Livingston, Guatemala. Lola is a social worker and chairs the Council of Indigenous Women and Biodiversity in Guatemala. She works in the area of political advocacy for the Ak' Tenamit Association and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Indigenous Roundtable on Climate Change in Guatemala and in other advocacy spaces, such as the group promoting communal lands, among others.In this episode, Lola tells us about how she grew up in her native Guatemala, the sacrifices she had to make in pursuit of education and independence and how through ‘educating to conserve’, Lola is living her purpose of both empowering women and the natural world as one.Top tip: Amplify the voices of indigenous people and find ways to support indigenous movements directly Visit https://thegtfund.org/ and consider donating to the cause or sponsoring a student to receive education for a year.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the penultimate episode of the Start Somewhere COP26 Climate Emergency special, I’m beyond honoured to speak to the incredible internationally recognized climate expert Cassie Flynn. Cassie serves as the Strategic Advisor on Climate Change to UNDP’s Administrator, while also heading up the Climate Strategies and Policies team and Climate Promise. She is also the creator of mission 1.5 and the Peoples’ Climate Vote, which used gaming to become the world’s largest-ever survey on climate action. In this incredible episode, we speak about Cassie’s role in helping countries create and deliver on their ambitious climate pledges, how the climate crisis doesn’t care about borders and why smaller countries need to be heard.Top tip: You can bring what you got to this fight: you don’t need to be an expert. Check out the UNDP Climate Promise.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For Today’s episode of the Start Somewhere COP26 Climate Emergency Special, I’m delighted to speak to a true force for good, Zanagee Artis. Zanagee is the Co-Founder, Co-Executive Director and Policy Director of Zero Hour, a global youth-led climate justice organisation. Zanagee is also co-author of A Kids Book About Climate Change and co-host of 1 Point 5: A Kids Podcast About Climate Justice.Growing up on the coastline of Connecticut, Zanagee’s love for the natural world and marine life inspired him to start a Sustainability Club at his school at the age of 16. It was after learning more about climate justice and how the climate crisis disproportionately affected certain groups of people, Zanagee decided to challenge these systems of oppression and co-founded Zero Hour. In this episode, we hear about Zanagee’s powerful message for leaders around the world, why we need to build intergenerational bridges, and how racism, colonialism, capitalism and the patriarchy are at the root of the climate crisis. Top Tip: Every action can turn into something bigger and become a wave of change. For instance, by changing to a bank or pension fund that doesn’t invest into fossil fuels.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on Gender Day, I’m thrilled to introduce you to two incredible women who have been campaigning tirelessly to make COP26 a more equitable summit. They are Bianca Pitt, Co-Founder of She Changes Climate, and Antoinette Vermilye also a Co-Founder of She Changes Climate and the Gallifrey Foundation.Bianca and Antoinette founded She Changes Climate after discovering that the COP26 delegation was an all-male team. Its global mission is to ensure all delegations, for all climate negotiations, have at least a 50% representation of diverse women at their top levels, now and in the future. They have recently launched their campaign #5050Vision, calling for all parties to be represented in decision-making, because it affects all parties.In this episode, we hear about the moment Bianca and Antoinette were propelled into action and built a movement overnight, how a #5050Vision can breathe new life into an old system that hasn’t so far worked, and why solving the climate crisis is a matter of collaborating or collapsing.Top tip: Bianca: Check out www.shechangesclimate.org and become a signatory. Shine a light on the women around you. If you are a voter, vote for women. If you are an employee, check out the board of the company you’re engaged with to see if there is equal representation. If you are an investor, invest in female-led businesses. Find a network or create your own network with people who also care for the environment. Antoinette: If you are a woman, don’t undersell yourself, always speak up and lift up other women because we need radical collaboration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the Start Somewhere COP26 Climate Emergency Special, I get to speak to the visionary business leader, Jesper Brodin, President and CEO of Ingka Group, IKEA. IKEA is one of the world’s largest home furnishing retailers and owns and operates more than 400 stores in 32 markets.Born and raised on the Swedish west coast, Jesper grew up with an appreciation for nature and the sea. It was while working as a regional Purchasing Manager for IKEA in Pakistan, he found his passion for creating ‘a better everyday’, both for people and the planet. In this episode, we hear from Jesper about what IKEA is doing to encourage responsible production and consumption in the face of the climate crisis, why he believes equitable representation at the decision-making table is a no brainer and what consumers can do to Start Somewhere. Top Tip: We’re all responsible for sharing the earth’s resources. We can all Start Somewhere and change our lifestyles and home. This way we collectively make a massive difference.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on day 8 of the Start Somewhere COP26 Climate Emergency Special, I’m delighted to introduce you to one of my personal heroines, Mya-Rose Craig. Mya-Rose is a 19-year-old British-Bangladeshi birder, environmentalist and race activist. She’s also the founder and president of Black To Nature, which she founded at age 13, and author of ‘We Have A Dream’. Ever since she was a child, Mya-Rose has had a strong connection to birds and the natural world, coming from a family of bird watchers. At age 11, she started her popular blog ‘Birdgirl’ to share her passion for birds and wildlife. All her activism is informed by a life-long love of birds and the desire to ensure all young people – but particularly those from Visible Minority Ethnic groups – have the opportunity to engage with nature and have their voice heard.In this episode, we speak about how birds are the sirens of environmental change, why global climate justice is indispensable to tackling the climate crisis and what Maya-Rose does to platform the voices of indigenous people and activists from the Global South. Top Tip: Write to your local MP and keep talking to your friends and family about the climate crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the COP26 Climate Emergency special, I speak to the incredible Dune Ives, who is the CEO of Lonely Whale, an incubator for courageous ideas that drive impactful, market-based change on behalf of our ocean. You will probably know the Lonely Whale from their viral 2017 #StopSucking campaign that reached millions of people worldwide and helped keep 29 million straws out of the waste stream. An experienced leader and trusted advisor in the fields of corporate sustainability and global philanthropy, Dune brings over years of expertise and a thoughtful and optimistic approach to achieve an ocean free from plastic pollution. In this episode, we hear Dune speak about her own upbringing in Alaska that helped shape her sense of community and respect for nature, her commitment to always addressing ecological issues at the very root, and how the power of creativity in landing a message that needs to be heard. Top tip: Just do something, don’t worry too much about what exactly that thing is. Everything you do to better your community, yourself, your planet… It all helps.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to the COP26 Climate Emergency Special! Today I’m so overjoyed to have the incredible AY Young, a dear friend of mine, join us. AY is a producer, singer, songwriter, entertainer, and entrepreneur, a United Nations Youth Leader for SDGs and the Founder of Battery Tour.  AY is on a mission to bring the world together and ignite change through the power of music with his organisation Battery Tour. He has held over 800 solar-powered concerts across the country since 2012 and is currently working on a Global Goals album, labeled "Project 17" in collaboration with earth’s biggest artists to create one song for each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. AY was also recently named a UN Youth Leader for SDGs and performed at President Biden’s inauguration - an incredible achievementIn this episode, we discuss the importance of finding your ‘why’, how AY is shaking up the music industry and mobilising the world’s biggest stars to use their influence to create a positive impact, and why everyone in the world is an outlet for change. Top Tip: One. Plug into the Battery Tour. Two: Break down the silos and build bridges instead. Three. Start with you, and ask yourself what your ‘why’ is.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For today’s episode of the Start Somewhere COP26 Climate Emergency special, I’m truly honoured to speak to the visionary Dr. Gail Bradbrook. Gail is the Co-Founder of Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion is an international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse. Gail is a truly remarkable woman, and we owe a lot to her.  Ever since the age of nine, Gail felt drawn to social justice work and activism. It was after reading about civil disobedience as an answer to catalyzing change in 2010, Gail embarked on a journey to bring about this form of protest. Researching, planning and training for mass civil disobedience have been her life’s mission ever since. In a matter of a few years, Extinction Rebellion has grown into an unwavering global movement that has ignited climate action all over the world, with over 1150 XR groups in 75 countries. In this episode, we speak about Gail’s ‘peaceful mischief’, why activism should be intersectional and how we can collectively heal from the wounds of oppressive systems.  Top tip: If you’re a woman listening to this - one of the first places of regeneration and reconnection is to trust your intelligence and to build relationships of trust with other women. Sometimes you may need to reach outside your peer group to do so.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to day four of the #StartSomewhere COP26 Climate Emergency special! This episode was recorded last month at the Youth4Climate Summit in Milan, where I was lucky enough to meet some of the world’s most amazing young activists and campaigners, one of them being Nafesha Richardson. Nafesha is the Founder of SPARK SVG, member of the Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network, Youth Champion of the Escazú Agreement, and volunteer at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Girl Guides Association. It was winning a public speaking contest at just seven years old that made Nafesha realise she had a voice and people were listening to her. From that moment on, she used her platform to speak about the issues that her island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines are facing. Like many other islands across the globe, Nafesha’s home is sadly dealing first-hand with the effects of the climate crisis, and it’s vital they are heard and have a place at the decision-making table in Glasgow.In this episode, we hear about how climate change is affecting St. Vincent and the Grenadines, why we need true representation at COP26 and beyond, and the limitless potential of many people starting small. Top Tip: If you want to start a movement, start influencing your family, your friends and your local community. Start small. Use science, speak from a place of knowledge. If you can’t find a seat at the table, take a folding chair. Keep knocking on those doors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, on day three of the #StartSomewhere COP26 Climate Emergency special, I’ll be speaking to the incredible business leader, campaigner, influencer and - most recently -author, Paul Polman. Paul works to accelerate action by business to tackle climate change and inequality. A leading proponent that business should be a force for good, Paul has been described by the Financial Times as “a standout CEO of the past decade”. I’ve been fortunate enough to be working closely with Paul both during his tenure as CEO at Unilever as well as at his most recent venture IMAGINE. In this episode, we discuss Paul’s brand-new book “Net Positive”, a call to arms to courageous business leaders, setting out how to build net positive companies which profit by fixing the world’s problems rather than creating them. We also hear about why throughout his career, Paul has always led from the heart, putting community and humanity first, what courageous leadership looks like in the face of the climate crisis and how he envisions the role of big business in solving the world's most urgent issues. Top tip: One. For business leaders: see this as an opportunity. The cost of inaction is much higher than the cost of action. Let’s take action. Two. If you want to take action as an individual, find that sweet spot of what you’re good at, what you like and what the world needs most. Three. Live what you preach. Four. Include the youth. Half of the population is under thirty and they should be able to not only get a seat at the table, but get the table. Five. Work in partnerships.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to part two of this Start Somewhere COP26 Climate Emergency series. Today, I’ll be speaking to the amazing Jojo Mehta, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Stop Ecocide International (SEI). SEI is the driving force behind the growing global movement to make ecocide an international crime. From oil spills to plastic pollution, to deforestation - we simply can’t talk about the climate crisis without talking about ecocide. Ecocide, the mass damage and destruction of ecosystems, committed repeatedly over decades, has created the climate and ecological emergency that we now face. Thanks to Stop Ecocide’s growing international network and Jojo’s unshakable determination that more and more countries are committing to or considering making ecocide an international crime. In this episode, we hear about the question Jojo’s daughter asked her that led her to found SEI, how striving for net-zero emissions isn’t enough to create a healthy planet and how recognizing ecocide as an international crime has the potential to accelerate climate action.  Top tip: One. Join our Stop Ecocide community and visit our website www.stopecocide.earth and take action. Two. Talk about Ecocide. It’s a relatively new concept, and once people understand the word they develop an understanding of knowing it’s wrong and people take action. Include Ecocide into your conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the very first episode of the #StartSomewhere COP26 Climate Emergency Special! In this 12-part series, we will speak to some of the world’s most trailblazing climate experts, activists, and business leaders, each with their own unique story of how they started somewhere in taking real and impactful climate action. For the first episode of this series, I speak to the incredible Sanda Ojiambo, CEO & Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact. Launched in 2000, with more than 13,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. Its ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change.As a child of parents deeply involved in public service in her native Kenya, Sanda was keenly aware of economic, social and gender inequality ever since she was young. It was at the age of nine she knew she wanted to work with communities to help bridge the gap between those that had something and those that had nothing; an ambitious mission that has been the golden thread throughout Sanda’s career. In this episode, we speak about Sanda’s life journey, how the UN Global Compact has helped businesses transform their purpose and align with the Sustainable Development Goals and why we need women and minority groups around the decision-making table.  Top tip:One. Get perspective. What is the problem at hand? What is the issue you’d like to solve? Take some time to stand on the sideline to really think about this. Two. You can’t solve problems alone. Find the right people around you who want to achieve the same goals.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.