Sustainability Stories with Scott Poynton | Inspiring Change for Our Planet

Summary In this episode of Sustainability Stories, Scott Poynton shares his experiences in Nakpatua, Ghana, where he introduces biochar to local farmers. The conversation explores the farmers' initial understanding of biochar, their observations during trials, and the potential benefits of using biochar in agriculture. The episode highlights the community's engagement and the promising future of biochar in enhancing soil health and resilience against climate change. Takeaways The farmers in Nakpatua had little knowledge of biochar before its introduction. Biochar is made from agricultural waste and helps retain water in soil. Farmers are eager to learn and observe the effects of biochar on their crops. Mixing biochar with manure is a favored method among farmers. Farmers are not nervous about using biochar due to positive past experiences with charcoal. Biochar can increase crop yields by 20-30%. The longevity of biochar in soil is a significant advantage over chemical fertilizers. Farmers are encouraged to experiment with biochar in their gardens and fields. The community's trust in Scott Poynton's initiatives is strong due to past successes. The future of biochar in Nakpatua looks promising as farmers continue to learn and adapt. Sound Bites "You do get benefits just with biochar." "They have no doubt at all." "I think it's going to be great."  

When Full Stomachs Still Mean Starvation Come to the field with me to explore food insecurity in northern Ghana’s dry season: yams, cassava, and the struggle for nutrition, resilience, and how biochar and protein crops like Bambara create hope for farming families.    

From M&S Plan A to Nature Metrics and beyond, Katie shares lessons on building businesses that value nature, drive systemic change, and create hope for a living planet. In this wide-ranging conversation, sustainability leader Katie Critchlow joins Scott Poynton to share her journey from pioneering Plan A at Marks & Spencer to leading Nature Metrics and now co-founding Re-genus, a fungi-based regenerative agriculture startup. Katie reflects on the successes and frustrations of corporate sustainability, the limits of data and impact investing, and why reconnecting people with nature is more powerful than reports or metrics. She also speaks candidly about values, trust, feminine energy in leadership, and the urgent need for systemic change in capitalism to secure a thriving planet. Inspiring and hopeful, Katie’s story blends hard-won lessons with a clear call to action for anyone who cares about sustainability, biodiversity, and the future of humanity. Episode Highlights & Themes Katie’s journey: from M&S Plan A sustainability pioneer, to WWF Indonesia, Nature Metrics CEO, and now co-founder of Regenerate (fungi-based regenerative agriculture). Corporate sustainability: moving from “doing less harm” to systemic change; frustrations with compliance, reporting, and greenwashing. Valuing nature: the limits of economics vs. the infinite value of biodiversity; the importance of reconnecting people emotionally and spiritually to nature. Impact investment: tensions between financial return expectations and genuine regenerative impact. Hope vs. collapse: social cohesion, trust, and the “one scenario” where humanity can thrive. Feminine energy & diversity in leadership and boardrooms. Regenerative agriculture: fungi compost innovation to reduce synthetic fertilizer use, cut emissions, and restore soils. Values: being human-first, truth-telling, compassion, trust, and connection.

Meet Denis and Harriet, humanitarian leaders from Uganda's community empowerment initiative, Anyim Wa.

Explore the transformative potential of biochar for smallholder farmers in Ghana as I share my firsthand experiences.'

Hugh Locke shares stories of his journey as a spiritual warrior and advocate for sustainability, focusing on empowering farmers worldwide.    

Learn how One Tree Planted is revolutionizing sustainability by restoring forest landscapes worldwide.

Nadene Canning is a facilitator, learning designer, coach, mentor and a very fine human being. She cares about others and has deep experience supporting people to travel their journeys. I had the privilege of meeting Nadene online in January 2024 and in person a month or so later. We got along like a house on fire. We're both fascinated by this notion of regeneration; yes, of soils and Nature, but in our case, most particularly the regeneration of the human spirit. We have committed to exploring the topic in a series of short (around 10 min) podcasts. This is our first episode and we look forward to diving deeper into this exploration with you. If you have comments or questions, do post them and we'll aim to explore as many as we can in future episodes.

Gretha Oost is inspiring. An inventor, an entrepreneur, a community member and a true believer that together, we can make the world a better place. Gretha has built a beautiful initiative called "1million mini missions" to help people to come together to do what they each can do. All on their own, these mini missions are beautiful, but together, they represent a catalyst to inspire social change from the ground up, by focusing on what's possible, that which binds us together, not what divides us. https://www.1mmm.org/

Mark Bjornsgaard is the Founder and CEO of Deep Green which decarbonises commercial and domestic heating. He invests in projects that help make the world a better place. Mark shares some of the lessons he's learned along the way to help new impact entrepreneurs make their impact.

Andrew Reeves is Commercial Director of WhatIF Foods. WhatIF Foods is a 'planet-based' food company and a Pond Foundation member. Andrew discusses the development of WhatIF Foods as a company, centred around solving the world's 'Nutritional Paradox', where global food systems are far too reliant on very few crops, and food inequality is extremely widespread.

Abdulai Abdul-Razak (Razak) is the Kasima Ghana Operations Manager for the regenerative Bambara bean agricultural project in the Northern Region of Ghana. Razak shares the story of his humble upbringing and his journey to his current position, and shares how a regenerative agricultural project can unfold for the project and the people involved.

Elizabeth Bashiru (Lizzy) leads Pond Foundation’s Hilary’s Kids initiative in northern Ghana which supports communities and particularly children with learning materials, safe drinking water, community health equipment and opportunities for women entrepreneurship. Lizzy discusses her family, background, and experience which led to her journey to this position.    

In this episode, I discuss the process of bringing change in some of the world's largest industries, and within the hearts of the people involved.  I share something of my career and experience finding a path to change, and my understanding of what it means to change. Change happens deep within the human heart, not in the mind. Logical arguments and criticism often have little impact on industry leaders, but impactful change often came from being guided to approach things with their heart and their values.

I share more about the work I've been doing in Ghana to set up a Bambara bean regenerative agricultural supply chain with Pond Foundation members WhatIF Foods and Kasima Ghana. I discuss the project's progress going into the second growing season, the problems we came across, and the achievements of the pilot season. Listen to the earlier episode, "Reflections on Ghana", for an introduction to the project.  

In this solo podcast, I discuss climate change and climate action. In the midst of some of the worst European heatwaves on record, I hope to help answer the question: What can I do to address climate change?

In this solo podcast, I share my experiences over the first months of 2022 working in Tamale, northern Ghana. Since Feb 2022, I have been working with a Singaporean-based food company called WhatIF Foods to build a regenerative supply chain for the Bambara groundnut. Here I reflect on what I saw of the lives of the farmers and the way we need to work to improve things, to do things a different way.

Being human brings change and hope. A chat with Tony Rinaudo, The Forest Maker.  In this episode, Tony Rinaudo and Scott discuss hope, humanity, and forest regeneration as they describe their experiences in conservation.

In this podcast, Scott discusses sustainability with Stephanie Lentz, CEO and founder of Scoop Marketplace, a zero-waste grocery store in Seattle. Stephanie tells the story of how she became interested in sustainability and reducing our impact on the planet. She tries to inspire others to take imperfect action, making progress rather than always striving for perfection.

In this podcast, Scott chats to Alex Pastollnigg, the founder of Fair Voyage, a social enterprise based in Zurich. She describes how she transitioned out of the world of finance and banking, and how she is finding her purpose through her work in promoting sustainable and ethical travel. She also shares insights into her new project on Global Healing which explores how the traumas we experience in childhood cast shadows forward into our adult lives