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.