The Green Beehive

Alia welcomes Hanife Ymer, Head of Sustainability Services MENA at JLL, to the Green Beehive. They discuss  the impact of the transition to the low carbon economy in the real estate sector as well as Hanife's take on the outcomes of Cop 26.

On this episode Michael Pottinger talks about climate change and the shift in recent times in the attitude of businesses and governments, as we come to accept that we can no longer stop climate change happening and instead need to manage it.Michael also touches on how climate change will inevitably exacerbate social injustice. He talks about what is now needed from governments and offers some predictions and warnings about how COP26 may unfold.

Karim Elgendy is a Sustainable City Strategist and on this episode he discusses with us everything that his consultancy entails. The episode includes insights into how we navigate the challenges of sustainability in the development of cities, the evolving culture and changing regulations in urban renewal and the future of  cities across the globe.Find out more about Green Bee here - https://greenbeeinsights.com/

Seb Wood, of engineering consultancy Whitby Wood, discusses the changing nature of our human infrastructure as the impact climate change becomes ever clearer.  Seb highlights the changes needed in engineering; in practice, legislation, materials and ethos.A must-listen for any business navigating between the need for profit and the imperative of sustainability.

We talk with Emma Beeson and Sophie Howes, from merchandise designer and manufacturer Tomato Source, about the challenges they've navigated while incorporating sustainable thinking . Their experience and insights are highly relevant to anyone with an interest is ethical manufacturing.If your business is looking to transition to sustainability, find out more about Green Bee here: https://greenbeeinsights.com/

A fascinating interview with environmental sustainability consultant Naila Khairallah on the ever-growing challenges facing businesses from an environmental standpoint in 2021.Naila explains how social pressure and regulatory changes mean businesses radically changing the way they operate and how those who adapt rapidly and nimbly will be those that thrive.Find out more about Green Bee here - https://greenbeeinsights.com/

Green Bee CEO Alia Eshaq discusses her background as a peace builder and negotiator in Yemen and how those experiences led to a passion for sustainability and ultimately to the creation of the Green Bee Insights.The episode details the reasons behind the push for sustainability from both society and government legislation and how both will continue to impact companies across the globe.Alia also shares her insights into the sustainability challenges facing companies in 2021, how companies need to approach these challenges, and why sustainability need not be an obstacle to profit.

Around the world, the consumption of sustainable products is booming. An increasing number of consumer goods companies are boosting their eco-friendly credentials to meet consumer demands. Sustainability awareness is also spreading in the Arab Gulf states.  Yet, a gap remains between sustainability awareness and behaviour. In this podcast, we zoom in on the UAE market for sustainable goods, where increased consumer awareness and demand for sustainable products are creating new growth opportunities. We talk to the co-founders of ‘The Zola Collective’, which sells sustainably sourced African products in the UAE. Our conversation sheds light on important market opportunities and trade challenges and explores how to define, measure, and ensure sustainability in African producer countries. 

ESG is becoming an international investment requirement and a crucial step towards long-term sustainable development. In this podcast series, we talk with industry experts and stakeholders about key ESG trends that are shaping business in the Middle East and Africa.In this episode, we talk to Dean Alborough, who is the Head of ESG at Old Mutual Alternative Investments (OMAI). We discuss ESG adoption in Africa, particularly in infrastructure investing, and how ESG opportunities and challenges are managed while ensuring operations meet stakeholders' expectations. 

In this podcast series, Mashora Group speaks to entrepreneurs across the region. The goal is to shed light on some of the business ideas that are newly emerging in the Middle East and Africa and to understand what it takes to launch a successful new enterprise. We talk about the many challenges that entrepreneurs are facing, the support available to them, and the creativity and resilience that is required to succeed, including in contexts that are marked by fragility and violence. This episode zooms-in on a new agri-tech business in Tanzania, called Ninayo. Ninayo helps Tanzanian farmers improve the efficiency of distributing and selling their agricultural products. Ninayo's founder, Jack Langworthy, discusses how he managed to build his business, shares his own personal "resilience tricks", and points to the many existent innovation and business opportunities in Tanzania. 

Mashora Group and David Baxter (II): Public Private Partnerships in Saudi Arabia.Saudi Arabia is a significant projects market in the Middle East and an important player in the field of public private partnerships (PPPs). The implementation of PPPs in Saudi Arabia is shaped by country-specific factors, including the Kingdom’s ambitious 2030 Vision, which aims to diversify the country’s economy. Recent economic reforms have notably included the private sector, whose role has been changing. The increasing implementation of PPPs in Saudi Arabia promises a range of opportunities and has far-reaching implications. PPPs help build desalination plants, for instance, which in turn facilitate the realisation of sustainable development goals. This podcast follows up on our last episode, and we are pleased to continue our discussion with PPP expert David Baxter. Contrary to last time, this conversation zooms in on Saudi Arabia's PPP market, outlining its key sectors and opportunities, as well as expected future trends. 

Mashora Group and David Baxter (I): Public Private Partnerships in the Middle East and Africa. Governments in the Middle East and Africa are increasingly turning to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in their efforts to develop state infrastructure, provide state services, and boost their national economies. PPPs are often linked to large-scale development projects in the region, combining much needed private capital with political responsibility and power. While some praise PPPs for improving government efficiency, others criticize their democratic deficit and unfair distribution of government funds. In this podcast, we are joined by David Baxter, who works at the forefront of developing new approaches to PPPs. Together, we discuss the potential benefits, but also the risks and limitations, of treating PPPs as a development tool.  

In this podcast we summarize a discussion we recently moderated on a looming environmental catastrophe off the coast of Yemen, which, if it was to occur, would lead to an oil leak 100 times the size of the recent Mauritius spill. The source of this threat is the FSO Safer, an offshore storage vessel near the Yemeni coast, which carries over 1.1 million barrels of oil, but has not been maintained properly for years. Given this lack of maintenance, it is now at risk of either leaking or exploding. Any preventative action is complicated by the current civil war in Yemen. In this podcast, we discuss these challenges as well as potential solutions.