Innovation for sustainability (for UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources Masters)

Sarah Goodenough is Head of Policy at Climate Policy Radar (CPR), a "startup using data science and AI to build tools that unlock global climate law and policy data. Open data, open source, not-for-profit."CPR are right at the cutting edge of the application of AI to climate law and policy.We cover:-How CPR grew out of the Grantham Research institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE, building out from a project on the Climate Change Laws of the World. -The approach of CPR to build tools that open up the messy black box of climate laws, policies and case law globally, helping decision-makers design more effective climate change strategies.-How they are using AI tools carefully, so you can understand how the answer was arrived at (not a black box, like ChatGPT) and to avoid 'hallucinations' (where AIs make stuff up).-CPR has created AI tools which do various things: extract text from documents; translate into English; train models carefully on this high quality input; and, perform semantic search, making it easy for people to find what they are looking for. -How and why they work quickly with the data scientists, so the policy knowledge informs the AI development, and the AI capacity informs the requests on policy analysis.-In the terms of the innovation taxonomy we use in the Masters' module, CPR is has several types: (a) process innovation: the AI tools changing how someone can do research. (b) organisational innovation: the way the data and policy teams work together, and having a mission and staff benefits, are organising CPR differently from other AI-led entities, in order to attract the motivated talent they would not otherwise be able to afford.(c) political economy innovation: supporting others to lobby for climate policies which shift how the economy functions.-The specific support CPR provided in last year's UN Climate Change Global Stocktake, which is designed to assess the global response to the climate crisis every five years. They launched Global Stocktake Explorer, a search engine designed to enable users to quickly and easily understand and navigate all inputs (over 1,600 dcuments) to the first Global Stocktake. (More here.)-CPR is an antidote to Cory Doctorow here: “We're nowhere near the point where an AI can do your job, but we're well past the point where your boss can be suckered into firing you and replacing you with a bot that fails at doing your job”Great to find a positive use ofThis is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Paul Miller (LinkedIn, personal website)  is Managing Partner and CEO of Bethnal Green Ventures, which is "Europe’s leading early-stage tech for good VC".Note that at about 33 minutes there are some pauses because our internet connection went down.Our conversation covers how to run a 'Tech for Good' VC, including having a selection process that works, and investing in ambitious, leading-edge companies.Some specifics:-Some of the Venture Capital (VC) jargon, like: 'early stage', 'managing partner', 'general partner', and 'limited partner'.-The structure of funds in a VC firm.-BGV's role in the start of Fairphone, an Amsterdam-based electronics company which is 'changing how our devices are built and produced'.-BGV's role in the start of Aparito, accelerating healthcare by digitising clinic trials.-How valuable campaigning skills are to a start-up CEO, as there is need to keep on storying telling your route to success.-The value in having a 'pointy' experience of the problem they are trying to address. Not a generic appreciation, but a deeper explanation which gets into the detail of what it is like for those facing the problem.-BGV's own process innovation of how it invites and selects the organisation it backs: an open call, followed by structured evaluation by a diverse spread of experts (which helps avoid the trap of solving problems for white dudes who all went to Ivy League universities).-The biggest challenge for a small VC firm is to raise the capital, mirroring the experience of the start-up founders. There are some improvements, such as the British Business Bank, and Big Society Capital.-Paul believes that the government needs to put some actual force behind institutional investors to invest in innovations, so that the pension funds are not just reaping the rewards of past innovation, but also investing in the innovations which will pay the pensions of the future.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

David Hunter is Senior Counsel at Bates Wells, a purpose-driven law firm (David's corporate page and LinkedIn). David has a specialism in purpose-led organisations, including on fiduciary duty, social impact bonds and governance. Bates Wells itself was the first UK law firm to become a B-Corp, the certification scheme on for-benefit organisations, and has long been an advocate for purpose-led organisations.Our conversation covers a lot of what Indy Johar of Dark Matter Labs calls the 'boring revolution' -- the vital work of getting legal and governance regulations and practice to align with generating a sustainable world.  Some of the specifics:-The Bates Wells Sustainability and Responsibility Pledge.-How much large businesses in particular rely on in-house counsel or external law firms to make sure they can say they are on the right side of the law. A company, or an individual, can be at legal jeopardy and/ro no longer be covered by insurance if they can be shown to be negligent (rather than unlucky or being a bit rubbish but in good faith).-The thorny issue of providing professional services to existing companies who are not aligned with the Paris Agreement or the SDGs. -The emerging area of 'Advised Emissions', where a professional service firm understands, and can be accountable for, the climate impact of its advice through its clients.-Using the idea of Advised Emissions to shape more and more of how the profession engages with that question, so a company can't just ignore your concerns and move on to the next lawyer. Leading to the formation of the UN High-level Climate Champions' Race to Zero  Working Group on Net Zero for Professional Service Providers here.-The reluctance to pursue much-needed sectoral collaborations because of fears about uses of anti-competitive laws (in the US known as anti-trust laws).-The myth that fiduciary duty (the duty that the management of a company have to the owners) means always having to maximise profits, rather than satisfying shareholders on returns. This expands the options companies have for their business strategies, commercial tactics, employment practices, supply chain conditions and more. -Gettng a court ruling saying that charities can focus their investments on sustainability outcomes. -The importance of contracts as the necessary 'plumbing' of business interactions, and so how important the terms within contracts are in giving businesses choices in behaviour.-All this legal innovation is necessary for the all other innovation for sustainability.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Steve Waygood is Chief Responsible Investment Officer at Aviva Investors (Steve's corporate page and LinkedIn). He has been a crucial player in the rise of sustainable finance in the UK over the last 20 years.Our conversation covers:-The role of insurance companies in finance, and their particular interest and leverage on sustainability.-No one anywhere in the world understands the whole of finance.-Many ESG funds are trying to beat the market ('maximise alpha'), on the assumption that an ESG perspective gives you superior information or insight. (The alternative is to change the market, so that we are all heading in a sustainable direction.)-It is possible for a market to be efficient (the assets prices reflect the information) and have market failure (there are important negative impacts which are not included in the prices). For Steve, climate change is a market failure; chasing alpha alone will not deliver a sustainable world.-A potted history of 'ESG' innovations in Aviva (as a proxy for how this has played out across the industry), including:  >Process innovation: the role of engagement (meeting directors of companies to push them on issues) and voting in formal governance (the Annual General Meeting, or AGM).  >Organisational innovation: from having specialist analysts in one dedicated team, to now having people with ESG skills embedded in each of the analytical teams.   >Political economy innovation:  having collaborations like the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) and also using multilateral spaces, like the climate COP, for wider change.-His current focus on 'macro-stewardship': "taking a more holistic view of our stewardship responsibilities and actively engaging with policymakers, industry bodies and peers, regulators, standard setters and other influential parties to advocate and push for changes that will help create a more sustainable economic system."-His main challenge: the 'tragedy of the horizon', meaning that by the time you reach the horizon, and experience the risks for real, it is too late to do anything about them.-Priority: drive innovation through the whole asset management and asset owning institutions, so that they all recognise that without steward  that is systemic then all our business models will be deeply harmed by climate change. Therefore it is in their interests to rise up and challenge those governments that we lend money to, to deliver what they said they were when they signed the Paris Agreement.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Stuart Wilkinson is Assistant Director, Innovation & Engagement at the University of Oxford (his university page, LinkedIn), and a Fellow of Reuben College. He works across the university, trying to create impact from the research that academics do. That ranges from helping a new technology to be launched as a start-up, through to getting results from humanities research into policy.Our conversation covers:-The tensions between curiosity-led research (which can yield utterly unexpected uses) and challenge-led research (which is aimed at a particular problem).-The role of knowledge exchange in and from universities, as part of national and global innovation systems. (For more on the functions of innovation systems see Hekkert et al in their classic 2007 paper).-How that role has evolved out of what used to be called 'tech transfer'.-Tells the story of YASA, an electric motor technology that was first developed in Oxford and, after some 13 years, was bought by Mercedes. The story is partly about needing patient backing (from the university, and from government). Plus, the need to pivot as the landscape changes, in the case from a future where hydrogen cars looked possible, to a present where it is clear that electric vehicles are the way forward.-Link to the UN High Level Climate Champion's Race to Zero initiative, and Nigel Topping's emphasis on the automotive sector.-How the success of the vaccine (which had been in development in Oxford for a while before the COVID pandemic hit) has galvanised their work.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Innovating for Sustainability series is back  after an unintentional summer break with a great interview.Adam Parr is an Oxford-based barrister researching law, enterprise, and the environment (website, wikipedia, academic bio). His 30-year career has encompassed finance, law, industry, and sport. Since 2012, Adam has helped build a number of companies as a VC investor and founder. He chairs Oxford Semantic Technologies (an AI technology business), Cheesecake Energy Limited (a heat storage business) and Homeland Conservation, a charitable trust dedicated to accelerating action on climate. He is a member of the Bar of England and Wales and a Business Fellow of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment.We cover a lot of ground, especially on Adam's role as a board chair and angel investor. Some things to pull out:-The role of a chair is not to run the company.-The first responsibility is to make sure there is a great chief executive in place.-Often, the original founder might be a great technologist. But that's not the same as great CEO.-Fundraising can be a massive burden for a start-up CEO.-A startup is thinking about funding all the time, and also making sure the next raise does not harm the the future fundraising options.-Adam looks at each business in its own context, not trying to impose one sustainability approach, or require a pre-determined 'impact'.-He selects areas to be in based on solving crucial pinchpoints (eg energy storage for renewable energy grid). Focus on things that are going to make a strategic difference.-Story about realising the energy transition was important to Formula One, and so developing a hybrid vehicle, and doing carbon report.-Formula One shows that you have to get the rules (and incentives) right, so that people do what can be done. Changing the rules is fiercely contested by incumbents, who succeed with the rules as they are.-THe Inflation Reduction Act is a great example of setting good rules.-All this shows how much political economy is tied up with innovation activity, especially when it requires displacing incumbents.-Adam uses a variant on Agile, drawn from Schaffer Consulting's Rapid Results method. The Stanford Social Innovation Review article ($). Key insight: create the zest of a crisis to get more done.-With climate, we don't have a lot of time. "Nuclear fusion is fantastic. Quantum Computing is fantastic. Anybody who says that ...[these technologies are] going to help us address the climate crisis needs their head examining."This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Alison Ward (LinkedIn, Twitter) is the CEO of CottonConnect, which helps global brands source more fairly and sustainably by creating more robust, resilient and successful raw material supply chains.Our conversation covers:-Just how complex the cotton supply chain is, with cotton traded 10 times once it leaves the farmer.-How it takes time to turn an innovative concept into real impact. CottonConnect has a 10 year journey from working with just 1,251 female farmers to now reaching well over 300,000 farmers across Bangladesh India and Pakistan. -Being a CEO of a social enterprise has to combine being commercial and driving impact at every level.-In the status quo supply chain, the farmers have the least power, least information, worst negotiating position, and so are, often, proportionately the most exposed to risk. CottonConnect is trying to change that. Knowledge is power: if you have just one piece of important insight then you can use that on your suppliers or competition. -How new legislation on claims by shops or brands is forcing them to improve traceability, which is an opportunity for CottonConnect and a driver of innovation.-The importance in shifting from 'efficiency through arms-length transactions' to 'effectiveness through long-term relationships' in order to deliver lasting outcomes.-The use of PESTLE framework: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental.-Deliberately having the vast majority of the staff close to the cotton farmers, rather than in a UK head office -- important in avoiding charges of neocolonialism, as well as getting better insight on what's really happening.-The need to accept failure, celebrating it (and lessons learnt) and then gracefully stopping  an idea, before you throw good money after bad. Stopping something that isn't working, but you've learnt from, is a success. -The importance in determination in overcoming obstacles and influencing people over time.-A big focus going forward on women, who are hugely involved in cotton but often not empowered by that involvement.-People can be agents of change, even in the face of the most difficult situations, with the right support and resources.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Mike Pitts is Deputy Challenge Director, Transforming Construction at Innovate UK (LinkedIn, Twitter). Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency, supporting business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions. Our conversation covers:- How a publicly-funded innovation agency tries to nurture innovation and contribute to economic success, especially on Net Zero, leveling up and increasing UK exports.- The importance of storytelling in innovation in particular, and in change more widely.- The importance of deeply integrating sustainability, so that the stand-alone 'sustainability' job is made obsolete.- How Innovate UK tried to shift key parts of the construction industry.- The innovation required wasn't just of new technologies, but of techniques, including: tacit know-how, process innovation and business models. Therefore, a novel innovation in one sector can come by learning from another sector.- Addressing the challenges that sustainable construction often has much higher upfront investment and lower unproven running costs, which means that the developer is unwilling to risk the higher upfront investment because they cannot be sure the extra upfront cost (with a lifetime benefit) will be covered by a higher sales price. The book I mention which covers the importance of story is Gaia Vince's Transcendance.I also mention the Net Zero Review by Chris Skidmore (known as the 'Skidmore Review'). I also briefly mention Michael Gubb's innovation chain. This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Beverley Gower-Jones has two roles:(1) the Founder and Managing Partner of the Clean Growth Fund, which" invests in companies with products and services focussed on driving clean growth in the low carbon economy"; and (2) CEO of Carbon Limiting Technologies, which "works with industry and government to commercialise low carbon innovations and accelerate clean growth".Our conversation covers:-The need for a UK-based Venture Capital fund focused on early stage companies (pre-revenue or just about generating revenue) who need to build a commercial demonstrator to stimulate the next phase of their success.-The different investor demands on a software vs hardware businesses.-The story of founding the fund, and the personal and technical challenges of that.-Why she sought public as well as private finance. And why they both, in her view, have to be exposed to the risks equally.-The constant need, when doing innovation, to overcome inertia, where people choose to improve their current approach rather than explore the next. The book I mention is 'The Modern Firm' by John Roberts.-Addressing the challenge of being a first-timer. -The constant need for entrepreneurs to be able to describe a plausible route to investors to exit, with larger returns.-The importance of government industrial strategy, especially the Skidmore Review on the economics of Net Zero.-Their own playbook of where a company needs to get to as it grows, called the Commercial Readiness Levels (inspired by NASA's Technological Readiness Levels).-How getting to Net Zero will mean whole-of-society, whole-of-economy shifts. Every part of our lives will be touched. There will be a need for invention and diffusion everywhere.Links to other episodes:-James Corah of CCLA, a funder of the Clean Growth Fund,  in Episode 4.-Kyle Grant of Oxwash on using the Technology Readiness Levels in Episode 11.-Leigh Huudson on the struggles of deeptech innovation in Episode 6.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Alyssa Gilbert is the Director of Innovation at Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment. She is the boss of the second speaker, Naveed Chaudhry who is Head of The Greenhouse at the Centre for Climate Change Innovation, now known as Undaunted, at  Imperial College.Our conversation covers:-How the Grantham Institute at Imperial is trying to support climate-related innovation through 'Undaunted'.-How the Greenhouse operates as an incubator and accelerator of climate-related entrepreneurs.-The example of Notpla, who do packaging solutions are made from a material made from seaweed and plants that disappears naturally.-How they used the status of the university to create a lobbying voice for climate-related industries that don't yet exist.-The approach at the Greenhouse: trying to get applications from beyond the usual groups; using a bootcamp to select based on the potential of the technology and the team; the 'germination' and 'propagation' phases.-The importance of the Skidmore Review of Net Zero, and what's needed from government now is strong policy direction backed up by resources.-Undaunted as a vehicle for connection and collaboration on climate-related innovation, starting in London but engaging around the rest of the world.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Kyle Grant is Founder at Oxwash, an on-demand and laundry service made simple and sustainable (LinkedIn).Our conversation covers:-The role of a start-up CEO.-Transfering the skills of a NASA Life support systems engineer to laundry.-How Oxwash can be the operational back-end of many circular fashion companies, and so is (1) an example platform business and (2) a pocket of a possible 'access economy', where people don't own things but have access to them (as many people do with music and Spotify now).-Oxwash expansion plans are both more physical business in the UK and licencing IP overseas (as Ocado has done with online groceries).-Innovating how clothes are dried, from heat to sound.-How companies can be satisfied with 'local maxima', and so  stay with technology and techniques which are not the best they could be. (Think of that as accepting the view from the top of a hill when there is a mountain a bit further along the path.)-The value of going through process of doing the B-Corp accreditation, as a way to learn good practices which have been codified into a standard.-How a carbon price would provide a level playing field.-The different innovation approaches they have adopted: from Agile to NASA's Technology Readiness Levels and Toyota's Lean Management.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Jolyon Swinburn is a Senior Policy Analyst at The Treasury / Te Tai Ohanga in Aotearoa New Zealand (LinkedIn). The specific innovation which prompted the conversation was Jolyon working on Aotearoa New Zealand's first green bond.Our conversation covers:-Aotearoa New Zealand's approach to prosperity which cannot be captured by GDP through the Living Standards Framework and the Wellbeing Report.-The fundamentals of what are a bond and a green bond.-The steps they went through to investigate and then create the green bond.-Using a third party sustainability ratings agency for credibility.-Making sure that the green bond was funding transitional projects that would not happen otherwise ('additionality').-The way in which raising a green bond is a signal from the government to international investors and national businesses on the desired direction of the economy.-How governments pushing green bonds is forcing investment analysts to upskill on green issues.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Shama Skinner is an executive, entrepreneur, advisory Board Member and Edmund Hillary Fellow (LinkedIn). She was an early team member of Thinx Inc, the company with sustainable solutions to menstruation and incontinence. Shama had spells as Chief Product Officer, Chief Operating Officer and interim CEO.Our conversation covers:-Being a start-up with new innovations in a category (menstruation and incontinence) that had seen no new products for decades.-Growing a new product which was part of the circular economy.-Shifting who was involved in the innovation process, especially female engineers and faster connection with customers.-Innovating how a category was marketed.-Shifting a market, from stuck with predominantly single-use products to one where reusable products are so fast-growing that competitors have to respond.-The tension between 'Improve the current' vs 'Explore the next' (that framing taken from a book I mention called The Modern Firm by John Roberts).-For a start-up, competitive advantage comes from innovating faster than incumbents.-Addressing 'Period Poverty' and the need for Universal Basic Services.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Chris Bean is Serial Entrepreneur, Technology Developer, and Edmund Hillary Fellow (LinkedIn). He is the CEO and co-founder of REVOLUTION Turbine Technologies (RTT).RTT is "developing reliable, scalable, and green energy solutions for powering mission-critical equipment in remote locations" as part of "the world’s transition to a sustainable energy future".Our conversation covers:-How a niche new technology can be used to decarbonise energy use in gas networks.-What it is like to be the CEO of a ' hardtech' start-up, including the funding rounds. -How to protect IP to ensure you capture value.-How the innovation ecosystem is shifting to prioritise sustainability.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Chris Gagné is an Enterprise Agile Coach, Meditation Teacher, and Edmund Hillary Fellowship Fellow (LinkedIn). Chris operates through Approach Perfect, as the vehicle for coaching using the agile methods. Previously he has worked for or coached with many Silicon Valley start ups and Fortune 500 companies.Our conversation covers:-The similarities and differences of innovation in start ups and large corporates.-The use of Agile and Scrum techniques to deliver innovation.-The importance of learning quickly, iteratively and across functional expertise. In innovation the fastest learner is more likely to succeed.-Not only do you need the ability to come up with the initial idea novel idea but you also need to have the infrastructure to commercialise it and to continue to develop it once launched.You can get a deeper view on Chris' thinking here.Chris provides introductory videos to both Agile and Scrum on his website here.(Apologies for the clunky start and end -- amongst my first recordings!)This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Leigh Hudson (LinkedIn) is Sustainable Fuels & Carbon at International Airlines Group (IAG, which owns British Airways amongst others) and Board Member at Ikigai Capital, which aims to become a leading international, technology-neutral 'energy transition platform'.She role is developing new technologies for sustainable aviation fuel, by supporting innovators and influencing policy. A themes I took to her answers:Innovation for sustainability is part of the corporate strategy function, which would have been unthinkable a decade or more ago.There is an accelerating pressure for, and pace of, innovation for sustainable aviation fuels.Progress takes time, and therefore resilience, patience and a strong sense of direction. Leigh talks about working with a company for 10 years before getting to demonstrator stage. Some of that time was about getting the technology ready, some was about the demand for sustainable aviation fuels rising.Some people find aviation controversial, and see it as a symbol of our unsustainable situation, seeing it as an addiction to a destructive form of consumption which is highly unequally distributed. For them, there can be no sustainable form of aviation, and effort put into it is a waste of precious resources at this crucial time.But if technological innovation can deliver, then could there be sustainable aviation, which is not highly damaging in each flight? It is a big 'if', with many things needing to go right for there to be truly sustainable aviation. But that was why we were comfortable having this interview. Such innovation efforts are a legitimate part of creating a sustainable world for all.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters.  You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.Questions:Here are the times of each of the questions.PERSONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL INTRO0:49 - Q1. What is your role and organisation? ORGANISATIONAL SETTING1:39 - Q2. What role does your department / function have in the organisation? What is expected from you? How does that connect to the organisation’s strategy?3:25 - Q3. How is ‘sustainability’ framed in your organisation? (For instance: are there specific key words or phrases? Is it only environmental?)INNOVATION STORY6:10 - Q4. Can you tell us the story of a good example of your work on innovation for sustainability?INNOVATION MANAGEMENT17:33 - Q5. What are the key methods and practices you use for innovation for sustainability?24:35 - Q6. What are the biggest challenges you face, and how dThis is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Pete Vale (LinkedIn) is Carbon & Circular Economy Architect at Severn Trent Water. I was very keen to get his perspective for 3 reasons: 1. Severn Trent is a utility with responsibility for a key natural resource cycle (water).2. It is heavily regulated, which sets (as you will hear) important context for any innovation effort. 3. The role of innovation architect was new to me, and I wanted to know what it meant.We had a very rich conversation, and I learnt a lot.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters.  You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.SOME KEY POINTSRole of 'innovation architect'.  Innovation architects are there to design the innovation programme, starting a tthe fuzzy front-end of the innovation process. -They scout the world for for new technologies, new developments, seeing how they line up against the organisation's innovation needs in the short-, medium- and long-term. -They structure an on-going innovation programme.-Once the innovation projects that have been validated, tested and very importantly funded, then handed over to the innovation delivery teams to actually run the projects.Net Zero goal is very useful.  Peter says, “I've been working in innovation for sort of, for 20 years, in the water in industry, and a lot of the innovation, if I reflect back has been that incremental, you know, finding more efficient ways saving on chemical and energy. But but but absolutely just, you know, just small, incremental improvements, this is completely different. This is about, you know, paradigm shifts, really doing something very different. And therefore, you know, taking on much more risk.” (Transcription by Otter.)In Pete's telling, this has shifted the companies, their trade body and also the regulator. QUESTION TIMINGSNormally I would put the timings of each question (see list here). But our conversation ranged widely, and not in a linear way. All the questions are answered, just not in an order which makes it useful to highlight them here!This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

James Corah (LinkedIn, Twitter) is Head of Sustainability at CCLA Investment Management, which exists to "help investors maximise their impact on society by harnessing the power of investment markets." This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters.  You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.Here are the times of each of the questions. PERSONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL INTRO0:45 – Q1. What is your role and organisation? ORGANISATIONAL SETTING3:02 – Q2. What role does your department / function have in the organisation? What is expected from you? How does that connect to the organisation’s strategy?6:18 – Q3. How is ‘sustainability’ framed in your organisation? (For instance: are there specific key words or phrases? Is it only environmental?)INNOVATION STORY08:09 – Q4. Can you tell us the story of a good example of your work on innovation for sustainability?INNOVATION MANAGEMENT20:05 – Q5. What are the key methods and practices you use for innovation for sustainability?21:59 – Q6. What are the biggest challenges you face, and how do you overcome them?28:16 – Q7. If there was one thing policymakers could do which would make your work significantly easier, what would that be?THE FUTURE28:40 – Q8. What are your organisation’s priorities on innovation going forward and why? This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Joel Hamilton (LinkedIn) is a civil servant in the UK Government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ('BEIS'). He works in the Heat Networks Delivery Unit, which provides support and guidance for local authorities developing heat networks (also known as district heating). This is after industry experience and a PhD in the area. A few insights to pull out from the interview:The Net Zero target makes a difference. The narrative of getting to 80% did give people wiggle room to then say well, but we can carry on with this, which is a low carbon tech. The step up to a UK target of Net Zero means people are having to act more fundamentally and with greater urgency. How you think about a situation drives what innovations are possible. From 14 mins, Joel tells the story of changing how a city thought about its heat networks, which changed what they deployed and when.Team objectives and structure matter.  Joel says how a clear goal helps the team reorientate when circumstances change. Also, having a team of specialists, not generalists which is more usual in the British Civil Service. TimingsPERSONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL INTRO0:49 -  1. What is your role and organisation?ORGANISATIONAL SETTING3: 30 - 2. What role does your department / function have in the organisation? What is expected from you? How does that connect to the organisation’s strategy?9:14 - 3. How is ‘sustainability’ framed in your organisation? (For instance: are there specific key words or phrases? Is it only environmental?)INNOVATION STORY14:06 4. Can you tell us the story of a good example of your work on innovation for sustainability?INNOVATION MANAGEMENT23:10 - 5. What are the key methods and practices you use for innovation for sustainability?27:44 - 6. What are the biggest challenges you face, and how do you overcome them?29:41 - 7. If there was one thing business people could do which would make your work as a policy maker significantly easier, what would that be?This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.

Manoj Kumar (LinkedIn) is co-founder and CEO of Social Alpha, a "multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for science and technology start-ups that aim to address the most critical social, economic and environmental challenges". The innovation system that works for industrial, and existing sectors, it works for those sectors, but it doesn't work for the unaddressed problems. Therefore, Social Alpha is doing is itself an innovation at the level of a system by which innovation can happen. It's a system-level innovation, which then people with technical or other novelties can go from lab to marketplace, including creating a marketplace as they go along. Social Alpha is focused on India. Since its inception in 2016, Social Alpha has nurtured more than 200 start-ups including 60+ seed investments.This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters.  You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.Here are the times of each of the questions. PERSONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL INTRO0:53 - Q1. What is your role and organisation? ORGANISATIONAL SETTING4:12 - Q3. How is ‘sustainability’ framed in your organisation? (For instance: are there specific key words or phrases? Is it only environmental?) 6: 46 - Q2. What role does your department / function have in the organisation? What is expected from you? How does that connect to the organisation’s strategy?INNOVATION STORY12:00 - Q4. Can you tell us the story of a good example of your work on innovation for sustainability?INNOVATION MANAGEMENT20:50 - Q5. What are the key methods and practices you use for innovation for sustainability?25:57 - Q6. What are the biggest challenges you face, and how do you overcome them?27:34 - Q7. If there was one thing policymakers could do which would make your work significantly easier, what would that be?THE FUTURE28:45 - Q8. What are your organisation’s priorities on innovation going forward and why?This is part of a series of interviews about innovation for sustainability conducted for the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, as a contribution to a module in this Masters. You can find out more about these interviews, and the module, here.