Sustainability Matters Today

Did you know due to modern agricultural practices you have to eat eight oranges today to get the same amount of Vitamin A as your grandparents would have gotten from just one?   In this episode of the Sustainability Matters Today podcast, I interview Gabe Brown, owner of Brown’s ranch and a champion of regenerative farming.  Gabe is a producer and winner of many state and national soil health awards, including a Growing Green Award from the Natural Resource Defense Council, and a Zero-Till Producer of the Year Award.  In addition, he was named one of the 25 Most influential Agricultural Leaders in the United States. Gabe recently published, “Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture”, where he shares the story of healing his farm’s soil and paves the road for other farmers to follow in his footsteps.  Please make sure to subscribe to the Sustainability Matters Today podcast to learn more about Gabe Brown and other champions of sustainability.   I hope

Did you know businesses can save more money by giving away unwanted items like desks, chairs and medical equipment for free instead of throwing them away? In this episode of the Sustainability Matters Today podcast, I interview May Al-Karooni, CEO of Globechain, an award-winning reuse marketplace that connects businesses that want to throw items away with charities, people, and SMEs that want to use those items.  Since starting its operations in 2013, Globechain has over 10,000 customers, they’ve diverted over 5.2 million kgs from landfill, and they have helped over 14,000 communities and 82,400 people globally. Some of their partners include Marks & Spencer, B&Q, Nando’s, Radisson Hotels and the NHS.  May and I begin by discussing the ongoing demand for the Circular Model of Economy within the waste management industry.  She explains that the Circular Economy focuses on reducing or even eliminating all waste by reusing and recycling all materials. Companies can therefore increase their

Did you know, in the right conditions certain grapevines don’t need to be watered at all? In this episode of the Sustainability Matters Today podcast, my guest is Brad Alper, owner of Square Peg Winery in Sonoma County, California. Square Peg is a unique winery Brad does not use irrigation or any herbicides in his vineyards and is able to grow delicious and award-winning Pinot Noir. We discuss the dry farming technique, which is location-specific, requires farmers to grow vines using the St. George’s rootstock, and needs the farmer to care for each vine by hand. We cover Sonoma County’s goal of having 100% certified sustainable vineyards and wineries by the end of 2019, and they are well on their way to this accomplishment. Brad clarifies a misconception that sustainable and organic farming are the same, when really sustainability encompasses farming, energy consumption and production, the health of the soil, and paying your workers a fair wage. This is a much greater achievement and makes a broader positive

Did you know fertiliser was first introduced in the 1940s because the US had lots of leftover nitrogen that wasn’t made into weapons during WWII? Hey, this is Daniel Hartz with Sustainability Matters Today, a podcast where I showcase sustainability experts and discover their journeys. The aim of these conversations is to share ideas from leaders in the field on the financial benefits of adopting eco-friendly methodologies. Can it really be cost-effective to be sustainable? Through these talks, we also cover ways you as an individual can incorporate environmentally-friendly practices into your daily life. In this episode, I interview Diana Martin, the Director of Communications at The Rodale Institute, a nonprofit considered to be the birthplace of the organic movement in North America. The Institute educates consumers and farmers on the benefits of organic and researches organic farming practices. Diana and I talk about the significance of the Institute’s motto “healthy soil = healthy food = healthy people” a

In this episode, I speak with Luke Peterson, a regenerative farmer based near Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.  By mimicking nature, Luke believes that his farm improves the health of the soil and healthier soil grows healthier food. And healthier food means healthier communities, which in turn lead to healthier economies.  On a grander scale, regenerative agriculture goes far beyond the importance of pollinators like bumblebees and butterflies flourishing on his farm: regenerative agriculture can actually have a direct impact on the strength of a country’s economy. You can follow Luke and his farm on Instagram - https://bit.ly/2KrI5RS  Resources Carmen Fernholz is Luke's mentor - https://bit.ly/2Mt8JfI  5 Principles of Soil Health: Armor the soil, Minimize soil disturbance, Increase plant diversity, Keep living roots in the ground all year, Integrate livestock grazing - https://bit.ly/2MDPosq US Farm debt is at levels seen during the 1980s farm crisis - https://reut.rs/2EBsD1X Luke works

In this episode, my guest is Jay Manning, partner at Cascadia Law Group, an environmental law firm, based in Olympia, Washington, in the US.  In addition to working as an environmental attorney, Jay was the Chief of Staff for Washington Governor Christine Gregoire from 2009 to 2011.  He was the director of the Department of Ecology where he helped clean up and restore the Puget Sound and passed a bill on water management.   Recently, Jay helped create and now currently supports the Pacific Coast Collaborative, a partnership between the states of California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while spurring the economy. We discuss the economic opportunities governments have when they adopt environmentally friendly policies.   We cover Jay’s experience of working with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to make a positive impact on the environment.  From there, Jay describes his involvement at COP-21 where the Paris Agreement was signed. 

In this episode, my guest is Camilla Goddard, founder and owner of Capital Bee (http://www.capitalbee.co.uk), an urban beekeeping operation in London, England. Camilla keeps around 70 beehives for businesses and organisations around London, teaches beekeeping courses on the rooftop of a 4-star luxury hotel, and finds homes for vulnerable bumblebees and honeybees. We start with Camilla's journey getting started in beekeeping and go into the importance of bees for both the environment and humans and why they play a crucial role in our ecosystem. Although Camilla recognises the challenges bees are facing, she is hopeful they can adapt and flourish, despite urbanisation and climate change.  Resources Hornbeam wood purchased via https://woodlands.co.uk; Varroa Mites feed on larvae: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varroa_destructor; Quakers greatly value sustainability: https://www.quaker.org.uk/our-work/sustainability; Beekeeping workshops at the St. Ermine's Hotel London: https://www.sterminshotel.co.uk/offe

Join me as I speak with Natasha Tuck (@nstuck), Sustainability Director at VMware, a leading Silicon Valley technology firm.  We discuss VMware’s strategies for being a corporate leader in sustainability and a major milestone they have already accomplished, becoming 100% carbon neutral two years ahead of schedule.  VMware's virtualization technology makes I.T. infrastructure more efficient which fundamentally changes how their customers use power and with their tech, VMware's clients have avoided putting 540 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That's the equivalent to powering 68 percent of U.S. households for one year.   You can learn more about VMware here: https://www.vmware.com.   Resources   [00:00:53] Information about how much carbon VMware's clients have saved was taken from this article: https://www.vmware.com/radius/achieving-carbon-neutrality/.   [00:05:19] You can learn more about what it takes for a company to become carbon

In this episode, my guests are Elena and Zima Hartz, a couple who have a very productive home: they grow their own fruits and vegetables, preserve and ferment their own foods, and have a self-contained ecosystem with chickens that eat pests and produce eggs. We discuss a lot of things, but some of the highlights are the love of composting, the importance of keeping your own bees, and the best turkey they have ever had for Thanksgiving.  Let’s dive in and see why these topics contribute to an eco-friendly lifestyle.    You can read the transcript of this episode here:  http://bit.ly/Elena-ZimaHartzTranscript You can watch the full episode here: https://sustainabilitym.at/Youtube-Elena-and-Zima-Hartz