Sustainable Matters

Ajay Tegala is a conservationist, podcast and TV presenter and full-time National Trust ranger, whose love for the natural world started very young: he has clear memories as a toddler, of being into birds!

After doing a week's work experience at Wicken Fen National Trust Nature reserve in Cambridgeshire - aged just 15 - he decided to become a conservationist, and went on to do a degree in Nottingham Trent university in Countryside Management.

He now works full-time at Wicken Fen, and is passionate about safeguarding the Fenland landscapes, and says his job is to "talk positively" about things.

He is a passionate communicator, hosting the National Trust's podcast Wild Tales and has written two books, 'The Unique Life of a Ranger' (2022) and 'Wetland Diaries: Ranger Life and Rewilding on Wicken Fen' (2024) .

In this episode he talks to Sarah about all of that, plus the changes in nature and biodiversity as well as outcomes from COP30.

This special episode was recorded live for the first time for ISEP's 2025 Connect conference for members on 10th December.

Sustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.
da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Claire Poole is the founder of Sport Positive, which she set up in 2018 to help the global sport industry place sustainability right at the heart of the sector.

Claire oversees massive projects like in-person events and data gathering through the Sport Positive Leagues - which highlight positive environmental initiatives at top level sports clubs.

She also organises the annual Sports Positive Summit which brings together hundreds of sports organisations focused on sustainability to meet in person, listen and connect.

In this episode she talks to Sarah about how athletes are the historical figures of our time and how being pragmatic and staying hopeful can help fight against greenlash.

She was nominated for the podcast by double Paralympian Alexandra Rickham, who you can hear talk to Sarah here.

Sustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.
da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexandra Rickham is a double paralympic bronze medalist and five-time world champion in sailing.

When she was 13, she was paralysed in a diving accident in Jamaica. Later, after years of rehab, she was offered sailing training which she says appealed to her competitive spirit.

You can see Alexandra in action here, with her sailing partner Niki Birrell at the 2016 Paralympics.

She’s now retired from professional sailing competition, but remains very connected to the sport, through her work as the director of sustainability for World Sailing - the sport's international governing body.

The organisation is renowned for leading the way in promoting voluntary climate action at every stage of the sport. Alexandra's mission is to make the sport more inclusive and sustainable.

In this episode, she talks about her accident, competing professionally, and about how sport is such a useful way to enthuse people about sustainability.

Sustainable Matters… a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future.
da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gary Punter is something of a guru when it comes to factories, and has become the go to expert for advising companies on working towards an agile and waste-free factory future.

He is also visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing, where he leads research into the future of circular business models.

Gary was nominated to appear on the show by Tim Minshall, who was the guest on episode 14 of Sustainable Matters. Gary's work at Wissington sugar factory is detailed in Tim's recent book Your Life is Manufactured.

In this episode, Gary talks about working as a market trader, being a technologist at heart and why the idea of sustainability has become over complicated.

For more on Gary's work in factories, head to The Cambridge Sustainability Improvement Method - (also known as Sustain8). It provides a foundation for sustainable transformation by engaging front-line factory workers in improvements and has been successfully employed in 35 factories across many sectors and is proven to deliver 15-30% improvements in energy, waste, materials and water.

Sustainable Matters … a podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: Transforming the world today for a sustainable future
da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Tim Minshall heads up the Institute for Manufacturing and Management at the University of Cambridge. The department’s aim is simple: to “help manufacture a better world”. And so Tim has spent hours fostering links between engineering students and companies to help put their new ideas into practice.

He’s recently published the book Your Life is Manufactured which takes a deep dive into the world of manufacturing. He argues that the systems that make things in our modern world are extraordinarily fragile, almost invisible to us and that has worrying consequences.

Tim studied at Cambridge as a PhD student before leaving in 1993 to work at the St John’s Innovation Centre - a business incubator in Cambridge for tech startups. He rejoined the university in 2002 and was named the very first endowed chair in innovation in 2017.

He talks to Sarah about the critical need for industrial sustainability in manufacturing processes and how some of the incredible systems we’ve built are also destroying the planet.

Sustainable Matters … A podcast series full of solutions and optimism for a more sustainable world, brought to you by ISEP: transforming the world to sustainability
da0dc943adbb19228647c2252c3cd6e6ea0534b5
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.