S3 E5, Capital impact: tackling global challenges, with Douglas Hansen-Luke, Future Planet Capital

S3 E5, Capital impact: tackling global challenges, with Douglas Hansen-Luke, Future Planet Capital

Our guest this episode is Douglas Hansen‑Luke. Douglas is the  founder and Executive Chair of Future Planet Capital, an impact‑led, profit‑first venture capital firm. Douglas has spent over 20 years working across emerging markets, sovereign wealth funds and new asset classes, always with a belief in the ‘efficient deployment of capital’. It was reading Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save which crystallised his desire to focus on the world’s biggest challenges. Future Planet Capital now manages just under £500m, investing across three interconnected strategies: * Global Growth — backing later‑stage companies emerging from the world’s top centres of innovation * National Deep Tech — including management of the UK government’s deep tech fund, commercialising research from 50,000+ UK researchers * Regional Impact — currently focused on the West Midlands, supporting local innovation ecosystems Douglas describes the model as combining profit discipline with purpose, anchored in the three principles of global benchmarking, impact clarity and data-driven objectivity.  * Two themes stand out: Impact and returns are mutually reinforcing — without profitability, institutional capital won’t flow to solutions that matter. * Bias is a structural risk in venture investing, and Future Planet uses both data and competing innovation hubs to counter it. Visit Future Planet Capital at: https://futureplanetcapital.com/ [https://futureplanetcapital.com/] Connect with Douglas at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhansenluke/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhansenluke/]

S3 E4, Impact consulting: shaping sustainability’s next chapter, Adam Garfunkel, Junxion Strategy

Our guest this episode is Adam Garfunkel, Partner and Chief Impact Officer at Junxion Strategy, whose career spans more than three decades of campaigning, communications and impact consulting.  Adam’s route into sustainability began unexpectedly. After moving to Canada in his early twenties, he took a job as a door‑to‑door canvasser for Greenpeace, expanding the canvassing operations over time. Returning to the UK, he joined Friends of the Earth as a campaigner, leading lobbying on what became the Environment Act 1995. That early focus on accountability and transparency became, as he puts it, a “red thread” running through his entire career. Adam moved into sustainability communications and then consulting, working with pioneering organisations long before sustainability became mainstream. His client roster includes the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, Brompton, The Guardian, Seasalt Cornwall, and notably Adidas, where he served as their lead outsourced sustainability consultant for 15 years. He joined Junxion Strategy in 2013, and was an early mover in the B Corp movement in the UK, with Junxion becoming one of the first consulting firms to offer B Corp certification support. A decade on, he and his team have deep experience helping companies navigate both the original and the newly updated B Lab standards. We explore how Junxion positions itself as an exemplar of purpose‑driven business — a company that sees profit as fuel for purpose, not the purpose itself. Two themes stand out: the importance of relationships over transactions, and the need for courage rather than box‑ticking in a sector that must “meet the moment” if businesses are to play their part in addressing global challenges. Connect with Adam at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamgarfunkel/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamgarfunkel/] Visit Junxion Strategy at https://junxion.com/ [https://junxion.com/]

S3 E3, Sustainability that pays: building commercial advantage, with Will Silverwood

Our guest this episode is Will Silverwood, whose career has taken him from commercial strategy through leading sustainability at Whitbread PLC, one of the UK’s most recognisable hospitality groups. Today he brings together decades of experience in transformation, operations and organisational change to help large businesses navigate the realities of decarbonisation. Will shares the story behind his shift into sustainability. After early roles with major brands including Trainline, Gala Coral and Siemens Communications, he spent a decade at consultancy Iris Concise, helping complex organisations build new commercial capabilities. A mid‑career pivot came through a role at QA, where a digital transformation project unexpectedly “almost completely decarbonized the business.” That experience gave him the credibility — and the conviction — to move fully into sustainability. We explore how Whitbread, owner of Premier Inn and several branded restaurants, with 850+ hotels in the UK and rapid expansion in Germany, positions itself within the wider sustainability landscape. Will talks us through work done at Whitbread to balance purpose with scale: electrifying kitchens, replacing gas boilers with air‑source heat pumps, reducing water and energy use, designing out food waste, and embedding renewable energy across the estate. He also explains how platforms like HRS and Booking.com [http://Booking.com] increasingly reward operators who provide emissions data — turning sustainability into a driver of revenue as well as resilience. A central theme is the practical reality of delivering sustainability inside a large, operationally intense business. Will reflects on the governance required to unlock long‑term capital investment, the psychology of customer nudges, and the importance of cross‑functional ownership — from procurement and property to finance and operations. His metaphor is memorable: the sustainability team as “fire starters,” convening the right people, lighting the flame, and then stepping back as the organisation takes ownership. Finally, Will shares where he sees the sector heading. With rising expectations around reporting, supply‑chain ethics and energy transition, he believes the next decade will reward organisations that prioritise the biggest levers, act transparently and focus on solutions that deliver both impact and commercial value. Connect with Will at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-silverwood/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-silverwood/]

S3 E2, Creating better apparel: pursuing sustainability with scale, with Tom Cotter, OCEANR

Join us in getting to know Tom Cotter, founder and CEO of OCEANR – a fast‑growing sustainable apparel company expanding its product portfolio and working with some of the world’s most recognisable hospitality destinations, private islands and adventure brands. Tom shares the story behind OCEANR’s evolution. What began as three friends in West Cork spotting an overlooked product category – the humble rash vest – has grown into a 90‑person international business with design and production in Latvia and commercial teams in Ireland. After an early attempt at building a consumer brand, demand from organisations looking for credible sustainability partners reshaped the company’s direction. Today OCEANR delivers bespoke uniforms and merchandise for clients such as Necker Island, blending performance apparel with measurable environmental impact. We explore how OCEANR positions itself within the wider sustainability landscape. Tom breaks down their People, Product, Planet framework, from ethical manufacturing and innovative materials to lifecycle analysis, take‑back schemes and partnerships that remove river‑bound plastic and plant mangroves. OCEANR’s B Corp certification reinforces this approach, offering clients external validation in a space where transparency matters. A central theme is the practical reality of building a purpose‑led business while scaling. Tom talks candidly about the challenges of growing through COVID, the long road to profitability, and the constant balancing act between commercial pressures and sustainability commitments. He also reflects on how organisations are increasingly seeking real solutions rather than surface‑level “green” claims — and how OCEANR aims to meet that need. Finally, Tom tells us where he sees the sector heading. With rising expectations around reporting, supply‑chain ethics and environmental accountability, he believes the next decade will reward brands that combine transparency, innovation and genuine impact. Connect with Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-cotter/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-cotter/] Visit OCEANR at https://oceanr.co/ [https://oceanr.co/]

S3 E1, Rebuilding lives, rethinking work: fair global hiring with Geoff Hucker, CEO Work for Impact

Our guest in this episode is Geoff Hucker, a former Emirates pilot whose life underwent a dramatic change after a visit to a small Franciscan orphanage in Addis Ababa, at the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The harsh reality of children dying because families couldn’t afford monthly fees for lifesaving medication, set Geoff on a new path and resulted in co-creation of Beyond the Orphanage, a model focused on reuniting street-connected children with family and supporting them through education into adulthood. Geoff’s story as a driver of positive change doesn’t stop there. In 2019 he launched Work for Impact — a for-profit platform connecting global employers with talent in low-income countries. We take a deep dive into how the business works today: a lean fee structure well below industry norms, 140,000 people on the platform, and contractors typically earning three times local wages. Clients range from Nasdaq-listed companies to small non-profits, and the company’s B Corp status underpins its commitment to transparency and ethical tech. Geoff also reflects on what he’s learned along the way — from balancing purpose with commercial reality to recognising that progress often comes from working with ‘amber’ organisations, not just the ‘perfect’ ones. A conversation about purpose-led entrepreneurship, practical impact, and the small operational decisions that make big social outcomes possible. Contact Geoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-hucker/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-hucker/] Find out more about Work for Impact: https://www.workforimpact.com/ [https://www.workforimpact.com/]