Breaking the Mould

Hosted by ActionFunder

BusinessInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Jul 2024

Language

About the show

Hear from people who are disrupting what it means to be a business; putting sustainability at the forefront by learning from the third sector, collaborating with grassroots actors, and running trailblazing campaigns. We ask the hard questions. We hear inspiring stories of impact. We call for transparency from business leaders prioritising people and planet alongside profit. Join us as we get to know the business and non-profit leaders driving change.

Listen to episodes

16 recent

July 18, 202436 min

Cross-Sector collaboration for social good, with Charlotte Hill from The Felix Project

Dive into the world of food waste and charity partnerships with Charlotte Hill, CEO of The Felix Project, a London-based organisation that's become a go-to partner for businesses looking to make a real difference. With a vision "of London where no-one goes hungry and good food is never wasted," the Felix Project rescues surplus food and distributes it to those in need, providing millions of meals annually. The charity’s innovative approach is solving critical social issues providing businesses with unique opportunities to fulfil their ESG commitments. Together we explore: The secret to growing what began as a small local initiative has grown into a major operation Insights on how corporate volunteering can boost employee engagement and create lasting connections between businesses and charities. The importance of building authentic, long-term corporate-charity partnerships that provide mutual benefits. Examples of successful multifaceted partnerships that leverage various business strengths to support charity operations. Key do's and don'ts for businesses when creating and maintaining effective charity partnerships, including the importance of meaningful engagement and honest communication.

July 15, 20248 min

The good and the bad of corporate partnerships, with Charlotte Hill from The Felix Project

Dive into the world of food waste and charity partnerships with Charlotte Hill, CEO of The Felix Project, a London-based organisation that's become a go-to partner for businesses looking to make a real difference. This minisode is an extract from our conversation with Charlotte Hill. Working with businesses is key to the success of the charity. In this extract, Charlotte gives us two examples of what good and bad look like when it comes to corporate partnerships. Full episode available 18 July 2024 More about The Felix Project: https://thefelixproject.org/ More about ActionFunder: https://www.actionfunder.org/

May 23, 2024Episode 341 min

Building an End-to-End "Business for Good" with Louisa Ziane from Toast Brewing

Toast Brewing isn’t your average brewery. It is proof that you can brew up a successful business while leaving a positive impact on communities and the planet. The trailblazing B Corp founded in 2016 by Louisa Ziane is on a mission to tackle the global issue of food waste, one slice of bread at a time, while creating tasty lagers! Toast’s purpose has been embedded into the business from the very start. From their "Equity for Good" investment model to partnerships amplifying social impact and employee wellbeing, every facet has been designed with people and planet at the core. With Louisa, we talk about: How embedding environmental mission into the legal structure guides all business decisions and operations. Conducting self-assessments to identify areas to improve social/environmental performance Implementing innovative models like having investors reinvest gains into mission-aligned businesses Leveraging collaborations to inspire industry-wide change and using your business’s voice to create systemic change Attracting passionate employees and customers by being an authentic purpose-driven brand Tune in to hear how this pioneering brewery is reshaping business as usual and gain insights for integrating purpose throughout your own operations. More about Toast: https://www.toastbrewing.com/ More about ActionFunder: https://www.actionfunder.org/

May 20, 20243 min

One action businesses can take today to create impact with Louisa Ziane, co-founder of Toast Brewing

Toast Brewing isn’t your average brewery. It is proof that you can brew up a successful business while leaving a positive impact on communities and the planet. In this minisode Louisa gives us tips on the one action that businesses can take today to start creating positive impact. Full episode available 23 May 2024 More about Toast Brewing: https://www.toastbrewing.com/ More about ActionFunder: https://www.actionfunder.org/

April 24, 2024Episode 240 min

Housing Associations empower communities: innovation in the funding space with Andrew Cooper from SNG

“The year before, we had a 240% increase in terms of people turning to us as a landlord for financial support”. How can housing associations best support the people that live within their walls? Creating an environment for communities to thrive is essential to Sovereign Network Group. Andrew Cooper, Head of Partnerships and Funding at SNG, tells us all about how the housing association is planning to invest 100 million into communities over the next 10 years through their community foundation, the brilliant partnerships they form along the way, and the opportunities and challenges too. Tune in for: Insights on why housing associations fund community projects The mechanics of funding programmes How to involve employees, residents and local services providers in your Social Value efforts How housing associations work to build communities, answering and predicting the needs of their residents What innovation and participation in funding looks like More about SNG: https://www.sovereign.org.uk/ More about ActionFunder: https://www.actionfunder.org/

March 21, 2024Episode 137 min

From Data to Impact: Tech & Storytelling for good with Léyoh Goodall from Social Value Portal

If you often find yourself wondering what social value means, how your business can create positive change and how to best report on that change, you’re not alone. And most importantly you’re at the right place. Today we meet with Léyoh Goodall, Vice President of sales at Social Value Portal. Social Value Portal is channelling the power of tech to help businesses create, measure and report social value. Léyoh shares with us insights from her experience of working with businesses dedicated to creating positive change for the wider society. We talk about: What is social value, why adding a monetary value to social impact and how is it different from ESG. A bit of jargon busting! The best ways for businesses to deliver tangible, data-based social value How tech is key to SVP and its mission to deliver £100 billion of social value by 2025 How to report on your impact! More about Social Value Portal: https://socialvalueportal.com/ More about Léyoh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leyoh/ More about ActionFunder: https://www.actionfunder.org/

March 14, 2024Episode 16 min

How to report on your positive impact? A 5-minute chat with Léyoh Goodall from Social Value Portal

This minisode is an extract from our conversation with Léyoh Goodall, Vice President of sales at Social Value Portal. SVP works with businesses who are dedicated to create, measure and report on social value. Here we answer an important question: What makes a great impact report? You can listen to the full conversation next week on Breaking The Mould. We take a close look at social value, using tech to deliver tangible change and more!

December 13, 2023Episode 730 min

Democratising sustainability with Richard Walker from Iceland Foods

‘There’s no business in existence that puts more back into the natural world than it takes from it’ But there are business leaders out there, doing their best to mitigate their business’s impact and create good. Richard Walker, Executive Chairman of Iceland Foods is one of them. In addition to his work at Iceland, Richard is wearing many hats: he’s an advocate and leading figure for sustainable businesses, a published author and former chair of Surfers Against Sewage to quote a few. In this episode, we talk about his mission to democratise sustainability. We touch on: The trailblazing policies Iceland has put in place to remove palm oils and plastic from their products The role of businesses in raising awareness about key global issues How businesses can use their influence to advocate for nation-wide policy changes that benefit their communities. Even if that means breaking the rules a little bit sometimes Why transparency is key on your sustainable journey

December 5, 2023Episode 639 min

Community Engagement with Sarah Mitton from Clarion Housing Group

Going beyond providing ‘Bricks and Mortar’ for their residents, that’s the aim of Clarion Futures, the charitable arm of Clarion Housing Association. Meet Sarah Mitton, Age Friendly Community Manager at Clarion Futures. Sarah and her team are on a mission to turn houses into homes, where residents feel part of a community, listened to and can access wellbeing and development opportunities. Together we talk about how housing associations can go beyond the provision of housing, to create healthy communities by working closely with local actors. Listen in for: The benefits of intergenerational work How to effectively engage your community Recognising the strengths and weaknesses of your business and working with partners to overcome those Inspiring examples of grassroots campaigns

September 27, 202337 min

Business leaders on #Business4Good

This month, we're talking with Piers Linney. Piers is an entrepreneur and TV personality as well as a philanthropist and believer in businesses as a force for good! Piers’ comes back on his journey to success and the challenges he faced as a mixed race man. We talk about ways businesses can become more inclusive and a force for good. And we touch on Artificial Intelligence and the possibilities it can open for businesses and the third sector.