First Mile's Climate Heroes

Hosted by Climate Heroes

Business Entrepreneurship Science EducationInterviews guests

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Episodes

104

Latest episode

Jun 2025

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About the show

First Mile's Climate Heroes showcases the businesses & start-ups, scientists, academics, activists, and dreamers who are building solutions to the climate crisis. Now in its fourth series, the podcast has welcomed guests from a wide range of backgrounds including Honest Burgers, CanO Water, Brompton Bikes, Keep Britain Tidy, Olio, Vegware & University College London (UCL). We aim to highlight positive and innovative approaches and are optimistic and passionate about reversing climate change. If you’re a climate hero, we’d love to hear from you: marketing@thefirstmile.co.uk Find out more at https://thefirstmile.co.uk/first-miles-climate-heroes-podcast

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 18, 202540 min

"Can Surplus Food Solve London's Hunger Crisis?" with Paul Baines from 'The Felix Project'

Can a broken food system be fixed by businesses across the capital? Our guest on this week's epsiode is Paul Baines from The Felix Project, a leading food redistribution charity tackling food poverty head-on in London.Paul shares how The Felix Project is rescuing surplus food from going to waste and delivering it to those who need it most — from school children to vulnerable families. We explore the scale of food waste in the UK, the logistical challenges of redistribution, and the powerful social and environmental impact of their work.Plus we discuss how through our partnership with The Felix Project, businesses can ramp up their food waste strategy and reduce waste whilst helping those most in need.

July 25, 202439 min

“How green is your cup of coffee?” with Caffé Nero's Matt Spencer

The UK coffee industry is huge and still growing - and as the amount of coffee being consumed on the go increases, so does the potential for these coffee cups to end up in landfill. Our guest today is Matt Spencer, Commercial Director of Caffé Nero who joined us to discuss how they’re getting ahead of the upcoming ‘Simpler Recycling Reforms’ which will change the way businesses recycle their food waste and coffee cups from next year, as well as the operational challenges of making a multinational retailer like Caffé Nero sustainable.Hosted by Bruce BratleyFeaturing Matt Spencer

April 24, 202438 min

"How businesses can fight Food Waste" with Too Good To Go's Jamie Crummie

Every year we throw away around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste every year, most of which will end up in landfills where it decomposes and releases harmful gas such as methane. In this episode of Climate Heroes, we sat down with Jamie Crummie, Co-founder of the Too Good To Go app responsible for saving over 300 million meals from going to waste.Listen to Jamie & Bruce discuss the importance of Stop Food Waste Day, what we can all do to fight the food waste epidemic, as well as how businesses can get prepared for the upcoming ‘Simpler Recycling Reforms’ which will legally require businesses to recycle their surplus food from next year.Hosted by Bruce BratleyFeaturing Jamie Crummie & Sara Shearly

March 6, 202441 min

“Innocent Drinks' Recipe for B Corp Success” with Emilie Stephenson

Ready to take a deeper dive into B Corp?This B Corp month, we’re kicking things off with a berry special episode of Climate Heroes - featuring smoothie giants Innocent Drinks️, who are pioneers in the UK B Corp movement and one of the first businesses to gain the certification back in 2018.In the episode Bruce and Nick chat with Emilie Stephenson, Head of Force for Good at Innocent, to discuss their ESG journey, recent controversies surrounding the B Corp movement, as well as their top tips for achieving B Corp certification.Hosted by Bruce Bratley & Nick PerryFeaturing Emilie Stephenson

February 21, 202430 min

“Seeing Red”: Decoding the Climate Stripes with Professor Ed Hawkins

Professor Ed Hawkins is a climate scientist and creator of the renowned Climate Stripes which highlights the earth’s increase in temperature over the last 170 years. In the last 50 years, there has been a 1°C increase in global temperatures across the globe. Ed’s Climate Stripes is a striking visual showing this change over the last 173 years, it has since been displayed worldwide, at music festivals, sports events and even on the side of buses.In the episode, Professor Hawkins delves deeper into the science behind the climate stripes and how they were created. He also explains the importance of using visual representations to communicate complex data and engage audiences on important issues such as climate change.Hosted by Bruce BratleyFeaturing Ed Hawkins

February 7, 202430 min

“What is cell-free biomanufacturing?” FabricNano CEO & founder Grant Aarons explains

We’re joined by FabricNano CEO & Co-Founder Grant Aarons to learn about how they’re transforming the industrial chemical process using cell-free biomanufacturing.This new biomanufacturing method has many benefits, it requires less resources and energy to maintain and produce less waste than the traditional cell-based approach.Hosted by Bruce BratleyFeaturing Grant Aarons

January 24, 202429 min

“The growing problem with E-Waste” with Anthony Levy, The Sustainable IT Guy

In this episode of the Climate Heroes podcast episode, we're excited to be joined by Anthony Levy, also known as The Sustainable IT Guy and founder of Circularity First. Anthony is one of the people leading the charge in tackling electronic waste (e-waste) - a growing issue that demands our immediate attention.Today only 17.4% of E-Waste is collected and properly recycled. As our reliance on technology continues to grow, these figures are expected to rise, making the efficient and sustainable handling of e-waste a global concern.Hosted by Bruce BratleyFeaturing Anthony Levy

January 10, 202430 min

“Are AI robots the future of recycling?” with Recycleye’s Benedetta Delfino & Zoe Cook

Recycleye is an exciting technology company bringing AI and robotics to the waste management industry. Their cutting-edge technology is helping material recycling facilities across the USA and Europe optimise their operations with their AI-powered sorting robots.Their ground-breaking sorting robots are as accurate as the human eye and can identify not just materials but individual objects such as food-grade packaging and different types of aluminium, which has previously been difficult to detect.Hosted by Bruce BratleyFeaturing Benedetta Delfino & Zoe Cook

December 20, 202331 min

“Pioneering the refill system” with GoUnpackaged’s Catherine Conway

GoUnpackaged are on a mission to revolutionise the way we transport items from supermarkets to our kitchens by swapping out disposable containers for long-lasting, eco-friendly alternatives, they're tackling the packaging waste problem one product at a time.They're currently partners with a wide range of businesses across the UK, from local organic food stores to large corporations including Waitrose, Asda, Holland & Barrett and Aldi.Hosted by Bruce BratleyFeaturing Catherine Conway

December 13, 202329 min

“Revolutionising the Electricity Grid” with IONATE’s Luca Mezossy-Dona

Renewable energy’s fluctuating power levels can make it difficult for the National Grid to maintain a stable energy supply, as its 90-year-old design was not designed for solar, wind and hydro energy.For the National Grid to use renewables efficiently, it needs to be made smarter, more adaptable, and more flexible. IONATE has created a new transformer technology that’s designed to bring the grid up to speed with the renewable energy eraHosted by Bruce BratleyFeaturing Luca Mezossy-Dona