Sustainable Business Covered podcast: Spotlight on net-zero buildings, bars and beverages

Pictured right: Heineken's 'Greener Bar' at the ExCel Centre in London

Presented by edie’s senior reporter Sarah George and content editor Matt Mace, this episode of the Sustainable Business Covered Podcast takes the form of a virtual progression of a typical working Friday in London, starting at our homes and offices before moving on to the pubs and bars afterward. 

At each stop, the edie team conducts an exclusive interview outlining how businesses are approaching the transition to net-zero ahead of the UK Government’s legally required 2050 deadline. 

The first guest speaker for this episode is Grosvenor Group’s head of climate-positive solutions Andy Haigh. Sarah asks him about the moves the business has made since launching its ‘Think Zero’ strategy, designed to deliver a net-zero transition for the business by 2030. Haigh emphasises the importance of getting buy-in from staff and of engaging suppliers and tenants. 

From Mayfair and Belgravia, we head across to Heineken’s pop-up ‘Greener Bar’ at the ExCel Centre, hosted as part of the E-Prix. Matt interviews the brewer’s global head of design Mark van Iterson, with the pair exploring what the sustainable bars of the future could look like in terms of how they are built, what products are provided, how drinks are served and how punters arrive and depart. 

Our third and final stop is the Culpeper in Shoreditch – one of the 36 locations to have acted as trial hubs for the new Net-Zero Bars and Pubs initiative. There, Sarah speaks with representatives of two of the largest suppliers to the sector – namely Coca-Cola Europacific Partners’ head of sustainability Nick Brown and Pernod Ricard UK’s commercial director Ian Peart. The pair outline how collaboration on climate action will be key as the hospitality sector recovers from Covid-19. 

The edie podcast is now available to listen to on Spotify. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and bookmark this page to see the full list of podcast episodes as they appear. 

Have a question about this podcast or a suggestion for future episodes? Email us at podcast@fav-house.com. Please bear in mind that speaking opportunities are now full through to the end of August.

Hear more from Grosvenor at edie’s COP26 Inspiration Sessions 

On Thursday 9 September, edie will be hosting three back-to-back online events focused on how businesses can harness nature-based solutions while adapting to the changing climate to improve resiliency. 

Hosted during edie’s special COP26 Focus Week of content and events, this online event offers up an afternoon of live, interactive webinar presentations and discussions – all dedicated to driving business action around these two critical themes of the upcoming climate talks.

Click here for a full line-up of sponsors and speakers, and to register. Grosvenor has notably been confirmed as a sponsor. Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

edie Staff