The Purpose Pod
Investing for Purpose / Richard Mullane
Welcome to the Purpose Pod!
More than ever, we need to learn about and adopt inspiring and constructive solutions to the multiple social and environmental challenges we are all facing.
With interviews revealing the professional and personal stories of impact experts and practitioners from Greece and across the world, we hope you'll find ideas, inspiration and perhaps a little respite to help you and your organisations along the way.
For any interview or topic requests/enquiries, please email [email protected]
Investing for Purpose is a community based in Greece connecting impact investors with purposeful companies in need of growth capital across Environment/Climate, Diversity Equity & Inclusion and Education: www.investing-for-purpose.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
All episodes
Best episodes
Seasons
Top 10 The Purpose Pod Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Purpose Pod episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Purpose Pod for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Purpose Pod episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Lefteris Arapakis of Enaleia on harnessing the power of fishing communities to scale marine plastics recycling globally
The Purpose Pod
04/04/25 • 51 min
"On our current path, there will be more plastics in our oceans than fish by 2050"
Lefteris comes from generations of fishermen, though by his own admission he is not a natural... However, when out on fishing boats as part of a Greek fishing school run by his start up during the financial crisis, he witnessed a fisherman hauling plastic out of the sea along with their catch - and simply throwing the bottles, cans, plastic bags, old nets and even fridges back into the ocean. That's when the idea came to him: What if someone could harness the power of fishing fleets to haul out plastics from the ocean and offer them an additional revenue stream by bringing it in bulk back to shore for recycling and reuse?
This is the incredible story of how, starting with one fisherman (his father), he and Enaleia have scaled into an operation of over 6500 vessels covering most of the mediterranean coast enabling over 1.5m tons of plastics to be recycled, including:
How to use the tipping point theory to mobilise communities into action (including using charm and tradecraft to persuade the household decision makers!)
Evolving social enterprise models to deliver systems change to prevent plastics entering the ocean in the first place
How Enaleia turn over 57% of the plastics retrieved into commercial products including furniture, kayaks, clothing and trainers
How to build a circular economy network combining the raw power of fishing communities with cutting edge blockchain to verify end-to-end traceability
Details on the CO2 efficiencies of melting down recycled plastics to create new products vs virgin plastic processing
How Enaleia's circularity operations in Egypt include repurposing plastics at scale into urban products including street paving
The future potential of plastic credits
The power of simplicity, the value of being authentic, how to gain people's trust - and so much more..!
"Clean-ups are great but we are just treating the symptom of the problem. There are 1000 rivers in the world responsible for 80% of plastics pollution in our oceans"
#Circularity #MarinePlastics #Tippingpoints #SystemsChange
Lefteris portrait picture credit + Enaleia article from The Washington Post
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Eleni Andreadis of Sani Ikos Group on embedding ESG into a luxury sustainable tourism company of over 7000 employees
The Purpose Pod
08/02/24 • 39 min
"Guests expect everyone to be offering a sustainable holiday so they don't think that they should be paying more for it"
As we reach peak holiday season, join Eleni Andreadis, ESG Executive Director of Sani Ikos resorts group as she describes their 15 year journey to fully embed ESG principles and actions across 12 resorts in Greece and Spain with over 7000 employees, to become the exemplar for sustainability in tourism. Eleni also describes the other hats she juggles, including NGO Planet Agents, which delivers engaging environmental education each year to over 12,000 school children and writing 11 children's books - so far! Topics discussed include:
Transforming Sani Resort into the first carbon neutral resort in Greece, with 100% certified renewable electricity
Managing ESG around 3 pillars of Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability with over 100 performance KPIs.
How to embed ways to engage guests with local communities combining inclusive economic stimulation with environmental education
How to keep children holistically engaged into their teenage years to transform their physical and mental wellbeing
How working with SBTI (The Science Based Targets Initiative) as an optimal interim approach to mitigating carbon versus that accrued by travelling guests.
Why any organisation not fully engaging in sustainability is missing out on multiple fronts and faces existential risks
Working with the Forest Research Institute to calculate and bolster carbon sink capacity
Bringing back Bee hives to Parnitha, recently devastated by wild fires to release and care for the Bees to enable millions to bring new life back into the forests
How to minimise your personal footprint and to choose holiday packages mindfully
Why we should let our kids roam free and get lost together in forests and the countryside - and more!
"The most sustainable product that you can choose, is nothing"
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rob Genieser of ETF Partners on investing in environmental tech to accelerate impact at scale
The Purpose Pod
10/10/24 • 33 min
“If you’re not generating a healthy return and an impact, then people should not back you”
ETF (Environmental Technologies Fund) Partners are one of the original pioneers in sustainable investing, with nearly $1bn raised across 4 funds since 2006. Currently with 31 portfolio companies across the energy transition, future mobility, green connectivity, the responsible consumer and sustainable food, they are leading the charge for impact investing at scale.
In this pod, Robert Geneiser, Managing Partner, brings his insight and infectious enthusiasm to a revealing 30 minute chat covering:
Why Greece is a particularly entrepreneurial place and increasingly attractive to investors
How ETF invested in two Greek startups which are now both at Series B and beyond
The rise of the sustainable consumer
The importance of young companies demonstrating market pull-through for solutions
Why insurance is important for adaptation technologies
The personal qualities in founders that ETF look for beyond business models
How a focus on digital solutions helps ETF to aggregate impact at speed and scale
Plus required reading, life balance recommendations and more!
“We all have to look our children in the eye and say we’ve done something worthwhile”
ETF Sustainability Talks Podcast
ETF Podcast with Jeffrey Nachmanoff
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Global Impact Investing Network
#Deepsea #Hellasdirect #Phenix #energytransition #futuremobility #greenconnectivity #responsibleconsumer #sustainablefood
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vasileios Bontzorlos of Tyto on Barn Owls as a perfect agricultural nature based solution
The Purpose Pod
05/30/24 • 47 min
"We can help the land, so the land can help us"
How to solve the problem of rodent infestations costing farmers in Thessaly, the breadbasket of Greece, more than EU100m each year, while mitigating overuse of rodenticides that harm biodiversity, ecology and human health? With the perfect nature-based solution, of course...
Spend some time in the home and in the fields at dusk with agricultural ecosystem expert Vasileios Bontzorlos to hear all about Tyto, the company that expertly researches, fosters and manages communities of wild barn owls across 100s of kilometres of farmland, while enabling a thriving and biodiverse ecosystem.
The question is, as the dusk light fades, will we see one of the elusive barn owls?...
Discussions include:
The myth surrounding the barn owl and why they are so connected to humanity
What it takes to change the mindsets and practices of rural communities
The true definition of Regenerative Agriculture
Why you should read E.O Wilson after Dawkins
How to pave the way for a career connected to nature
Why you might want to approach barn owl boxes with an umbrella...! And much more besides.
#naturebasedsolutions #barnowl #raptor #agriculturalecosystems #wildlifeconservation #ecology #communityengagement
"Barn owl populations locally move like a cloud"
Links mentioned in the podcast:
Alexandre Roulin
https://barnowl-research.ch/en
Richard Dawkins
E.O. Wilson
https://eowilsonfoundation.org/
Convention on Biological Diversity
Additional links
Investing for Purpose
Impact Frontiers
https://impactfrontiers.org/norms/five-dimensions-of-impact/
UN SDGs
Social Value International
https://www.socialvalueint.org/
Impact Europe
Hellenic Impact Investing Network
Global Impact Investing Network
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Krisztina Tora of The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) on building Impact Economies
The Purpose Pod
04/11/24 • 34 min
“The paradigm shift embodied in the impact investment community is from Egosystem to Ecosystem”
Why should we be building Impact Economies across the world? And how can it be done?
This is the mission of The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG). Spearheaded by Sir Ronald Cohen, GSG are already enabling impact capacity building by establishing and supporting national impact advisory boards across 75 countries, including with our colleagues at the Hellenic Impact Investing Network (HIIN), here in Greece.
With a goal to harness influence, stimulate innovation and foster the building of impact economies, GSG also push for knowledge sharing and collaboration, a natural trait of the impact community and something that is close to our hearts at Investing for Purpose.
To hear more, Krisztina Tora, GSGs Chief Market Development Officer, tells the full story in this pod, including:
Why we need to develop impact investment globally and how local-to-global impact networks are key to the solution
The need to focus attention on early-stage companies
The stark differences between ESG and Impact investing
The importance of channelling capital flows into emerging markets and SDG aligned solutions
Why post-growth thinking is not comfortable, but is essential in an AI dominated future
The ABC definitions of impact categorisation
As well as the Impact community as a 'family', how we can all get better sleep - and more!
“Impact should become the driver for all decisions in business, investment, policy and consumption”
GSG Global Steering Group for Impact Investment
Hellenic Impact Investing Network
Impact Management Platform: ABC
https://impactmanagementplatform.org/?s=ABC
Impact Frontiers
https://impactfrontiers.org/norms/five-dimensions-of-impact/
OECD wellbeing Index
https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/
UN SDGs
Social Value International
https://www.socialvalueint.org/
Impact Europe
Global Impact Investing Network
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ellinor Schweyer of FASE on Social Venture Capital, how to attract impact finance and social entrepreneur success stories
The Purpose Pod
03/14/24 • 29 min
"The relationship between entrepreneurs and investors is like a marriage. You really have to be certain that on the human side of things you are also aligned".
In the world of impact finance it’s easy to focus a lot of attention on the myriad challenges: How to source and support the most impactful enterprises; how to find like-minded investors with skillsets aligned to the entrepreneur business; how to design innovative, smart and patient capital models; how to assess the impact of enterprises; how to help enterprise growth and valuation in parallel with impact; etc.....
But how often do we also step back to celebrate the impact of social enterprises that are going from strength to strength as a result?
Ellinor Schweyer, Co-Founder and MD of Munich based impact finance advisors FASE, which was born out of the original social entrepreneurship funding organisation Ashoka, tells of their success stories ranging from a triple-win solution to detecting breast cancer, to insuring the health of previously uninsurable field workers in developing nations, and making civic sports clubs sustainable to reliably provide a priceless framework that so many teenagers benefit from.
Ellinor also delves deep into the best approaches to bootstrapping a social enterprise to be sure of attracting impact funding- and on the importance of choosing wisely when it comes to committing to the right investor 'marriage'. As well as her thoughts on:
The corporate saturation that led her to jump into impact and careers advice for those looking to switch to impact finance
Impact finance vs VC start up failure rates
The challenges thrown up by the positive reality of Impact investing becoming trendy and attracting an increase in venture funds
Using Ashoka Impact metrics to measure Impact
The FASE approach to structuring debt, mezzanine financing, social bonds and impact ROI
How to stay healthy in an age of climate anxiety
"Impact is not equally defined and often in impact investments you still see that the brain rules over the heart"
https://www.discovering-hands.de/international/page-international
#SocialVentureCapital #matchmaking #impactsuccessstories #impactfinance #ashoka #SocialEntrepreneurs
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Clodagh Connolly of Business for Societal Impact on engaging corporates to maximise their positive social impact
The Purpose Pod
08/15/24 • 18 min
"There are many committed businesses out there with a lot of power - that movement creates a place where the others cannot hide"
Business for Societal Impact (B4SI) is a global membership network uniting close to 200 mid to high cap corporations in managing & measuring their shared value & intentional approach to positive social impact, with up to $3bn held in community investments. So how do you transition corporates into engagement with positive social impact without enabling Socialwashing?
Join Global Director Clodagh Connolly and Richard Mullane for this wide-ranging 20 minute chat, including:
Why companies that articulate and measure their societal impact are primed to win the war for talent
The problem of ESG investment as a due diligence construct versus Impact investment as intentional and forward looking
How B4Si ensure transparency while mitigating greenwashing risks
Why corporates can no longer hide from social and environmental responsibilities
The implications of CSRD role out and where the costs will end up
Why double materiality is good for businesses
Why the right Social Enterprises and community organisations are perfectly placed to work alongside corporates like Nokia to help them transition
How to successfully engage with corporates to stand the best chance of channelling investment
#Community investment #Social innovation #Social procurement #CSRD #corporatetransition
"In the future the war for talent is going to be extraordinary across businesses"
Business for Sustainable Impact (B4Si)
B4Si September 2024 events: Bonn, London & New York
Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Iberdrola: Promoting women's STEM
Nokia: Bridging the Digital Divide
Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sam Sutaria of WaterBear on the power of collaborative storytelling to create real world change
The Purpose Pod
07/10/24 • 51 min
“We are now in an age where people are consuming somewhere between 5 and 7 hours of content a day. The power to use that time to do good is colossal”
Founded in 2020 by Ellen Windemuth, Executive Producer of My Octopus Teacher, WaterBear has rapidly become the leading platform and impact media network dedicated to global purpose driven storytelling.
What exactly is a Waterbear? Sam Sutaria, CEO and founding team member of an ambitious organisation uniquely positioned at the intersection of entertainment, culture, impact and purpose reveals all, including:
How to create campaigns to build real world agency and action
How a partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, will use B2B learning to engage 30m employees
Working with 150 NGOs to link stories to on the ground campaigns
Why the film industry needs a new measurement of success and a universal standard for impact measurement
Why looking someone in the eyes is still the best test for judging their greenwashing propensity
How to create a holistic, inclusive, diverse and sustainable media model
Targeting funding via impact driven family offices, VCs and smart capital
Creating media designed to improve wellbeing
Waterbear at Glastonbury 2024 - and so much more!
#impactmedia #storytelling #film #documentary #behaviourchange #wellbeing
Waterbear Network
Off the Fence + My Octopus Teacher
Nice and Serious + Moral compass
Glastonbury Festival Silver Hayes
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Alessia Gianoncelli of Impact Europe on designing knowledge transfer to maximise impact
The Purpose Pod
06/18/24 • 23 min
"Everyone in Impact is open to sharing failures as well as successes"
In an impact ecosystem in which thousands are scrambling for attention and the volume of must-read sources is seemingly endless, how can you cut through the noise and select, structure and transfer impact knowledge in the most beneficial ways for all? Join Alessia Gianoncelli, Director of Knowledge and Programs at Impact Europe - the Investing for Impact network - and voted one of the top 100 women in Social Enterprise 2023, as she talks this through, as well as:
How to structure the perfect in person or online SDG/Impact seminars
The signs and dangers of Impact washing
A true perspective on SDG 5 Gender Equality and how to define a 'Super Heroine'
The power of peer-to-peer learning and why we need to learn from our failures
Why reading murder mystery novels is the perfect antidote to burnout, and more!
#equalopportunities #equitydiversityinclusion #edi #deia #deib #jedi #knowledge #knowledgetransfer #education #learning
Impact Europe
https://www.impacteurope.net/stream/stream
Impact Europe 'Impact People' Podcast
https://open.spotify.com/show/7247MzIWcXIUL6vxYWhiKe?si=c3a152a8d6674fce
"I hope that the new generation of girls and women will grow with equal opportunities independently from sex orientation, the conditions and countries in which they are born"
Links mentioned in the podcast:
Semia Feminist Fund
Gabriella Genisi "Lolita Lobosco"
https://www.facebook.com/gabriella.genisi/
https://www.marsilioeditori.it/lista-autori/scheda-autore/5600/gabriella-genisi
Additional Impact-related links
Investing for Purpose
Impact Frontiers
https://impactfrontiers.org/norms/five-dimensions-of-impact/
UN SDGs
Social Value International
https://www.socialvalueint.org/
Global Impact Investing Network
Hellenic Impact Investing Network
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Melina Taprantzi, Founder of Wise Greece on circular food innovation to scale impact from individuals to ecosystem
The Purpose Pod
05/01/24 • 46 min
“We always provide food supplies that we would give to our children”
In 2013, in the depths of the financial crisis, when Melina Taprantzi visited a regional social grocery supplying food for the unemployed, the only thing that was available on the shelves was razor blades.
This stark reality was a turning point for Melina, who has since focussed her energies on building Wise Greece into a uniquely circular Social Enterprise that now supports over 100 small Greek farmers and food producers to grow and export 2500 food products - including award winning innovations such as salads in a jar and mushroom flavoured sweets!
Profits are used to buy food from the same producers to supply soup kitchens and charitable institutions across Greece, with over 180 tons of food donated to support over half a million people in need so far.
Have a listen to Melina’s incredible story in our latest podcast, with insights including:
How to design social enterprise business model generating positive compound Impacts from indivuduals to ecosystem
Equality lessons learned from over 20 years of being a woman on the workplace
Why being overreactive to natural disasters can have limited or even negative Impact
Tips for start-ups: Why having a brilliant idea is not enough; and how to genuinely bootstrap with limited funding
Investment opportunities across the Greek education, tourism, food, services sectors
Why social enterprises are part of the real economy
Why a career in impact is about enjoying the grind and celebrating every small win
Why being adaptable is the core skill that students (and all of us!) need to develop
And more - including how to send the finest herbs via postcard....!
“When I stepped into my career I stepped in as a ‘man’. After 10 or 20 years you get to discover your female side more.”
#food #foodinnovation #compoundimpact #equality #socialenterprise #womenintheworkplace #socialgood #circularimpact
Impact Frontiers
https://impactfrontiers.org/norms/five-dimensions-of-impact/
OECD wellbeing Index
https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/
UN SDGs
Social Value International
https://www.socialvalueint.org/
Impact Europe
Global Impact Investing Network
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does The Purpose Pod have?
The Purpose Pod currently has 20 episodes available.
What topics does The Purpose Pod cover?
The podcast is about Purpose, Smart, Equity, Inclusion, Entrepreneurship, Investing, Impact, Climate, Environment, Investment, Podcasts, Finance, Esg, Business and Diversity.
What is the most popular episode on The Purpose Pod?
The episode title 'Sam Sutaria of WaterBear on the power of collaborative storytelling to create real world change' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Purpose Pod?
The average episode length on The Purpose Pod is 35 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Purpose Pod released?
Episodes of The Purpose Pod are typically released every 20 days, 16 hours.
When was the first episode of The Purpose Pod?
The first episode of The Purpose Pod was released on Jan 12, 2024.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ