What can companies do to better look after their workers? What makes an ethical employer? And how can businesses do more to care for their communities?

These are all things we consider as we welcome Brett Mendell, Managing Director of Thomas Kneale & Co Ltd. Brett leads a company that pays the Real Living Wage, that is employee owned, and that takes its responsibilities to decent work and sustainability in all its forms seriously.

He tells us what it is like for a business to have purpose, people, planet and profit at the heart of their operations – recognising the need for profit while respecting their values and impact on those around them.

We find out what it takes to win the King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development – even if we are no clearer on whether Brett makes the king’s bedsheets; why they are still pushing to do more; and what the benefits are for workers being part of an employee-owned company.

We uncover the differences between the Government’s Living Wage, and the Real Living Wage, and why Thomas Kneale and Brett see such value in the latter for themselves and their employees; find out how businesses and local government can work together to implement better employment practices; and consider the importance of combined efforts to eliminate modern slavery from supply chains.

Plus, is there a cotton controversy in the bedding industry? Are silk sheets reserved solely for the Playboy mansion? And whose bed(ding) are you sleeping in tonight?

Find out more about Thomas Kneale here: https://www.thomaskneale.co.uk/

And about employee-owned companies in the UK here: https://blog.shorts.uk.com/list-of-employee-owned-companies

This is the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter: https://www.gmgoodemploymentcharter.co.uk/

Health is not just about us as individuals. It’s about the whole planet. It’s time we think about health on a worldwide scale.

Professor Jemilah Mahmood is Executive Director of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health at our old friends Sunway University, in Malaysia. As a medical professional who has helped deliver 15,000 babies(!), she knows healthcare from the personal level. But she also has decades of experience managing crises in health, disaster and conflict settings.

Jemilah talks us through her career and how watching a woman stranded with her newborn baby in a tree above crocodile-infested floodwaters in Mozambique led her to focus on equity and justice, helping those affected by conflict and disasters.

She tells us about the concept of planetary health – and the similarities and differences to the one health agenda; the role of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health as a ‘think-and-do-tank’, which includes experts from across multiple disciplines; and how those who make the least impact on the environment are often those worst affected by the changing climate.

We look at the links between planetary health and the planetary boundaries; the concept of Return on Value, rather than Return on Investment; the importance of planetary health concepts in a university education; and the world-leading National Planetary Health Action Plan in Malaysia, and how it aligns economic growth with environmental resilience and societal well-being.

Plus, Paul reveals strongly held beliefs on brown rice; Jemilah emerges as a proponent of the living to eat mentality; Jan questions her energy levels; and we look at the power of optimism, agency and the next generation.

For more on the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, see here: https://www.sunwayplanetaryhealth.com.my/

This is the Malaysian National Planetary Health Action Plan: https://www.akademisains.gov.my/nphap-full-report/

And see what it takes to move from return on investment to return on values here: https://sunwayuniversity.edu.my/sites/default/files/documents/2025-06/roi_rov_prospectus.pdf

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At a time when employment rights in the UK are evolving all the time, we look at how and why.

Alice Martin, Head of Research at the Work Foundation thinktank at Lancaster University, joins us to talk about the Employment Rights Act of 2025, and why it is important for you if you are in a job, seeking a job or looking to employ someone.

We look at the key issues around job insecurity, how this ties in with workers’ rights, the protections that are in place – and that are still needed – how health impacts working lives, and the struggles of finding jobs in an increasingly competitive (and restricted) market.

Alice tells us how workers’ right have (and have not) changed over the years; what the Employment Rights Act does – and aims to do; what the Fair Work Agency (and fair work) is; and how the Act ties in with flexible working, unfair dismissals, and statutory sick pay.

And we look at what might come next, how employers might look to circumvent some powers of the act through using gig workers, the need for working lives to be sustainable and not lead to burnout, and the potential for AI to help workers, not just take their jobs.

Plus, do academics really like to complain all the time? Are employment tribunal PDFs really that interesting? And if there is no such thing as a zero-hours contract, then why do we hear so much about them?!

Find out more about the Work Foundation here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundation/

Read a short piece from Alice on the potential future of workers’ rights: https://doc.your-brochure-online.co.uk/Lancaster-University_FiftyFourDegrees_Issue_25/18/

Discover the Fair Work Agency here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/fair-work-agency

The example of a regional approach to ensuring decent work that Jan mentioned from Manchester can be found here: https://www.gmgoodemploymentcharter.co.uk/

And this report (produced through a partnership between the UK Government and the Pentland Centre) presents an evidence summary of effective prevention and detection of labour exploitation: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69d4d224019a4faf2745b385/decent_work_a_review_of_evidence_for_effective_prevention_and_detection_of_labour_exploitation.pdf

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Can you be a scientist and an activist at the same time? Where do you draw the line between being a detached expert and stepping on the front lines of climate change protests?

Dr Samuel Finnerty, from Lancaster University’s Department of Psychology, joins us to discuss individual and group climate change activism from social and psychological perspectives.

Sam explains how his background in anthropology, cognitive science and psychology brought him to have an interest in activism, and how and why scientists become involved in these activities.

We learn about the shape of modern-day climate change protests, including Insulate Britain, Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil in the UK; what it means to be disruptive in this activism; the importance of media coverage to their cause – and what this coverage looks like; how the public react to acts of civil disobedience; and if they might ever be counterproductive.

We look at how have systems around the world have reacted to disruptive protests; the frustrations scientists feel in wanting to get their messages across; how academics can remain objective if they are also activists; whether the public can still trust researchers if they take these strong public stances; and consider potential comparisons with scientists speaking out on environmental issues and those who used to endorse alcohol or smoking.

Paul wonders if Jan would have fitted in with Father Ted’s protest marches, we consider the difficulty of getting academics to agree on anything, and ask if you don’t have a white lab coat, are you still a scientist?

For a summary of Sam’s work, see here: https://theconversation.com/how-climate-scientists-balance-the-tension-between-research-and-public-protest-new-study-274916 and here: https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000828

His co-authored research paper on Just Stop Oil that he mentions is here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44168-026-00347-5

And his research profile is here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/sci-tech/about-us/people/samuel-finnerty

Episode Transcript

Why would a global company take a public stance on racial equality? Why would your favourite ice cream brand be vocal on climate change?

Lewis Nicholas is a PhD researcher in Lancaster University Management School, and he is here to talk to us about how and why businesses take a stand on contentious socio-political issues.

We find out how corporate political activism first emerged, what makes for a contentious issue, why and how businesses have switched from being the targets of protest to being on the side of protestors, and what companies do in support of their stances.

Lewis tells us why it can be just as risky for a company to try to sit in the middle on issues as it is to take a definitive position on one side or the other, tells us what the Colin Kaepernick example and his work with Nike and on racial equality show us, and considers how companies take messages beyond one day or one month of the year.

But are we cynical to think companies only act on an issue when it is specifically in their profit-making interests? Do they risk trivialising causes? Does the tech industry just look which way the political winds are blowing before taking a stance? And we consider whether this activism is all just woke capitalism, or whether conservative activism is a thing as well.

We get caught up in the bad puns that make up Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavour names; discuss Michael Jordan’s views on whether politics and business should mix; consider whether it is normal for Jan to have a favourite company; and get lost among the Jenners and Kardashians.

Find out more about Lewis and his research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/lewis-nicholas

This is an example of corporate political activism from Absolute: https://www.absolut.com/en-us/leading-with-pride/

And here is another example from Ben & Jerry’s: https://www.benjerry.co.uk/values

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Find out how knowing more about your energy use can help businesses operate in a more sustainable way. It’s time for some sustainability analytics!

Dan Lavinskas is the founder and CEO of Citera, a Montreal-based company who lead on digital energy and emissions calculations and consultations. And it all started for him when he studied a unit on environmental accounting at university.

Dan tells us about the challenges of founding and building a sustainability business, the need to be willing to fail and start again, and how his company use their data expertise to analyse companies’ energy usage and emissions.

Dan questions how we might address crucial global consumption issues if we are to become more sustainable, enlightens us on what Scopes 1, 2, and 3 are when it comes to emissions for companies, how businesses can get information on all three, and what they need to know and do with that information.

We look at the carbon impact throughout a building’s life cycle, and how you can make decisions that alter that impact; and how politics are changing priorities around ESG, sustainability and energy efficiency in North America.

Plus, we find presenters on the extremes of the coffee divide (and discuss the sustainability credentials of a cuppa), porridge causes more friction, and consider if St Andrews is better known for golf or accounting.

For more details about Citera, see here: https://www.getcitera.com

And for coffee buffs, Dan recommends James Hoffman: https://www.jameshoffmann.co.uk/

Episode Transcript

WARNING: This episode includes some mild bad language.

How do we get more people to leave the car behind and take the bus? When public transport can make such a positive difference to the planet, the task is to get the public to use it.

Ben Wakerley is a Lancaster University graduate – and long-time friend of Paul – whose lifelong love of buses has taken him on a journey from driving them around Manchester when he was a student to become CEO of Warrington’s Own Buses. The company has an award-winning fleet of 105 electric buses that makes them even better for the environment, but Ben catches the No.1 bus to campus to tell us you still need more to encourage passengers on board.

We consider the natural fit between public transport and sustainability, how better bus networks can help ease congestion and speed up life in big cities, and how we can build bus cultures that match that of London.

Ben explains how the sunk costs of buying a car plays a major part in people deciding to drive or take the bus, and what bus companies need to do to encourage people to make the switch without making it a war on motorists. We find out the challenges – logistically and investment-wise – and benefits – economically and environmentally – of switching from diesel to electric buses; and dispel some of the myths on battery range.

Find out whether the introduction of electric buses has seen passenger growth, how new housing developments need to better consider bus access, and how bus companies across the UK are taking on the sustainability agenda.

Plus, Ben is impressed by Paul’s bus knowledge, we think about our favourite bus routes around the UK, and we uncover Jan’s history working with bus companies.

Find out more about Warrington’s Own Buses: https://www.warringtonsownbuses.co.uk/

If you want to know what the Laffer curve is, look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve

And discover some of the Great Scenic Bus Journeys here: https://www.greatscenicjourneys.co.uk/

Episode Transcript

You might find accessing the commercial world straightforward. Not everyone does. One in five people in the UK have a disability, so how do we make the marketplace more accessible for them?

Dr Leighanne Higgins and Dr Killian O’Leary are here to talk about their Marketplace & I project, which works with organisations to improve their accessibility for consumers through specialist training.

We find out how they use art and artworks produced by people with a disability and their families at the heart of their project – and which artworks really stand out to the project leaders; and how their work goes beyond shops and cafes to charities, universities, and councils, taking a broad look at issues.

Leighanne and Killian tell us why they are so passionate about ending exclusion from society, and how all of us might face accessibility issues as we enter old age. They show how things have evolved over the last decade when it comes to accessibility attitudes, and how organisations they worked with several years ago are now exemplars of change.

We talk about the difference between visible and invisible disabilities, and how needs differ when entering the marketplace. And we discover how public exhibitions of the artworks led to direct business engagement with key issues.

We look at the importance of creating a welcoming atmosphere, uncover myths surrounding the costs of accessibility, and see how employees can be inspired by training.

Plus, why is Jan not a fan of shopping? And why are we talking about Monsters Inc’s Mike Wazowski?

Find out more about the Marketplace and I project and some of the artworks here: The Marketplace and I

And details of their accessibility training workshops are here: Accessibility training workshops - Lancaster University

This is the website of the Jumbulance Trust, whom we mentioned in the show: Jumbulance Home

And the NeuroChatin podcast can be found here: https://pod.co/neurochatin

Episode Transcript