Bellona Advisors holds podcasts on important economic, environmental and social issues that are often overlooked.

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The Skidmore Review and UK progress to Net Zero

In an hour of coruscating chat and analysis, Peter Henry of Harworth Group plc and Colin Morrison of Turley joined Iain Thomson in debating whether the Skidmore review will help accelerate the decarbonisation of the UK, whilst also considering the key interventions needed in the short-term to make the biggest positive change.

Key topics covered in a Northern accent include:

  • The future of the Grid

  • Retrofit

  • The National Planning Policy Framework

  • Skills

  • The likelihood of major Government-mandated changes ahead of a likely General Election in 2024

Heroes and Villains of 2022 and a look ahead to 2023

The final Bellona Advisors BetterWorld podcast of the year took place on Clubhouse on Tuesday 20th December at 6pm.

In just half an hour we covered the heroes and villains in this tumultuous year and our panellists predictions for 2023, including the thoughts of:

Covanta Europe president Owen Michaelson;

Social CEO John Quinton-Barber;

Strategic planner Catriona Riddell; and

Ardent Group MD Jonathan Stott

Decarbonising Commercial Property

Bellona Advisors lined up an absolutely stellar panel to talk through the funding, challenges and future of decarbonising commercial property at the end of November 2022 – an essential part of delivering a #netzero future.

Iain Thomson was joined by:

Kitty Patmore, CFO of Harworth Group plc and Non-Executive Director of LondonMetric Property PLC (LMP);

David Travis, Development Director of Hargreaves Land and with extensive private and public sector experience; and

William Church, Executive Director of CBRE and a key advisor to a host of property funds across the UK.

What does the mini-budget mean for planning?

What does the Chancellor’s ‘mini-budget’ of 23 September really mean for the planning system and for wider economic growth in the UK?

In this Planning Law Unplanned/50 Shades of Planning joint special, Iain Thomson gives his views alongside those of Simon Ricketts, Sam Stafford, Shelly Rouse and Nicola Gooch. Warning: contains strong opinions in a northern accent.

This builds on Bellona’s in-depth report on the same subject which can be found here.

Energy and Housing

Iain Thomson invites Peter Henry (Director of Sustainability, Harworth Group), David Cross (Founder of Sky-House Co) and Melissa Kroger (Managing Director, Fenwood Estates) to discuss how we can make new housing and development more energy efficient.

Housing in the UK uses a quarter of its power and generates a fifth of its emissions. Whilst the energy efficiency of housing is considerably better than it used to be, what should we be doing to further accelerate this transition?

The panel considers the main barriers to improvement, whilst examining how the efficiency of places should also be treated. They also provide some sage advice for the new Cabinet in addressing the issue within its first hundred days of work…..

This podcast took place on the 12th of September and is the second of Bellona Advisors’ BetterWorld series, looking at key economic and social issues often overlooked elsewhere. It follows our in-depth report on the issue that can be found here.

Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges

Iain Thomson, Gareth Dennis, Nick Gallop and Simon Ricketts talk through all things SRFI.

SRFIs appear to offer a perfect blend of improved customer efficiency and environmental performance – so how can we accelerate their delivery? This 75 minute podcast looks into why only 8 SRFIs are currently active in the UK and what can be done to bring more forward.

This podcast took place on the 25th of July 2022 and is the first of Bellona Advisors’ BetterWorld series, looking at key economic and social issues often overlooked elsewhere.