
Sustainability Defined
Sustainability Defined is the podcast that defines sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosts Scott Breen and Jay Siegel explore a new topic each episode with the help of an expert in the field. Each concept falls into one of seven sectors -- Energy, Cities, Natural Environment, Transportation, Business, Policy, and Social -- and is visually represented in a Sustainability Tree found at www.sustainabilitydefined.com.
Latest episodes

Sep 1, 2017 • 43min
Ep 25: Supply Chain Emissions & Walmart's Project Gigaton with Zach Freeze
Ughhh! Just when you think your company's greenhouse gas emissions are under control, you remember those pesky little things called Scope 3 Emissions – all the *indirect* emissions that don't even come from the energy you use. Turns out, your supply chain carries massive amounts of emissions that are basically embedded in your product! How do you tackle this, you ask? You engage all of your suppliers and motivate them to cut back their emissions, which is exactly what Walmart's Project Gigaton aims to do. In spearheading this pioneering project, Walmart is asking its suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one gigaton – the equivalent to taking more than 211 million passenger vehicles off of U.S. roads for an entire year. Zach Freeze, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Walmart, joins us to explain how they plan to do it. This episode is sponsored by Walmart. Want to share your thoughts on how you think it went? Reach out! You can find us at hosts@sustainabilitydefined.com. ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Aug 4, 2017 • 55min
Ep 24: Plastics with Andrew Almack (Plastics for Change) and Monique Oxender (Keurig Green Mountain)
Ahhh, plastics. Ever heard of 'em? Many thanks to one of our listeners for suggesting we cover this topic. As such a huge issue, we think it deserves TWO interviews! Our guests--Andrew Almack, who works leads Plastics for Change in India to increase plastic recycling via the informal economy, and Monique Oxender, Chief Sustainability Officer at Keurig Green Mountain who has been working on the recyclability of those K-Cups we're sure many of you enjoy--provide us with diverse and interesting insights on plastics. After listening you'll never look at plastic - or that confusing number inside the recycling logo - the same way again. Want to join us on an episode? Tag us on Facebook (@sustainabilitydefined) or Twitter (@sustaindefined) and share with 5+ people and we'll bring you on to describe why you love sustainability... and bad jokes. Thanks for helping us spread the word about the show! ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Jul 7, 2017 • 46min
Ep 23: Agroecology with Steve Brescia (Groundswell International)
What is agroecology, you ask? Agroecology is a style of farming that makes the best use of nature's goods and services without inflicting any harm on earth's resources. Often confused with afroecology (the practice of farming with disco-style hair), it presents an exciting yet surprisingly familiar way that our food production system can reorganize itself more sustainably. Steve Brescia, Executive Director of Groundswell International, joins us to explain how farming "the way our grandparents did" can unlock a trove of sustainable tools as we adapt to changing climates. ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.comom

May 12, 2017 • 54min
Ep 22: Circular Economy with Jennifer Gerholdt (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation) and Angela Nahikian (Steelcase)
In this episode, we talk with two women shaping the future of the circular economy. What is the circular economy? Well, it's this little business opportunity that could generate $4.5 trillion (that's with a "t") of additional economic output by 2030. The circular economy is about designing out waste--using fewer inputs on the front end, extending lifecycles of products, and refurbishing products or re-using inputs at the end of a product's useful life. Misfit Juicery (episode #6) and The Renewal Workshop (episode #18) are great examples of companies in the circular economy since they are creating value out of resources that would otherwise go to the landfill. We hope you enjoy the examples and insights from our guests and the bad circle puns from us. Want to be on the show? As we say in the outro, those who tag us on facebook (@sustainabilitydefined) or twitter (@sustaindefined) and share the show by tagging five or more people in that post, Jay and/or I will chat with you on skype and put you on the end of the show explaining why you care about sustainability (or to tell a bad joke). Thanks for helping us spread the word about the show! ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Apr 14, 2017 • 42min
Ep 21: Water Infrastructure with Will Sarni (Water Foundry, LLC)
Water infrastructure refers to the immense underground highway of pipes that brings us our life-sustaining resource (and takes it away after we do our business). It also was a source of many bad jokes flowing out of our pipes during the recording. Today's guest is Will Sarni, an expert in water technology and corporate water strategies, who recently wrote a report for Deloitte on the state of U.S. water infrastructure. Spoiler alert: it's in bad shape. It's a trillion dollar problem that will only get worse if we kick the can down the road. Will tells us how bad the problem is and how technology, public and private spending, and citizen engagement can help solve it. For more from Will, check out this twitter handle @WillSarni. Please share the podcast with your friends and social networks (and tag us when you do). We need to grow our audience so we can keep getting sustainability celebrities like Will to join us on the show. Thanks! ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Mar 17, 2017 • 46min
Ep 20: Conservatism and Climate Change with Bob Inglis (Republic(en))
Skeptical about an episode on Conservatives and Climate Change from two left-leaning (and dashingly handsome) hosts? Well, there are conservatives out there that want to address climate change, and our guest, Bob Inglis (also dashingly handsome), is one of them. Bob is a former Republican congressman and as the Executive Director of Republic(En), works to educate conservatives on climate change solutions that they can feel comfortable with and should support. Admittedly, we're not experts on conservative thought, but we do our darndest to give a fair portrait of conservatism and explain why many of today's conservatives don't seem willing to take action on climate change. After this episode, we guarantee you'll better understand conservatism and what climate change solutions align with conservative principles. Enjoy! For more information on Republic(en), go to www.republicen.org. To find information from conservative thinkers, Bob recommends the Niskanen Center (www.niskanencenter.org) and the R Street Institute (www.rstreet.org). ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Feb 17, 2017 • 40min
Ep 19: Sustainability in the C-Suite with Colin Dyer (JLL)
Who knew a Fortune-500 CEO could be so friendly and approachable? We lucked out with the opportunity to interview Colin Dyer, the former CEO and current board member of JLL. JLL is the global real estate services company where Jay actually works! Colin joined us to talk Sustainability in the C-Suite, highlighting the lessons he's learned as CEO in turning big companies into sustainable corporate citizens. Fortunately, none of Jay's jokes were bad enough to cost him his job. BONUS: Colin's charming British accent. ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Jan 6, 2017 • 42min
Ep 18: Sustainable Apparel with Jeff Denby (The Renewal Workshop)
You probably have some awesome retro clothes in your closet because you want to get as much use out of your clothes as you can. We're with you, but unfortunately, in the USA, 80 pounds of apparel per American per year ends up in the landfill. Luckily, there is a superhero to the rescue. Our guest this episode, Jeff Denby, is the co-founder of a business called The Renewal Workshop that is going to take this linear model and make it circular. It partners with apparel brands to take returned and damaged clothing, clean it and repair it at a factory in Oregon, and then resell it. No matter the state the clothes are in, when they are sent to The Renewal Workshop, there is a no landfill guarantee. After this episode, we guarantee that you'll never look at clothes the same way again. For more information on The Renewal Workshop and to buy renewed clothing, go to http://www.therenewalworkshop.com/. ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Dec 9, 2016 • 34min
Ep 17: Environmental Journalism with Nick Aster (TriplePundit)
Environmental journalism is about way more than drawing ornate landscapes in your diary (although we're sure they're beautiful!). The field covers everything from John Muir's prolific writing of the American West to the stories we hear about climate change on the news. Nick Aster of TriplePundit joins us on the second episode of our Net Impact National Conference series to explain trends in environmental journalism and how he got his start with his renowned blog. ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Nov 18, 2016 • 34min
Ep 16: Sustainable Beer with Katie Wallace (New Belgium Brewing Company)
Is there a combination out there more heavenly than sustainability and beer? We certainly don't think so, and Katie Wallace of New Belgium Brewing Company agrees. She joins us on the first episode of our Net Impact National Conference series to explain how New Belgium makes such sustainable (and tasty) beer. Cheers! ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com