In the last of her four discussions with writer and consultant on responsible business Tom Levitt, Linda Lewis probes further into what it means to be a responsible and sustainable business in the 21st century. The two discuss what it is that engages employees within a business setting, the growing phenomenon of “social enterprise”, and how such businesses differ from the mainstream. The role of “purpose” in business is explored; as is the changing nature of investment, which is increasingly being used to support businesses in creating positive social and environmental outcomes. The discussion is further explored from a historical perspective – what can we learn from hindsight that could improve business today?
Guests: Tom Levitt
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Linda Lewis and former Labour MP Tom Levitt are back for their third discussion in a series inspired by Tom’s latest book, ‘The Company Citizen: Good for Business, Planet, Nation and Community’. In this episode, they discuss how business can be a force for good both in combating hunger and in the better management of resources through the “circular economy”. Tom shares how he came to write the book, why engaging with smaller businesses is crucial to the cause and how Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, has emerged as a leader of the responsible and sustainable business movement.
Guests: Tom Levitt
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Original Broadcast: Share Radio Morning
It's time for a brand-new episode of Company Casebook with Linda Lewis. This week Linda looks at Kafoodle - a firm run by two women that has designed a food app for people with allergies. First things first, Linda meets the founders Kim Antoniou and Tarryn Gorre.
Guests: Kim Antoniou,Tarryn Gorre
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Linda meets the team at GapCap, an easy, fast and flexible cashflow solution, facilitating growth for SMEs, by providing capital to fund the gap between what companies are selling and the day the money arrives in the bank
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Linda Lewis meets HEMA, a retail institution in the Netherlands that encompasses food, beauty, interiors, children's and more. All created by Dutch designers from HEMA, they have just opened their 7th store in the UK and Linda finds out why they are not put off by Brexit
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This week, Linda Lewis speaks to the founder of Jardine of London, Mary Jardine. Mary is a former model agency boss who is on a quest to produce her own luxury handbag company, creating and designing products in Britain that she aims to rival other luxury handbags on the market.
Guests: Mary Jardine
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Bio-Bean have opened a factory in Cambridgeshire to process waste coffee grounds and are busy turning tonnes of it into sustainable fuels. Their latest product is Logs, made from compressed coffee. Founder and chief executive Arthur Kay, who guides Linda Lewis through the process of converting coffee beans into fuel. He also explains how the company has already won a string of awards, including the first prize in Sir Richard Branson's annual VOOM competition.
Guests: Arthur Kay
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BillHub is a fin tech company that provides a platform for sending, spending and managing household bills between housemates. Bill payers can also take photos of their bills using a mobile phone and upload them to the hub. Founder James Harrison meets Linda Lewis and explains how the company aims to provide a product for the ‘generation rent’. BillHub, he says, aim to be transparent, safe and secure product for all.
Guests: James Harrison
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Pockit is a Digital bank alternative for low income, under served bank consumers in the UK. They've already got over 60,000 customers and are processing more than a quarter of a million transactions every month. Linda Lewis meets its founder, Virraj Jatania, who explains how the company works, how it was set up and their company values.
Guests: Virraj Jatania
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Linda Lewis meets Simon Gosling, Managing Director of Energy Net, a conference company which has been producing events and investment summits for Africa for nearly 20 years. Simon explains his latest initiative, Off the Grid Club, which aims to connect poor areas of Africa to the electricity grid. Linda also meets the supporters and founder members, taking part in the Off the Grid Club, such as the Solar Turtle Company.
Guests: Simon Gosling
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