There’s huge power in local action. From community groups to corporate partnerships, local authorities to charity campaigns – there are thousands of people across the UK making big positive impacts in the places where they live and work. The Carbon Copy Podcast gives a louder voice to some of those amazing people: boosting hope and progress by showing what's possible.
The pod is brought to you by Carbon Copy; a UK charity inspiring more big-thinking local action for climate and nature. We build community around solutions so people can copy what’s working.
We’re looking towards a better future together that can be co-created today. Our resources serve as inspiration and are also instructive about what could be. The Carbon Copy Podcast is backed by hundreds of climate action stories and local Climate Action Plans from across the UK.
Join host Isabelle Sparrow, producer Bradley Ingham and a fascinating, eclectic mix of guests and co-hosts as we explore just how big local action can be.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There’s huge power in local action. From community groups to corporate partnerships, local authorities to charity campaigns – there are thousands of people across the UK making big positive impacts in the places where they live and work. The Carbon Copy Podcast gives a louder voice to some of those amazing people: boosting hope and progress by showing what's possible.
The pod is brought to you by Carbon Copy; a UK charity inspiring more big-thinking local action for climate and nature. We build community around solutions so people can copy what’s working.
We’re looking towards a better future together that can be co-created today. Our resources serve as inspiration and are also instructive about what could be. The Carbon Copy Podcast is backed by hundreds of climate action stories and local Climate Action Plans from across the UK.
Join host Isabelle Sparrow, producer Bradley Ingham and a fascinating, eclectic mix of guests and co-hosts as we explore just how big local action can be.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this, the final episode of the series, hosts Isabelle and Bradley are joined by author and activist Mya-Rose Craig (AKA Birdgirl) and Emma River-Roberts to discuss how to make climate and nature action truly inclusive, and why it matters. We learn about Mya-Rose's organisation Black2Nature and the work she is doing to introduce her love of the outdoors to young people of colour; and we discover how personal experience led to Emma creating the Working Class Climate Alliance, to help more people of different class backgrounds into the climate conversation.
Listen now to hear:
Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/be-more-inclusive
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We might be a quarter of the way through the 21st century, but our energy system in still stuck in the past, with distribution of power still reliant on the National Grid and few options for people to take control of their energy needs on a local level. In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, we speak to three guests who are looking to disrupt the status quo and empower people to collectively generate and use electricity within communities. We speak to artist and filmmaker Hilary Powell about her project Power Station, which saw many of the houses on her road in East London installing solar panels on their rooftops. We speak to Kayla Ente, MBE, about the work of BHESCo, which is helping communities across Brighton & Hove and beyond to decarbonise, and we meet Gareth Davies, whose organisation Aquatera led the ReFLEX Orkney project; a pioneering initiative connecting the dots between local energy generation and use on the Orkney Islands.
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Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/use-decentralised-energy
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In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast we head to Wales, to explore two fantastic examples of community hubs. Hwb y Gors is a newly opened arts and sustainability education centre in Cwmgors, Neath Port Talbot, which has been developed in an old Victiorian school building and is supporting the local community through a huge range of creative activities and wellbeing initiatives; and Tŷ Pawb is an impressive gallery, retail and event space in Wrexham, opened in 2018 and created in what was formerly a multi-storey carpark. Whilst on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of scale, both these initiatives are bringing huge positive impacts to their local area, economically, socially and environmentally.
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Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/create-a-community-hub
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The UK has some of the lowest quality and least energy efficient housing stock in Europe, and the majority of our buildings are still heated by gas fired boilers. This is despite huge hikes in fuel prices in recent years, and the introduction of subsidies for greener alternatives. For many people, low-carbon heating is inaccessible due to high upfront costs or unsuitable due to poor insulation. In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast we explore two initiatives that are helping communities to embrace low-carbon heat: Power Up North London, which has helped Caxton House in Archway to decarbonise and become a warmer more inviting space for those that use it, and the UK’s first rural heat network in Swaffham Prior.
Listen now and learn:
Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/install-low-carbon-heating
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In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, host Isabelle Sparrow is joined by Vera Zakharov, Local Action Coordinator at Sustain, to speak about food partnerships and how the Sustainable Food Places programme is supporting the creation of a better, more connected food system across the UK. We meet guests from two very different food partnerships – Martin Carle from Granite City Good Food, in Aberdeen; and Augusta Lewis from Bwyd Sir Gâr Food, the sustainable food partnership for Carmarthenshire in Wales.
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Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/create-a-food-partnership
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In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast we explore the origins and the impacts of The Carbon Literacy Project. We speak to co-founder Phil Korbel, about how and why the initiative started, and about its exponential growth over the last thirteen years. We meet Linda Foley, an experienced educator and Manchester City Councillor, who discovered Carbon Literacy in her efforts to engage more of the school community with sustainability, and who says the project is the “silver bullet” she was looking for. And we chat to Jen Gale: author, podcaster and founder of Sustainable(ish), about her journey to becoming a Carbon Literacy trainer.
Listen now to hear:
Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/engage-your-community
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In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, host Isabelle Sparrow is joined by Isabel Mack, founder of the Party Kit Network CIC, to discuss the world of possibilities offered through borrowing. Whilst most people are familiar with book libraries, there are now hundreds of initiatives across the UK (and beyond) that allow the borrowing of other items –from household appliances to sports equipment and everything in-between.
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Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/borrow-dont-buy
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In this episode of Do Something Bigger from the Carbon Copy Podcast, join host Isabelle Sparrow with guest co-host, Kiloran O’Leary from Sustain to learn how producing and eating local food can help people connect with each other and bring positive change to their communities.
Listen now to learn:
Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/produce-local-food
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In this episode of Do Something Bigger, from the Carbon Copy Podcast, hosts Isabelle Sparrow and Bradley Ingham meet three guests who are trying to improve the perception and the reality of using public transport in the UK. We hear from Michael Solomon Williams, Head of Campaigns at the Campaign for Better Transport and learn why it is still relevant in 2025, more than fifty years after the campaign was launched. We speak to Neil Barnfather, Chief Commercial Officer at GoodMaps, about how the app which began as a tool for blind and partially sighted people is now being used by people of all abilities to navigate transport terminals; and we meet Shahiesta Raja, Education Development Officer at Community Rail Lancashire, who has led a group of women to adopt Accrington rail station and become advocates for train travel in their community.
Listen now to learn:
Full transcript at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/turn-to-public-transport
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Following the UK’s driest spring on record, and England’s hottest June, this episode explores the causes of heatwaves, and what we can do to reduce the health and wellbeing impacts of extreme temperatures. We learn about the urban heat island affect with Professor Stefán Smith, Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Reading, and we look at the importance of water efficiency and soil health with Dr Laurence Couldrick, CEO at the Westcountry Rivers Trust.
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Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/prepare-for-heatwaves
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In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, we explore how sharing ownership between many people enables communities to protect valuable buildings, businesses and green spaces for the good of all. Join hosts Isabelle Sparrow and Bradley Ingham as they discuss the challenges and the benefits of raising money through a community share offer; and how three initiatives: Jubilee Farm in Northern Ireland, SOS Frome in Somerset and Fordhall Farm in Shropshire did just that.
Listen now to hear:
Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/take-community-ownership
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In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, host Isabelle Sparrow and producer Brad Ingham are joined by expert guests, Lottie Trewick, Research Analyst at nature restoration company Nattergal, and Steve Micklewright, CEO of Scottish charity Trees for Life to discuss the importance of boosting biodiversity through UK rewilding initiatives.
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Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/rewild-land
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Plastic, specifically single-use plastic, is ubiquitous in all of our lives. Food, beauty products, household items – nearly all come with in plastic bag, container or even both. In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, host Isabelle Sparrow is joined by Daniel Webb, founded and CEO of Everyday Plastic, to discuss how we can collectively reduce the 1.7 billion pieces of plastic thrown away in the UK every week. We learn about plastic-busting campaigns led by City to Sea (the organisation behind Refill), from CEO Natalie Fée, and about the challenges and of starting a plastic-free beauty brand from KinKind founder Victoria Coe.
Listen now and hear:
Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/use-less-plastic
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In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast we explore campaigns where local action is integral to national progress. We hear about We’re Right Here, the campaign for the Community Power Act. We chat to two of the campaign’s local leaders, Claude Hendrickson MBE, a diversity and inclusion expert and community housing advocate based in Leeds; and Charlotte Hollins, tenant farmer at Fordhall Farm, the UK’s first community-owned farm. We also learn about Zero Hour, the campaign for the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill. We speak to Political Communications Manager Allan Gray, who tells us about a new push for people across the UK to show their support for the bill through constituency-specific open letters. We uncover how Climate Emergency UK’s latest Council Climate Action Scorecards can be used as a lobbying tool locally and at a national level to call for better funding and support for councils to implement their climate action plans, and hear about the call for climate statutory duty for councils, which would make targets legally binding for local authorities, and could help to accelerate action across the UK.
Listen now and learn:
Full transcript available at https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/lobby-for-change
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When we think of protecting nature, we almost always think of forests, meadows, rivers and lakes – and the animals that reside in them. But nature extends way beyond the tide line. Beneath the waves there are habitats and species that not only enrich our lives, but are fundamental to them. In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast we connect the dots between the land and sea, and explore how work to restore marine ecosystems has benefits for both people and planet.
Listen to hear:
Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/protect-our-shores
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In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast we explore how switching the car for walking or cycling is a positive change that’s about so much more than climate. Join our host Isabelle Sparrow and guest co-host Izzy Romilly, Sustainable Transport Research & Campaign Manager at Possible, to learn how driving less and choosing an active lifestyle has health, air quality and economic benefits too! Hear from cycling advocates Mariam Draaijer of JoyRiders, and Katie Collier and Rosie Venner of Bike Worcester about their work helping more people, especially women and families, to choose cycling to get around. We also meet Joe Durbidge of IWGB and delve into the Hot Wheels campaign, which is calling for more support to allow couriers to choose sustainable transport options.
Listen now and discover:
Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/walk-and-cycle
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In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, host Isabelle Sparrow is rejoined by Kathryn Machin, Head of Community Engagement Campaigns at WWF UK, to explore their work and those of organisations around the UK, to help more people to spend more time in nature. We learn how Tayshan-Hayden Smith and members of his community in North Kensington have transformed previously derelict spaces into thriving gardens, and places to reflect and find solace following the Grenfell Tower tragedy; and we learn how Greening Maindee is helping people in one of the most deprived parts of Newport to reap the positive mental and physical wellbeing benefits of time spent in nature.
Listen now to hear:
Access the full episode transcript at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/create-space-for-nature
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If food waste were a country, it would be the second biggest global emitter of carbon emissions after the US and China. It’s a big environmental, economic and social problem. In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast we chat to four different guests, each with a different perspective on how to prevent good food ending up in the bin. We hear from Fiona Bell whose initiative CropDrop helps to connect alloment growers to local food projects, we meet Kate Page from Fooditude, a London-based corporate catering business that is putting sustainability right at the top of the menu. We also explore different ways to use up surplus food, from the high-end event catering provided by Open Kitchen, to the vital support offered to local community organisations by FareShare.
Listen to hear:
Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/reduce-food-waste.
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The energy transition is not just about reducing carbon emissions. Local community-generated power can bring huge benefits to communities – economic, social and environmental. In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast we chat to John Taylor from Community Energy England and Beth McAllister from Oxfordshire’s Low Carbon Hub, about the positive impact that generating energy locally can have. Listen, to hear Carbon Copy’s Isabelle Sparrow and renewable energy advocate Sonya Bedford MBE examining the different ways to get involved – regardless of your background or expertise.
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Full transcript available at: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/generate-energy-locally
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Whilst planting trees might seem like an obvious action to tackle the climate and nature crises, there’s more to reforestation than meets the eye. In this episode of Do Something Bigger, from the Carbon Copy Podcast, we meet Carl Rowlinson founder of woodland creation initiative Plant One Cornwall, who shares his story of turning a feeling of helplessness about the world into a positive and impactful county-wide project. We also hear from the aptly named Dave Wood, CEO of Bristol-Avon based Avon Needs Trees; a charity taking an innovative approach to purchasing land specifically for woodland creation and management.
Listen now to learn:
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