Sustainability Solved by Will Richardson

Will Richardson
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I am trying to change the way we work, the relationship we have our work and the world around us. We live in a complicated world with a lot of noise. But we need to be making decisions now and those decisions will have ramifications for decades. Will we always make the right decisions; no. But are we doing it for the right reasons I would like to say yes to that - speaking from my heart. This is an audible blog on what I am doing and what we as a business are doing. Some could say it is self promotion, it probably is a bit, I am trying to change the world and be a part of the solution BUT it is also my way to articulate where I am and keep a log of it for my future self and maybe others will learn from my mistakes as I am sure there will be loads!!

  1. 14h ago

    Earth's Health Check: 7 of 9 Planetary Boundaries Breached, and Why We Can Still Turn It Round

    The planet just had its annual check-up, and seven of the nine planetary boundaries that keep Earth liveable are now breached. In this episode I walk through what the 2026 Planetary Health Check actually tells us, in plain language, and what it means for business. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/9-boundaries-keep-earth-livable-weve-breached-7-of-them/ We look at CO2 hitting a record 426 parts per million, ocean acidification becoming the seventh boundary to go, and the two boundaries hiding in almost every food and packaging supply chain: fertiliser run-off and the chemicals and plastics building up in nature. Then we turn to the good news. The ozone layer is recovering, and it shows us exactly how collective action brings a boundary back. I also pick out the business signals from Climate Week NYC: China's first absolute emissions target, the green premium becoming a security premium, rising scrutiny of green claims, and why Scope 3 supplier data is still the practical headache underneath it all. If you lead sustainability, finance or marketing in a Food & Beverage or Media, Marketing & Advertising business, you'll come away with one clear action from this episode. Find out more about how I help organisations act on this at https://willsussolved.substack.com/ Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs to hear it, and tell me which boundary sits closest to your business. #PlanetaryBoundaries #Sustainability #NetZero #Scope3 #CarbonAccounting Mentioned in this episode: Keep informed on Sustainability News I'm Will Richardson, Head of Ecosystems at 51toCarbonZero and a sustainability advisor with 25 years in the field. I founded Green Element in 2004 and spent two decades building it into one of Europe's most respected sustainability consultancies before it merged with 51toCarbonZero in November 2025. Climate action is both an obligation and an opportunity, and that's the thread running through everything I write here. I co-created Compare Your Footprint, carbon accounting software recognised as a key player in the Global Carbon Accounting Software Market, and I'm a Fellow of IEMA and a Chartered Environmentalist. Each week, I break down what's actually happening in sustainability: the data, the regulation, the greenwash worth calling out, and the practical steps businesses can take right now. No jargon, no doom-mongering, just clear thinking for people who need to make real decisions. I also host the Sustainability Solved podcast with Charlie Luxton, 200+ episodes and counting, where we talk to the people building the solutions. Based in Scotland. Writing for business leaders who want sustainability to make commercial sense, not just moral sense. My Personal Substack Sponsorship For Main Podcast Podcast Advertising

  2. 2d ago

    Why I am changing the podcast (7/7)

    After more than 220 episodes, Sustainability Solved is changing. Weekly instead of monthly, with guest hosts running their own mini-series in their own fields. The final part of seven. In this episode: Seb Munden on food, drink and packaging, Ben Tolhurst on why businesses find it so difficult to speak out, Live Frankly on thinking big and small, Sophie Taysom on climate risk and insurance, and the communications reason behind every part of it. First episode of the new format on 28 September. Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle. Mentioned in this episode: Sponsorship For Main Podcast Podcast Advertising Keep informed on Sustainability News I'm Will Richardson, Head of Ecosystems at 51toCarbonZero and a sustainability advisor with 25 years in the field. I founded Green Element in 2004 and spent two decades building it into one of Europe's most respected sustainability consultancies before it merged with 51toCarbonZero in November 2025. Climate action is both an obligation and an opportunity, and that's the thread running through everything I write here. I co-created Compare Your Footprint, carbon accounting software recognised as a key player in the Global Carbon Accounting Software Market, and I'm a Fellow of IEMA and a Chartered Environmentalist. Each week, I break down what's actually happening in sustainability: the data, the regulation, the greenwash worth calling out, and the practical steps businesses can take right now. No jargon, no doom-mongering, just clear thinking for people who need to make real decisions. I also host the Sustainability Solved podcast with Charlie Luxton, 200+ episodes and counting, where we talk to the people building the solutions. Based in Scotland. Writing for business leaders who want sustainability to make commercial sense, not just moral sense. My Personal Substack

  3. 4d ago

    Data Centre Labels, Clean Power Shortfalls and 35 by 35: This Week's Sustainability Signals

    Data centres are about to get a sustainability label, and most businesses have no idea which ones they rely on. That's where this week's countdown lands, and it's the second week running they've taken the top spot. I've spent more than 25 years in sustainability, and I've rarely seen energy dominate a week the way it did during Climate Week NYC. In this video I count down the ten stories that mattered most for net zero strategy, carbon accounting and Scope 3 emissions, ranked by how often they appeared across the newsletters I read. We cover the EU's proposed mandatory labels for data centres, the COP31 push for 35% electrification by 2035 and the IEA's new special report, RE100's warning that there isn't enough clean power to buy, ISO's net zero standard failing its vote, a shrinking carbon removal market, nature disclosures doubling, food supply chains and regenerative agriculture, the final revised ESRS, Germany's 2045 fossil fuel exit and Bain's finding that 85% of consumers are worried again. Stay to the end for three facts, including one about farmland the size of Germany. Something personal to share too. From 28 September, Sustainability Solved goes weekly, after eight years of monthly episodes. One of the first guest-host series is with Dr Sophie Taysom on climate risk, property and insurance, which ties straight into this week's data centre insurance story. Worth a follow if net zero strategy is part of your day job. If your organisation wants to turn a net zero strategy into real reductions, speak to me here - https://tidycal.com/willrichardson/ssbywrpodcast30 If you advise businesses on climate and want to add carbon accounting and decarbonisation to your practice, our referral programme is here: https://www.51tocarbonzero.com/referral/ Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence, and tell me in the comments which story you'd like me to go deeper on. #Sustainability #NetZero #CarbonAccounting #DataCentres #Electrification Mentioned in this episode: Sponsorship For Main Podcast Podcast Advertising Keep informed on Sustainability News I'm Will Richardson, Head of Ecosystems at 51toCarbonZero and a sustainability advisor with 25 years in the field. I founded Green Element in 2004 and spent two decades building it into one of Europe's most respected sustainability consultancies before it merged with 51toCarbonZero in November 2025. Climate action is both an obligation and an opportunity, and that's the thread running through everything I write here. I co-created Compare Your Footprint, carbon accounting software recognised as a key player in the Global Carbon Accounting Software Market, and I'm a Fellow of IEMA and a Chartered Environmentalist. Each week, I break down what's actually happening in sustainability: the data, the regulation, the greenwash worth calling out, and the practical steps businesses can take right now. No jargon, no doom-mongering, just clear thinking for people who need to make real decisions. I also host the Sustainability Solved podcast with Charlie Luxton, 200+ episodes and counting, where we talk to the people building the solutions. Based in Scotland. Writing for business leaders who want sustainability to make commercial sense, not just moral sense. My Personal Substack

  4. 6d ago

    They told me I was not bright enough (6/7)

    I was told I did not have the academic ability to finish my masters in a year. I finished in a year, with good results. Part six of seven on why Sustainability Solved is changing format. In this episode: the one person who could say that sentence and get the result she wanted, why the messenger is half the job, and why we are going three episodes deep instead of one. Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle. Mentioned in this episode: Sponsorship For Main Podcast Podcast Advertising Keep informed on Sustainability News I'm Will Richardson, Head of Ecosystems at 51toCarbonZero and a sustainability advisor with 25 years in the field. I founded Green Element in 2004 and spent two decades building it into one of Europe's most respected sustainability consultancies before it merged with 51toCarbonZero in November 2025. Climate action is both an obligation and an opportunity, and that's the thread running through everything I write here. I co-created Compare Your Footprint, carbon accounting software recognised as a key player in the Global Carbon Accounting Software Market, and I'm a Fellow of IEMA and a Chartered Environmentalist. Each week, I break down what's actually happening in sustainability: the data, the regulation, the greenwash worth calling out, and the practical steps businesses can take right now. No jargon, no doom-mongering, just clear thinking for people who need to make real decisions. I also host the Sustainability Solved podcast with Charlie Luxton, 200+ episodes and counting, where we talk to the people building the solutions. Based in Scotland. Writing for business leaders who want sustainability to make commercial sense, not just moral sense. My Personal Substack

  5. Sep 24

    The ten minute conversation that set my career (5/7)

    A travel agent sold me a round the world ticket in ten minutes. A thesis on snowboarding in the Cairngorms quietly built the rest of my career. Part five of seven on why Sustainability Solved is changing format. In this episode: three students selling me their cities, why the best-told pitch always wins, and how to use what people are genuinely interested in. Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle. Mentioned in this episode: Sponsorship For Main Podcast Podcast Advertising Keep informed on Sustainability News I'm Will Richardson, Head of Ecosystems at 51toCarbonZero and a sustainability advisor with 25 years in the field. I founded Green Element in 2004 and spent two decades building it into one of Europe's most respected sustainability consultancies before it merged with 51toCarbonZero in November 2025. Climate action is both an obligation and an opportunity, and that's the thread running through everything I write here. I co-created Compare Your Footprint, carbon accounting software recognised as a key player in the Global Carbon Accounting Software Market, and I'm a Fellow of IEMA and a Chartered Environmentalist. Each week, I break down what's actually happening in sustainability: the data, the regulation, the greenwash worth calling out, and the practical steps businesses can take right now. No jargon, no doom-mongering, just clear thinking for people who need to make real decisions. I also host the Sustainability Solved podcast with Charlie Luxton, 200+ episodes and counting, where we talk to the people building the solutions. Based in Scotland. Writing for business leaders who want sustainability to make commercial sense, not just moral sense. My Personal Substack

  6. Sep 21

    How Sustainability Leads Are Actually Reading The Data Centre Backlash

    We spent thirty years cleaning up the air over Europe. It worked, and new analysis says it has made the warming faster. That is the fact I could not stop thinking about this week, and it is waiting for you at the end of this video. I founded Green Element in 2004 and spent twenty years helping organisations measure what they had never measured before. I have now recorded more than 220 episodes of the Sustainability Solved podcast. In all that time I am not sure I have seen a single week reshape as many assumptions as this one. Here is what we cover. Data centres are now the biggest story in energy, with Google putting 13 billion euros into Finland behind a 22-year nuclear contract, Massachusetts forcing new sites to bring their own clean power, Scotland mandating environmental impact assessments, and the US House passing the Ratepayer Protection Act by 417 votes to 3. The EPA has repealed greenhouse gas limits on coal and gas power plants, with its own projection of 123 million additional tonnes of carbon. The EU rewrote its sustainable finance and CBAM rulebooks in a single week. And research from the LSE put one week of British heat at £1.15 billion of lost output. If you run net zero strategy, carbon accounting or Scope 3 emissions at a large organisation, this is the twenty minute version of the week that would otherwise cost you a day of reading. Chapters follow the countdown from 10 to 1, then the three facts at the end. Subscribe here for my substack that whittles down over 35 years of knowledge into bitesized chunks; Will Richardson | Substack Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle, and tell me in the comments which of the three facts surprised you most. #Sustainability #NetZero #CarbonAccounting #Scope3 #DataCentres Mentioned in this episode: Sponsorship For Main Podcast Podcast Advertising Keep informed on Sustainability News I'm Will Richardson, Head of Ecosystems at 51toCarbonZero and a sustainability advisor with 25 years in the field. I founded Green Element in 2004 and spent two decades building it into one of Europe's most respected sustainability consultancies before it merged with 51toCarbonZero in November 2025. Climate action is both an obligation and an opportunity, and that's the thread running through everything I write here. I co-created Compare Your Footprint, carbon accounting software recognised as a key player in the Global Carbon Accounting Software Market, and I'm a Fellow of IEMA and a Chartered Environmentalist. Each week, I break down what's actually happening in sustainability: the data, the regulation, the greenwash worth calling out, and the practical steps businesses can take right now. No jargon, no doom-mongering, just clear thinking for people who need to make real decisions. I also host the Sustainability Solved podcast with Charlie Luxton, 200+ episodes and counting, where we talk to the people building the solutions. Based in Scotland. Writing for business leaders who want sustainability to make commercial sense, not just moral sense. My Personal Substack

  7. Sep 19

    Some people listen to some people (4/7)

    At nineteen I was offered the chance to be the youngest pub manager in the UK. I turned it down because of who told me to. Part four of seven on why Sustainability Solved is changing format. In this episode: managing staff at nineteen, the offer with the title and the money losing to the couple I actually trusted, and the sentence that is the whole reason Sustainability Solved Podcast is changing. Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle. Mentioned in this episode: Keep informed on Sustainability News I'm Will Richardson, Head of Ecosystems at 51toCarbonZero and a sustainability advisor with 25 years in the field. I founded Green Element in 2004 and spent two decades building it into one of Europe's most respected sustainability consultancies before it merged with 51toCarbonZero in November 2025. Climate action is both an obligation and an opportunity, and that's the thread running through everything I write here. I co-created Compare Your Footprint, carbon accounting software recognised as a key player in the Global Carbon Accounting Software Market, and I'm a Fellow of IEMA and a Chartered Environmentalist. Each week, I break down what's actually happening in sustainability: the data, the regulation, the greenwash worth calling out, and the practical steps businesses can take right now. No jargon, no doom-mongering, just clear thinking for people who need to make real decisions. I also host the Sustainability Solved podcast with Charlie Luxton, 200+ episodes and counting, where we talk to the people building the solutions. Based in Scotland. Writing for business leaders who want sustainability to make commercial sense, not just moral sense. My Personal Substack Sponsorship For Main Podcast Podcast Advertising

  8. Sep 16

    The chicken suit test (3/7)

    I walked into hundreds of pubs before one offered me a job, on condition I dressed up as a chicken. It is still the best lesson in communication I have ever had. Part three of seven on why Sustainability Solved is changing format. In this episode: why they tested the chicken suit and not my CV, how I was sacked repeatedly without ever being told, and why people have switched off from climate messaging. Read the written version: https://willsussolved.substack.com Subscribe for weekly sustainability intelligence that actually moves the needle. Mentioned in this episode: Keep informed on Sustainability News I'm Will Richardson, Head of Ecosystems at 51toCarbonZero and a sustainability advisor with 25 years in the field. I founded Green Element in 2004 and spent two decades building it into one of Europe's most respected sustainability consultancies before it merged with 51toCarbonZero in November 2025. Climate action is both an obligation and an opportunity, and that's the thread running through everything I write here. I co-created Compare Your Footprint, carbon accounting software recognised as a key player in the Global Carbon Accounting Software Market, and I'm a Fellow of IEMA and a Chartered Environmentalist. Each week, I break down what's actually happening in sustainability: the data, the regulation, the greenwash worth calling out, and the practical steps businesses can take right now. No jargon, no doom-mongering, just clear thinking for people who need to make real decisions. I also host the Sustainability Solved podcast with Charlie Luxton, 200+ episodes and counting, where we talk to the people building the solutions. Based in Scotland. Writing for business leaders who want sustainability to make commercial sense, not just moral sense. My Personal Substack Sponsorship For Main Podcast Podcast Advertising

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About

I am trying to change the way we work, the relationship we have our work and the world around us. We live in a complicated world with a lot of noise. But we need to be making decisions now and those decisions will have ramifications for decades. Will we always make the right decisions; no. But are we doing it for the right reasons I would like to say yes to that - speaking from my heart. This is an audible blog on what I am doing and what we as a business are doing. Some could say it is self promotion, it probably is a bit, I am trying to change the world and be a part of the solution BUT it is also my way to articulate where I am and keep a log of it for my future self and maybe others will learn from my mistakes as I am sure there will be loads!!

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