The power of conversation is pretty amazing. Learning something new. Understanding a complex issue. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Asking difficult questions. Changing our perceptions.
One thing the pandemic has taught us, is how important it is to talk. And that’s exactly what we do in The Green Room, our flagship podcast which asks the big questions about the world around us.
If you’ve been following us for a little while, you’ll know that our main goal has always been to create interesting and provocative conversations on the issues that matter to us all – not just as a business, but more importantly as people.
Since then, we’ve released four seasons, with 30 hours’ worth of interviews from close to 60 different guests. That’s 30+ episodes, and quite a few entertaining icebreakers. We even started a blog and won a few awards too. And we’ve learnt a lot along the way.
The Green Room’s top topics this year
Here are some wonderfully interesting and complex issues we’ve tackled in The Green Room over the past twelve months – from electric vehicles to financial inclusion.
- The future of our planet
Climate change has understandably taken up a big part of our conversations this year. We’ve been lucky enough to count on some fantastic guests to keep us positive about the future ahead, including Colin Butfield, executive director of the popular Our Planet series on Netflix. Alongside Siobhan Gardiner, our in-house climate tech expert, we explored just how much we can gain from a more sustainable future – thanks to technology.
On a more practical note, we also asked ourselves whether our next car should be electric – and discussed the pros and cons of what’s being hailed as a key step in our journey to net zero. All with a little help from Daksh Gupta from Marshall Motor Group and our very own head of electric vehicles, Jamie Hamilton.
- Making sure everyone’s included
It seems like respect and inclusion is on everyone’s lips these days. And what’s the best way to understand different perspectives? You guessed it – talking about it. That’s exactly what we did when we invited Sandra Kerr, the race director of Business in the Community to provide an insight into what it’s like to be Black in Britain today. We loved learning from her and David Wallis, a partner who played a big part in shaping our Black Action Plan.
Another topic we found fascinating to delve into was financial inclusion. We couldn’t have asked for better guests to better understand if the way we bank leaves some people behind – Jill Jackson from The Big Exchange and Lucy Traynor, our Better Banking lead.
- The fundamentals of doing business
We all know that doing business is about much more than just making money. But how do you get it right? It was a pleasure hosting Natalie Campbell from social enterprise Belu Water alongside Claire Burton, our head of responsible business, to confirm that being a responsible business is becoming an integral part of who a company really is.
It was equally fascinating listening to Tony Danker from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Baroness Ford from our Audit Governance Board talk about trust in business and what it means to them. Spoiler alert: it’s more about feeling and less about facts, and telling the truth is at the heart of it all.
And so much more…
We explored what makes a great brand with our chief marketing officer, learnt how to perform at our best from Britain’s most successful female Olympian, and wondered what travel might look like going forward in the company of a travel journalist.
And over on our blog, co-host Lizzie penned a personal post on what she learnt from meeting said Olympian champion, we asked David Wallis to reflect on what it was like to talk about Black Britishness on his very first podcast, and we also shared our seven favourite planet-saving resources to check out.
These are just some of our highlights. If we’re still going strong, it’s because of the people who’ve supported us along the way – our fantastic studio, our creative production team, and most of all our listeners. So, whether you’ve been there from the start or are new to the show, thank you for being part of The Green Room.
Contact:
Tiffany De Koninck, creative content manager
+44 20 7007 5625 | Email Tiffany