Insights for a Better Workplace - Sponsored By Manutan

Why Failure Is an Option in Sustainability, with Steven Wright

Manutan — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 20:17:00 +0100

UK ceramics manufacturing sits at a crossroads: energy costs run high, electricity is five times the price of gas, and the hydrogen route to decarbonisation has gone quiet. Steven Wright, Head of Sustainability at Portmeirion Group Limited, runs health, safety, sustainability, environmental and product compliance across six brands and international operations in North America, Canada and China. He talks with Rachel Green about setting net zero targets that hold up, treating failed projects as learning, and building sustainability into procurement, operations and finance rather than one job title.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Insights for a Better Workplace

00:30 Meeting Steven Wright and his role at Portmeirion

01:21 Nine years in the business and the path into sustainability

02:31 Building a group wide sustainability strategy

03:19 Managing sustainability across six brands

04:08 Mandatory social audits for T1 suppliers

04:56 Bringing suppliers on board with change

06:22 Why non specialists carry the sustainability work

07:09 Energy, kilns and the cost of UK manufacturing

09:01 Setting net zero targets that are achievable

10:00 The business sustainability committee and pivoting from hydrogen

11:36 Committee structure and action groups

12:22 Failure as a learning tool

13:32 Collaborating across international teams and suppliers

15:59 Advice for working across countries and cultures

17:45 Making data collection meaningful, not a tick box

20:04 Packaging standards and the PPWR across markets

21:14 Card packaging, shredders and eliminating single use plastic

23:25 Where to start if you are new to sustainability

24:56 Procurement, operations and finance as focus areas

27:17 Next steps: growing UK manufacturing and kiln efficiency

28:08 Bringing Spode Christmas Tree back to the UK

29:03 Closing thoughts

You can follow Steven Wright here:

LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/steven-wright-8bba131b2

Learn more about Portmeirion Group Limited:

Website - https://portmeiriongroup.com

"I Feel Uncomfortable, I Must Be Growing": Eddie Hartley on EDI

Manutan — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0100

Most organisations can write a strong EDI strategy and host awareness days, then struggle to show what changes because of it. Eddie Hartley, Culture and Inclusion Partner at Comic Relief, argues that inclusion should be something an organisation is rather than something it does. He started in frontline retail as a volunteer at 15, spent nearly nine years at Sue Ryder managing thousands of volunteers and writing its LGBTQ+ strategy, and now runs cultural intelligence training for every person at Comic Relief. He speaks with host Rachel Green about turning lived experience into policy and measurable impact.

Chapters:

00:00 Meeting Eddie Hartley and his route into culture and inclusion

02:09 Cultural intelligence at Comic Relief and the work he leads

02:47 How frontline experience shapes his approach to people and culture

04:34 Employee voice beyond the annual engagement survey

05:40 Building fairness and consistency at scale

08:15 What cultural intelligence means and the four CQ capabilities

09:28 High and low power distance explained

13:17 Cultural intelligence in onboarding and organisation scorecards

13:54 Writing and implementing Sue Ryder's LGBTQ strategy

15:45 Embedding inclusion in culture and leadership

17:01 Leadership modelling values and network chairs as strategic enablers

18:15 Moving past the tick box: measuring real impact

19:20 The Rainbow Badge training and its metrics

20:40 Building a feedback culture

25:25 The next opportunity for culture and inclusion, and AI

27:19 Transparency, trust and the generational shift

28:25 One piece of advice: take stock and be willing to unlearn

32:15 Training platforms and accessibility lessons

35:26 "I feel uncomfortable, I must be growing"

You can follow Eddie Hartley here:

LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/eddie-hartley

Learn more about Comic Relief:

Website - https://comicrelief.com

Turning Workplace Waste Into Better Workplaces: With Helene Carpentier

Manutan — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0100

What is in your office bin tells you whether you are ordering too much, throwing away food, or buying coffee your staff would rather skip in favour of a Starbucks. Helene Carpentier, Founder of Circular Workplaces, uses waste reduction as the route to better workplaces. She spent ten years in facilities management, starting as a waste coordinator at Heathrow Airport and later working across the NHS, Barclays and CBRE, before launching her consultancy a year ago. She joins Rachel Green to explain how she supports a workplace through minimising its waste and where organisations should start.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and meeting Helene

00:53 From Heathrow waste coordinator to founder

02:45 Why waste gets left at the bottom of sustainability priorities

04:10 Using waste reduction to build better workplaces

05:22 What a bin reveals about a workplace

06:49 Food, coffee and keeping people in the office

08:19 Food pop ups and supporting local communities

09:15 A zero waste programme with a UK bank

10:26 Embedding zero waste through procurement and design

13:31 The two core services: transformation and the waste open day

16:03 Manutan's circular hub and refurbished goods

16:41 Life as a founder: the roller coaster and the people

18:28 Advice: start with procurement and pick a target

19:51 Connecting on LinkedIn and closing thoughts

You can follow Helene Carpentier here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenecarpentiercircularworkplaces/

Learn more about Circular Workplaces:

Website - https://circularworkplaces.com

Welcome to the "Insights for a Better Workplace" Podcast - Sponsored By Manutan

Manutan — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:59:52 +0100

Real-world dialogues on workplace innovation and insights to help B2B leaders build safer, smarter, and more efficient working environments., sponsored by Manutan.