Sustainability with ease and unearthing your values - with Ciaran Armstrong (Episode 25)

BusinessPodcastSustainability
Written By Sammy Phillips

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What does sustainability actually mean?

We invited a very special guest on to the podcast to answer this question and many more.

Ciaran Armstrong is co-founder of Sustainable Pathways and a sustainability trainer. Over the past 4 years he has collaborated with companies including Small Business Britain, BT Business, South Lanarkshire Council, The Glasgow Academy and Social Enterprise Scotland on projects to bring sustainability and leadership education to 1000s of SMEs, employees and young people across the UK. Always one to lead by example, and make sustainability fun and engaging, Ciaran ran the Edinburgh marathon in 2024 with the slogan ‘There’s no beer on a dead planet’ on his t-shirt in the name of climate action.

In this episode we get stuck into what sustainability actually means, why it just doesn’t refer to just the environment, and the balance and trade offs we need to consider when making decisions. This alone was SUCH a valuable lesson that I took away from this conversation and the sustainability courses that I have taken with Small Business Britain, and where I first met Ciaran (you can find out more about that on my Impact page).

Taking action and living by your values

We dived into Ciaran’s upbringing and how his parents’ charity work helped to shape his path and key values in life.

Ciaran knows a thing or two about engaging people about the current state of our planet in a way that inspires action and hope, and if you needed a great example of someone living and working through their values, he is it.

At the time of publishing this episode Ciaran is in Valencia, He was there when the storms hit and is now on the ground helping with the cleanup operation, along with a large community of volunteers in the aftermath of the floods.

We considered postponing publishing Ciaran's episode, but then we realised that now is exactly the time you should be hearing what he has to say about running a sustainable business and living by your values.

Ciaran and his rugby team have set up a campaign to raise money to help those directly affected by the floods. Donate and share if you can, even if it is 1 Euro, it all adds up: visit the gofund.me page here.

“Moving people to think, live and work sustainably with ease.”

Connect with Ciaran:

Website: https://www.sustainable-pathways.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ciaran.armstrong_/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciaran-armstrong/ 

Discover your impact, take the free Sustainable Business Benchmark assessment here: https://susnav.sustainable-pathways.com/?q=benchmark 

Some other sustainability-focused resources:

Meet your hosts

Lea Tierney wearing a warm cinnamon coloured jumper standing in a forest

LEA TIERNEY - Copywriter, A.K.A Crafter of brand stories to savour

Lea provides tone of voice, messaging and copywriting support to independent business owners all across the globe, from her little Copy Cottage in the Forest of Dean. Writing compelling stories is Lea’s happy place.

Oh, and she’s quite partial to black and white films, slow made coffee and a wee dram of whisky.

SAMMY PHILLIPS - Brand and Web Designer, A.K.A the Koh-laborative Creative

Sammy’s branding and design work is all about making sure your business becomes the stand-out choice for your dream customers.

She loves strolls by the sea with a flask of hot chocolate, a trip to her local tap room to sample the latest craft ale, and has an extensive collection of art books to draw inspiration from.

If you’d like to know when new episodes are released hit the subscribe button or follow us on LinkedIn.

Sammy Phillips https://kohlabcreative.com/
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SEO foundations and the art of getting in ‘flow’ - with Laura Edralin (Episode 22)