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What does it take for a business to be genuinely good for its people, its community and the planet, and how can it keep getting better?

On this episode of Earth Your While, Jack and Ellie meet Laura Slack, founder of Planet & Purpose, a UK-based B Corp and impact consultancy. After 15 years in the police, Laura found a new way to help people: supporting purpose-driven businesses with B Corp certification and impact strategy.

B Corp standards have changed, bringing a stronger focus on meeting requirements across impact areas and continuing to improve after certification. Laura explains what the process involves, why it takes commitment from across a business, and how it can help embed purpose into everyday decisions. She also shares why profit and purpose can go hand in hand, and what businesses stand to gain by changing how they operate.

Topics covered include:

• Laura’s journey from police detective to impact consultant
• What B Corp certification involves and how it helps businesses improve
• How the new standards strengthen accountability and ongoing progress
• The time, cost and commitment required to become and remain certified
• How to embed purpose into business culture and everyday decisions
• Why purpose and profit can support long-term business success

Music by Stock_Studio from Pixabay.

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Cardboard boxes protect products on their way to us, but many are crushed and recycled after just one use. What if more of them could be used again?

On this episode of Earth Your While, Jack and Ellie meet Marty Metro, founder and CEO of UsedCardboardBoxes.com, the US counterpart to Reuseabox. Marty has spent more than two decades building a business around a deceptively simple idea: match the boxes one company no longer needs with another company that can use them.

The challenge is making reuse work at scale. Boxes vary in size, quality and quantity, and the right supply has to meet the right customer in the right place at the right time. Marty shares how technology helps solve that puzzle, how his early venture nearly sank, and what it takes to turn a promising idea into a growing business.

Topics covered include:

• Why so many usable boxes are crushed after a single trip
• How UsedCardboardBoxes.com connects box suppliers with businesses that need them
• The surprising logistics behind making reuse work at scale
• Marty’s journey from an early business setback to building a company with nearly 200 employees
• Why execution, adaptability and hiring the right people matter
• How businesses can make reuse easier to adopt alongside new packaging

Music by Stock_Studio from Pixabay.

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What if a gift card could do more than give someone a choice of present - it could introduce them to brands doing business better?

On Earth Your While, Jack and Ellie speak with Paul Zhu, co-founder and CTO of EcoSwap, a multi-store digital gift card featuring sustainable brands. Paul explains how his experience in engineering and an earlier startup led him to focus on shifting consumer behaviour, and why he sees gifting as a way to direct demand toward businesses with better practices.

Topics covered include:

• The surprising scale of the gift-card market-and the money left unspent
• Can a sustainable gift card really change what people buy?
• How EcoSwap chooses better brands without expecting perfection
• Why being "eco" isn't enough: making sustainable shopping cool
• The persistence it takes to win over big-name brands
• Can we build a thriving economy within planetary boundaries?

Music by Stock_Studio from Pixabay.