The Better Heroes podcast: exceptional human stories on social impact

Ordinary office supplies can have a value far beyond their cost and everyday use. Big organizations have whole teams tasked with procurement - the purchasing of items necessary for them to do business. If those teams take into account the social impact of the items they buy the process becomes social procurement.

The tea in your office kitchen is a great example. If it’s from NEMI Teas, it’s not just providing you with your afternoon pick me up it’s also helping a refugee find a job and integrate into society. Pranav Chopra is the founder of NEMI Teas and one of today’s Better Heroes.

Our other guests are Alexandra van der Ploeg, Head of Corporate and Social Responsibility at SAP, and Theresa Harrison, EY Global Environmental Social Governance Services Leader. Both EY and SAP have signed up to the Social Enterprise UK ‘Buy Social Corporate Challenge’ – which is a group of high-profile businesses aiming to collectively spend £1 billion with social enterprises through their procurement in the UK.

Learn more about Alexandra here. Learn more about Theresa here. Learn more about Pranav and NEMI Teas here.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Minority businesses aren't just underestimated, they're woefully underfunded. At the current pace, in the US, it will take 333 years for a minority-owned business to achieve revenue parity to their non-minority counterparts! But we can significantly reduce that timeline with support and collaboration. Ethel Torres is the CEO at National Drug Source, a pharmaceutical distribution platform that's providing safer and more secure healthcare around the world. Nit Reeder is EY Americas Markets Communications and Enablement Leader and EY Entrepreneurs Access Network Program Director. They're kicking off season 2 of Better Heroes by sharing more about why access and community matter. 

Learn more about National Drug Source here and about Nit here. 

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

What is the value of an elephant? Or of a whale, a monkey, or a wolf? What if we could create a living- based value system that accounts for the services animals provide to their environment?

This episode’s Better Hero is Walid Al Saqqaf, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Rebalance Earth. Walid’s goal is to change the way we value wildlife. His company is placing a value on the natural services provided by animals so that they’re worth far more living than dead.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

How can entrepreneurship solve the world’s toughest problems? How can public and private enterprises come together to support impactful entrepreneurs? How can we create more job opportunities and economic prosperity around the globe?

This episode’s Better Heroes are Édgar Sánchez, EY Colombia Country Managing Partner and Talent Leader, Latin America North, and Camila Escallón, Corporate Affairs and Communications Senior Manager in the Andean Region at Unilever. Led by Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and EY, TRANSFORM is a program that unites corporates, donors, investors and academics to support visionary impact enterprises.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

What do you do if you live in a rural community where jobs are scarce? Is migration to a bigger city a sufficient solution? How can we develop local economies?

This episode’s Better Hero is Sebastian Salinas, Founder and Executive Director at Balloon Latam. His goal is to work alongside rural community members to teach entrepreneurship and economic development.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

What makes a product economically and environmentally sustainable? What is a regenerative economy? What role do local artisans play in regenerative economies? How can we ensure local artisans are compensated fairly for their labor? We’ll unpack all those questions and more in this episode.

This episode’s Better Hero is Neelam Chhiber, Co-Founder and Managing Trustee at Industree Foundation and Co-Founder and Managing Director at Mother Earth. Her goal is to support local artisans in achieving economic prosperity for themselves, their families, and their communities.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Can we solve global hunger? Is there enough food on earth to support a growing population? How will climate change impact our food supply?

This episode’s Better Heroes are Rob Dongoski and Bernhard Kowatsch, Head of the UN World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

How much food gets thrown away every day? Is there another option for food waste other than a landfill? How can we turn leftovers into something incredible?

This episode’s Better Hero is Travin Singh, Founder and CEO at CRUST Group. Travin’s goal is to reduce food waste by upcycling surplus ingredients like bread, and waste like fruit peels into beer and non-alcoholic beverages.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

What is the impact of a tractor? How does access to these machines improve education, decrease child labor and increase food security? What does it mean to be an entrepreneur with purpose?

This episode’s Better Hero is Jehiel Oliver, founder and CEO of Hello Tractor. His goal is to help marginalized farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa access tractors and improve their lives.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Why is action on diversity, equity and inclusion important? What is EY doing to further equity both globally and locally? What can we all do to create a more equitable and just world?

This episode’s Better Heroes are Julie Linn Teigland, EY EMEIA Area Managing Partner, and Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Why is translation important? What role does it play in an increasingly globalized world? Why is diversity among translators critical?

This episode’s Better Hero is Nour Al Hassan, Founder and CEO of Tarjama. Her goal is to use technology and translation to empower women. 

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Do you know your rights and how to use them? What if there was an app that could teach you what your rights are and how to exercise them?

This episode’s Better Hero is Wa’il Ashshowwaf, CEO and Co-Founder at REYETS. His goal is to create equity through education.

You can listen to this podcast via most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.