Ardea International Podcast

In this episode, Colleen speaks to Laetania Belai Djandam. Belai is an Indigenous environmental activist and a climate and health practitioner descending from the Dayak Ngaju and Ma'anyan Tribe of Borneo Island. She grew up surrounded by a traditional wisdom that calls for the protection of both ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ which has translated into years of activism across local, national, and international platforms.  

The Ardea International Podcast is dedicated to amplifying the voices of women within the ESG space. Through this series, we aim to showcase the stories and successes of influential women from across sectors who are driving positive change and shaping the future of sustainable business practices.  

This week’s episode features a discussion between Colleen Theron, CEO of Ardea International, and Dr. Gabriela Gutierrez-Huerter, Lecturer in International Management at King's Business School.  Dr. Gabriela Gutierrez-Huerter O, holds the position of Lecturer in International Management at King’s Business School and is recognised as a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy. Having earned her PhD from the University of Nottingham, her professional focus lies in the confluence of international business, corporate social responsibility, and comparative institutional analysis. 

Within the academic realm, Gabriela lectuers on Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics and Sustainability at the Undergraduate level, showcasing her dedication to shaping the next generation of business leaders. Her scholarly contributions have been acknowledged through publications in esteemed journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies and Research in Global Strategic Management. 

Gabriela's research is characterized by a threefold focus: the cross-national transfer and translation of organisational practices within multi-national enterprises, exploration of modern slavery and Business and Human Rights, and the intricate relationship between sustainability and Business Schools. Notably, she is an active member of OS4Future, a movement uniting organisation and management scientists committed to catalysing action on climate change through exemplary practices in research, teaching, and impact. 

Welcome to the Ardea podcast, where we spotlight trailblazing women who are driving positive change in traditionally male-dominated industries.

Today, we're thrilled to introduce you to a remarkable individual who is breaking barriers in the UK furniture industry and making waves in sustainability.

In an industry historically led by men, women are now taking the helm, and our guest today, Kate Wright, is at the forefront of this transformative movement. With a background that includes renowned brands like notonthehighstreet.com, Dunelm, The Sofa & Chair Company, and Sofa Workshop, Kate has established herself as a sustainability powerhouse.

In 2020, she took on the pivotal role of Head of Sustainable Product Development for DFS Group, encompassing DFS, Sofology, Dwell, and The Sofa Delivery Company. Under her leadership, DFS Group embarked on an ambitious journey, launching its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy, with a groundbreaking initiative known as "The Sofa Cycle."

The Sofa Cycle represents a revolutionary circularity model, meticulously dissecting every facet of the business to gain a comprehensive understanding of its environmental impact. Over the past two years, Kate and her team have worked closely with suppliers and the supply chain to construct a detailed carbon footprint model. This circularity approach examines the entire lifecycle of their products, from raw materials and manufacturing processes to global shipping, customer usage, and end-of-life considerations.

Join us as we delve into Kate Wright's incredible journey and gain insights into how she's driving sustainability and diversity in an industry traditionally resistant to change. We unpacked her innovative vision and dedication to shaping a more sustainable future.

In this episode, Colleen Theron speaks to Amelia Woodley, Executive Board Director for ESG and Member of the Board for the APPG for ESG at Speedy.  

As a first class senior sustainability leader, with nearly 20 years’ experience, she has provided the thought leadership and strategic steer for several impactful sustainability visions, policies, strategies, industry recognised management systems and reporting frameworks across multi-billion pound organisations. With this, she has delivered transformational and award-winning sustainability change across businesses and value chains. 

Colleen spoke to her to delve into her role in the company and unpack how businesses are creating an environment of sustainability, and what hurdles they are facing. Together, they delve into what is missing in the business conversation, what the future holds and how it can be effectively moved forward with Just Transition.  

Colleen also digs into what personal gains Ameila has made and what successes and challenges she has seen in her career.  

The Ardea International Podcast is dedicated to amplifying the voices of women within the ESG space. Through this series, we aim to showcase the stories and successes of influential women from across sectors who are driving positive change and shaping the future of sustainable business practices. 

This week’s episode features a discussion between Colleen Theron, CEO of Ardea International, and Lea Esterhuizen, Founder of &Wider.  

Lea Esterhuizen is a highly experienced research methodologist with a career spanning since 1996. In 2014, Lea founded &Wider, a company dedicated to making direct worker reporting a cost-effective and accessible reality for suppliers, retailers, and workers. The primary focus of &Wider is to strike a balance between worker participation and structured data, ensuring that workers can effectively communicate with interested parties. The company produces customized analytics for retailers, suppliers, and other stakeholders, with a unique emphasis on co-designing solutions with workers themselves.  

In the podcast, Colleen find out from Lea what she thinks leads to the success of a business for a decade and delves into the company itself a bit more.  

The discussion then moves to how Due Diligence and forced labour laws have shifted radically across Europe in the last few years which has led to a mixed reaction in business.  Colleen finds out whether Lea believes organisations are equipped to able to keep up with these changes, and what her own challenges are in her field.  

The Ardea International Podcast is dedicated to amplifying the voices of women within the ESG space. Through this series, we aim to showcase the stories and successes of influential women from across sectors who are driving positive change and shaping the future of sustainable business practices. 

This week’s episode features a discussion between Colleen Theron, CEO of Ardea International, and Lise Smit, Senior Research Fellow in Business and Human Rights at the British Institute for International and Comparative Law.  

Lise Smit is Senior Research Fellow in Business and Human Rights, and joined BIICL in March 2015. She conducts research on corporate human rights due diligence and other aspects of implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 

Prior to joining the Institute, Lise was a practicing advocate at the Cape Town Bar in South Africa. She has worked on business and human rights issues for the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre and the UN Global Compact Office. She was also law clerk to the Chief Justice of South Africa, Pius Langa, at the South African Constitutional Court. She has authored various publications in the area of business and human rights, including on human rights litigation against companies. 

The Ardea International Podcast is dedicated to amplifying the voices of women within the ESG space. Through this series, we aim to showcase the stories and successes of influential women from across sectors who are driving positive change and shaping the future of sustainable business practices.

This week’s episode features a discussion between Colleen Theron, CEO of Ardea International, and Dr. Minh Dang. Minh Dang is currently an independent consultant, trainer, and speaker on issues of human trafficking, leadership development, and social justice.

Dr. Minh Dang is currently an independent consultant, trainer, and speaker on issues of human trafficking, leadership development, and social justice. She provides training and technical assistance to NGOs, Universities, and government agencies across the country. Minh is a staunch advocate for survivors of child abuse and human trafficking and is developing strategies to support education, training, and leadership development for survivors. Minh recently wrote the foreword in the Survivors of Slavery. 

Minh is passionate about promoting the integration of individual and community healing. A true “love warrior,” as her friend calls her, Minh has traveled extensively telling her harrowing story of survival from child abuse and sexual slavery in the United States.

On this International Women's Day, we are thrilled to announce the second episode of our new podcast series, dedicated to amplifying the voices of women within the ESG space. Through this series, we aim to showcase the stories and successes of influential women from diverse sectors who are driving positive change and shaping the future of sustainable business practices.

This week’s episode features a discussion between Colleen Theron, CEO of Ardea International, and Rachel Barrett, a seasoned lawyer and advisor on environmental, health and safety, and sustainability issues. Rachel discusses her expertise in sustainability regulation to corporate governance and risk management and share her deep understanding of human rights standards, making this an engaging and informative conversation.

Tune in to learn more about Rachel's journey and how she's making a difference in her field.

To find out more about us, go to www.ardeainternational.com

We are delighted to introduce our new podcast series, which focuses on empowering female voices within the ESG space. Over the course of this series, we will be highlighting the stories and successes of influential women across different sectors. Listeners can look forward to hearing about everyone's journeys, as well as how their endeavours have shaped impact within their fields.

This week’s episode showcases a discussion between Colleen Theron, CEO of Ardea International, and Andrea Florence, Director of Sport and Rights Alliance. In this conversation, we explored her passion for addressing human rights, her career progress and reflections surrounding World Cup 2022 as well as delving into current challenges to sports and human rights on a global scale.

Each year, the International Day of Sports for Development and Peace takes place on 6 April. The day represents an opportunity to recognise the positive role sports and physical activity plays in communities and in people’s lives across the globe.

In celebration of the day and the positive role of sports and its intersection with human rights, we sat down with Gordon Miller, founder & team leader at Ride For Freedom, a movement that harnesses the universal appeal of cycling to raise awareness, educate and forge partnerships to end modern slavery and provide remedy to survivors through its Freewheel programme.

In this episode we discuss how sport is able to contribute to the advancement of human rights locally and globally. We further explore how sports clubs, sportspersons and other stakeholders can show a collective voice to encourage governments to pass laws to protect the vulnerable and marginalised in society, and how Ride For Freedom’s advocacy supercharges the agenda.

We also hear about the impactful Ride For Freedom German Bundesliga Cycle Tour 2022 that raised awareness of modern slavery and specifically human trafficking in football.

#Training: Does your organisation have to set out the steps it is taking to address modern slavery risk under the UK Modern Slavery Act reporting requirements? This training and support programme will help you adhere to your reporting requirements and de-risk your supply chain from modern slavery without extensive costs. Register here [https://www.ardeainternational.com/education/sports-sector-pilot-modern-slavery-programme/] 

Today, Tuesday 8 March 2022, is International Women’s Day, a global day which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year’s theme is #breakthebias, a call to action for all to challenge gender bias, discrimination and stereotyping wherever it arises.

In today’s launch podcast, Colleen Theron, CEO Ardea International, a tri-qualified lawyer and a champion of human and women’s rights, introduces her role and talks about how Ardea supports organisations to address business and human rights and modern slavery.

Ardea International, as a niche sustainability, business and human rights business consultancy, have an innate commitment and passion to the fight against human rights abuses which is why we have published a Modern Slavery Statement in 2021 [https://www.ardeainternational.com/about/ardea-international-2021-modern-slavery-statement/] 

To learn about how to integrate modern slavery risk into your procurement process and understand what is meant by 'sustainable procurement', enquire now about our upcoming course [https://www.ardeainternational.com/education/sustainable-procurement-integrating-modern-slavery-risk/].