This British Harry Thinks Nature is Serious Business

Today we cross the pond and speak with Harry Wright, Founder of Bright Tide, a UK-based consultancy helping businesses achieve their milestones and sustainability goals through hackathons, accelerator programs, and advisement. 

Harry is particularly interested in fostering the nascent blue carbon market where carbon sequestration can be much more impactful, but where it’s notoriously hard to measure. His current accelerator cohort is focusing on cracking that nut.

In this episodes we hear:

• Why Harry left the practice of law to focus on nature positive business 
• How policy for the climate and impact business is evolving in the UK faced with BREXIT, a new Prime Minister and a new Head of State
• What is Natural Capital 
• How nature can bounce back if we let it 
• How Harry plans on accelerating the blue carbon agenda in the UK and beyond

In the short time since he left his law practice to focus on Bright Tide, Harry has helped dozens of startups get to the next level and advised many established corporates on how to be pro-nature and truly sustainable. His is also a story of personal drive to make the planet a happier one.

UNDP Sustainability Goals
Bright Tide
Harry Wright

Transcript

INTRO:

HOST VO: Welcome to Happy Planet where we speak with entrepreneurs, investors, and thought leaders driving the impact economy. I am your host Abigail Carroll. 

Today we’re crossing the pond to the United Kingdom to hear from Harry Wright of Bright Tide how capitalism and sustainability can work hand in hand. Harry’s London-based consultancy is helping businesses make climate change and biodiversity a strategic priority with consideration for ESG data, which stands for environmental, social, and governance factors. 

We’ll talk about climate regulations and blue economy opportunities in the UK. We hone in on investable opportunities surrounding blue carbon, meaning carbon that is stored in coastal or marine ecosystems. Harry also makes an argument for treating nature as a critical part of our economy and breaks down the ideas of natural capital and ecosystem services. 

Abigail (00:00):

Okay. Um, welcome to the podcast, Harry.

Harry (00:03):

Thank you, Abigail. It's a pleasure to be with you today,

Abigail (01:03):

Harry, tell me what you do at Bright Tide.

Harry (01:07):

- We are a sustainability based consultancy company, uh, based in London. And the work we do really is firstly advising the private sector on the risks, uh, around climate change and biodiversity loss, and talking about the new emerging markets in the ocean and green economy. And then we also do a lot of work on the opportunity side, so as well as advising companies on the risks of not taking action on climate and biodiversity loss. We also then run programs where we connect them to investable opportunities or opportunities where they can fit in their supply chain, help 'em on their net zero journey, and also help them to become, uh, this new term nature positive. So it's a bit of a advisory, uh, connecting and, and really bit of strategy, really helping companies figure out what all of this new noise and, uh, momentum is around nature and biodiversity.

Abigail (02:10):

So, I'm interested in this also, cuz you're a UK company. I feel like Europe's been way ahead of the United States. How is the UK doing on these issues w

Harry (02:27):

So UK is doing, doing quite a lot on, on climate and on biodiversity. We have a initiative called the Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosure, which is now mandatory for some of the largest companies, public listed companies here in the UK where companies now have to really disclose, uh, what they're doing around climate and also talking about the opportunities as well as risks. There's also a lot of case law, which is changing. Um, but perhaps the biggest change for us here in the UK compared to our European friends has been been, uh, Brexit and the Environment, new Environment Bill, which is passing through governments at the moment, and really disentangling all of the environmental regulations and directors from the EU, uh, into, um, into the UK now as we are no longer part of the eu. But the EU has been doing some, you know, fascinating work in this field.

Harry (03:19):

I think they're really pioneering a huge amount on corporate reporting, sustainability based reporting. You've got the taxonomy legislation, uh, the new EU restoration law, which is very exciting, where member states have to restore, I think, up to 25% of, uh, of their country rewilding restoring ecosystems. So it's a, it is a very exciting time. And, um, we are, the UK is also doing a lot of work on, on biodiversity. We had the HM Treasury DAB Bookstore review. Uh, we have the new task force of nature related financial disclosure, which is, uh, a task force similar to the climate related task force, where companies will hopefully have to disclose what they're doing on nature, uh, in time to come as well. So yeah, a a a lot is going on. Uh, and, you know, there's a lot of interest. We had Cop 26 in Glasgow, obviously, uh, this time last year. We've had COP 27. We've just had COP 15 in Montreal. So, so companies are really trying to, I think, get up to speed and, and really think about next year in terms of implementing both climate and biodiversity strategies and also thinking about disclosure requirements and changing, uh, frameworks and, and reporting. So there's, I think there's a lot to it. I think sustainability teams are, uh, very busy at the moment.

Abigail (04:36):

Well, I would think that, especially in the UK, uh, this would be a very challenging time. You have been through Brexit, three prime ministers and two heads of state in since 2020. And so there must be a lot of confusion are, you know, right. So right now you have a new king and, um, hopefully a prime Minister that will be around for a little while. Is, does this feel like a good climate for the climate

Harry (05:04):

<laugh>? Well, <laugh>, it's been, it's been rather unstable. It's probably the politest term of putting it here in the UK ever since. Yeah, ever since, really, since Brexit really, 

Harry (05:46):

And I, I think for us, and the changing, you know, geopolitics around the world where the UK fits in with this sort of climate story, but also as a wider international player on so many different challenging issues, is something which we are still, I think coming to terms with. But obviously with all those challenges, there are obviously huge opportunities.

Harry (06:39):

And I, I think, I do think that the government and the private sector, and this is where the government sometimes is quite slow to act and may, uh, may not be, you know, doing as much as they can. when it comes to climate and biodiversity, never has there been such an interest and ambition for companies to take action and to, to really accelerate solutions, uh, to net zero and to become nature positive. 

Abigail (09:45):

so you have some, you know, legitimate insights into the policy part of this, and you've got the experience working with the company, so it seems like you're in a pretty good role, um, or situation to, to be helpful on that policy making.

Harry (10:07):

you're right. I mean, so the good thing about having a legal background is, um, you know, you are trained to advise clients on certain legal specific issues. So I, I, I play that advisory role, uh, quite a lot with some of the clients I work with. it's really important that civil society and groups as well are able to push government, remind them of priorities, and make them aware of certain issues as well. 

Abigail (07:40): 

you seem to be very engaged with the Parliament. So are you trying to kind of help the government understand what's really at risk here? Are you, you know, it seems like you have a voice, uh, and you're, you're trying to use it. W how, how do you see your role there?

Harry (08:02):

Yeah, so I, I really, I really enjoy going to the, the House of Commons when, when I, when I have the opportunity. I've been attending quite a few of the, the NetZero all party parliamentary groups, which are fantastic, uh, meetings, really where industry parliamentarians and civil society can come together and really discuss a, uh, a policy requirement. So, for example, I was recently, there for we were discussing regenerative farming and how, um, you know, new legislation called elms, which is the Environmental Land Management Scheme, uh, will pay farmers to restore or re-wild part of their land. But, so these are, these are great opportunities to, to really understand how the political process works. 

Harry (09:00):

Um, and I've been doing, doing a lot of work on blue carbon at the moment, uh, as well, and trying to get, um, the UK government to really see blue carbon as something worth pursuing, uh, worth, you know, looking at ecosystems for such as sea grass or salt marshes, and seeing them as something valuable and something which is going to help the country on its own net zero journey, but also provide jobs, you know, provide opportunities and restore, uh, biodiversity. So it's a really, it's a really important part of the work I do, and especially with the private sector, our clients there as well, and the startups that we work with. And it's all a case of really joining the dots, I think, between innovation, you know, finance and regulatory frameworks and pushing everything in the right direction. Yeah,

Abigail (11:16):

So, uh, king Charles has a history of being an environmentalist. Is, is his sort of reign gonna be a helpful push in the right direction, do you

Harry (11:24):

Think? I really hope so, yes. Yeah, king Charles has, uh, has been a, such a, an inspiration really in terms of, you know, he was talking about sustainability decades ago when, when it wasn't, uh, such a, you know, such a thing. So he's done an awful amount of work. He's also galvanized a lot of the private sector, um, as well through his sustainable markets initiative and the terracotta initiative that he's part of. So he's a, he's a, he's a real role model when it comes to, uh, sustainability, and I hope that he can play a role. Um, obviously now he's king. He has, uh, uh, obviously responsibilities, uh, with government as head of our state as well. So I think he's stepping down from some of his duties. But his, his son, prince Williams, you know, is also a massive passionate, um, advocate for the environment through the Earth shop prize and all the work he's doing. So, uh, yes, it's, it's really good to have, uh, him there. So I hope we can continue to do good things.

Abigail (12:23):

Um, you mentioned Blue Carbon earlier, and it sounds like there's some movement on the blue carbon space in the uk. We just saw that Japan has just created a whole policy framework for measuring and verifying blue carbon from seaweed projects. What's the UK doing in that space right now, or what are they considering? 

Harry (12:52):

So, so here in the uk we have lost, um, if we take Seagrass as one of our blue carbon ecosystems, we've lost 93% of our seagrass since about 1930. Wow. So we, on, on environmental matters, uh, you know, the UK is actually one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. So historically, we've, we've destroyed a lot of our ecosystems, uh, which is part of the reason why I'm so passionate about this. 

Harry (13:38):

Part of the problem is, is actually comes down to sort of three things.     I think first of all, is actually mapping out with what blue carbon ecosystems we have left, whether that's salt marshes or seagrass, or even kelp to an extent. There's, there's still a lot of kelp for us here. Secondly, is actually how do we actually measure the, the carbon if we take a per hectare approach, right. And then obviously monitoring as well. And I think, um, when it comes to monitoring is really important, is actually protecting these, these ecosystems. So, you know, seagrass is very susceptible to, to trawling, to dredging, to, um, even to boats when they put their anchor, you know, and, and let their anchor go to the bottom of the ocean, that can really damage seagrass

Abigail (14:16):

And seagrass is important for the whole biodiversity.

Harry (14:20):

It, it's, it is fundamentally right. Yeah. It's a fantastic, uh, ecosystem. Uh, it's a, it, it sequesters carbon, it stores the carbon. It is a really important, uh, habitat for many different species, including seahorses, which we still have here in the uk. Um, and Oh yeah, which is really cool. And, and, and it, and it harbors biodiversity. So in terms of fisheries, it can really regenerate fish stocks. Part of the thing Abigail go is that, you know, nature, if we, if we leave nature alone and we can, we can protect and, you know, marine protected areas, nature can bounce back. And that's one of the beauties of marine conservation and having things like marine protected areas, is that if we just leave it alone, it will bounce back. So we have these sustainable assets as such, which provide us with, with so much. And, and that is the, the argument, the economic argument I think we have to make is that these are economic assets which provide us with food, help us sequester carbon, provide us with jobs, and that is why we shouldn't be destroying them.

Abigail (15:23):

Right. Uh, it makes, you said, talk about nature bouncing back. And it reminded me of some of those videos that we saw of Venice and, uh, some, and Paris and these other places during Covid, when we all just went back to our houses. Nature, nature blossomed again. And it, you know, in ama in a very short timeframe. So I think that makes me feel optimistic a little bit about what we can do.

Harry (15:48):

Oh, absolutely. It wasn't that extraordinary. I remember it was in, uh, in Venice, the, uh, dolphins coming back, dolphins, dolphins coming back. And it was that, that just goes to show that, you know, if you, if you give nature the breathing space, it needs all of these incredible species, flora and fauna will come back. And that's why, uh, a casing example of this is, uh, the UK has now rewilded the beaver. The beaver was a traditional species here, and went extinct around 400 years ago, but I think about a decade ago, we, we started, um, bringing back beavers. I'm from Devon. So in, in the River Otter, they had a pair of beavers, and I think there's over 40 of them now, but Oh wow. Was so amazing about this, is that the, the river otter, you, the, the beavers have brought ecological and environmental benefits back to the river.

Harry (16:40):

So the, the river, there's been a study, I think by Exeter University showed that species are coming back because of that one species the beaver has, has, you know, purifies the water, brings back other species and brings in tourism. There are so many beaver watches now who want to go and see these incredible species. And, uh, and, and this is the, you know, the, the nice side of the work we do is to, the visual side is to, to see ecosystems coming back and, and the, the purpose and the illustration of what you can do.

Abigail (17:21):

We had a, we had a sort of motto on my oyster farm. Nature works well when you let it, like the less we interfered with the growth cycle of these oysters, the more beautiful they grew and the better they grew and the, um, and the better adapted they were to their environment. 

Abigail (19:13):

Yeah. So you've run a number of accelerators. Uh, you just, uh, finished a blue economy, a blue Tech one, and, uh, and you are now initiating a blue carbon accelerator. tell me how it's going and, and, uh, why did you decide to tackle that right now?

Harry (19:41):

Well, it's going, it's going, it's been so interesting. And we launched the, uh, applications just a month ago, and we've already had some extraordinary, uh, companies and, uh, marine projects, uh, sign up. So the reason I wanted to do blue carbon is that when, when I looked at the market and actually through the experience of working with the, you know, the ventures on the first program, there is a gigantic demand, uh, uh, for blue carbon credits and from the private sector to buy blue carbon credits. The problem is, is that there's a lack of supply. And if you take, yeah, the, and there's a number of reasons for that, is that, um, blue carbon ecosystems are, are probably more complicated, I would say they're more terrestrial natural capital, um, ecosystems like peatland or forests, for example. And, and the oceans are very misunderstood. If you, if you take the SDGs, you know, the ocean SDG 14, which is life below water is the least funded of all of the SDGs.

Harry (43:01):

Yeah, so the SDG are the Sustainable Development Goals. So they are, um, 17 global goals, which were, which came from, I think, the Millennium Falcon goals, uh, by the UN. So they're 17 principles, which, basically they are our guiding principles, which cover everything from gender equality to climate action to life below water, which is oceans to sustainable cities, uh, healthcare. So really all of the, the social challenges, which, uh, humans are faced with the SDGs are our guiding principles that by 2030, we hope to really alleviate, uh, and solve all of these different issues. So they're, they're, they're a really good framework to, to look at. Um, they also have outcomes and indicators as well. And as I mentioned, the one which is the least funded and the least supported is, is tragically the life below Water SDG 14. 

Harry (20:40):

I find that statistic phenomenal. You know, the ocean covers 71% of all our planet. It sequesters half our carbon. It, you know, has a huge role to play in regulating our climate, our temperature, providing fish to 3 billion people, the ability to breathe, <laugh> ability to breathe. That's a pretty big one, isn't it? You know, we couldn't breathe without the ocean <laugh>. Uh, and then the ocean also contains these incredible ecosystems like sea grass and kelp, and, you know, uh, salt marshes and mangroves and mangroves, I think sequestered 40 times more carbon than trees do. So the way in which I'm looking at blue carbon is, is not only just for a, you know, an economic opportunity is an opportunity, again, to try and change the paradigm, to try and change the narrative. Yeah. By saying to governments and saying to policy makers and to the private sector, here is the opportunity. 

Harry (21:32):

We need finance, first of all, to help community-based projects understand the carbon output of their ecosystems. Um, help them set up, you know, the frameworks that they need, the measurement frameworks they need, whether that's on the voluntary carbon market or even more, uh, difficult is actually getting verification for a lot of these, uh, blue carbon ecosystems. But actually, you know, portraying these ecosystems as something valuable, as something worth saving. Because my fear at the moment is that we're losing things at such an ex, you know, such an accelerated pace that un unless we are able to see these things as something valuable and worth saving, we won't have any seagrass ecosystems left in, in a couple of decades. And that would be a global tragedy, especially for the island communities that, you know, depend on these ecosystems to survive. So the, the aim and design of the program is to connect both community-based, um, blue carbon projects, wherever that's mangroves or seagrass is really, is the main two with technology ventures.

Harry (22:37):

And there's a, there's some really exciting innovation going on to try and help, um, natural capital projects really understand the measurements, you know, monitoring, uh, of blue carbon, bringing them together, creating, uh, a growing ecosystem, a level of awareness and understanding and working with our corporate partners as well to inspire them, uh, through the stories that, you know, these, these communities are telling. Um, you know, looking at the additional benefits, not just carbon, but also on biodiversity, jobs creation, gender equality, uh, a lot of these different SDGs. Uh, and then providing a program of actual support, whether that's kind of legal support through our legal partner, um, regulatory support, um, investment readiness, mentoring, and really growing and accelerating the, the market that way. But, but also to really understand in more detail, what are the challenges, you know, why has this market not been able to grow to its huge potential that it, that it can.

Harry (23:35):

So by the end of the program, not only will we be providing, you know, valuable support and connecting these entrepreneurs to our private sector partners and networks, I really want to have at the end of this program a real understanding of, of how we can actually, grow this market in a way which is equitable, which is transparent, which is legitimate, and can build trust and confidence with the private sector, as well as ensuring that any proceeds go directly back to the communities that depend on these ecosystems for their livelihood. Um, at the end of the day, we have to protect the custodians and the indigenous communities that really have the rights to these ecosystems. And that part of my work is, is really important as well. 

VO: We’ll be back with more Happy Planet in just a minute. 

BREAK: Spark no 9 & maine Venture fund. 

VO: Welcome back to Happy Planet. 

Abigail (24:24):

For sure. Um, uh, you mentioned the word natural capital. This is a, a term that I've been hearing a little bit lately. Can you expand on that a little bit and tell listeners what that means and why we care?

Harry (24:37):

So, natural capital, it, it really defines, uh, nature and ecosystems that have a, uh, let's say a, uh, an economic value. So it's, if we take, um, probably the easiest example, is you see a lot of tree planting going on, trees can sequester carbon that gives the tree a, you know, a carbon, uh, value cuz they can store or sequester certain, you know, tonnage of carbon. You can then generate carbon credits so companies can pay to offset their emissions against purchasing, uh, these, these carbon credits. And then they can trade those carbon credits. So, uh, forests and terrestrial landscapes, the same principle is to peatlands as well. We have a lot of those in Scotland. So that, that, that is, uh, a natural ecosystem that has an economic value. There is also another term, which you may have heard is called ecosystem services. So these ecosystems provide us with a lot of services, which we have taken for granted really historically, and we haven't really valued.

Harry (25:34):

So if you think about soil, you know, it's a very valuable ecosystem service. It purifies water, it's very important for crops and for farming. If you take a, a bumblebee, you know, or pollinators, 90% of all, I think all our food and crop types require rely on pollinators to pollinate and to really look after our agricultural, uh, systems. Um, mangroves is a really amazing example of an ecosystem service. They provide, uh, biodiversity, but also they are our natural insurance and barrier against climate change related risks. So natural capital is really valuing ecosystems for their value to us really, and putting a value on that and to try and drive new economic markets to bring money into protecting and preserving these ecosystems, uh, so we can continue to rely on them, uh, as much as we do.

Abigail (26:30):

Very interesting. So tell me a little bit about some of these projects you're seeing. What, what are some of the technologies or projects that you're really excited about that you think could be game changers? 

Harry (26:41):

Yeah, so we've seeing some really cool underwater robotic companies, uh, which are really interesting. So, uh, underwater drones, which can help us, uh, you know, better map out blue carbon ecosystems underwater. There's, uh, a lot of exciting companies using things like remote sensing and satellite technology as well to help us map out these, where these ecosystems are. There are also, uh, different ventures which are doing the monitoring part. So, uh, we've had a few applications in from, um, unscrewed autonomous marine vehicles, which are run on solar energy or wave energy, and they will sort of sit Wow. Yeah. Really amazing. They'll sort of sit on the, on the surface of the ocean. And using technology like underwater cameras, they can again, monitor and pick up data. Data is really important in the ocean, as you know. We are, we have very little data really on, on ocean ecosystems.

Harry (27:38):

And that data is also really important in monitoring carbon over time as well to avoid things like, um, carbon leakage, double counting as well, uh, to help build trust and confidence with buyers. So, um, there's also this amazing business called Whale Seeker, uh, which is a Canadian run business, one of my favorites. They're doing extraordinary work in using satellite technology, remote sensing to, um, to help shipping companies understand where whales are on their migratory roots and to, um, help ship captains avoid, uh, collisions with whales and, and they're also looking at the, uh, how whales can sequester carbon and trying to build a market mm-hmm. <affirmative> in, uh, in, in biodiversity credits. I think it is for, for the, the carbon value that whales have. And this follows a lot of work through one of my favorite people in this field, uh, Dr. Ralph Chk from the IMF, who's done some extraordinary work on the valuation of ecosystems and valuation of, of the whale itself as well. Uh, so yeah, there's, there's some really exciting, uh, work going on. And, um, the exciting thing is to able to connect these new emerging technologies to the island community groups as well, where they can, you know, they can, these technology companies can really help provide those services that we need to build the understanding, you know, the monitoring, the measuring, uh, and the mapping of the blue carbon as well.

Abigail (29:08):

Uh, right, right. Because they're the people, you know, immediately most immediately hit by, uh, by our capitalistic behavior <laugh>, I would say. But I, I love how we put it in a, we put nature in a capitalistic term, like we, we wrap it up in a market understanding to help people understand the value of it. I think it's, it makes a lot of sense. I feel like it's very easy to look at nature as something else and not part of our, you know, one, it's, it's easy to think of ourselves as not part of nature, but two, it's easy to think of nature as not part of the economy, but it is.

Harry (29:46):

Absolutely. Yeah. In, in fact, over half of the global economy is highly or moderately dependent on nature for its future survival. I think the economic term is $43 trillion worth of the global economy relies on nature. So without nature, that's an amazing, they won't be in the global economy. So it's, it's fundamental to business. And, and this is, you know, Abigail, this is part of the narrative, which we, which, you know, because I've had experience, I've set up a conservation ngo, I love working with researchers. I understand the complexity of research and conservation, but at the same time, I understand the private sector as well. And I think one of our failures has been unable to speak the same language and to build this symbiotic relationship that, you know, the economy can continue to grow and we can continue to protect and preserve nature. In fact, we will grow the economy better if we protect natural assets. And, and that is precisely what we need to do. Um, I would love to say we can protect nature just for its intrinsic value, but you know, since 1970 we've lost 70% of all species on earth. And at the moment, the future is exceptionally bleak. So this may be one of our last, sadly, one of our last opportunities to really protect the natural world, um, from destruction.

Abigail (31:05):

So I just, I wanna push back a little bit on the, on the carbon credit. I think there's a lot of naysayers out there who think that, you know, we're, we're selling carbon credits to the big polluters. And that is sort of allowing them to continue to pollute. How do we ensure that, we make progress forward to, uh, just better treatment in the first place of the planet?

Harry (31:40):

I think a lot of the criticism is, is actually very justified. Uh, there are a, a lot of actors, I would say in the carbon credit market who, um, are looking at this as a way of making a quick buck. And we need to push back against that because that will destroy the market. It will destroy the legitimacy of, of climate finance. There is so much brilliant work that is going into climate finance and biodiversity finance, which is all about using private sector capital to protect and preserve these ecosystems that we desperately rely upon. So that is the narrative for, I think, moving forward for the markets, is actually building the trust, building the transparency as well,

companies themselves are going through their own journey, and I think the, the way which law and regulation is also changing and is pushing companies into actually disclosing around, you know, what are they actually doing on climate change? What are they doing on biodiversity?

Harry (33:29):

What is their net zero plan? How are they meeting those, those commitments and those targets, which they keep talking about, uh, and is, are they actually talking about it? Is this just greenwashing or is this authentic? And that is one thing key in the market at the moment, is authentic. We've had so many of these conferences, parties, cops, we've had a lot of talking, we've had a lot of, uh, new networks and associations being built. Now is time for action and it's time for authentic action as well. And companies that you know, do are authentic, will attract better clients, will attract better staff, they will have better branding. They'll position themselves in the market. They will be ready for climate risk, for biodiversity risk. They will be better positioned if they deal with these things now. Whereas in five years time, if they're still not doing it, I really think they'll become, uh, you know, dinosaurs. 

Abigail (35:37):

If they don't. Yeah, I mean, I just interviewed somebody from Norway yesterday who's really, uh, beating paths down in the green hydrogen space, and he just said all these companies are, are on board, they're all making hydrogen cars. Like all the big companies are still gonna be the big companies, but they're be gonna be doing net zero, um, products. So it'll be really, I think the next 10 years are gonna be fascinating to see

Harry (36:02):

What happens. Oh, I see. I mean, if you look at the UK for example, we've got legislation in place that from 2030 only electric vehicles will be manufactured. So diesel, no more new diesel vehicles. So, um, look, we have to, we have to make that transition. We don't make the transition. We'll be looking at planets by 2,100 that we just won't be able to live upon, and there won't be an economy. This is the, this is the point. This is why the scientists are telling us we have to take action today and now because the consequences are catastrophic. You know, companies will not be here if we continue to destroy the planet and the biodiversity ecosystems will collapse across the world. And that is why, you know, when we, when I talk to companies about risks, the risks are overwhelmingly huge. Think of covid on steroids. I mean, this is going to shatter global supply chains, stranded assets, you know, losing customers and investors. Litigation is growing in climate and biodiversity movement. So companies which take these things into account now will be in a much better position than those that don't.

Abigail (39:04):

Yeah. Uh, you are such a wonderful advocate for the planet. How did you, where did this come from? What, did you have a moment in your life where you just got the bug?

Harry (39:17):

Yeah, I've, so to speak, I've, I've always been passionate about wildlife. Uh, and, you know, my, my mother was, was, uh, she's, she's crazy about animals. You know, we used to, when I was growing up, um, we used to spend a lot of time in, in nature. And, um, and when I, when I studied law, I, uh, always wanted to actually originally become a marine biologist, but I just sucked at biology. I was just really rubbish at it. and that's really where, uh, my legal career started. But, but after a year doing corporate law, I, I had enough, pretty much straight away. It was, um, and I, and I wanted to pursue conservation in the environment.

Harry (40:02):

Uh, I remember talking, having a blog actually, when I was a trainee lawyer. And I'm talking about things like the orangutang in Borneo, palm oil and, and all these things. And, and no one cared at all in the private sector. And that was only, what, six years ago. Look how much has changed in, in just that time. Oh, yeah. Um, but after, after working as a lawyer for a year, I actually resigned. And I, I did the craziest, uh, most, uh, you know, outrageous thing I could probably do as a, as a young lawyer. I, I moved to the Maldives and I, and I worked on, um, with an amazing, uh, conservation NGO on a remote island for, uh, about four months I think it was. But we, we did a lot of work on coral restoration. It was the turtle rescue center there. And, and, and that really hit home just the, you know, the, the complications that island communities were faced with.

Harry (40:50):

And, um, coral reef, you know, the Maori's lost, I think 80% of their reefs were bleached in 2016. So, um, it, it gives you, when you think when you have those sort of firsthand experiences as well of, of dealing with an environmental catastrophe, it gives you that impetus to then do whatever you can to try and change the paradigm. And, you know, I, I have been bold and courageous, I think, by leaving my league career to start a company and to, to do this. But I, my skillsets are such that I'm in a unique position, I think, to do it. 

Abigail (44:05):

so where is Bright Tide now and what's gonna make its future even brighter?

Harry (44:18):

I've been doing this for, well, the company's have been running, I've been doing it full-time for over a year now, and it's extraordinary to see how much impact we've had in just a year. We've working with 14 different clients. I think we've reached over thousands of employees. We have obviously helped startups through our, um, blue economy program. We've got our Blue Carbon program, and next year is a really big year for us. We're, we're growing the team and really the, the focus is gonna be on the advisory work we do with clients, but also then connecting them with these incredible solutions and, and seeing how we can scale up that model as a, as a really, a real conduit really for moving forward and accelerating the solutions where we need to go. So yeah, there's a, there's a bright future ahead to turn the tide on, on climate and biodiversity loss and, uh, watch this space next year is a really big year for us.

Abigail (45:12):

Oh, I'm so excited to see. Um, so what advice do you have for other entrepreneurs in the climate space? I mean, you're doing this professionally as you're giving advice to them, but, but sort of what's your favorite advice?

Harry (45:24):

I would say if you have, if you wanted to, if you wanted to start a company, there's probably never been a, a better time to do it, especially in, in the climate space. There is a lot of venture capitals, a lot of finance, as we both know, actually out there, there are investors really want to, uh, invest in cool, uh, startups that are climate or biodiversity related. The ambition from companies is there. So, you know, there's a massive opportunity to, to help companies on their journey to help measure biodiversity or to  just I think just do it. Uh, you know, find someone you can trust as a co-founder. I think that's really important. Try and find, uh, mentors or advisors, uh, who can help you in setting up a company. Look at accelerator programs, because actually they are brilliant ways to build your network to gain support and develop your idea and, and just go for it. You know, be bold, uh, be courageous and help us, you know, become part of this movement of, of, uh, you know, using innovation to, to solve our, you know, greatest challenges.

Abigail (46:52):

That's beautiful.

CONCLUSION

Thank you for coming Harry. I love hearing about the startup environment in the UK and the role Brexit and a new monarch might play in its blue economy. We will soon be hearing from Urchinomics which went though one of Harry’s accelerators and has become a major player in the sea urchin and blue carbon worlds. One thing I like about Harry’s story is his own personal success story. It’s amazing to me how quickly he’s built this business and had an impact. To learn more about Harry and Bright Tide, check out the website listed in the show notes.

Thank you for listening. Please follow the Happy Planet wherever you listen and leave us a rating and review - it really helps new listeners discover the show. Happy Planet was reported and hosted by me. I am also the Executive Producer. The talented Dylan Heuer [hoyer] is our producer and editor. Composer GEORG BRANDL EGOFF created our theme music. Learn more about my work and get in touch by visiting happyplanetcapital.com