​Solitaire Townsend on the leadership journey of a solutionist

This episode covers everything from Solitaire's childhood growing up on a council estate and her early career working in social justice, to her current work at Futerra and helping Hollywood scriptwriters to better incorporate climate narratives. Solitaire is an entrepreneur, sustainability expert, TED speaker and author. She co-founded the change agency Futerra in 2001, now one of the leading sustainability agencies in the world, working with the world’s most influential organisations to activate social justice and environmental restoration. She Co-founded the She is Sustainable events and also Co-founded the Climate Optimist movement. Solitaire was named ‘Ethical Entrepreneur of the Year’ in 2008 and Chair of the UK Green Energy Scheme between November 2009 and July 2015. She was trustee of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy from May 2012 until December 2016. Solitaire was a member of the United Nations Sustainable Lifestyles Taskforce and was a London Leader for Sustainability. She was part of a working group contributing to the Race to Zero’s 2022 Criteria Consultation for the UNFCCC’s Climate Champions and Expert Peer Review Group. Solitaire is Chair and Trustee for the Futerra Solutions Union – an independent charitable foundation of ‘culture hackers for sustainability’ which aims to use the power of culture and public education campaigns to accelerate the transition to a low carbon, socially just future. S​he is author of ​two books The Solutionists: How Businesses Can Fix the Future ​(2023) and​ The Happy Hero: How to Change Your Life By Changing the World (2017). This episode is hosted by Paul Skinner, founder of the MarketingKind community, director of Agency of the Future and author of The Purpose Upgrade and Collaborative Advantage.