Toads and Butterflies
Welcome to Toads and Butterflies, the podcast inspired by nature’s most remarkable transformations. Just like toads and butterflies undergo incredible metamorphoses, we too can change our world for the better—one small step at a time. I’m Liv Sibony, co-founder of Impact Amplified. Here, we strip away the complexity of sustainability to focus on simple, impactful actions that you can start today. Together, we’ll discover allies and champions who’ll journey with us because real change is a team effort. Sometimes feeling overwhelmed is completely normal! But the good news is, you don’t need to transform your entire world overnight. Each episode brings you real stories from business leaders who’ve pivoted towards more sustainable practices. Whether big leaps or small hops, their experiences light the path for businesses to flourish in challenging times. Join me for a dose of active optimism. Let’s get inspired, make meaningful changes in our work, and move closer to the future we dream about—one practical step at a time.
Episodes

Tuesday Jul 16, 2024
Tuesday Jul 16, 2024
In the fourth episode of this series, I speak with Tonye Khama. A lawyer by background, he felt compelled to embrace his dual British and Nigerian identity, alongside his analytical skills, to found Agricultural technology company EnrichGeo.
Tonye is on a mission to drive food security for all.
This means:
On the one hand farmers can grow food in a more sustainable way, at a fair price, with the least waste possible
On the other hand, no one suffers from food poverty, no matter where they are in the world.
His technology is based on principles of circular economy, connecting dots in unusual places, in order to address the big question of how we feed a growing population, when the current food system is no longer fit for purpose.
Today’s episode highlights why it is so important to really lean in to listen deeply, both inside ourselves and to the world around us, and how having integrity is key to achieving results.
I wanted to take a bit of time to explain a few concepts we explored in this episode:
Circular Economy is a model of production and consumption which involves sharing, reusing or repurposing materials and products as long as possible. So rather than extract raw materials from the ground each time, and then sending them to landfill at the end of their lives, one can design systems that enable these products to have another life in the system. This reduces the extraction of raw materials and reduces the waste sent to landfill.
An example of a circular economy is where coffee grinds can be mixed with other materials to create furniture.
Geo Mapping is a process of analysing, interpreting and visualising data linked to a particular place. It can combine information from a whole range of different sources, including drones, weather patterns and soil analysis.
It is particularly helpful in the farming industry, as it can help farmers identify the most suitable locations and times for planting different crops, as well as how to maintain them, based on factors such as soil type, elevation, water availability and weather patterns. So farmers can optimise crop yields and reduce the risk of crop failure.
The Just Transition seeks to ensure that the substantial benefits of a transition to a greener economy are shared widely, actively supporting those who stand to lose out from the changes. This can be at an international level, looking at workers affected in the Global South, as well as closer to home. An example of why we need the Just Transition, is when UK coal mines were shut down in the 80s, leaving thousands of people long-term unemployed with no opportunity to reskill and find new jobs. When we design new systems, we need to think carefully who will be impacted and how we can enable them to benefit from a fairer, just transition.
Blockchain is a distributed database, with a decentralised record of transactions. It is fully traceable and has the potential to create a fairer distribution of wealth. Its most famous application is in crypto currencies such as Bitcoin, but it has fare more wide-reaching domains such as tracing the food supply chain and enabling peer to peer agricultural transactions at scale, in a quicker and fully transparent way.
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Brought to you by Olivia Sibony at Impact Amplified.
At Impact Amplified, we run short programmes that focus on what actions you or your team can take in the context of your business. The focus is on understanding the context you operate in, and then honing on a tangible action you can take. By the end of the 1-day, UN-accredited course, you will have boiled it down to 2 things you can do in the context of your role at work: an individual action and a collective action.
You will see that the little things we do in business can unlock a big impact. Our goal is to inspire you to see the power you hold, to effect change.
You can see our signature programme here and you can contact Olivia directly liv@impactamplified.co.uk to find out more.
With special thanks to Gareth Jones, mix engineer, to Marie Jessel, producer, to Raj Samuel, creative director, and to Shane Ivers for the music.

Tuesday Jul 02, 2024
Tuesday Jul 02, 2024
In the third episode of our series I speak with Phil Korbel, co-founder of and Director of Advocacy at the Carbon LIteracy Project.
Phil’s first career as a broadcaster at the BBC gave him a licence to deep dive into a vast range of topics. This insatiable curiosity led him to switch from Producer to Subject, embarking on a tandem ride across the world.
The common thread of exploring what well-being can look like within a healthy planet, with its different applications around the world, eventually led Phil to co-found the Carbon Literacy Project which now employs 70 people, working across all seven continents.
As I interview Phil, the Carbon Literacy Project is about to reach 100,000 learners and I’m proud to be one of their official trainers on this UN-endorsed programme, which you’ll hear more about.
Today’s episode is full of inspiration to show you how each of our individual actions can lead to systemic change, and how we must take time to understand the problems with today’s world to truly appreciate the urgency of the need for change. So that we can then direct our focus on the most impactful, relevant solutions for a brighter future.
My discovery of the Carbon Literacy Project is what led me to do what I’m doing now, and if this conversation can trigger similar inspiration for you in the context of your work, we’ll all be one step closer to the vision of a thriving humanity within a healthy planet.
Brought to you by Olivia Sibony at Impact Amplified.
At Impact Amplified, we run short programmes that focus on what actions you or your team can take in the context of your business. The focus is on understanding the context you operate in, and then honing on a tangible action you can take. By the end of the 1-day, UN-accredited course, you will have boiled it down to 2 things you can do in the context of your role at work: an individual action and a collective action.
You will see that the little things we do in business can unlock a big impact. Our goal is to inspire you to see the power you hold, to effect change.
You can see our signature programme here and you can contact Olivia directly liv@impactamplified.co.uk to find out more.
With special thanks to Gareth Jones, mix engineer, to Marie Jessel, producer, to Raj Samuel, creative director, and to Shane Ivers for the music.

Tuesday Jun 18, 2024
Tuesday Jun 18, 2024
In the second of our series I speak with Suki Fuller, founder of Miribure ("Mitigating Risk Building Resilience"), a strategic and competitive Intelligence consultancy.
As the winner of the 2023 Most Influential Women in Tech Award by Computer Weekly and who was named by the Financial Times, as one of the Top 100 Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic Leaders in UK Tech: Suki's passion to elevate humanity, being in service to others, with technology as the conduit, shines through as she talks us through her three As and the importance of de-siloing our perspective both at a micro and a macro level.
In today's episode we explore questions such as:
What do we really want as humans?
And how can we use this to develop a more conscious relationship with tech, so that we can feel empowered to flourish in a beautiful world?
Brought to you by Olivia Sibony at Impact Amplified
At Impact Amplified, we run short programmes that focus on what actions you or your team can take in the context of their business. The focus is on understanding the context you operate in, and then honing on a tangible action you can take. By the end of the 1-day, UN-accredited course, you will have boiled it down to 2 things you can do in the context of your role at work: an individual action and a collective action.
You will see that the little things we do in business can unlock a big impact. Our goal is to inspire you to see the power you hold, to effect change.
You can see our signature programme here and you can contact Olivia directly liv@impactamplified.co.uk to find out more.
With special thanks to Gareth Jones, mix engineer, to Marie Jessel, producer, to Raj Samuel, creative director, and to Shane Ivers for the music.

Tuesday Jun 04, 2024
Tuesday Jun 04, 2024
In the first of our series I speak with Duncan Reid, co-founder of Reset Connect, an integrated events platform driving net-zero solutions & financing.
We explore the value of in-person gatherings for innovation, the critical importance of collaboration within and outside of our industries, and how happens if we join forces with peers.
Collaboration trumps competition, we must break down silos, and Duncan gives you a platform to do this.
The links mentioned in the show are:
https://www.reset-connect.com/
https://www.netzerocarbonevents.org/
https://betterstands.info/
https://weareisla.co.uk/
Brought to you by Olivia Sibony at Impact Amplified
At Impact Amplified, we run short programmes that focus on what actions you or your team can take in the context of their business. The focus is on understanding the context you operate in, and then honing on a tangible action you can take. By the end of the 1-day, UN-accredited course, you will have boiled it down to 2 things you can do in the context of your role at work: an individual action and a collective action.
You will see that the little things we do in business can unlock a big impact. Our goal is to inspire you to see the power you hold, to effect change.
You can see our signature programme here and you can contact Olivia directly liv@impactamplified.co.uk to find out more.
With special thanks to Gareth Jones, mix engineer, to Marie Jessel, producer, to Raj Samuel, creative director, and to Shane Ivers for the music.

Olivia (Liv) Sibony
co-founder of Impact Amplified
Olivia (Liv) Sibony is an award-winning entrepreneur and trailblazing ethical investment champion. She is co-founder of Impact Amplified, where she works with industry experts, entrepreneurs and academics: empowering individuals within business to affect change through the lens of their work, cutting through the noise of sustainability, so that each person can be a catalyst for change without the need to switch careers.
Liv left a career at Goldman Sachs to launch her food tech startup, GrubClub, which she sold to Eatwith in 2017. Since then, she has been:
- An advisor for the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT), enabling impactful entrepreneurs from around the world to scale their businesses, relocating to the UK.
- A Board member of UCL's Fast Forward 2030, which aims to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs to launch businesses that address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Vice-chair of the Mayor of London's Women in Cleantech Taskforce.
- Founder of SeedTribe, a platform connecting impactful entrepreneurs with angel investors. This was acquired in 2022 by Angel investment Network, the world's largest online angel investment platform, which now has a dedicated space to promote and support impactful entrepreneurs, as well as under-represented founders.
Liv is driven by the desire to see a world where all businesses marry profit and purpose; she sees the interplay of leadership, sustainability and meaningful collaboration as a key piece in achieving this goal.