Rachel Birch is a Scientist and Waste Researcher in Arup’s Foresight, Innovation and Incubation team. In this 15 minute podcast, Rachel explains the key factors behind our throwaway society, including new technology and how the development of new technology encourages the consumer to continuously upgrade and discard old technology. She also explores some of the many solutions to this issue, including expanding product life span, a service based economy and buying and producing bio-degradable products.

For most of us, our time at work represents around a third of our living hours and organisations are having to adapt to a more open and flexible approach to employees’ working patterns and work / life balance. However not everyone experiences their workplace in a positive or healthy way. Wellbeing in the workplace is becoming an increasingly important and wide-ranging issue for organisations as the physical and mental health of the working environment comes under closer scrutiny.

Arup has experience in working with a wide range of businesses in understanding and addressing these issues and provides practical advice and strategies to ensure positive wellbeing in the workplace. What exactly constitutes one’s sense of wellbeing? And what, in an age of high demands and stress, can governments, organisations and individuals do to ensure a positive sense of wellbeing in employees?

Dave Evans is an Organisational Behaviour expert working within the Management Consulting group, where he advises clients on issues such as business and culture change, leadership and team development. [via arup.com]