The blog for smart businesspeople
Monday, 19 January 2026
That's Food and Drink: BRULO raises over £1m as Zoopla, Beavertown and Fu...
That's Food and Drink: BRULO raises over £1m as Zoopla, Beavertown and Fu...: BRULO, the premium alcohol free beer brand which is redefining modern drinking culture, has raised over £1 million in its first funding roun...
Swiss AI Academy Launches Framework to Keep Humans in Charge as AI Scales
The announcement was made during an independent auxiliary unDAVOS event alongside the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.
"How you use AI matters as much as whether you use AI," Shaje Ganny, (PICTURED) Co-Founder of Swiss AI Academy, told That's Business.
"When people passively accept AI outputs, capabilities degrade. When AI is designed to keep humans thinking and challenging, capabilities strengthen."
The problem: adoption outpacing safeguards
AI adoption is moving faster than governance and human capability safeguards. A 2025 MIT Media Lab study found that people who relied on AI writing tools showed weaker brain connectivity and struggled to recall their own work, a phenomenon researchers termed "cognitive debt." Current responses remain siloed: researchers study the problem, ethicists debate principles, organizations develop internal policies. BCP unifies this work into a coherent protocol that moves from discussion to implementation
The evidence: four decades of automation research
BCP is built on research into automation bias, skill decay, and human-machine interaction from safety-critical industries including aviation and healthcare. Studies from these fields show that when humans become passive observers of automated systems, their ability to intervene during failures declines.
The protocol operates at three levels: individual, protecting personal agency and independent thinking; organisational, ensuring human needs are not subordinated to efficiency metrics; and societal, preserving the capacity of communities to shape their collective future.
The distinction: evolution versus erosion
BCP distinguishes between capability evolution, where societies intentionally choose which skills to develop or retire, and capability erosion, where skills disappear as an untracked side effect of systems optimized for speed or cost.
The call: global recruitment for five workstreams
The framework is released as version 0.6, a consultation draft intended to be completed through public contribution. Swiss AI Academy is recruiting workstream leaders and contributors across five areas: governance architecture, evidence synthesis, implementation tools, measurement systems, and sector-specific applications.
"A small group cannot carry this alone," Ganny said. "We need researchers, practitioners, educators, and policymakers who understand what is at stake."
The full framework and contributor registration are available at bcporg.info.
Fully Funded Accredited Business Accelerator for Women Entrepreneurs Now Accepting Global Applications
The She’s In Business Accelerator, a fully funded and accredited programme from a woman-led, UK-registered university, is now accepting global applications.
Designed for women ready to launch or scale profitable consulting, coaching or service-based businesses, this high-impact accelerator, founded by autistic ADHD mother-of-four turned university lecturer, Dr. Stephanie Wilson, is 100% tuition-free for successful applicants.
And with limited funded places available, the time to apply is now.
A University-Led Business Accelerator Built By and For Women
Unlike traditional business programs, the She’s In Business Accelerator is:
Accredited
Delivered by a registered UK university
Run by women, for women
Tailored for mothers, professionals, and neurodiverse entrepreneurs
From strategy to sales, the program teaches what actually works — not just theory, but execution.
“You don’t need more noise. You need clarity, systems, and the confidence to lead,” founder Dr. Stephanie Wilson told That's Business.
“This is not a business club. This is a results-driven, university-backed accelerator built for real-world income.”
What Participants Get (At No Cost):
A milestone-based curriculum to turn your idea into income
Accredited certification from a UK university
Live coaching, accountability, and execution support
A global community of high-performing women entrepreneurs
Who Should Apply:
Aspiring or early-stage coaches, consultants, course creators, or service-based entrepreneurs
Professionals ready to turn their expertise into income
Mothers, neurodivergent women, and underrepresented leaders looking for a system that works for their life
Why It Matters:
Most programs teach business theory.
She’s In Business creates business income.
And with full funding available, the only investment required is your decision to go all in.
“We’re not just teaching business. We’re redefining what leadership looks like for women.”
And yes – it’s fully funded.
Because Success Shouldn’t Be a Solo Mission
This new data shows us what we already knew:
Women don’t need more motivation. They need models, mentorship, and money.
She’s In Business™, wspent years crafting an education ecosystem that meets women where they are, and lifts them to where they belong.
Whether you’re bootstrapping from savings, building at the kitchen table, or returning to a dream you’ve shelved for too long, this is your moment.
Their next cohort begins at the end of Feb 2026. Spaces are limited and funding is competitive but so are you.
Apply Now – Limited Funded Spots Available
https://shesinbusiness.co.uk/accelerator-programme/
This is a selective, high-demand accelerator. Applications are reviewed weekly and places are awarded on a rolling basis.
That's Food and Drink: How to Ruin Your Restaurant Without Really Trying ...
That's Food and Drink: How to Ruin Your Restaurant Without Really Trying ...: There’s a special kind of disappointment that comes from going back to a restaurant you love… only to realise it’s not the same place anymor...
Recycling or Greenwashing? Why “Made From Bottles” Isn’t Always Sustainable
The Carbon Footprint Question Behind Britain’s Plastic Bottle “Recycling.”
We all know the routine by now.
You finish a bottle of water, squash it down, put the lid back on (or don’t, depending on the council’s rules), and drop it into the recycling bin feeling like you’ve done your bit. A small win. A responsible moment. A tidy little act of modern virtue.
But what if that plastic bottle’s “recycling journey” isn’t quite the wholesome, planet-saving story we’ve been sold?
What if, instead, it becomes part of a global supply chain that involves being collected in Britain, transported across the world, turned into fabric, stitched into something fashionable, then shipped all the way back to us… to be sold at a premium price?
At that point, it’s fair to ask the uncomfortable question:
Are we genuinely reducing waste… or just moving it around the planet with extra steps and a bigger carbon footprint?
The recycling story we want to believe
In the ideal version of recycling, the system works like this:
Britain collects plastic bottles
They’re sorted and processed locally
They’re recycled into new bottles or useful products
The material stays in the UK economy
Carbon emissions are kept relatively low
This is the neat, circular, common-sense version. The kind of “closed loop” model that makes you feel that putting the bottle in the right bin actually matters.
And to be clear: it does matter, because plastic left to landfill or incineration is another headache entirely.
But the real world is rarely tidy.
The less cosy reality: a global journey
Some recycled plastic doesn’t stay in Britain. It becomes a commodity—baled, sold, and shipped abroad.
Historically, a huge portion of Western recycling was exported to Asia, with China playing an enormous role for many years. Even though regulations have changed over time and the picture has shifted, the wider issue remains the same: shipping waste (even “valuable” waste) overseas adds emissions.
And it doesn’t stop there.
That plastic may be:
shredded and melted
turned into pellets or fibres
spun into polyester thread
woven into fabric
cut and sewn into clothing
branded as “eco-conscious fashion”
exported again… back to the UK or Europe
So what started as a humble bottle of water becomes a designer tote bag or recycled polyester jacket that costs more than the weekly shop.
Sounds impressive… but it also sounds like a lot of movement for something that was originally a local waste problem.
The carbon footprint question nobody wants to answer
Let’s be blunt.
Shipping materials halfway around the world is not carbon-free.
Even when modern container shipping is “efficient” compared to flying, it still burns enormous quantities of fuel. And recycling plastics isn’t magically low-energy either—it requires processing, heat, industrial machinery, and (often) further chemical treatments.
So when we hear:
“This bag is made from 20 recycled bottles!”
The question shouldn’t just be “how many bottles?”.
It should be:
Where were the bottles collected?
Where were they processed?
Where was the fabric produced?
Where was the bag stitched together?
How far did it travel, in total?
What happens when the bag wears out?
Because if your “recycled” product has done more miles than your car did last year, it’s worth pausing before we call it sustainable.
“Recycled” doesn’t always mean “environmentally friendly”
This is one of the most confusing parts of modern green living.
A product can be technically recycled material while still being part of a high-impact, high-emissions process.
Recycling is often framed like a moral good in itself, but it’s more accurate to think of recycling as damage control.
Better than litter. Better than landfill. Usually better than incineration.
But not always the magical solution we pretend it is.
And then there’s the next problem…
Bottle-to-clothing is not a closed loop
Here’s the awkward truth behind “plastic bottle clothing”:
A plastic bottle can be recycled into another bottle (sometimes)
That’s closer to a true circular loop.
But a plastic bottle turned into polyester clothing?
That’s often the end of the road.
Many textiles made from recycled plastic aren’t easily recycled again into new textiles. They’re blends, they degrade, they’re dyed, they’re treated, and when they wear out, they usually end up as waste.
So the bottle didn’t become “recycled forever”.
It became downcycled into something else… and then eventually binned.
That might still be useful as a one-time diversion of waste, but it isn’t the endless eco-loop people imagine.
The microfibre elephant in the wardrobe
There’s another environmental catch that rarely makes it into the marketing copy.
Polyester clothing sheds microfibres.
Every time synthetic fabric is washed, tiny plastic fibres can break away and enter wastewater. Some are filtered, some aren’t. Some end up in rivers and oceans.
So we’ve taken plastic bottles—something we can potentially keep in a contained recycling system—and turned them into clothing that can leak plastic particles over time.
Again: not necessarily worse overall, but it’s not the simple “green win” it’s sold as.
Why are we paying premium prices for our own waste?
This part stings a bit.
British consumers are encouraged to recycle, often with the implication that we’re contributing to sustainability. Then the material is sold, processed abroad, and returned to us as an expensive “ethical” product.
So we’ve effectively:
supplied the raw material for free
paid councils and systems to collect it
absorbed the inconvenience of sorting it
and then paid again to buy it back as fashion
All while the majority of profit is made somewhere in the middle.
And yes—some companies will argue (fairly) that the cost reflects ethical labour, safer supply chains, better quality, and responsible sourcing.
But not all “recycled bottle” products are transparent about any of that.
Which brings us to the real issue.
The transparency problem: we don’t actually know the journey
Most consumers have no idea where their recycled products were truly made or how far the materials travelled.
You’ll often see vague language like:
“made from recycled plastic bottles”
“crafted from ocean-bound plastic”
“using recycled materials”
“helping reduce waste”
But you won’t see:
full supply chain emissions
shipping mileage
energy mix used in processing
end-of-life recyclability
whether the plastic was actually local to the market
Without real transparency, we’re stuck relying on branding rather than facts.
And branding is cheap.
Is shipping recycling overseas ever justified?
To be fair, there are arguments in favour:
Some countries have specialised processing capacity
Some facilities can handle types of plastics others can’t
Some systems may be more efficient at scale
Recycling markets are global, like any commodity market
But the UK should still be asking:
Why aren’t we doing more of this processing at home?
If recycled plastic has value (and it clearly does), then keeping the supply chain local could mean:
UK jobs
better oversight
reduced shipping emissions
stronger circular economy
less reliance on overseas processing
We can’t talk endlessly about sustainability while outsourcing the messy part to somewhere else.
The real solution: reduce, reuse, then recycle
If this blogpost sounds sceptical, it’s because blind optimism is how we end up with systems that look good on paper and fail in real life.
Recycling can still be worthwhile.
But the most meaningful environmental wins still follow the old hierarchy:
Reduce (don’t create the waste)
Reuse (use the item again and again)
Recycle (process what’s left)
So maybe the bigger question isn’t:
“Can we make more bags out of bottles?”
It’s:
Why are we producing so many bottles in the first place?
Refill stations, deposit return schemes, better public water fountains, reusable containers, and less packaging overall would do far more than turning bottle waste into trendy accessories.
A simple rule for consumers: ask the awkward questions
If you want to support genuinely lower-impact products, look for brands that can answer:
Where was the product made?
Where was the recycled material sourced?
Is it locally processed?
Is it built to last?
Can it be repaired?
What happens at end of life?
A tote bag that lasts ten years is better than one that “saves 20 bottles” but falls apart in ten months.
Durability is sustainability, even when it’s not trendy.
Final thoughts: recycling isn’t a get-out-of-guilt card
Recycling should never be mocked. It’s a positive habit.
But it shouldn’t be treated as the holy solution either—especially when the reality involves:
long-distance shipping
industrial processing emissions
“eco” products sold back at luxury prices
vague marketing claims
and another layer of consumer guilt
If Britain is serious about sustainability, the goal shouldn’t be just “recycle more”.
It should be:
produce less plastic, build stronger local recycling infrastructure, and stop pretending that global shipping is an environmental shortcut.
Because if your recycled bottle becomes a designer bag that has crossed oceans twice…
You’re allowed to wonder whether the planet actually came out ahead.
Tuesday, 13 January 2026
Vyoma’s first Space Domain Awareness satellite has reached orbit
It was launched aboard the Twilight rideshare mission with SpaceX via Germany-based launch integrator Exolaunch.
The satellite was deployed to its operational Sun-synchronous orbit of approximately 500-km in altitude. This marks a significant achievement for the company, which patented the operational concept of an optimized SDA mission.
Flamingo-1, equipped with an optical sensor for space-based space surveillance, is a gamechanger for Europe, strengthening SDA efforts directly from orbit.
The advanced optical instrument will detect, track and characterize space objects, such as debris and other satellites. Crucially, it will allow Vyoma and its customers to follow up on manoeuvring objects and derive insights into adversary actions and threatening behaviours of other satellites.
Vyoma’s second satellite, Flamingo-2, is currently in production and is planned for launch at the end of 2026, followed by the remaining satellites of Vyoma’s constellation, to be deployed until 2029. The Flamingo constellation will keep custody of objects of interest and provide Domain Awareness updates in real time. The data generated from its satellites will enable Vyoma to create it’s own proprietary catalogue of space objects.
Together, these missions mark a significant step forward in advancing space technologies that align with European strategic and security goals.
Vyoma is a Munich-based company that leverages ground-based and space-based data to empower automated satellite operations and increase domain awareness in space. Founded in August 2020, Vyoma enables real-time space surveillance and traffic management of orbits around Earth, as a participant in the EU Commission and ESA programs for SDA technology development.
Waste to Wonder Worldwide Founder Alan Cooper Awarded OBE for Services to Charity and Sustainability
Alan, (PICTURED) who received the official notification from the Cabinet Office in November, described the honour to That's Business as “a surprise, a thrill, and a moment to reflect on the journey so far.”
For more than 20 years, Alan has been at the forefront of ethical reuse and circular economy innovation.
Since founding Waste to Wonder Worldwide, he has championed a simple but radical mantra: “Changing the perception of waste.” What began as a small initiative redistributing redundant office furniture has evolved into a global movement.
Under Alan’s leadership, Waste to Wonder Worldwide has:
Donated over £49 million (Fair Market Value) of furniture and equipment
Equipped over 1,500 schools across 47 countries, including the UK
Diverted thousands of tonnes of office furniture from landfill each year
Delivered award-winning social and environmental impact through reuse, education, and community development
Reflecting on the path ahead, Alan said: "Running a company brings with it many opportunities — to support customers, to embrace every skill and idea from colleagues, and to work alongside valued partners. But it also evokes an individual responsibility to do positive things further afield. ‘The world is your oyster,’ to coin a phrase."
He added: "As we look to 2026, companies and their employees will be able to sit down and plan how they can benefit others whom they may never meet — using their organisation as a catalyst to improve lives across the entire globe. Nil magnum nisi bonum: nothing is great except good."
About Waste to Wonder Worldwide
Waste to Wonder Worldwide is a social enterprise specialising in ethical office clearance, sustainable relocations, and circular economy programmes that support education and community development worldwide. Its flagship School in a Box initiative redirects surplus office furniture to underserved schools, providing vital resources while reducing waste and carbon emissions.
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