Our Ecosystem Meet the team
Stephanie Lykourgou:
Founder / Food Sustainability Strategist / Climate Educator & Resilience Facilitator
“Since making the leap from chef to sustainable food systems strategist a decade ago, I've worked with industry-leading hospitality and retail organisations, ambitious producer start-ups, academics, farmers and NGOs across the food industry spearheading sustainable food operations, collaborating on research and developing global sustainability strategies.
I established Green Dial to support purpose-led food and hospitality businesses in evolving into the resilient, regenerative organisations our world needs…because I wanted to live and work joyfully in alignment with my values, and I’m so pleased to say that’s the energy we’ve sustained with our clients!
I’ve seen that climate impact happens best when we support people in the inner-work of processing the reality of the climate crisis, so they can approach it from a place of opportunity and resilience, rather than fear.
So, as a climate resilience coach, grief facilitator and educator, I also work with climate-concerned individuals navigating the reality of living and working amidst the climate crisis, supporting them in creating meaningful, joyful, resilient lives and businesses for themselves, their people and our planet.
You can find out more about climate resilience at www.StephanieLykourgou.com”
Charlotte Denton:
Business Development / Client Relationships Manager
“I develop the initial relationships with our clients and partners, look after our marketing strategy and overall business development.
My sustainability work is driven by a passion for good, wholesome, soulful food and a belief that everyone should have access to it without killing the planet!
When I’m not working on building sustainable food systems, I’m a podcast connoisseur following my stomach to anywhere offering good food and spending time getting lost in the South Downs countryside!”
Liuba Marchionne:
Food Policy Advisor / Waste Expert / Content Creator
“I’m an Italian native with roots in the Tuscan countryside, and a passionate advocate for sustainable food systems.
My experience ranges from improving school meal programs to researching sustainable diets and managing food waste reduction in the hospitality sector, with an academic background in food policy - so I support Green Dial with developing informative content for clients!
I love supporting on projects where I can combine my love for nature with a drive to create positive change - leveraging my client engagement and project management skills to promote sustainability within the food system.”
Our Vision
We’re here to make your journey to being an ethical & resilient business easier.
We’re propelled by a vision for a regenerative future - one where people and businesses come together to cultivate new ways of doing things that support our planet and the communities who feed us.
Neither you or the planet have time to waste.
So, we provide the perfect balance of ready-to-implement systems and in-depth personalised support to really understand your operations and values. So, you can make real positive impact that your business can sustain.
We’ve spent time with growers all over the world, led global F&B strategies, built industry-leading hospitality operations (and chopped our fair share of onions!), so we know how to help you overcome challenges and benefit from the opportunities ahead.
You’ll be guided through every step, your teams equipped for success and connected with our network of trusted supply chain and operations partners to support your mission.
Why ‘Green Dial’?
The story behind the name Green Dial is a personal one for our Founder, Stephanie - and that feels fitting to us, because sustainability is personal.
“At the beginning of lockdown I was making the drive from Brighton to London to see my grandparents for the last time for a while, and listening to an episode of This American Life podcast* about a man in Japan who had lost his cousin in the 2011 tsunami and earthquakes. He was so heartbroken at the loss, and the incompleteness of not being able to say goodbye, he set up an old telephone box in his garden which he would use to call his cousin… only it wasn’t connected to anything.
He called it the ‘wind telephone’ because he felt his messages were carried on the wind. Gradually, people from all over Japan began coming to his garden, to speak to their own lost loved ones - their own messages carried on the wind.
I balled my eyes out on the M25 listening to it.
…Fast forward a year later, my beloved Grandfather (or Bappou in Greek) had passed away - and because of covid restrictions, we didn’t get to say goodbye. I was bereft.
But, I remembered I had bought an old green rotary phone a couple of years earlier when I was still living in London just around the corner from my grandparents - and they were the only people I had given my home number to, so I would know if they needed me. My Yiayia (Grandma) wasn’t a big talker so actually, my Bappou was the only person I’d ever spoken to on this phone…and it became my wind telephone.
Every time in the years since where I felt sad, afraid or immensely joyful, I would give him a call. And when I decided to take the leap into freelance consultancy, I called him a lot!
So, when the time came to re-brand the business as we’ve grown, I was seeking a name that would reflect the personal dedication we wanted our clients to feel - that they could call us any time they were in need, and we’d be there to support them… so it was an obvious choice - Green Dial.
This business is incredibly personal to me - it’s the expression of my greatest desire - to live a joyful life aligned with my values: a responsibility of care for one another and the earth…and it’s a bit of an homage to the man who instilled them in me.
Thank you for reading - it feels really special to share with you!”
- Stephanie
P.S. A little about my Grandfather, if you’re interested!
His name was Stephos Stephanides - he grew up in the tiny mountain village of Arminou, Cyprus in a farming family, had a deep connection to the land and a strong sense of justice. He believed wholeheartedly in community, and our responsibility to take care of one another. He was deeply thoughtful, studied every bit of academic and spiritual wisdom he could get his hands on, and was also very silly - a really joyful, loving human.
*You can find the podcast episode here.
