Sustainability In Your Ear

Sea level rise due to melting glaciers on Greenland and in the Arctic and Antarctic could force the relocation of 267 million people and entire cities located less than 2 meters — 6.5 feet — from today’s waterline by 2100. Oceanographer John Englander has raised the alarm about sea level rise in his books, High Tide on Main Street and Moving to Higher Ground. John runs the Rising Seas Institute and leads regular visits to Greenland to spur awareness of the accelerating loss of its glaciers. We talked with him in 2021, when Moving to Higher Ground was released, and he returns to the show to share an update on the pace of warming, the Thwaites Glacier and Ice Shelf in Antarctica, Greenland's rapid loss of ice, and the preparations necessary for adaptation to a world of constantly rising seas. NASA warns that continuing warming could raise sea levels by 5 meters (more than 16 feet) by 2300. The early damage will be felt across more than twice the expected coastal land than previously expected, according to a January 2023 Dutch research study published in the journal Earth’s Future, because previous satellite analysis misestimated the altitude of heavily forested land. The potential cost of protecting seaside cities and raising port facilities will run into the trillions of dollars. Perhaps that spending can be an opportunity to rethink our infrastructure comprehensively, but in the midst of a crisis people are not prone to be very forward-looking. John Englander's books are available online. Look for Moving to Higher Ground: Rising Seal Level and the Path Forward at Amazon and Powell's Books and High Tide on Main Street: Rising Sea Level and the Coming Coastal Crisis (Amazon; Powell's Books). You can learn more about John and his work at https://johnenglander.net/

Algenesis is two companies in one, a biotechnology innovator and footwear maker. Making a new, sustainable material often requires the inventor to prove its utility before big companies will embrace it. Join the conversation for a story of discovery and finding a practical application to prove the value of a plant-based, compostable bioplastic foam. Stephen Mayfield, a professor of Biology at UC San Diego and director of the California Center for Algae Biotechnology, invented Soleic, an algae-based rubbery foam material that can be used in footwear, surfboards and other products in the place of petroleum-based polyurethane foam. He launched Algenesis, a biotechnology-based materials science company to commercialize the Soleic.But shoe companies did not come running to use Soleic, which biodegrades completely in sea water and compost piles. Along with Algenisis president Tom Cooke, a footwear and apparel industry veteran who had worked for Reef and Vans, Steve launched Blueview Footwear, maker of the world’s first compostable shoe. Steve and Tom join me today to talk about the evolution of Algenesis and Blueview, as well as the many materials Soleic could replace across a variety of product categories. The companies have also developed compostable, plant-based fabrics and a bioplastic waterproofing technology that biodegrades into organic material in a home compost pile. You can learn more about Blueview Footwear at https://blueviewfootwear.com/ and its parent company Algenesis Materials at https://www.algenesismaterials.com/

The UK took a huge step toward reducing its single-use plastic pollution. Starting in October 2023, a variety of single-use items such as plastic cutlery, plates, bowls, polystyrene cups, cotton swabs and balloon sticks will be banned. Fines of up to 10% of the UK revenue generated by the business that distributes these items and prison time for repeat offenders are part of the new draft legislation. Sarah Weller, the International Coastal Cleanup Manager at The Ocean Conservancy, join us to discuss the new ban, the prospects for more US legislation, and the current state of environmental protection in the US.The British ban is a victory for the environment and will eliminate billions of pieces of plastic waste annually. Nick Mallos, the Vice President of Ocean Plastics at The Ocean Conservancy, says the decision is a critical step in phasing out harmful single-use plastics and will help transition to a reusable system. We explore the role of design-for-recyclability and plastic recycling in a sustainable future. You can learn more about The Ocean Conservancy at https://oceanconservancy.org/

How can we reduce the environmental impact from constructing and operating buildings? In 2021, construction and building operations account for 37% of global CO2 emissions, hit an all time high of 10 gigaton of CO2 emissions, about two percent higher than pre-pandemic levels. We talk with Tommy Listroth, founder and CEO of Green Badger, a software-as-a-service company that provides management tools for sustainable building projects and to support LEED certification efforts, about the steps to reduce the impact of where we live and work. Green Badger connects architects, construction teams, building owners, sustainability and waste professionals to track and optimize their work. Tommy has led more than 150 LEED construction team projects and is also founder of Sustainativity, a nonprofit that helps nonprofits complete sustainable building projects. Although new technologies for designing efficient buildings made of concrete, steel, and other building materials are in the pipeline, the benefits certainly are not yet showing up in environmental impact data. Tommy explains how construction companies and building owners can reduce emissions and waste, while improving the efficiency and lowering the cost, of homes, apartments, and offices. We explore how the Inflation Reducation Act created new incentives, particularly for apartment buildings, to use high-efficiency heating and cooling, improved insulation, and low-impact materials. And Tommy shares practicals tips about assessing the environmental performance of a home, apartment or office before you make a decision during your next move. You can learn more about Green Badger at https://getgreenbadger.com/

How can we eliminate food waste created by restaurants, institutional cafeterias, and retail grocers? According to the National Conference of State Legislators, food waste is a plague in our supply chains. Farms contribute 16% of total food waste and businesses another 39%, while households waste 43% of the food lost before it is consumed. Chris O’Brien joined the podcast to discuss processing food waste into soil supplement, a fuel source, and animal feed. He is the founder and CEO of Hungry Giant Waste Systems, which distributes bio-grinders and bio-dehydrators that grind and dry food waste generated by restaurants, cafeterias, and grocers. It's a scaled up, industrial version of the Lomi Home Composter discussed in a recent episode.Chris contributed a new article on Earth911, Restaurants, Cafeterias, Grocers Can Turn Food Waste Into Food Value. Business needs new tools and processes to reduce waste and the CO2 emissions created when food rots in landfills. Drying food waste also reduces the frequency with which waste haulers must visit a food service company, contributing to lower CO2 emissions. Chris and Mitch Ratcliffe explore how bio-grinders and bio-digesters might also help process compostable service items in restaurants, as well as the questions you can ask at the grocery store or a quick service restaurant to encourage them to turn unused food into a low-carbon alternative to today's methane-emitting wet waste. You can learn more about Hungry Giant at https://hungrygiantrecycling.com/

Four out of 10 shoppers chose sustainable products and services in late 2022 despite the economic downturn. But higher prices are making them think harder and longer about their spending, which means they welcome more information that helps them make environmentally responsible decisions. Naba Sengupta, senior manager at Deloitte Advisory’s Sustainability, Climate & Equity practice, discusses the results of a new consumer research survey, The Cost of Buying Green, Part 2. He explains that, compared to other segments of the economy, sustainable products are holding up relatively well and encourages companies to take steps to set and transparently report progress toward CO2 emissions reduction goals. We also discuss Deloitte's recent finding that the global economy became less circular during the pandemic, as well as the prospects for rapid improvement as daily life returns to a new, though ever-changing, normal. Naba suggests that consumer demand, especially the rising economic power of Gen Z, is turning corporate priorities toward sustainability. While the progress is often slower than necessary, the momentum is growing. He lays out a 5-point strategy for acccelerating business progress, which involves collaborating with partners and customers to innovate quickly. That progress can lead to lower prices for sustainable alternatives, eventually eliminating the "green premium," the higher cost associated with products with a lower environmental impact. During the conversation, Naba pointed to Deloitte's ongoing tracking of consumer sentiment and spending, which gives a monthly reading on the priorities shaping the marketplace. Tune in for a wide-ranging, important conversation about how consumers can reshape our lifestyles by communicating our priorities to companies. You can learn more about Deloitte at https://deloitte.com/

How we think and feel about the climate response, whether optimistic, pessimistic, cynical or pragmatic, shapes our perceptions of possible solutions. Too often, we argue over emotional perceptions and not hard climate data. But hard data is sterile, it doesn’t necessarily engage the passions that move us to act. So, we tell stories, often focusing on what can go wrong. Author Justin Bean wrote What Could Go Right to counter the "doom and gloom" media coverage that makes every day feel like a climate failure. We need to be honest and pragmatic, he argues, to face the climate crisis and invest in useful solutions, many of which already exist. For example, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things can be combined to help track and eliminate waste. He believes society will move from today’s complicated poly-crisis, when so many human systems are failing, to an “omni-thriving world” in which new jobs and business opportunities can deliver a just and prosperous future. Justin Bean is a longtime Silicon Valley executive and advisor to sustainability startups who current works as Sustainability Strategy and Solution Lead at Hitachi’s Environmental Business group. Following other optimists, such as the late Hans Rosling and Buckminster Fuller, he writes that social and technical progress has prepared society for a rapid transition to low-carbon living. The distributed, democratically governed future is possible, though we face aggressive alternative forms of government, like China. But we’ve always confronted those challenges and humanity is still here, democracy is holding on. We all have choices to make, and understanding our options is the first step toward a better future. As Justin says, a lot could go right. You can learn more about Justin at https://www.justincbean.com/ What Could Go Right is available from Amazon, Powell's Books, and in local bookstores.

What do the response to climate change and the Y2K computer bug, which required hundreds of thousands of technology workers to spend several years fixing in the 1990so prevent catastrophic errors when the date turned over to Jan. 1, 2000, have in common? Both are complex problems that reach into every corner of our lives. Y2K showed humans they can overcome huge challenges using self-organizing groups that span companies, nations, and many languages. Meet William Ulrich, president of Tactical Strategy Group and cofounder and board member of the Business Architecture Guild, a global, not-for-profit association of business professionals dedicated to enabling strategy execution and business model transformation. Bill worked extensively on the Y2K solution and has developed an approach to creating sustainable, circular businesses based on his decades of work on the practice of business architecture.Bill wrote two papers that applybusiness architecture thinking to create circular economies in the auto industry. We talk about how those ideas can be applied to "product-as-a-service" businesses that take responsibility for the materials used to build, for example, a car or smartphone, over many generations of products. He also emphasizes the patience and transparency are necessary to help companies make adequate progress toward low- or no-carbon operations. The Climate Crisis will not be solved by silver-bullet solutions but broad transformation of our infrastructure and economy, which requires disclosure of information so that everyone, including entire supply chains and the consumers that rely on them, can learn and improve. If anything, it can help identify the unknown unknowns that can upend our progress. You can learn more about Bill https://tacticalstrategygroup.com/and his Northstar Radio Show can be heard at https://tacticalstrategygroup.com/the-north-star

Anne Popkin, president and chief operating officer at Newday Impact Investing, joins the conversation to discuss Environmental, Social and Governance, or “ESG,” investing. More than $8.4 trillion has been invested in ESG-related equities and bonds as of the end of 2022, according to Bloomberg. And it will be a hot topic for investors, Congress and the federal government, as well as several southern states, notably Florida and Texas, who are at war with ESG because it represents , in the words of Florida’s Speaker of the House, Paul Renner: “woke financial titans who seek to dictate policy to Floridians regardless of our choices at the ballot box.” Anne provides an investor’s perspective on the politicization of ESG.An ESG report is not a set of sustainability commitments, though those may be included to show progress at reducing the company’s financial risk. For example, an ESG report explores the risk of business disruption of the company continues to generate CO2 emissions that warm the planet and produce negative impacts that could raise costs or interrupt supply chains. Anne explains that we are in a brief but critical period of consolidating what we’ve learned to improve the way we measure and report business risk from climate change. Munich Re, a global reinsurance company, reports that climate-related losses in 2021 totaled more than $210 billion globally and $95 billion in the U.S. — compare that to the 40-year U.S. average weather-related losses of $43.9 billion and it’s clear that business must be prepared to weather at least twice the climate-caused losses of just a few years ago. You can learn more about Newday Impact at https://newdayimpact.com/

Richard Hirschhorn and Mona Chun, co-creators The Circular Design Glossary, introduce the new guide to understanding the future of furniture design. It was developed by mebl | Transforming Furniture, where Richard and Mona are founder/CEO and chief operating and sustainability officer, respectively, in partnership with the Sustainable Furnishing Council. Our homes are the center of our lives and a primary source of CO2 emissions. The Ellen McArthur Foundation has estimated that 80% of the environmental impact of the way we live can be changed by making better product design decisions. That may make it sound like most choices are out of our hands, because we have to rely on the companies to chose low-impact materials designed for circularity, taking what we can get. Richard and Mona share a variety of examples of sustainable furniture designs from small designers as well as retail giant IKEA.Mona and Michael suggest that “the very first step to a ‘circular future’ is accessible information and awareness” and ask “how can we transform this throwaway paradigm into a just, regenerative and sustainable system?” Those are great questions to ask when shopping for furniture or any other product or service each of us choose. Becoming better informed about our home decor and furnishing choices empower shoppers to exert pressure on manufacturing and services companies to reduce their environmental impact and our own footprint. You can learn more about the Circular Design Glossary at https://sustainablefurnishings.org/glossary and about mebl at https://meblfurniture.com/