Podcasts about chief environmental officer

Bertie speaks to Sherri Goodman about her new book, Threat Multiplier:Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security. From 1993-2001, Sherri Goodman served as the first US Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security, making her the Pentagon's Chief Environmental Officer. She then went on to help deliver influential reports that helped to establish climate change as a national security threat in the US.  Threat Multiplier documents key environmental and climatic challenges during her career, such as negotiations around the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, and managing geopolitical risk in the Arctic as melting permafrost changes the ocean landscape.Goodman is now Secretary General of the International Military Council on Climate & Security, and a Senior Fellow at the Wilson Center.  Further reading: Click here to buy Threat Multiplier from Island Press. 'A career spent trying to make the military care about climate change', The Washington Post, August 2024'The US Department of Defense's Role in Integrating Climate Change into Security Planning', New Security Beat, May 2024'Changing climates for Arctic security', The Wilson Quaterly, 2017National Security and the Threat of Climate Change, 2007Click here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - After five years at the helm of the Cortes Community Housing Society, Sandra Wood has stepped down. She continues to be involved with the society as a grant writer, a service which she has provided Cortes Island for more than a decade. 
"The exciting news is We have a wonderful replacement who's going to be stepping in to take over the leadership of the housing society and that person is Sadhu Johnston. I couldn't have found a better qualified person than Sadhu on Cortes Island.  I'd really like Sadhu to speak to some of his past experience and credentials," she said.   
"He has a long history working with BC Housing in the city of Vancouver to bring Affordable housing to the table and because of that, he's got contacts. He's got a lot of financial savvy and creative ideas. He also has a lot more experience in policy and politics than I have. So I think he's the right man for the time that we're in now. I also believe that beyond building the next 24 townhomes in Rainbow Ridge, there's a legacy of another 45 acres, the remainder of Rainbow Ridge, which is a fantastic opportunity for Sadhu to look at other creative housing models, other solutions for this community that I haven't had time to look at." 
Sadhu Johnston: "Thanks Sandra, those were very nice things to say about me. The first thing I would say is how grateful we all should be to Sandra for her Incredible commitment and the accomplishments that she's achieved supporting this work on Cortes. It's really amazing that we have 50 acres downtown and a strong organization. It's just a real testament to your leadership and your can-do attitude. So, very excited to be picking up and taking the reins from Sandra and really appreciate the opportunity to be able to focus on housing in my own community."   
"For me, Cortes is home and it will be for the rest of my life.  Hopefully my kids will be able to live here in the future. I feel like the Cortes that many of us love is at risk.  That diversity of community and the range of people that call Cortes home  is threatened by the challenges that we're facing for supporting housing and people's various housing needs on this island. So  I'm really grateful to be able to pick up where Sandra is leaving off and work on housing here on Cortes  and to hopefully get Rainbow Ridge phase 1  fully funded and built.” “Sandra has agreed to stay on in a fundraising support capacity. So we'll be working together throughout November on getting the BC Housing grant and hopefully on other fundraising endeavours in the months and years to come. She's not leaving or sailing off into the sunset." 
Sandra Wood: "For me, the fun has always been in the fundraising and the grant writing.  I feel like I'm completing that in November, and I'm ready to hand it off to you, hopefully to start the construction next year in 2024."        Sadhu Johnston provided a glimpse into his previous experiences as Chief Environmental Officer of Chicago (2005-2009), Deputy City Manager (2009-16) and then City Manager of Vancouver (2016-21).  
"I'm thrilled to be able to work in my own community. Much of my work since leaving government is elsewhere. I've served on lots of boards on Cortes as my way to contribute here, but the idea that I could be a halftime focused on housing in a community that I love is really thrilling to me and that I'd be able to contribute some of the experience from elsewhere to support the housing needs on Cortes is, is something I'm really looking forward to."

In this compelling episode of The Sustainability Journey, host Samuele Tini engages in an insightful discussion with Lucas Joppa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Haveli on the crucial role of technology and finance in accelerating solutions to the planetary crises. Lucas is the former Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft.  With deep expertise spanning ecology, computing, and business strategy, Joppa provides a systems-level perspective on how technology can empower data-driven sustainability efforts. He outlines Microsoft's ambitious commitment to be carbon negative by 2030, and how their work paved the way for other companies. Looking ahead, Joppa sees promise in AI's ability to model Earth's complex systems and guide more informed decision making. However, realizing AI's sustainability potential requires thoughtful data infrastructure and computing platforms purpose-built for environmental insights. Joppa discusses his work on planetary-scale cloud computing through initiatives like AI for Earth. On mobilizing finance, Joppa believes we're entering the most consequential decade as capital aligns with net zero pathways. As an investor at a16z, he aims to accelerate both sustainable operations and sustainability-focused innovations across the software sector. With pragmatism and vision, Joppa makes the case for technology's indispensable role in scaling evidence-based sustainability - if developed responsibly. Tini and Joppa explore constructive paths forward for tech professionals and companies seeking to drive real-world impact.

Formerly Microsoft's Chief Environmental Officer, and now Chief Sustainability Officer & Senior Managing Director at Haveli Investments, Lucas Joppa discusses the strategies and tools Microsoft developed to meet its ambitious carbon negative goals, including setting an internal price on carbon, restructuring their corporate governance, and funding innovative climate technology solutions. He also tells us why he thinks climate finance is entering its most consequential decade. ---- Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative Guest: Lucas Joppa, Chief Sustainability Officer & Senior Managing Director, Haveli Investments For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org.

This episode is part of our new Capital Series hosted by MCJ partner, Jason Jacobs. This series will explore a diverse range of capital sources and the individuals who drive them. From family offices and institutional LPs to private equity, government funding, and more, we'll take a deep dive into the world of capital and its critical role in driving innovation and progress. Today's guest is Lucas Joppa, Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Managing Director at Haveli Investments. Haveli Investments is a new and rapidly growing investment firm led by Brian Sheth, former president of Vista Equity Partners. Prior to Haveli, Lucas was the longtime Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft where he was responsible for Microsoft's overall environmental sustainability vision, strategy, and program execution. In this episode, Jason and Lucas have an in-depth discussion about Lucas's journey to becoming aware of and caring about climate change, how his views have evolved on the nature of the problem, and the best path forward from when he first started doing this work to today. They also talk about Microsoft's journey when it started caring about sustainability and its evolution to being one of the leaders in driving net-zero ambitions for big corporations. And finally we cover Lucas's decision to switch from wildlife conservation to the private equity world, his motivations and of course, Haveli's approach.In this episode, we cover: [2:10] An overview of Haveli Investments and Lucas's role at the firm [4:29] How Lucas came to work in climate and what got him to care about the problem [11:09] His experience at Microsoft[14:08] What inspired Microsoft to address the climate problem [16:32] The company's internal process[21:51] Influencing factors that led to climate action at Microsoft [28:57] Lucas's thoughts on corporate net-zero commitments[32:52] Weighing the implications of GHG reductions on biodiversity loss[38:40] Radical transformations vs. replacing current systems with sustainable alternatives[42:09] Challenges with private equity embracing sustainability [49:17] Haveli's internal net-zero operations [50:53] How founders should evaluate Haveli's portfolio management relative to other private equity firms[53:30] Lucas' work on sustainable softwareGet connected: Jason JacobsLucas Joppa / Haveli InvestmentsMCJ Podcast / Collective*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded on March 20, 2023. 

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board passed a resolution to write a letter instructing Sadhu Johnston, President of the Cortes Island Fire Fighting Association (CIFFA), that his communications with them should come through Chief Administration Officer David Leitch. The SRD has not renewed the Cortes Fire Department's 5 year contract, and instead has them on a month to month basis. Johnston requested a meeting with Leitch last month but, as he explained to Cortes Currents earlier this week, still has not had the opportunity. “We're not wedded to the way it is, but we don't really want decisions to be made behind closed doors without the community being able to know about them and have a say. If governance is going to be taken away from Cortes and the decision making for firefighting service is going to be taken away from Cortes, it would be really nice to know that and to be able to be a part of that dialogue,” he said. Johnston recently appears to have reached out to the entire Board. The ‘answer' came at the Wednesday, Mar 15, SRD Board Meeting. Mayor Kermit Dahl of Campbell River moved,”That a letter be written to the CIFFA President, Sadhu Johnston, instructing him that all communications between the CIFFA and the SRD in regard to operations, governance and contract renewal is done through the SRD CAO. I don't think that it's appropriate for staff - I'm not sure if this is considered staff — to be sending emails to 43 individuals and the entire board. I think that's the reason that we have staff and we have a CAO. That's the reason for this motion.” This prompted Regional Director, Gerald Whalley to ask, “The public in general has the opportunity to address this Chair and Board anytime they want. Can we actually restrict someone from doing that?” CAO David Leitch responded, “No, we can't restrict them, but we can send direction and a letter.” SRD Chair Mark Baker added, “It's an important motion, professionalism has to come into play and respect for the process.” The motion to send Johnston a letter of instruction passed with two Directors voting in opposition: Whalley and Fowler. Sadhu Johnston was Vancouver's Deputy Manager and then City Manager for 11 years. Prior to that, he was Chicago's Chief Environmental Officer for 6 years. The Vancouver SUN article reporting his resignation from Vancouver, more than two years ago, states that former politicians and public servants describe Johnston with adjectives like ‘collegial, capable and non-partisan.' He has a reputation for fairness, and being a team player. These are skills that he has not yet been able to exercise dealing with the Strathcona Regional District Board, in his new role as volunteer President of the Cortes Island Fire Fighting Association. He has not had the opportunity. While nothing has been decided yet, the SRD is exploring the possibility of a centralized fire service with a Fire Chief based in Campbell River.

Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world's leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now. In this episode, Andrew is joined by Lucas Joppa, previously Microsoft's Chief Environmental Officer. Dr. Lucas Joppa was Microsoft's first Chief Environmental Officer, leading the development and execution of the company's sustainability strategy across its worldwide business. With a Ph.D. in Ecology from Duke University and recognition by Fortune magazine in its “40 Under 40” list, Dr. Joppa is a uniquely accredited voice for sustainability in the tech industry. He is an Associate Editor in Chief for the Ecological Society of America's EcoSphere journal, an honorary Fellow at the UN Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center, and he serves on the boards of leading scientific organizations. Dr. Joppa remains an active scientist, recognized as one of the world's most highly cited researchers. His research interests include climate change, biodiversity, ecology, artificial intelligence, scaling environmental data Previously, Dr. Joppa was Chief Environmental Scientist in Microsoft Research, where he founded the AI for Earth program—a $50 million cross-company effort dedicated to delivering technology-enabled solutions to global environmental challenges. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if every CEO understood that their title really stands for Chief Environmental Officer? My guest Jay Steinfeld makes the case that the #1 role of a CEO is to create a culture that helps people thrive and achieve their potential. He should know. His company maintained an astonishingly low turnover rate of 8% throughout his years of leadership. Find out how this exceptional leader built a healthy workplace that encouraged people to evolve continuously, experiment without fear of failure, express themselves, and enjoy the ride along the way. Jay was founder and CEO of Blinds.com, the world's number one online window covering retailer, that was acquired by The Home Deport in 2014. Jay remained on as its CEO and later joined The Home Depot Online Leadership Team. He stepped away from these positions in early 2020 and has RE-WIRED himself for new roles as advisor or Board member for several companies. You'll discover: How Jay brought the 4 Es to life everyone in the companyThe practices that helped Jay and his team hire the right peopleWhat leaders can do to make it safe for people to take risksWhy generosity and gratitude are two of Jay's core valuesWays that Jay instilled fun and humor so people actually enjoyed coming to work 

Amid the Covid shadow, a light has been shone on a big question: Should Europe look ‘inward' and produce goods, especially medical supplies and strategic items, closer to home? This is the question that three experts will answer in this dynamic episode.With :Emma Nehrenheim, Chief Environmental Officer at Northvolt,Werner Raza, Director, OFSE, the Austrian Foundation for Development ResearchUlla Grove Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of Novo Nordisk Pharmatech A/S See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We speak with John Rance, chairperson of the Kei Mouth Ski Boat Club. When plans for seismic exploration for oil and gas were mooted in 2012 and 2013 he was Chief Environmental Officer for Border Deep Sea Angling Association, which was among the first organisations to oppose Shell's plans Friday is D-Day for decision on Shell exploration

We speak with John Rance, chairperson of the Kei Mouth Ski Boat Club. When plans for seismic exploration for oil and gas were mooted in 2012 and 2013 he was Chief Environmental Officer for Border Deep Sea Angling Association, which was among the first organisations to oppose Shell's plans Friday is D-Day for decision on Shell exploration

In episode 1, Mary-Jane Lintin speaks with Alistair Dormer, Chief Environmental Officer and Executive Vice President at Hitachi Ltd. Mr. Dormer shares an insight into his position and how he oversees Hitachi's environmental and sustainability journey. He explains how Hitachi are aiming tobecome a climate change innovator, helping Governments, cities and companies cut carbon. He also explains the importance of Hitachi being a Principal Partner at COP26. Music by Jago Thornton. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 8th episode of Planet A’s second season, Dan Jørgensen talks with Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Officer, Dr. Lucas Joppa. Dr. Joppa has worked at the nexus of data and sustainability throughout his career and is now leading Microsoft’s efforts to become a carbon negative company. Furthermore, he leads the company’s work on data and tech solutions that can help decarbonize the entire world.Perhaps unbeknownst to many, the use, storage and processing of data emit as much  CO2 as the global airline industry.While Dr. Joppa is keenly aware of the fact that data is contributing to the problem of climate change, he is also a strong believer in its ability to create sustainable solutions. During the conversation, Dr. Joppa also talks about Microsoft’s investment in carbon removal through both “nature based solutions” and mechanical carbon capture and storage (CCS).Through Microsoft’s partnerships with NGOs and start-ups, he has also pioneered the use of data solutions and artificial intelligence to advance sustainable solutions. Most notably, Dr. Joppa founded “AI for Earth” - a computing platform that can predict and thereby help prevent environmental threats. To him, the global community has not focused enough on how technology and data can help promote sustainability. In order to create an efficient carbon market, we need to have more data and measurements. For instance, no one knows exactly how many trees there are in the United States, which would be a prerequisite to analyze the price of both nature based and technological CCS solutions.

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Advancing Oceanside Podcast! We are excited to have Estela de Llanos from SDG&E with us for the third episode in our sustainability series. Estela is the SDG&E's Vice President of Clean Transportation and Sustainability and Chief Environmental Officer. In this role, she oversees clean transportation, advanced clean technologies, environmental compliance, and other sustainability initiatives. In our interview, Estela dives deep into SDG&E's commitment to sustainability highlighting the company's promise to reach net zero gas emissions by 2045 and shares affordable ways you can cut your carbon footprint. Learn more about SDG&E's commitment to sustainability: https://www.sdge.com/more-information/environment/sustainability-approach

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence on Q1 earnings, and how they tapped into the growing home audio category during the pandemic. Dr. Lucas Joppa, Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft, on the company’s carbon removal investments and environmental strategy. Kate Krader, Food Editor for Bloomberg Pursuits, on NYC restaurants reopening with grim 25% math in mind. Ferdinando Giugliano, Bloomberg Opinion editor, discusses his column: “Who’s Booking Their Beach Holiday Already?” Hosted by Paul Sweeney and Vonnie Quinn. 

Decarbonization is one of the primary goals many companies are trying to achieve in their operations. The reason is simple… science has shown that the world is facing an urgent carbon problem. If we don't curb emissions and temperatures continue to climb, science tells us that the results will be incomprehensible. Microsoft is leading the way in the realm of corporate leadership, setting its Carbon Negative Pledge as a standard to follow. One of the leading voices on the Microsoft team is Vanessa Miler-Fels, Director of Energy Innovation and Impact. Her astute insights and clear way of describing the “carbon math” the Microsoft team has done to empower their own efforts and extend their approach to their own supply chain partners come through loud and clear in this conversation. Listen to hear the generous and ambitious contributions Microsoft is poised to make to the world's energy future. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... Vanessa's role at Microsoft as Director of Energy Innovation and Impact [2:51] Microsoft's goals: “The World's Next Moonshot” [3:49] Interim goals on the way to Carbon Negative [6:36] The important role Microsoft's Scope 3 goals play in global decarbonization [14:24] How Microsoft plans to employ digital innovation on behalf of customers [17:20] Vanessa's advice to those who need to take the first step in their organization [21:08] Why Microsoft feels Carbon Neutral is not enough for them We all need to accelerate our ambitions regarding a carbon-free future. It's not only the only workable solution for our planet's future but is also essential if we are going to meet the goals expressed in resolutions like the Paris Agreement, which reflects the energy commitments of many organizations worldwide. The Microsoft team believes it is uniquely positioned to use its technology resources to get on that path, but beyond that, the company's leadership felt they could do even more than their fair share because of the resources they have at their disposal. As a result, the organization has made a “Carbon Negative” pledge, going a step further than Carbon Neutral. Microsoft intends to not only remove it's own carbon contributions entirely but to remove carbon from the atmosphere that it has been responsible for over its 45+ year history. It's an ambitious and doable goal you'll learn more about in this episode. The interim goals Microsoft must hit on the way to Carbon Negative  The sustainability team at Microsoft feels the journey to its carbon-negative future is like a marathon. It's a long haul effort. But they expect to achieve their goals through interim goals that they imagine as quarterly sprints. These sprints are highlighted through the three Scopes of emissions.  Scope 1 - a focus on Microsoft's own house 1 - All data centers should be diesel-free by 2030  2 - Microsoft's global vehicle fleet is to be entirely electrified by 2030  Scope 2 - closing the loop for Microsoft through 100% renewable energy sourcing by 2025, that means for all data centers and campus facilities. Scope 3 - working to address upstream and downstream issues on the Microsoft value chain AND ensure that all creation of hardware and software uses carbon-free sources This stellar example of clean energy commitment is just the kind of thing that's needed by organizations worldwide to not only halt the damage that's being done to the environment but to turn things around. How Microsoft is funding these amazing changes   Internally, Microsoft has put in place governance measures that enable the organization to keep energy concerns front and center while also motivating its myriad teams to take action on them. Each business group within the company pays a fee for the carbon emissions they are responsible for producing and this rate has been progressively increased since its implementation This has become a catalyst for change within the organization. It spurs and finances innovation that makes Microsoft's energy initiatives possible and changes how the organization as a whole thinks about sustainability. And, perhaps best of all, it has made the long-term cost of carbon visible to Microsoft's leadership. But Microsoft has not stopped with internal funding, it has created a $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund. This fund will be deployed from 2021-2025 to help address the technological barriers to putting the world on the path to sustainable energy. The challenges to attaining Microsoft's ambitious goals The team at Microsoft believes it is not enough for Microsoft alone to make these kinds of changes to its sustainability practices. The organization wants to innovate alongside other organizations to move the needle forward, faster. They believe that the solutions they are creating can be deployed at scale in cooperation with partner organizations. Cleaning their own house is where it starts but it extends to empowering and encouraging partners to move forward as well. Governing Microsoft's efforts in these partnerships are these three key principles: Put data first (you can't solve a problem that isn't fully understood) Take responsibility for your own carbon footprint Empower others to also assess and address their own carbon footprint Listen to hear the details of how Microsoft is making the goal of Carbon Negative a reality. Resources & People Mentioned Microsoft's carbon negative pledge statement   Connect with Vanessa Miler-Fels, Director of Energy Innovation and Impact at Microsoft Follow Vanessa Miler-Fels on LinkedIn Vanessa Miler-Fels is Director of Energy Innovation and Impact at Microsoft. She works with Microsoft's Chief Environmental Officer on cross-company energy topics engaging with our operations, customers, and supply chain. Before that, for the last five years, Vanessa worked on the CO+I Energy and Sustainability team on renewable energy procurement for Microsoft Datacenters. Before joining Microsoft, she worked at a green-infrastructure private equity fund based in London and at the French Ministry of Finance. Vanessa is French and Indian, from Paris-Pondicherry, holds a Master in international affairs from Sciences-Po Paris, an MBA from ESCP, and is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration. Connect With Smart Energy Decisions https://smartenergydecisions.com   Follow them on Facebook Follow them on Twitter Follow them on LinkedIn   If you're interested in participating in the next edition of the SED Virtual Innovation Summit taking place on March 22-25th, 2021, visit smartenergydecisions.com or email our Event Operations Director, Lisa Carroll at lisa@smartenergydecisions.com"   Audio Production and Show notes byPODCAST FAST TRACKhttps://www.podcastfasttrack.com

Today we are chatting with Lucas Joppa, the Chief Environmental Officer of Microsoft. We talk about everything from artificial intelligence, to water, sustainable airline fuel, Bill Gates, ignorance and more. Lucas always makes me think about environmentalism in different ways. Even though we both have academic backgrounds, we approach similar topics from very different perspectives. This tends to make for a great conversation. His daughter stops in for a quick hello partway through our conversation. Reminder to subscribe and we will plant a tree! Executive Produced by Sustainable Partners, Inc. Edited/Produced by Shelby Kaufman Engineered by Joe Pecora Music by Ryan and Jack Met of AJR All Rights Reserved, Sustainable Partners, Inc.

Today, we're highlighting the importance of public-private partnerships in tackling climate change. We're joined by Microsoft's Chief Environmental Officer, Lucas Joppa. Expect to gain insight into Microsoft's mindset in investing in climate action, and much more! This is episode 1 of 30 on our 45 day odyssey to bring you local stories about the many environmental solutions taking place across the country in the lead up to Election Day.

Join host Benji Backer, President and founder of the Conservation Coalition, and Executive Producer of the Electric Election podcast, Saul Spady, as they start their cross country journey in Western Washington. Today, we're highlighting the importance of public-private partnerships in tackling climate change. We're joined by President of the University of Washington Ana Mari Cauce and Microsoft's Chief Environmental Officer, Lucas Joppa. Expect to gain insight into UW's School of Oceanography climate research, Microsoft's mindset in investing in climate action, and much more! This is episode 2 of 30 on our 45 day odyssey to bring you local stories about the many environmental solutions taking place across the country in the lead up to Election Day. Still reading this far? Sweet. Tweet us or comment below with an ocean animal emoji using #ElectricElection to let us know you made it to the starfish research. (P.S. What do you think about that? Wild, right?)

What if we could track everything happening on Earth in real time? And — even better — what if all of that data was readily accessible? This week, Devindra chats with Lucas Joppa, Microsoft's Chief Environmental Officer, about the company's “Planetary Computer” concept, which aims to accomplish just that. Cherlynn also helps break down how other companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook are approaching their own environmental initiatives. While it's nice to see many tech firms cleaning up their businesses, do they have a moral responsibility to go further? What Even Is a Planetary Computer? – 2:29 Interview with Microsoft Environmental Officer Lucas Joppa – 3:05 Other Tech Companies' Sustainability Efforts – 27:05 Working On [MSI GS66, VR Exercise app Supernatural] – 38:55 Picks – 44:47

Ross and Matt talk about the recent departure of the Santa Monica City Manager. Michael Feinstein gives his perspective as a former mayor, and Dean Kubani talks about his experience as a department head and how the transitions have typically gone in the past. 

This episode originally aired in April, 2019. We hear a lot these days about “AI for good” and the efforts of many companies to harness the power of artificial intelligence to solve some of our biggest environmental challenges. It’s rare, however, that you find a company willing to bring its environmental bona fides all the way to the C Suite. Well, meet Dr. Lucas Joppa. A former environmental and computer science researcher at MSR who was tapped in 2017 to become the company’s first Chief Environmental Scientist, Dr. Joppa is now the Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft, another first, and is responsible for managing the company’s overall environmental sustainability efforts from operations to policy to technology.   Today, Dr. Joppa shares how his love for nature and the joy of discovery actually helped shape his career path, and tells us all about AI for Earth, a multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative to deploy the full scale of Microsoft’s products, policies and partnerships across four key areas of agriculture, water, biodiversity and climate, and transform the way society monitors, models, and ultimately manages Earth’s natural resources.

Lucas Joppa is a deeply curious person, which he attributes to having been raised by a family that valued curiosity and debate. It is his sense of curiosity and willingness to explore the unknown that led him to join the Peace Corps after college. This experience ignited his passion to answer the question, “How do we help people understand the natural world?” which is his north star as Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft.This question is particularly pertinent to reflect on in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, which many experts have said is a consequence of the human disruption of Earth’s natural systems. Despite all of the economic peril, there have been many benefits of coronavirus for the environment.Lucas and his middle school sweetheart and now wife were about to graduate college when they decided to apply for the Peace Corps. They were placed in a country called Malawi, a small country in southeastern Africa, exactly where they requested NOT to be placed. But it ended up being the most transformative experience of his life.What Lucas learned is that the way he views the world isn’t necessarily the only way someone can view the world. In his role at Microsoft, he knows that not everyone is living the same reality all over the world, and that environmental technology that would be effective and feasible in one country, may not be so in another.His work with Microsoft involves running a program called AI For Earth, which is specifically dedicated to deploying Microsoft's over 35 years of research and engineering in the field of artificial intelligence in four areas: agriculture, water, biodiversity, and climate change. It’s an ambitious mandate to fundamentally change the way human society monitors models and then ultimately manages Earth's natural systems.In this episode of Stories of Transformation, you’ll learn what you can do as an individual to contribute to solving the global issues we face today.For full show notes: https://www.baktashahadi.com/shownotes/microsoft-chief-environmental-officer-lucas-joppa-sustainability-technology-for-the-new-ageFollow and Support Lucas JoppaAI for Earth: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/ai-for-earthTwitter: https://twitter.com/lucasjoppaFollow/Support Stories of Transformation and Baktash Ahadi:https://www.baktashahadi.com/supporthttps://www.instagram.com/stories_of_transformation/https://www.facebook.com/Stories-of-Transformation-110335937120068/

This week on the pod, Jon Powers sits down with Dr. Lucas Joppa, Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft. They discuss Joppa's background studying ecology and biodiversity, how that led him to a career at Microsoft. He currently leads the company’s environmental sustainability efforts as well as the AI for Earth project, a 5 year, $50 million cross-company program dedicated to AI research and technology in agriculture, water, biodiversity, and climate change. Before becoming the Chief Environmental Officer, he worked as a researcher for Microsoft at the intersection of environmental and computer science. He has a bachelor's degree in Wildlife Ecology and Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a PhD in Ecology from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, and volunteered with the PeaceCorps in Malawi.

We hear a lot these days about “AI for good” and the efforts of many companies to harness the power of artificial intelligence to solve some of our biggest environmental challenges. It’s rare, however, that you find a company willing to bring its environmental bona fides all the way to the C Suite. Well, meet Dr. Lucas Joppa. A former environmental and computer science researcher at MSR who was tapped in 2017 to become the company’s first Chief Environmental Scientist, Dr. Joppa is now the Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft, another first, and is responsible for managing the company’s overall environmental sustainability efforts from operations to policy to technology. Today, Dr. Joppa shares how his love for nature and the joy of discovery actually helped shape his career path, and tells us all about AI for Earth, a multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative to deploy the full scale of Microsoft’s products, policies and partnerships across four key areas of agriculture, water, biodiversity and climate, and transform the way society monitors, models, and ultimately manages Earth’s natural resources.

In sci-fi, AI is often a negative force - but what if reality is the opposite? In this episode, Becky and Navneet explore the ways scientists are using AI technology to innovate in the fight against climate change. They talk to scientist Curtis Berlinguette about his autonomous AI lab, “ADA,” and Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Officer, Lucas Joppa about the “AI for Earth” campaign. Bonus: They even get to chat with grantee Heather Lynch about the art of AI penguin tracking.    

In this episode of our AI For the Benefit of Society with Microsoft series, we’re joined by Lucas Joppa and Zach Parisa. Lucas is the Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft, spearheading their 5 year, $50 million AI for Earth commitment, which seeks to apply machine learning and AI across four key environmental areas: agriculture, water, biodiversity, and climate change. Zack is Co-founder and president of SilviaTerra, a Microsoft AI for Earth grantee whose mission is to help people use modern data sources to better manage forest habitats and ecosystems. In our conversation we discuss the ways that machine learning and AI can be used to advance our understanding of forests and other ecosystems and support conservation efforts. We discuss how SilviaTerra uses computer vision and data from a wide array of sensors like LIDAR, combined with AI, to yield more detailed small-area estimates of the various species in our forests. We also briefly discuss another AI for Earth project, WildMe, a computer vision based wildlife conservation project we discussed with Jason Holmberg back on episode 166. The complete show notes for this episode can be found at https://twimlai.com/talk/288. To follow along with the entire AI for the Benefit of Society series, visit https://twimlai.com/ai4society. We’d like to thank Microsoft for their support and their sponsorship of this series. Microsoft is committed to ensuring the responsible development and use of AI and is empowering people around the world with intelligent technology to help solve previously intractable societal challenges spanning sustainability, accessibility and humanitarian action. Learn more at https://Microsoft.ai.    

Come hear how Missouri is becoming greener and learn from other parts of the country. Guests: Dennis Murphey, Chief Environmental Officer, Office of Environmental Quality in City of Kansas City, MO www.kcmo.org. Email us show ideas or interview requests to info@sustainable1000.com, Tweet us at @vannShane, IM on GTalk @ vannShane or call-in your questions or comments to (347)996-3601. Sustainable 1000 radio is part of the eco road trip started by Shane Snipes to explore 1000 stories across 48 states in 250 days. Stop by Sustainable1000.com for videos and more chats with regular folks who are making the world a little better in their communities.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Earth Week 2009 culminated Friday, April 24 on the Main Quadrangle with EarthFest, an outdoor party with music, organic food, and information about what students and community members are doing to green up their lives.Registered Student Organizations and community groups set up tables with information and freebies to raise awareness about sustainability practices, and to spark conversation and new ideas.In April, the Office of Sustainability launched Sustainable Actions for a Greener Environment, a new campus-wide initiative to offer SAGE advice for how to be both green and smart in making everyday choices. Students manned a table for the office and shared some of their ideas.Earth Week 2009 offered workshops and lectures on raising worms for composting, growing culinary herbs, issues in urban agriculture, the environment in United States law, and sustainable urbanism and green buildings. Speakers included Sadhu Johnston, Chief Environmental Officer for the City of Chicago; Doug Farr of Farr Associates, which specializes in construction of LEED-certified buildings; Esther Bowen, a graduate student in Geophysical Sciences and teaching assistant for the course. Feeding the City; and Cecelia Ungari, Director of Education and Outreach at Healthy Green Goods.A collaborative effort among the Office of Sustainability, the University Sustainability Council, the University Medical Center, the Green Campus Initiative, the Program on the Global Environment, the College, the Civic Knowledge Project, and several student organizations, Earth Week 2009 helped students think about their role in promoting sustainability.