Podcasts about radical industrialist

IRA Pearl is the Vice President of Environmental Sustainability at Cox Enterprises. Ira is responsible for leading Cox's sustainability strategy, including driving ambitious goals to achieve zero waste to landfill by 2024 and to become water and carbon neutral by 2034. IRA has more than 25 years of experience, both in consulting and leading environmental departments at large Fortune 500 companies, as well as in operational leadership roles. He spent most of his career developing and executing strategies in the areas of renewable energy, sustainability, climate change, and environmental compliance. Ira Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: How being a private company impacts the way sustainability is handled How Cox establishes sustainability goals and targets - ground up process Cox's approach to employee engagement and the benefits of having top down support Sustainability reporting at Cox and the emphasis on transparency Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Ira's Final Five Question Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? Understand the business side of things. Having a passion for sustainability is great, but you need to make your work economically sustainable as well. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? So many companies are now coming to the table and seeking to reduce their footprint. The accompanying level of investment is driving innovation and cost reduction and it helps all of us get there faster. What is one book you'd recommend sustainability leaders read? I would recommend Confessions of a Radical Industrialist by Ray Anderson, who was the CEO of interface. It talks about how running your company sustainably is just good business. I think Cox has proven this by delivering double digit returns on our sustainability investments. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? There's so many it's difficult to list them all. My web browser has so many bookmarks, but one of the ones I use a lot is the EIA website, the Environmental Administration website, because it is such a credible source of truth and data that helps identify trends and lends credibility to the analyses behind these resources. I also listen to a lot of business news, which more and more is covering ESG. I keep abreast of a lot trends and what other companies are doing and evolving technology by subscribing to a bunch of email list servers that that give me that data and feed it to my inbox every day. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Cox? They can go to coxenterprises.com/cox-conserves where they can learn more about our programs. If you want to learn about the investments we're making in Cleantech, you can go to https://coxnewinvestments.com. Our vision there is to take the problems facing the world and transform them into business opportunities. At Cox, we want to run a business that gives employees a better life, gets the return on investment and has a positive impact on society.

Tim serves on the executive leadership team guiding long-term social and environmental strategy for a 220+ acre campus that includes the 4M SF convention center, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the former Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, and the upcoming Hilton Signia hotel. GWCCA also operates the Savannah Convention Center in Savannah, GA. In this role, he oversees a team focused on executing day-to-day practices including waste diversion and volunteerism. Tim also helped develop and now leads the organization’s first Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) council. Tim Trefzer Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: Managing sustainability over a large campus COVID-19's impact on the sports world and how GWCCA has given back The value of LEED certification vs. building to standards Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Tim's Final Five Question Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? I'd give different advice to professionals in different stages of their careers. If I had to give one common piece of advice, it'd be to network and generate those relationships with other individuals that are in the industry, or maybe even not in the industry. When I moved to Atlanta in 2008, I met with a gentleman who is part of, at the time it was called Sustainable Atlanta, it's evolved into the city's sustainability department. The first thing he told me was, it's not about what you know, it's about who you know in this industry. I've really come to find and believe that that's true. It's really about those connections and sustainability. If you're looking for success, whether it's in a business or just personally, it's all about creating those relationships with other individuals, understanding where they're coming from and getting them speaking their language. I've really found that it's a person to person business, and generating those close relationships and that network with others has been really beneficial to me. That's where I'd say others would also benefit. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? You mentioned it's November and last week was the presidential election. Without getting too political, I'll say that with a Biden administration coming in, I think they will turn the trajectory of our environmental work, at least in this country, around. They, I hope will, reset some of the practices and policies that we've seen change over the last four years. Based on the plan of the Biden administration from an environmental standpoint, rejoining the Paris climate accord, setting very strong targets for the country from a carbon emission reduction standpoint, I'm excited about that. I hope that they'll have a tremendous impact on the world of sustainability, and I believe they will. What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read? Ray Anderson is a hometown hero in Atlanta, and his book Confessions of a Radical Industrialist, I think is a phenomenal book that any sustainability or business professional should read. Ray Anderson is the founder of Interface, the carpet manufacturing company here in Georgia. It's really just a great book looking at how business can change the world from an environmental standpoint; it can do positive good for both business from a bottom line standpoint, but business from an environmental standpoint. That book, which was written in the nineties, has come to set the standard for business. I think it's just a phenomenal book. That's probably the first of a number of books that Ray Anderson has written that I'd recommend the audience read. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? Some of my go-to resources: GreenBiz, Sustainable Brands. I do a lot of research in the Harvard Business Review, Bass company. One that I've found a lot of value lately has been Boston College's Center for Corporate Citizenship. They provide a lot of great work from a CSR standpoint. But going back to your first question, I think networking and creating those relationships and working with other individuals like US Green Building Council and the Green Sports Alliance, those organizations have really provided a lot of benefits. I've got a number of different resources and tools, but those are some of the ones that stand out. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and your work at the Georgia World Congress Center Authority? You can go to our website GWCCA.org. You can also find me on LinkedIn, or on Twitter at Tim_Trefzer. Any of those would be great and I'd love to connect with your audience.

I learned of John's work through his statement at Macmillan's Sustainability page while researching Ray Anderson: In 2009, after reading Ray Anderson’s “Confessions of a Radical Industrialist,” I decided it was Macmillan’s responsibility to lessen our impact on the earth, and in particular, to lower our carbon emissions. We created a senior position in the company and spent well over a year measuring our carbon footprint. We then set ourselves the daunting goal of reducing our scope one, two, and “major” three carbon emissions by 65%, and we gave ourselves a decade to get it done. Over the course of the last nine years, we have made sustainability a major component of all our decisions at the company. In 2010 we instituted a carbon offset program to supplement our efforts. Over the last nine years, we have lowered our carbon emissions by roughly 50%, and with our offsets, we have been carbon neutral globally for the last two years.Getting here has not been easy. We have initiated lots of projects. We have often failed, but we have been relentless in our efforts. We always tried to make good common sense decisions along the way, keeping a balanced approach. In the end, we will not reach our goal of a 65% reduction, but we have been relentless in our approach and it has become a matter of great pride in our company.The completion of our ten-year plan leaves us again at the starting line. Climate change is now a burning issue (as I write this the Amazon rainforest is literally burning). We must rededicate ourselves to the cause, and willingly sacrifice when called upon. There is a lot to do, and I’m looking forward to getting after it.I often lament the lack of what I call leadership in the area of sustainability. What I call management, plenty, which I'm glad to see. That's things like measuring, facts, figures, seeking compliance. By leadership I mean stories, images, working on the system not just in it.It looked like John was leading so I brought him to share. I believe I found a role model and leader in business. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dr. Kath Williams, LEED Fellow, is an experienced business leader with a demonstrated history of working in the green building industry globally. Sustainability Consultant for 20+ years. Skilled in Green Building Rating Systems (especially LEED, WELL and SITES Projects). Supports corporations in meeting and documenting their SDGs. Strong business development professional with a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) focused in Conflict Resolution, Adult and Higher Education from Montana State University-Bozeman.   Show Highlights  Lessons Learned of what not to do in a project launched Kath's firm into becoming a world resource for sustainability. Kath built her business with a golden “Rolodex” and direction from the three (3) biggest influences on her life.  The Green Building Councils' worldwide impact and influence on sustainability.  The perfect global response to quiet any critic of sustainability. Kath shares what it was like being part of the inaugural group of LEED Fellows working on projects that advance the mission. Some misconceptions about water. Kath provides tips on the complexity of water on our projects and how to utilize this most valuable resource. Kath shares profound advice on COVID-19, politics, culture, and the best part of not being a designer to support the industry and not forfeit the gains to the environment. “It's worth it to put in a time to get the credentials. It's worth it to put in the time to be a resource and learn as much as you can. Practically speaking, experts in sustainability are needed everywhere. It doesn't matter what the industry, it doesn't matter what your background; my degrees are not in environmental anything. In fact, my doctorate is in conflict resolution. It's the idea that we can all work together and we can all contribute.”   Kath Williams     Kath Williams Transcript    Kath's Show Resources and Information Brave New Arctic by Mark C. Serreze  Confessions of a Radical Industrialist by Ray Anderson LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Kath Williams + Associates   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast!   Copyright © 2020 GBES

“How do you move from a place of simply trying to stop bad things and asking instead how would you make products and services in a sustainable manner?” asks Adam Davis of Ecosystem Investment Partners. Is it possible to protect profits and the planet? Despite claims that a win for the environment is a loss for the economy, corporations are finding innovative ways to have it both ways, realizing that protecting watersheds and ecosystems can also protect their business. Now, innovative companies are “going circular” by transforming how their products are designed, used, and remade. Can a circular economy salvage the climate and save the planet? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests (Part 1): Gretchen Daily, Professor of Environmental Science, Stanford University Adam Davis, Managing Partner, Ecosystem Investment Partners Barbara Grady, Senior Writer, GreenBiz.com Guests (Part 2): John Lanier, co-author, “Mid-Course Correction Revisited: The Story and Legacy of a Radical Industrialist and his Quest for Authentic Change” (Chelsea Green, 2019) Beth Rattner, executive director, Biomimicry Institute Peter Templeton, president and CEO, Cradle to Cradle Innovation Institute “Aligning Profits with the Planet” was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco on July 27, 2017 “Can a Circular Economy Salvage the Climate?” was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco on May 7, 2019

Michelle L. DeLora, AIA, LEED AP, is an Associate Principal at SchenkelShultz Architecture in Orlando, FL. A registered architect in Florida with more than 20 years of experience, DeLora joined SchenkelShultz in 2012 and is part of the firm's Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) general consultant team. She is certified as a LEED accredited professional and is a past U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) central Florida chapter chair. DeLora holds a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Oregon and is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).   Show Highlights Michelle shares how to look for your passion and put roots into a lasting career  Learn what technologies there are and how to leverage that technology to make a better build environment Consider what you're doing, where you should be, and what's the next thing to help pass your LEED exams Michelle makes sense of how to pursue a project, what strategies to look for in the beginning, and how to discuss your LEED boundary What is floating solar? Michelle predicts a move towards app based products because sustainability and technology go hand in hand  Why WELL resonates with the clients today    “Be agile. When I was younger I was a little bit more sedentary and a little more afraid, but just really think about being agile, evolving with the times and thinking about what you could do. Always search for the next what's next.”   -Michelle DeLora   Full Transcript GBMS With Michelle DeLora   Show Resources   Confessions of a Radical Industrialist  The Big Pivot: Radically Practical Strategies for a Hotter, Scarcer   Linkedin   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast! Copyright © 2020 GBES

SPEAKERS John Lanier Co-author, “Mid-Course Correction Revisited: The Story and Legacy of a Radical Industrialist and his Quest for Authentic Change” (Chelsea Green, 2019) Beth Rattner Executive Director, Biomimicry Institute Peter Templeton President and CEO, Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute Mike Sangiacomo President and CEO, Recology Greg Dalton Founder and Host, Climate One This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco on May 7, 2019.

Produce, consume, discard; we all know the routine. Raw materials are extracted, produced into goods, and used – sometimes only once – before turning into waste. And maybe we think that recycling that Starbucks cup or Smartwater bottle is the best we can do for the planet. But that’s the wrong way to think about it, says John Lanier of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. “Recycling is not the answer or the solution to advancing the circular economy,” Lanier asserts. It's an answer, but actually one of the weakest ones. It’s what we should do as a last result before we throw something in a landfill.” Like his grandfather Ray Anderson, a pioneer in corporate sustainability, Lanier advocates for a mindset in which products are designed and manufactured with a focus on permanence, rather than disposability. “In this vision for the future we become owners of things…not consumers of them,” Lanier explains. “That’s a big and radical shift.” Rethinking our manufacturing methods and energy resources is another key element, says Beth Rattner of the Biomimicry Institute. “When we start talking about pulling carbon out of the air, taking it from source emitters, pulling methane off of farms and creating new kinds of stuff, new kinds of plastic…that’s the recycling story we should be telling.” Finding ways to imitate nature’s most efficient methods, such as structural color, is an exciting new development in product design. “Imagine if everything we made was functionally indistinguishable from nature,” Rattner says. “That's the goal. “Because when you walk into a forest, that whole forest is working toward a single common good, which is the protection of the forest; that is its survival strategy.” And as more and more corporations and consumers embrace the concept of a “circular economy,” it may turn out to be ours as well. Guests John Lanier, co-author, Mid-Course Correction Revisited: The Story and Legacy of a Radical Industrialist and his Quest for Authentic Change (Chelsea Green, 2019) Beth Rattner, executive director, Biomimicry Institute Peter Templeton, president and CEO, Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute Mike Sangiacomo, president and CEO, Recology Related Links: Ray C. Anderson Foundation Biomimicry Institute Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute Recology Nathaniel Stookey's Junkestra: A Symphony of Garbage | The Kennedy Center (Youtube) The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability (Paul Hawken) This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on May 7, 2019

John A. Lanier joined the Ray C. Anderson Foundation as Executive Director in May 2013. Serving in this role has been an immense honor, and he feels privileged to work with his family to advance the legacy of Ray, his grandfather. Lanier's passion for environmental stewardship was sparked by Ray's example and story, and he never tires of sharing this story with others. Mid-Course Correction Revisited: The Story and Legacy of a Radical Industrialist and his Quest for Authentic Change The original Mid-Course Correction, published 20 years ago, became a classic in the sustainability field. It put forth a new vision for what its author, Ray C. Anderson, called the “prototypical company of the 21st century”?a restorative company that does no harm to society or the environment. Anderson recounts his eureka moment as founder and leader of Interface, Inc., and one that was doing business in all the usual ways. Bit by bit, he began learning how much environmental destruction companies like his had caused, prompting him to make a radical change. Mid-Course Correction not only outlined what eco-centered leadership looks like, it also mapped out a specific set of goals for Anderson’s company to eliminate its environmental footprint. This second edition delves into how Interface worked toward making them a reality, birthing one of the most innovative and successful corporate sustainability efforts in the world. Mid-Course Correction Revisted contains a new foreword by Paul Hawken, several new chapters by Ray C. Anderson Foundation executive director John A. Lanier, and interviews with Janine Benyus, Joel Makower, Andrew Winston, Ellen MacArthur and other leaders in green enterprise, the circular economy, and biomimicry. Drawdown

Nurit Katz joins Sustainable Nation to discuss: Leading sustainability change in a large organization Updates on sustainability programs and research initiatives at UCLA Information on the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Nurit Katz Final Five responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? One piece of advice,  it's interesting, this wasn't what I planned to say, but recently a colleague, one of our alumni who I regard very highly, um, Jamie Knack, shared a book that she had read called The Power of a Positive No. And I've now gotten it and shared it with my team. And I think in these roles you're pulled in so many different directions, that actually learning how to kind of prioritize how to say no. So many of us are such yes-people that we get really excited to help everyone at all times. And sometimes that in of itself is not sustainable. So as I say to many of my colleagues, you can't sustain the university or the world if you don't sustain yourself. So, I think, you know, learning how to share, redirect and make sure that you take care of yourself is actually really critical to be a successful professional in this field. And then in terms of more traditional career advice, this field changes so quickly that I would really recommend people get out there and attend events and talk to people. So much of what I learned was that way, going to panels, getting out there, networking and it's not as set of a field where you can just read one book or guide on how to be a lawyer. It's just changing so rapidly. And so I didn't even know, for example, that the title of director of a regenerative development existed until I heard you speak on a panel a while back and the role chief sustainability officer didn't exist until some years ago. So I think if people want to stay up to date, they got to get out there, meet people, hear what programs are going on and stay current. Great advice. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability and regenerative development? That's tough. You know, part of why I ended up with a job like chief sustainability officer is that I have always been sort of a jack of all master of none generalist type person. I get so excited about all of it. Water to energy, transportation, food, environmental justice and social equity issues. But I think one of the things that's really exciting right now is people are starting to recognize the importance of separation technologies and we've spent so much of human innovation combining materials and putting things together and there's such great potential in figuring out how to break them back apart again until they're useful parts. And I think there's a lot of untapped potential in that area, which really relates to kind of taking what would be a waste product and being able to upcycle it and use it in new and exciting ways What is one book you'd recommend to other sustainability professionals.  You know, it's kind of an oldie but goody, but I happened to love Ray Anderson's, Confessions of a Radical Industrialist. I think his journey on the sustainable business side is really worth a read, but there's really so many that I recommend to my students and it's really hard to choose. So I guess for today that's the one I'll, I'll throw out there. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in the work that you do? Well, again, a lot of great resources. I am fond of collaborations and sharing best practices among professionals. So we have a group we get together of higher education professionals here in southern California and then more broadly, through the California higher education sustainability conference or through AASHE. So getting together with colleagues both in our sector and across sectors I think is really valuable. You know, lots of good resources through some of those organizations in terms of tools and guides that people can use. We definitely work with a lot of kind of cloud based tools now and collaborative work sharing tools. So those can be handy as well. And where can our listeners go to learn more about the work you are leading at UCLA? So ucla sustainability's website is sustain.ucla.edu. You can reach me and my team at sustainability@ucla.edu. That email address will come direct to our central office. Twitter handle is @sustainucla and it's really an enormous team working on these issues. I'm just a nexus and connector here of just an incredible group of professionals across our operational and academic and research areas. And so I'm happy to be that connector. If anyone is interested in any of the fabulous work being done here, I can help point you to the folks who are working on those programs and we'd love to hear from you.