EP102: Why eco-efficiency is a myth and the Business of Less - Dr. Roland Geyer

Acclaimed energy policy advisor, Hal Harvey, and award-winning NYT journalist, Justin Gillis, join us on this week’s episode to discuss:- Their new book, “The Big Fix”- Where exactly the “key decisions” are made- Who has the power to pull these policy levers- How kids convinced their school to buy electric buses- Turning up to state panels to fight for clean airYou can learn order “The Big Fix” here.

Replate Founder and CEO Maen Mahfoud joins Peter on this week’s episode to discuss:- The Replate eureka moment- Launching the v1 as a Wix website- Scaling to 1000s of partners, incl. Netflix, Amazon + more- Rescuing millions of meals- Enabling other communities to reduce wasteYou can learn more about Replate here.

AWSM Sauce Co-Founder Carl Starkey joins Peter on this week’s episode to discuss:- The AWSM origin story- Creating a better sauce, without the waste- R&D’ing the first prototypes- Working with the Minnesota Twins- Launching online nationwide- The long term impact potentialYou can learn more about AWSM here.

Rebellyous Foods Founder and CEO, Christie Lagally, joins us on this week’s episode to discuss:- Why the plant-based revolution is not inevitable- The key insight underpinning the company's origin- Destructive vs constructive food production - Rethinking how we make plant based meats- Building infrastructure and a consumer brand in parallelYou can learn more about Rebellyous Foods here.

For the last thirty years, corporate sustainability has meant the pursuit of ‘eco-efficiency’ and ‘win-win’ opportunities. But what if we have it all wrong — what if these are just myths that give us the illusion of progress, while the data suggests otherwise? Renowned industrial ecologist Dr. Roland Geyer joins us to explore the hard truths, his groundbreaking research, and a new paradigm designed to (finally) reconcile business and the environment. You can learn more about Roland here and order his new book “The Business of Less” here.Show notes:- Calculating the total amount of plastic ever produced - The impact of his groundbreaking plastics research- Why “eco-efficiency” and “win-win” opportunities are sustainability myths- The notion of “net-green” and how businesses can get there - Why he’s optimistic about the future

Better Meat Co Founder and CEO Paul Shapiro joins Peter on this week’s episode to discuss:- The second domestication- Creating real meat without animals- The pitfalls of traditional plant-based meats- The promise of their signature product, Rhiza - Growing his high school club into a national organization- 3 ideas he wants to see other entrepreneurs pursue asapCheck out the Better Meat Co here.

Omaze Founder Matt Pohlson joins Peter on this week’s episode to discuss:- Magic Johnson and the company’s eureka moment- How Omaze raises ~10x more than traditional fundraisers- The risk analyses they do before paying upfront for the prizes- His near-death experience - Raising over $150M for charityCheck out Omaze here.

Fulton Co-Founders Libie Motchan and Daniel Nelson join Peter on this week’s episode to discuss:- The current state of Big Footwear- Inventing better footwear, starting with insoles- Running a carbon-negative supply chain- Why they chose Portugal for manufacturing- The perfect partner and the future of FultonCheck out Fulton here.

EnergyX Founder and CEO Teague Egan joins Peter on this week’s episode to discuss:- The New Year’s Eve trip that led to his eureka moment- Why lithium is the next battleground- How lithium is extracted and using technology to recover it more efficiently- Getting on the Impaulsive show and how he leveraged the publicity Check out EnergyX here.

The brains behind Solutions The Game Sam Levac-Levey and Mehrad Yaghmai join Peter on this week’s episode to discuss:- The eureka moment- Making the first prototypes- Working with orgs like Drawdown to inform game content- Gearing up for the launch of their Kickstarter- The impact their already seeing with playersCheck out their Kickstarter here!