Jan 1, 2020
Ep. 95: Paul Hawken – environmentalist, entrepreneur, author, and activist ||
For episode 95 of Sourcing Matters we welcome environmentalist,
entrepreneur, author and activist Paul Hawken to the show. Paul has
dedicated his life to environmental sustainability and changing the
relationship between business and the environment. Hawken is
a leading voice in the environmental movement, and a pioneering
architect of corporate reform with respect to ecological practices.
Paul authors articles, op-eds, and peer-reviewed papers, and
has written eight books including five national bestsellers. He has
appeared in diverse media outlets including the Today Show, Bill
Maher, Talk of the Nation, Charlie Rose, and has been profiled or
featured in hundreds of articles including the Wall Street Journal,
Newsweek, The Washington Post, Business Week, Esquire, and US News
& World Report. Paul is a dynamic public speaker, and he has served
on the board of many environmental organizations.
Paul Hawken is founder of Project Drawdown, a non-profit dedicated
to researching when and how global warming can be reversed. The
organization maps and models the scaling of one hundred substantive
technological, social, and ecological solutions to global warming.
The book, which Paul helped write and edited, describes 100
solutions of change, 80 of which are currently in practice.
To clarify – ‘Drawdown’ is the point at which the
concentration of greenhouse gases begins to decline. The solutions
in the book are ranked by the number of gigatons of CO2, or the
equivalent, that they would avoid or sequester between the years
2020 and 2050. They range from big difference-makers such as
refrigerant management, wind turbines, and food waste to those that
are important but not as impactful, including methane digesters,
green roofs, and microgrids..
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In our 45 minute discussion we learn from Paul that our only future
is regenerative. In fact, our quickest and most pragmatic approach
get to the goals of Project Drawdown is to evolve our land
management practices in the way we produce our food. Paul explains,
that now tooled with modern data analysis and peer-reviewed science
supporting regenerative agriculture – investing in soil health is
the #1 way to reverse climate change – “by a factor of four or five
– SOIL is the largest solution.”
We learn of Paul’s current work “Regeneration – ending the climate
crisis in one generation” – expected release in 2021. We also learn
about some of Paul’s business ventures. Food, garden and
energy – all within his sweet spot. We hear a bit about Erewhon,
one of the first natural food companies in the U.S. that relied
solely on sustainable agricultural methods. Additionally, Hawken
co-founded Smith & Hawken, the retail and catalog garden company.
In 2009 Paul founded OneSun, an energy company focused on ultra
low-cost solar based on green chemistry and biomimicry that is now
known as Energy Everywhere.
Joining as cohost is Dutch-American Agricultural Economist- Renée
Vassilos. Renée recently joined The Nature Conservancy as their
Agriculture Innovation Director. She manages TNC’s
investments in early stage agtech companies that will support
regenerative agriculture production – at scale. Vassilos
spent over fifteen years in the production agriculture space.
Her work experience includes time spent with the USDA, she’s
started her own consultancy to help investors and Agtech companies,
and she spent nearly a decade with John Deere; much of that time in
Beijing.
Tune-in to hear what this soothsayer has to say about what’s next
for us and the planet.