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.
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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..
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.”
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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.
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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.
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Tune-in to hear what this soothsayer has to say about what’s next for us and the planet.
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@ProjectDrawdown
co-host:
Renée Vassilos
- Agricultural Economist
- The Nature Conservancy Ag Innovation Director
- past portfolio manager: Deere China
- Bilingual Dutch / American citizen
Full bio:
Renée Vassilos is a Dutch-American Agricultural Economist who has spent over fifteen years in the production agriculture space. Her work experience includes time spent with the USDA, she has started her own consultancy to help investors and Agtech companies, she spent nearly a decade with John Deere; much of that in Beijing.
Renée has recently joined The Nature Conservancy as their Agriculture Innovation Director. She will manage TNC’s investments in early stage agtech companies that will support regenerative agriculture production – at scale.
Han has dedicated his career to sustainable development. After studying economics at the University of Wageningen, he worked for more than 12 years at Oxfam Novib, eventually leading the organization’s work in Eastern and Southern Africa. In 1998 Han joined the Dutch government. From 2005 to 2010, he held various positions at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, including Deputy Director for Nature. Joining as co-host in episode 94 is Mike Bellamente. Mike invested many years helming Gary Hirshberg’s environmental accountability organization. As former Executive Director at Climate Counts Mike gained traction and the attention of huge brands, and over 20K high-impact followers. Bellamente lead this third-party certifier of Green/Sustainable corporate practice into the mainstream – via the wallets and ideology of consumers who care. Mike now uses his developing company ‘Naked Bullfrog’ to empower more consumer engagement throughout their local & regional communities.
Through regenerative food production and forestry management; through hunting excursions and land stewardship initiatives; through a royal bed & breakfast and restaurant – Bösel offers patrons a unique experience dedicated to capturing and sharing the vitality found in nature’s systems. Since Benedikt has taken the reins of this 7500 acre estate located 1 hour east of Berlin – it’s become an Agtech innovation hot-bed, and an epicenter for testing / implementing Regenerative Natural Resource Management at scale.
As you’ll hear, Daisy is on a mission to harmonize the interests of consumers, advocates and business through her programs. In our 40 minute conversation we learn more about how these new consumer facing platforms can be used in your day-to-day. We discover what drove the ASPCA to include farm animals in their focus – along with companion animals. We hear about Daisy’s background and influences which has lead her to tackle these big problems facing our society today. We also learn how we can take these concerns mainstream – and with what partners. And, we hear how this effort to drive change through empowerment may just be our best path forward in finding shared solutions for diverse stakeholders in food.
Most recently, Murphy has become an advocate for the farmers he spent three decades working arm in arm. Since stepping down at Driscoll’s – Kevin has decided to take on the issue of undocumented workers in agriculture head on. In a recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Murphy explained that American farmers desperately need immigration reform. The editorial teased the readers with a subtitle – “will migrant workers produce our food here or somewhere else?” What’s great about it – in this WSJ piece Murphy doesn’t lament over the problems. Instead, he lays out a three step plan to reform immigration in this country beginning from our ground zero – the fields that produce what sustains us and our families everyday.
Tune in to our 45 minute discussion to hear how Erin’s background in data science is now impacting regional food sourcing, and production. In codifying a smarter supply chain and being more in-tune with the interests of a modern consumer – Family Dinner is developing scalable tech which would allow anyone to take advantage of regional assets – for anywhere. But, as we learn from Erin – you can’t fake the hard stuff. You need to get your hands dirty and develop the relationships with producers and buyers who are interested in maintaining integrity in their approaches.
As Senior Advisor to Secretary Tom Vilsack at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Sara Eckhouse focused on local and regional food systems, organic agriculture, and healthy food access. Sara launched and managed programs to support sustainable agriculture, and she has firsthand knowledge of the opportunities and challenges of combining sustainability with profitability in food value chains.
Prior to her current work, Kathleen served as a lead organizer of The Engine, an MIT initiative created to advance innovation. This venture fund and accelerator program was created to provide comprehensive support to transformative ideas from the formative stage to their most effective implementation. Kennedy was also awarded the Folio: 40, which recognizes the most innovative and influential people in the media industry, and named by the Harvard Club as one of Boston’s Most Influential Women of 2017.