climate change

46: IceWind – Extreme Energy Solutions

A very important aspect to building a sustainable home is how we source our energy. In this episode we had spoken to Robert Gerber who talks about how through wind energy we can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. This episode is a re-air from January 27, 2021
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We talk with Robert Gerber, of Icewind USA. Robert, a career diplomat, who had the opportunity to live in Iceland. Icewind is the premier manufacturer of compact vertical axis wind turbines for residential and commercial use. Utilizing durable materials for extremely long lifespans without maintenance and a combination of blades to provide low start-up speeds, lift, and constant power generation, IceWind’s turbines serve as a reliable renewable power solution in any environment.

IceWind formed in 2012 out of the necessity to create new, innovative renewable wind energy solutions to reduce global dependency on fossil fuels. Founded in the windy and harsh country of Iceland in the shell of an old coal power plant, CEO and Mechanical Engineer Sæþór Ásgeirsson began designing formidable turbines capable of withstanding hurricanes, blizzards, sleet, snow, hail, and almost any inclement weather conditions. After years of testing, fine-tuning, and improvements, Icewind is finally ready to implement turbines into windy, volatile regions across the entire United States.

Their goal is to making wind energy accessible to anyone, from windy neighborhoods to the most remote and harsh regions of the globe. We strive towards becoming a global impact leader, building a brighter future while cutting carbon emissions, one turbine at a time. Listen and learn.

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49: Othalo – The Future of Housing

As we are in the process of building and moving into a Sustainable House, here is an interesting episode on building systems that utilize recycled plastic waste.
OTHALO™ has developed a patent-pending technology to manufacture building systems using recycled plastic waste. The main market is the developing world where there is a massive need for affordable houses, refugee shelters, temperature-controlled units for storage of food and medicines, camps (hospitals, schools, temporary living) for disasters and emergency situations.

Frank Cato Lahti, has been developing and testing the OTHALO™ technology in partnership with SINTEF in Trondheim and the University in Tromsø since 2014. The company was formally established and patent applications filed in 2019. After years of self-funding the development, OTHALO™ is now in a position to scale up the company, supported by UN-Habitat, global thought-leaders, and many engaged partners. Frank joins us from Vard, Norway, a town filled with legends of magic and the Northern Lights. Listen to his fascinating journey in this episode. This episode is a re-air from February 23, 2021

For more episodes go to our website:https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/podcast-1
To learn more about Othalo:
https://othalo.com/

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Mindful Businesses
49: Othalo - The Future of Housing
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74: MPOWERD – The Power of Sun in Your Hands

As the Europe Energy Crisis sets in, causing financial havoc in the continent, here is an interesting episode on using the energy of the Sun. Do give it a listen. This episode is a re-air from September 14, 2021
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We speak with John Salzinger founder and Seungah Jeong CEO of MPOWERD, about their company mission and passion to give back. In 2012 MPOWERD created Luci, the first inflatable solar light with the goal of making an affordable clean energy product that people could use in any situation. They create sustainable, affordable, and thoughtfully designed products that suit the needs of the many. The belief that everyone deserves access to clean, reliable and affordable energy, no matter how or where they live has driven them to create their sustainable products. For over 3 billion people, everyday tasks are made more difficult (and dangerous) than they should be. Access to clean energy can improve health, create education equality, economic empowerment, all the while combating climate change.

As a B Corp, they use the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. As a social enterprise, they reinvest a majority of their gross revenue to achieve sustainability, increase their reach to enable them to fulfill their mission. Aside from the Give Luci Program – which donates lights to their partners – their sustainable business model means that the more they sell here at home, the more affordable they can sell to emerging markets and nonprofits. As a member of the American Sustainable Business Council along with other members like Patagonia, Ben and Jerry’s, Greyston Bakery, Avocado Green Mattress, advocate for policy change and inform business owners, policymakers, and the public about the need and opportunities for building a vibrant, broadly prosperous, sustainable economy. Listen to their journey in this episode.

https://mpowerd.com/
https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/podcast-links

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76: HexcelPack – Sustainable Packing Solutions That Work

HexcelPack™ was founded in 2014 using an updated version of a 30-year-old technology developed by David Goodrich, with the idea of using paper to replace the traditional, one-use plastic products that are prevalent throughout the world in the packaging industry. HexcelPack’s™ proprietary slit paper technology was developed in the early 90’s when it was discovered that the hexagon is one of the strongest shapes to engineer, and it was possible to successfully manufacture slit paper using the hexagon shape. Back then, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was still unknown, and most people had little awareness of the wide-ranging negative impact of plastic waste on ocean ecosystems. Today, a concern for preserving ocean ecology is the company’s driving influence – making recyclable, sustainable paper packaging products in lieu of plastic. HexcelPack™ uses specialty kraft papers that make HexcelWrap™ completely unique. We talk to Lorne Herszkowicz, Partner of Hexcel Pak about how nature inspired this sustainable innovation. Learn more in this episode.

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Design and Innovation
76: HexcelPack - Sustainable Packing Solutions That Work
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75: Kudos – Natural Disposable Diapers

In this episode, we talk with Amrita Saigal, founder of Kudos, natural disposable diapers – the only disposable diaper that has 100% cotton touching baby’s bum all day. Kudos is the only disposable diaper to have earned the cotton natural™ seal for being lined with 100% cotton instead of plastic. Kudos have also been certified to the strictest safety standard, OEKO-TEX® Standard 100. Designed by a team of MIT-trained engineers (and moms!), the patent-pending DoubleDry™ tech handles moisture and provides overnight-level reliability with two layers of protection instead of one. Amrita talks about her journey, setting up Sathi – a plant-based material maxi pads, to Google X, some sibling bonding time working at Thunkable, her brother’s startup, and finally landing to launch Kudos. It has been a journey where with hard work and perseverance Kudos had received 2.4 million in seed funding from investors like Foundation Capital, XFund, PJC, Precursor Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, SV Angel, Underscore VC, Alpha Bridge Ventures, April Underwood among others. Learn now in this episode.

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Sustainable Materials
75: Kudos - Natural Disposable Diapers
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74: MPOWERD – The Power of Sun in Your Hands

We speak with John Salzinger founder and Seungah Jeong CEO of MPOWERD, about their company mission and passion to give back. In 2012 MPOWERD created Luci, the first inflatable solar light with the goal of making an affordable clean energy product that people could use in any situation. They create sustainable, affordable, and thoughtfully designed products that suit the needs of the many. The belief that everyone deserves access to clean, reliable and affordable energy, no matter how or where they live has driven them to create their sustainable products. For over 3 billion people, everyday tasks are made more difficult (and dangerous) than they should be. Access to clean energy can improve health, create education equality, economic empowerment, all the while combating climate change.

As a B Corp, they use the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. As a social enterprise, they reinvest a majority of their gross revenue to achieve sustainability, increase their reach to enable them to fulfill their mission. Aside from the Give Luci Program – which donates lights to their partners – their sustainable business model means that the more they sell here at home, the more affordable they can sell to emerging markets and nonprofits. As a member of the American Sustainable Business Council along with other members like Patagonia, Ben and Jerry’s, Greyston Bakery, Avocado Green Mattress, advocate for policy change and inform business owners, policymakers, and the public about the need and opportunities for building a vibrant, broadly prosperous, sustainable economy. Listen to their journey in this episode.

https://mpowerd.com/
https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/podcast-links

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Design and Innovation
74: MPOWERD - The Power of Sun in Your Hands
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66: Bengal Muslin

Woven Air – as muslin was known in the 1600s…the Portuguese legend said it was the fabric woven by mermaids. What makes a fabric muslin? The original muslin was produced solely from a cotton plant called, Phuti Karpas, which grew exclusively along the banks of a certain stretch of the Brahmaputra river. The extracted cotton was then hand-spun into an extraordinarily delicate yarn in villages near Dhaka, Bangladesh. Six yards of muslin cloth could be fitted into a matchbox, sixty yards would fit inside the shell of a coconut, a pound of this yarn could be stretched for 250 miles.

The finished cloth woven on looms that have barely changed over the centuries was sought after by royalty and traded globally across the Middle East and Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, earning enormous revenue for those involved in its trade. Tragically, the industry was deliberately and cruelly erased by past colonial rulers, especially the East India Company and replaced with their machine-made fabrics in the 19th century.

As a result the plant, along with muslin’s spinners and weavers, receded into the pages of history. Today, the best examples of the finished product are in the custody of Western museums and viewed mostly by Western audiences.

We talk to Saiful Islam, Managing Director of Bengal Muslin, that has identified the DNA from the fossilized plants to revive and grow the plant again. He talks to us about the challenges that Bengal Muslin faced to find, train and motivate the traditional generational spinners – who still had the collective memory of the fabric to weave 400 count Dhaka muslin. Listen to this passionate Saiful Islam only on Mindful Businesses. Saiful’s picture was taken through muslin for the cover for this episode.

PC: @Drik @Saiful Islam @Bengal Muslin

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Europe
66: Bengal Muslin
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65: The Farmlink Project – Harvesting Hope

The Farmlink Project was started at the height of the pandemic in April 2020 to fight food insecurity by repurposing surplus produce. Back home in Los Angeles at the start of the pandemic, with nothing but time on their hands, Aidan Reilly and James Kanoff were like many of us disturbed by the long lines at the food pantries alongside farmers throwing away their produce, eggs, milk … and their harvest. The boon of an efficient supply chain in the food industry can be a major problem with any slight disruption. The Farmlink Project, a non-profit run by 200 plus volunteers, operates in 48 US states and Mexico bringing the excess produce of farmers to food banks. They are the recipient of the 2021 Congressional Medal of Honor – Citizen Honors Award – awarded to outstanding Americans who have gone above and beyond to perform extraordinary acts of courage or service. Listen to their story of compassion, drive, and vision on Mindful Businesses podcast.

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Food
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61: Emoss – Future Inside

We talk to the energetic Karan Shah, director of Emoss, an Indo – Dutch company that is an independent supplier of fully electric and hybrid powertrains. Based on over 20 years of experience in the development and production of EV and HEV, Emoss not only offers complete electric powertrains for all your vehicles, but it also supplies high-end battery systems, fuel cells, range extenders, generators, power electronics, and control systems suitable for different industries.

Karan talks about how Emoss is working to shape the commercial EV landscape in India. Can such innovations be successful in a nascent market like India and what can legislations and governments do to assist the industry? Karan, Harvard Business School MBA 2016, reflects on how being amongst peers from varied backgrounds gave him a broader perspective and helped him become a better leader and entrepreneur. Listen more on Mindful Businesses podcast.

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Energy
61: Emoss - Future Inside
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54: Sproutworld – The Original Plantable Pencil

We talk to the CEO of Sproutworld – the original plantable pencils. All aspects of the Sprout pencil are sustainable and non-toxic – from the biodegradable seed capsule to the 100% natural clay and graphite core and sustainably harvested wood. Regardless, of whether you are an experienced gardener or a novice, you can choose Sprout pencils in color or in grey, and when it’s time to stop writing you can start planting, e. Start enjoying vibrant flowers, fragrant herbs, or fresh vegetables.

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Design and Innovation
54: Sproutworld - The Original Plantable Pencil
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