Planet Innovation is a podcast about business solutions to solve environmental problems. We bring uplifting conversations with scientists and entrepreneurs who are creating innovative solutions for the planet. This is not another doom and gloom sustainability podcast. From solar clothing to lab-based meat, we discuss how science and entrepreneurship can save the earth. Season 1 starts in September 2018.
Host Maggie Delmas is a professor of Management at the Institute of the Environment & Sustainability and the Anderson School of Management. She is the author of the Green Bundle: Pairing the Market with the Planet, published at Stanford University Press.
This podcast is for curious consumers, concerned parents, probing millennials, hard-working generation X and attentive boomers, as well as entrepreneurs in search of inspiration and policymakers in search of solutions.
The rationale
We have come to realize that the messaging about climate change and sustainability hasn’t been as effective as hoped. Narratives of fear have dominated the discourse from scientists, activists, and the media to encourage conservation responses to climate change. They focus on the catastrophic: rising sea levels, floods, hurricanes, and more. These narratives cause people to feel despair, doubt, grief, anger, or guilt—but are not very effective in finding a solution. They may even foster apathy and indifference. We think there is a real need for a more positive approach to sustainability. There are many scientists and entrepreneurs who are currently developing innovative solutions for the planet. These solutions are often complex, and they might face some customer or regulatory resistance. This podcast will talk about scientific discoveries, entrepreneurial journeys, and behavioral change.
The Episodes
Episode 1 The World Meets Meatless Meat
In recent years, plant-based diets have been some of the fastest growing food trends. There are many reasons why people might choose not to eat meat — be it for moral convictions or environmental or health concerns. In today’s episode we are going to introduce you to an exciting innovation that could potentially address all three problems: clean meat. Clean meat is grown from animal cells without the need to slaughter or raise animals. Sounds exciting, right? Take a listen to find out all about the benefits and challenges of this groundbreaking innovation…
Episode 2 A Simple Solution to Air Pollution
Air Indoors can be several times more polluted than air outside….This can cause allergies and asthma, affect concentration and sleep quality, and much more, with lasting consequences. Unfortunately, this pollution is invisible to the naked eye. How bad is it? Can we do something about it? In this episode, we discuss the impacts of poor indoor air quality on health, how entrepreneurs have developed affordable indoor air quality monitors that give us access to information about air quality in real time, and how this information can help us protect our health…
Episode 3 (coming soon) Eat your Trash: Rethinking Plastic
Plastic has quickly become a staple in our lives. We never could have foreseen the disastrous effects that it’s having on our home today. By 2050 it’s predicted that the ocean will have more plastic by weight than fish! But some innovative companies have begun to look for new alternatives: What if we no longer needed plastic at all? What if we could eat our trash? In this episode we explore how we can reuse, reduce, recycle, and redesign our plastic waste…
Episode 4 (coming soon) The Green Wine Puzzle
While the market for organic produce is booming, organic wine is lagging behind. Why do US consumers shy away from organic wine? And why don’t most organic wineries advertise their hard-earned eco-certification on their bottles? This is the organic wine puzzle. Listen in to hear about the organic wine process, how wineries and wine experts think it leads not only to a greener environment but even to higher quality wine, and what one innovative winery is bringing to the table: lab-made wine — wine without the vine.