Footprint

Fortune Editors

As we face unprecedented collective challenges, cooperation has become a business superpower.

38.CTW20.Footprint

Footprint has snared some huge clients for its big idea: plant-based food packaging that’s biodegradable, yet durable enough to perform like plastic. Its bowls, trays, straws, six-pack rings, and other packaging are being used or tested by giants like McDonald’s, Tyson Foods, and Molson Coors. The compostable materials can withstand extremes of hot and cold, and Footprint estimates its products have diverted 60 million pounds of plastic from the environment. While it doesn’t report revenue figures, the company says it expects 70% year-over-year sales growth in 2020.

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Footprint Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings

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Footprint Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings | Fortune

The new CEO of Starbucks, Laxman Narasimhan, on connecting with people through coffee, growing the company's global footprint, and finding his moment of zen.

Leadership Next: Starbucks CEO, Laxman Narasimhan

Leadership

Mahal. I have to tell you, you have to try the pumpkin spice martini. You have to try that. And now you're talking, I'm really talking. So, you know, you can maybe do a bit of a twist. I'm just about to say my question about the until later. Yeah. Welcome to leadership. Next, the podcast about the changing rules of business leadership. I'm Alan Murray and I'm Mia, I came to this country from India. I grew up, I came here as a migrant or an immigrant, um uh you know, two suitcases, $7700. And because I'm Asian, a pressure cooker. Uh because my mom thought I would need much here and from there, I've gone on the journey, you know, graduating from Patton and B and Lauder where I speak German and did the German program there. I've been to many places today. We're in our 25th home in 30 years of marriage, but I've learned a lot about, you know, leading in that sense. Um I think to me, um you know, there's a relentless curiosity about the leadership and I think uh the more I've learned, the more I realized, the less I know what I do. First thing in the morning when I have a cup of coffee, I look for my moment of Zen. I look for a moment of actually connecting with myself. Now, we've talked about this notion of a third place about you connecting with others and you bring those two ideas together at the end of the day. What we do with coffee, whether it's in our stores, whether it's at home, whether it's in the drive-through, whether it's in a cafe, we help folks connect with themselves in order for them to connect with others. And we are really and I've always said we are in the business of human connection. Two thirds of the people who are looking for food and beverage, go to a store alone and you know, they want to be part of a community. They want to obviously see that. And yes, there are people who come in digitally but being digital doesn't mean you can't connect with folks, which is why conversation, there are things we're doing even digitally to connect with people. And so I think we're going to in a lot of ways, see us reimagine what connection means in a world that's omni channel and bring that to bear. We just opened our 20,000 store outside the US. Uh We have about 16,000 plus stores in the US and 20,000. Now outside, if you look at the whitespace opportunities, there are many, they range from Continental Europe, to the Middle East, to Africa, to India, to Indonesia, to Latin America. And we see the global opportunity is real for us, the unit economics of the stores are great. And uh it's an opportunity for us to ensure that with our geographical partners of which we have, you know, several, we have the ability to truly fulfill the need that we see in those markets of the brand that's really powerful, that has range. And that travels because back to this notion of human connection, what I see working in the stores internationally too, the need for human connection is a global need.

Mark Costa sees other CEOs “very serious about climate change” and taking “aggressive actions to reduce their carbon footprint.”

Eastman CEO says sustainability is a “huge innovation opportunity”

Eastman CEO: sustainability is “huge innovation opportunity”

mark. It's great to see you two talk about Eastman company and all the things that's doing with climate change issues. It's interesting that the Eastman story goes back more than 100 years. You are actually part of Kodak. Tell us about the company's business back then and what it's doing now. Well, Eastman does have a really long history over 100 years and we're incredibly proud of it. We started making polymer for films and processing chemicals and over time dramatically diversified a wide range of products off of these core technology platforms where we're world leaders today, we make a variety of sustainable materials that touch everyday life, whether it's in appliances or electronics or cars or homes or additives and coatings or personal care. We're a very diverse company, but all centered on sustainability as our core. Well, you are a big believer in solving the plastic waste crisis and you're using what's called molecular recycling technology and I'm not sure I have this alright. But basically you're taking waste plastics, you're recycling them and you're turning them into a form of new plastics that can be reused. Tell us a little bit more how that works. We're really excited about our technology, which complements what happens today, which is mechanical recycling, where they just take clean bottles, wash them, chop them up and melt them, but they have limitations, you know, our quality on degradation. So we step in with our technology where we can use chemistry to unzip polymer back to building blocks purified and make the virgin polymer all over again. We can do it at a lower carbon footprint. So we're improving the climate and improving plastic waste and susie. It's really important when you think about this because a lot of people say just banned plastic sounds good. But the challenges plastics incredibly energy efficient. So if you want to switch to glass, that's four times the energy than a plastic bottle or two times for aluminum. So what we're doing is essential to really build a future for climate and plastic waste. And it's not just plastic bottles that you're doing. I understand it's all kinds of things, carpeting, building materials, shrink wrap, your recycling all that hard to recycle stuff. Right. Exactly. So mechanical recycling can only really use very clean feedstock because they're just washing it. When we unzip it, we can use all of what you said, the textiles carpet, fiber, you know, all kinds of packaging that's dirty. Uh and and give that all an infinite life. And what's important is what we do is like aluminum recycling. It's infinite. We can do it forever, even improving the quality, mechanical recycling that degrades over time. So, it's a perfect partnership that we try and create with them. So how would you describe the progress and contributions that Eastman has made so far? I'm incredibly proud of our team. How we've dealt with chaos that we're all going through from pandemics supply chain crisis and really developing our sustainable platforms or circular platform in particular. We now have three projects that we're developing. We have one that we completing in King's sport, one that we announced early this year with President Macron, that will be the largest billion dollar investment in France. Now a third one base loaded by France by Pepsi, that will be building somewhere here in the U. S. And when you put that together, it's $2 billion investment, $450 million of it. But it's a significant event that's change that will change the company and really prove to the world Circular economy recycling is scalable and can solve these problems. Probably you've been collaborating with the United Nations climate group was called Cop 27, it held summit recently. Is it making meaningful progress? I think it is. I think what was encouraging about the last meeting, even though there's been some criticism of it is I think they started to have some practical conversation, you know, the challenges of this are huge around climate that involves countries companies, consumers. But it also got a wake up call with the Ukraine war and the crisis they're now facing the energy to say this is a little more complicated making the transition and things like natural gas need to be part of that transition for a long period of time. But it's a complicated conversation that requires, you know, really understand the tradeoffs and the time it's going to take. How would you rate what Ceo and businesses are doing when it comes to climate action? I think we see great alignment with the brands that we work with, the peers in our industry, where everyone is very serious about climate and taking aggressive actions to improve their carbon footprint. I also think the circular economy and what we're doing there is a great example of collaboration. The brands are essential that uh and it really helps them not just get waste out of the environment, but dramatically lower their carbon footprint. So you see people like Pepsi Base holding our third plant, Procter and Gamble LVMH Loreal, Black and Decker, a wide range of customers that are signing up committing to these very aggressive sustainability goals. So we see great engagement and I think that's what's going to take to build this future. It's interesting that the former Ceo of Unilever recently told fortune that climate is no longer a peripheral issue, it's the absolute core of sharp business strategy. How do you respond to that? And how do you think most businesses feel about it? Do they agree or not just yet? I think most businesses agree. I know we do right at the center of our history is being innovation driven, but now it has this extreme, extreme sort of sustainability lens put on everything we do. You know, my team, I told them when I became Ceo innovate or die, um that's how you survive in this industry and now it's even more existential than that. I think those who center on sustainable materials and sustainable practices are going to exist and grow and thrive in the future. And frankly those who don't won't be around anymore. So I think we view it as core our moral purpose in our center of how we think about growth and success and value creation. Well, Mark you have and advocating a strategy of sustainable innovation over the past nine years, pretty much since you became Ceo and you said it's more than a business purpose. It's a moral purpose. Tell us what you mean by that, What is your thinking? I think that at the core of any successful company, you have to have a moral compass that engages and excites everyone every day for why they show up. They don't show up because shareholder value of the stock price is exciting, they show up because they want to make sure they're making an impact on the world. And I think where we're at and how we focused on really driving on the sustainability trends, especially in today's world, allows everyone to feel highly engaged. Now, enhancing the quality of life and material way is our mantra. It's our moral purpose. But underneath of that is improving the quality of products, improving our impact on the environment. And I'll tell you it's it's a great way to attract talent, get them excited and retain them. What motivated you to take Eastman in this direction? Well, for me, I saw the world evolving very quickly in the last decade, especially the last four years around how we impact the environment and still need to really improve the quality for many people around the world and how to do that is a huge opportunity. Most people in our industry think of it as a threat to their business, we viewed it as a huge innovation opportunity, you know, our industry frankly hasn't had that much innovation in the last couple of decades and this creates an entirely new innovation curve where we can come up with sustained material sustainable additives and make a huge impact on the world. Well, I understand that your leadership on this is also rubbing off on that your two sons are now considering to having careers that have to do with climate change. So how do you feel about that? I feel great. I mean I've always been an adventure sport addict and my kids have followed too, so we do a lot of mountain biking skiing, a lot of different water sports and they love that, but in that environment, whether you're in the mountains or the oceans, you can see the impact we're having on the environment and they certainly like to point it out and say, dad, you run a materials company, what are you doing to make the world a better place? And they've got very excited about. I can't tell you how many projects I've done with them, uh an entrepreneur classes and economics classes about products that they want to launch that will be more sustainable. So it's become a family business at this stage. Well, that's fantastic. Well, your leadership has been transformative and in fact, Eastman ranks unfortunate change the world list. These are companies that are making meaningful changes for the world. So when the day comes that you leave Eastman, what do you want people to describe as your leadership? I think right now we're at an incredible time in our industry, a time of challenge to innovate and solve huge environmental challenges and still improve everyone's quality of life. And I think the leadership I've been able to provide to build a company centered on that, to be innovation driven to focus on sustainable materials and really solve these challenges. It's a huge legacy and a game changing event for our industry and in the Foundation, I hope I've built a company, an employee base that is engaged, excited, diverse and inclusive, that's really able around the world to implement this strategy and really differentiate us from many in our industry.

App makers hope they can encourage eco-friendly habits by making it fun to track and reduce carbon footprints.

Can gaming apps help us reduce our carbon footprint?

Environment

the problem we're trying to solve is that we have to reduce global emissions by 40 to 50% in the next eight years so that we can hit our global targets by 2030 and then hit our net zero targets by 2050. And of course we need sweeping policy change. We need companies to be making different choices. We need infrastructure investment, but there's also ways that we, as consumers can accelerate the pace of change. A lot of the changes that need to happen are very, very big structural changes. But obviously there is an element there of behavioral change, what we eat, how much we waste, how energy efficient our homes are. There are things there that we can control, what is our target outcome in this case it's pro environmental behaviors, advantage of games and apps is that they can break down those really big behaviors into achieved football. My name is Katherine Dunn. I am a journalist and I live in London in the UK. I've been an energy reporter in particular, but also kind of a climate reporter for years. I was an editor with Fortune for about three years where I mostly covered climate change and I'm really interested in what it takes for countries. What it takes for economies companies and people to actually kind of meet the goals that we've set out for ourselves when I wake up in the morning. The first thing I have to do is bring my dog for a walk and on that walk. My favorite thing to do is to get a little coffee and stand in the park watching my dog run around barking at all the other dogs causing chaos come in completely ignoring me. How hard is it to bring in a reusable cup, You can see all these little like frictions there where I'm like, okay, I have to find the cup inevitably, I've left it in the bottom of the bag and it's disgusting. I mean it seems kind of crazy that a reusable cup is just such a simple change that you can make and yet I still struggle with it. The problem is that people don't know where to start when it comes to climate change. And so if you want to understand what you can do about climate change, starting with measuring your own personal carbon footprint, probably the best thing to do. So the carbon footprint in simple terms is the carbon connected to anything you do, anything you eat the transit you took that day, the energy used in your home on one level, it's pretty simple, it's the carbon you're kind of responsible for as an individual, but once you start to think about it, you realize that it is like the sum total of everything you interacted with that day, luckily now there are apps for that the climate agenda and changing your behavior, these are tough, long term things to do and so we all need a little bit of support. My name is christian arno Founder of paw prints an app that helps you reduce your carbon footprint, my name is essentially paul and I'm the founder and ceo of Zorro, Zorro is an app that helps you use the power of your spending to take action on climate change. There's a few ways we use Gamification, um one is that your own emissions, you sort of see that progress over time, you can also see your progress versus others, there's the leaderboard and in the context of separate people into teams, I would be more likely to do something because I wouldn't want to let you down. Part of it is making sure that individuals find financial value and and other personal value in it as well. One of the most challenging things about climate change and about carbon is that they're invisible and distributed and Gamification is a way of making that feel immediate and satisfying to someone when they make progress. Gamification is essentially anything designed to make a non gaming activity more fun. My name is Benjamin Douglas, I am a second year PhD student and psychology department at the University of Wisconsin Madison and we study pro environmental behavior and persuasive messaging, essentially behavior change. How do we, how do we motivate people to do things that they might otherwise not do on their own exploring is available, apps on my phone, what you can find even in the app store right now is a lot of apps that will help you calculate your carbon cost effectiveness of an app is going to depend obviously on what's in the app, so if you are using things like points and leaderboards and progress towards all those elements of Gamification, make people want to return and therefore more likely it's going to be successful. There is persuasive evidence that Gamification helps us learn, so it's more fun, then you might actually want to do it. And ideally you would do those to the point where you feel like you've kind of built up a habit, I absolutely think everyone has a part to play in keeping the planet livable. If you're spending money, then you have the power to take climate action. You know, we're only going to vote a few times in the next decade, but we do spend money 2-3 times a day. And so if you spend money, you know how to take climate action, if you have to draw up, we all have a stake in the future, but the reality is that many people in the world have more pressing concerns and that's why I think the reward element of which Gamification is a part is really important to achieving the widespread spread changes over the past several years. Been this increased anxiety and rightly so about the effects of climate change, really, we're seeing across the board is people trying to find any solution that will work. I think people are looking for tools to understand how they can change their emissions and tools to better understand their emissions as well. In a way that feels trustworthy Gamification is one that has potential and because it has the potential to work, you know, it's another area we can explore.

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