AND is the Future - Making Businesses Sustainable AND Profitable – Details, episodes & analysis

How do we make the impossible possible? Renowned explorer Bertrand Piccard of Climate Impulse is doing just that! He and his partner Raphaël Dinelli will fly around the world in a hydrogen powered plane. This is not just an aviation project; it is a human, scientific and environmental adventure. As 

Bertrand puts it, “If you dream and achieve nothing, you’re a dreamer. When you make the impossible possible, that’s when you become an explorer.”

Syensqo is proud to partner with Bertrand and Climate Impulse by providing the advanced lightweighting materials for the aircraft. 

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

According to Erica Nemser, the CEO of Ardent, “Hard things are hard, but not impossible.” Meet the entrepreneur who is making carbon capture for the “hard to abate” industries a reality! 

As Erica says, if everyone in these industries could snap on Ardent’s membrane carbon capture solution, “that’s a third of global emissions of CO₂. We would reach all of our goals almost immediately.” In this episode, Ilham and Erica have a fascinating discussion about falling in love with the customers' problems, celebrating failure as part of the journey, and even what track driving and entrepreneurship have in common! 

Erica Nemser is the CEO of Ardent, an advanced membrane technology start-up headquartered in the USA. Ardent provides separation solutions for some of the world's toughest industrial chemistry challenges, including carbon capture and storage.

At Syensqo we are proud to partner with Ardent, combining Syensqo's world-class materials science with Ardent's innovative membrane carbon capture solutions.

Timestamps

• 1:30 - Love of science, chemistry and entrepreneurship
• 2:52- The switch to carbon capture economy and Ardent’s role in it
• 6:12 - The impact of carbon capture on climate change and the economy
• 7:37 - Journey of starting Ardent
• 11:15 - Small companies as a disruptive force
• 14:54 - Inspiration from the “absence of materials”
• 19:44 - The power of AND
• 22:29 - Ardently working for solutions
• 24:13 - All about people
• 26:43 - Recipe for success
• 30:11 - What track driving and entrepreneurship have in common

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

According to top business leader and philanthropist Dr. Mo Ibrahim, “You have to be profitable in your business, but you also have to try to do good as well.” Dr. Ibrahim implemented this belief by making all his employees business partners or shareholders within the companies he ran. As he would say, “Either we succeed together or we fail together!” Ilham sits down with Dr. Ibrahim for a fascinating discussion about what it means to be sustainable AND profitable in business, the importance of inclusive capitalism, the fight against climate change and the role Africa plays, the important work of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and so much more. 

Timestamps
1:37 - Upbringing and the making of a leader
3:59 - An accidental businessman
6:08 - The important work of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation
10:47 - Africa and the fight against climate change
13:31 - Sustainability AND profitability
19:21 - The importance of inclusive capitalism
29:05 - Leadership advice
30:35 - Recharging the batteries

Dr. Mo Ibrahim is a great businessman, philanthropist, and climate justice advocate. He is the founder and chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which improves lives by advocating for good governance and exceptional leadership in Africa. He founded two major companies, Mobile Systems International, a world leading cellular consulting and software provider, and CellTel International, one of Africa's leading mobile telephone companies. As a business leader, who does so much good in the world, he is a perfect example of the power of AND.

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

We appreciate the fabulous response to AND is the future and wanted to re-share one of our favorite episodes from Season One, especially for our new listeners. This episode features Paul Polman, one of the foremost sustainable businesses leaders.

Is the world better off because your business is in it? Paul Polman speaks with Ilham about what it takes to build a Net Positive company; how leaders can unlock a company’s soul; why empathetic leadership is the key to success; the power of partnerships; the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion, and so much more.

Paul Polman is the former CEO of Unilever and one of the foremost leaders in the effort to create sustainable and profitable businesses. While at Unilever he increased his shareholders' returns by 300% while ensuring the company ranked #1 in the world for sustainability for eleven years running. He now runs an organization called Imagine, which advocates for businesses becoming a true force for good. Paul is also the author of Net Positive How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.

This episode was released as part of Season One in October 2022. 

Timestamps 
1:22 - Background and passion for sustainable business
5:10 - How to be a Net Positive company
8:42 - Purpose: unlocking a company’s soul
13:36 - Power of partnerships
19:07 - Empathetic leadership
25:30 - Leaving a better world for the next generation
27:32 - What can business learn from the arts?

Nadir Godrej syas that to make a difference in the world, you “have to make a good case for the mind AND heart” – and poetry is a great way to do this! As both a sustainable business leader AND a poet, he believes in the power of words to move people. Ilham and Nadir have a great discussion about his interest in poetry, what it takes to create a sustainable business, empathy and kindness in leadership, and much more. 

Nadir Godrej is the chairman of Godrej Industries, one of India's biggest and most well known businesses, and the Chairman of Godrej Agrovet. He is a chemical engineer, a sustainable business leader and a published poet. Mr. Godrej is deeply committed to the GOOD and GREEN strategies and achievement of set targets for the Godrej Group. He is also a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) which the host, Ilham Kadri, chairs. 

Timestamps
1:19 - Childhood and great influences in his life
5:51 - 127 years of Godrej Industries
11:42 - Good and green sustainable initiative 
14:25 - Green chemistry
17:49 - How poetry heightens the emotion
18:59 - Job training program at Godrej Industries
20:40 - Advice for leaders to become more sustainable
22:46 - Empathy and kindness in business
25:31 - Favorite poets

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

According to Nobel Prize laureate Jean-Marie Lehn, chemistry isn’t just part of the solution to humanity's biggest challenges: it is the solution! That’s because chemistry can create solutions that do not yet exist. Ilham and Professor Lehn have a fascinating conversation about chemistry and creativity, failure and serendipity in science, and how companies play a crucial role in bringing scientific solutions into the world.

Professor Jean-Marie Lehn is a French chemist known for his groundbreaking synthesis of cryptands, which led to an entirely new field of supramolecular chemistry. In 1987 he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Donald Cram and Charles Pedersen for the “development and use of molecules with structure‐specific interactions of high selectivity”. He is a Professor at the University of Strasbourg Institute of Advanced Study and the Chair of Chemistry of Complex Systems. He is also the Director, Chemistry Laboratory of Molecular Interactions, at the Collège de France.

Timestamps
2:03 - Inspiration from school science teacher
5:40 - Supramolecular chemistry
7:29 - Chemistry: part of the solution
12:03 - A creative science
14:17 - Science, failure and serendipity
17:38 - Companies play an important role
23:40 - Diversity, equity and inclusion in science
26:38 - Love of classical music - and the connection to science
29:11 - Winning the Nobel Prize
30:40 - Chemistry and architecture

Syensqo is proud to partner with the Jean-Marie Lehn Foundation. Through this strategic collaboration, we are working together to achieve breakthroughs in the design of sustainable and ecological materials, and the synthesis of renewable and polyfunctional building blocks.

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

Imagine. Be the change. Inspire - these are the words that Anousheh Ansari had made into a badge for her spacesuit as she became the first Iranian woman to fly into space! They are also the principles that led her to become a successful, sustainable CEO. Anousheh and Ilham have a fascinating conversation about the importance of having big dreams and reaching for the stars, why we need more women in STEM, and what it takes to become a sustainable entrepreneur and leader, and much more. 

Timstamps
1:29 - Childhood, love of stars and inspiration for going to space
6:06 - The importance of education - leading to engineering degree
9:45 - First Iranian Muslim woman to fly to space!
14:46 - Why we need to democratize space travel
20:13 - CEO of XPRIZE
23:52 - Advice for entrepreneurs
27:14 - The importance of having more women in STEM
30:51 - Imagine, be the change, inspire

Anousheh Ansari is an engineer, a highly successful entrepreneur, and the first Iranian and Muslim woman and the first private explorer to travel to space. She is the CEO of the XPRIZE, which aims to accelerate technological breakthroughs that will benefit humanity through the power of large scale public competitions. 

Ansari and her family sponsored XPRIZE’s first venture in 1994: the $10 million Ansari XPRIZE that ignited a new era for commercial spaceflight. She began serving on its Board of Directors and became CEO of XPRIZE in 2018, leading and scaling the foundation to its highest impact period in its history. To date, XPRIZE has launched 30 prizes offering over $500 million in prize purses, hosting over 35,000 innovators from around the world to participate in its competitions.

She is a global presence in future-positive tech markets and a resonant voice for women within STEM, business, and the entrepreneurial industries. 

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

So how does it feel to be part of one of the most sustainable sports? Great, according to Formula E champion, Stoffel Vandoorne! As he explains, Formula E, the driving competition for electric cars, is “really a championship that is on the rise, that is pushing sustainability, electrification and bringing that racing to the cities as well.” 

Stoffel gives an inspiring account of how he prepares physically and mentally for a race, what makes a Formula E car different to drive, what business leaders can learn from his champion mindset, the importance of dreaming big and never giving up, and much more! 

1:16 - Upbringing and inspiration for racing
3:34 - Preparing physically and mentally for a race
7:30 - Formula E: One of the most sustainable sports!
9:26 - The Formula E car - what’s different?
12:12 - Career in racing: focus on the journey
17:03 - What businesses can learn from racing
20:18 - Favorite race track
21:40 - Next big goal
23:06 - Life outside of racing

Stoffel Vandoorne is a Belgian professional racing driver in Formula E, the championship for electric cars. Until July 2024 he was a pilot for the DS Penske team, which Syensqo is proud to sponsor. Vandoorne's racing career started at the age of six, competing in kart championships – and this led him all the way to becoming the champion of the 2015 GP2 Series and winning the 2021–22 Formula E World Championship.

***This podcast was recorded in June 2024, when Stoffel was still with the DS Penske team. We wish him the best in his next adventure! 

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

According to Siddharth Chatterjee, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, "the world needs to unite" to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, "and this is where the role of the private sector becomes absolutely mission critical." Ilham speaks with Siddharth about his incredible work with the United Nations to improve the lives of children, ensure equality for women and girls, promote health and well being, drive progress on all the SDGs….and how businesses can play a key role..

Siddharth has worked tirelessly with the United Nations to protect the most vulnerable. One of his greatest professional achievements was the demobilization of more than 3, 500 children from the conflicts in South Sudan. He is also a health and wellness enthusiast and shares some tips from his own routines!  

Timestamps
1:35 - Childhood and inspiration for humanitarian causes
6:10 - The Sustainable Development Goals: how are we doing?
12:35 - SDG 13 and the climate agenda
18:10 - Fighting for gender equality - SDG 5
22:01 - Demobilization of over 3,500 child soldiers in South Sudan
29:52 - Focus on health and wellness
37:34 - Love of literature

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast

It all started when Helen Sharman heard a radio advertisement that said they were looking for an astronaut, no experience required. She applied, beat out 13,000 applicants, and became the first British person to travel to space! Ilham speaks with Helen about her incredible journey from a young chemist to becoming an astronaut; how she had to believe not only in herself but also her team; her love of chemistry and science; and the discipline it took to make her dreams a reality.

In May 1991, Helen traveled to the Mir Space Station and spent eight days orbiting the Earth. The mission, called Project Juno, was a cooperative arrangement and would enable the UK to send one of its people into space for the first time. During her time at the Mir space station, she conducted a variety of experiments including medical and agricultural tests, protein crystal growth and how new materials perform in the environment outside the space station. Since her return from space, Helen has been heavily involved in communicating science and its benefits.

Timestamps
01:40 - Upbringing and love of chemistry
05:24 - Becoming an astronaut
08:23 - Focus on the journey
10:13 - Flying into space
13:58 - Looking down at earth
16:46 - Reliance on her team
19:55 - Not being defined by gender
24:46 - Sustainability in space
31:03 - When will humans get to Mars?
33:56 - Advice for next generation of scientists and explorers
37:40 -  What can businesses learn from space exploration
40:40 - Interest in music
43:17 - Love of nature 

For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast