Thruline to the 4th Sector

Shaping Ecosystems to Empower Sustainable Behavior with Kendon Jung, Chair of the Sustainability and Resiliency Commission for the City of Tempe

This episode features a conversation between Phil Dillard, Founder of Thruline Networks, and Kendon Jung, a Senior Global Futures Scientist and the Manager of Zero Waste Enterprise Design, both at Arizona State University. Kendon is also Chair of the Sustainability and Resiliency Commission for the City of Tempe, Arizona. Kendon is a designer of zero waste enterprises and a sustainability scholar. He received his Bachelor's in Sustainable Urban Dynamics from Arizona State University in 2013, and a Master's in Higher and Postsecondary Education in 2016. His vision is to make sustainable futures universally accessible and usable, and empower every individual to achieve their highest potential. Kendon has been on the forefront of desert water policy, global corporate social impact, and urban resiliency in three nationally recognized research centers, and is relentless in his commitment to and pursuit of sustainable solutions for all. In this episode, Kendon talks about how he initially became interested in the field of sustainability, why zero waste matters and the importance of defining circular economy within academia, and the most important thing that individuals can do to lead to a more sustainable and regenerative future. KEY QUOTE “An important piece of building a better future is sustained change. So, it doesn't mean you have to be Captain Planet. It doesn't mean that you have to completely change your entire way of working. What it does mean is picking a small thing that you can work to change your habits around, and continually doing that.” - Kendon Jung EPISODE TIMESTAMPS (02:21) Kendon’s background (08:13) Successful sustainability in Tempe (18:22) Experience in advancing sustainability outcomes (24:33) Kendon’s moment of epiphany (29:52) Evoking emotion to comprise climate action (35:48) Defining circular economy within ASU (41:12) How you can lead to a more sustainable and regenerative future LINKS Kendon’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendonjung/] Phil’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/phildillard/] Thruline Networks [https://www.thrulinenetworks.com/]

The Power of Regenerative Gardening with David Montgomery and Anne Biklé

This episode features a conversation between Phil Dillard, Founder of Thruline Networks, David Montgomery, a MacArthur Fellow, and Professor of Geomorphology at the University of Washington, and Anne Biklé, published science writer and public speaker.  Together, they’ve recently published: What Your Food Ate: How to Heal Our Land and Reclaim Our Health, a book that builds on their trilogy of books about soil health, microbiomes, and farming. David is an internationally recognized geologist who studies the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies. He is the author of several textbooks in his field and his work has been featured in documentary films, network and cable news, television, and radio. Anne draws on her background in biology and environmental planning to explore humanity’s tangled relationship with nature through the lens of agriculture, soil, and food. Her writing has appeared in digital and print magazines, newspapers, and her work has been featured in radio and independent documentary films. In this episode, David and Anne talk about the power of regenerative gardening, the need for conventional agriculture to modernize rapidly, and address the primary issue with current agriculture: monocultures. KEY QUOTE “Most of what feeds the world are not these big, mega farms. It's small farmers, most of whom are women. When you look at things on a global basis, it's not the North American grain farmer. I look at the incredible food waste, at least in North America, and it's like, do we really need to scale up if we're throwing 30 or 40 percent of our food away? And it's not just food we're throwing away, there was a lot of petrochemicals and a lot of agrochemicals and a lot of people's time that went into getting that kind of a yield, and we're throwing that away. That's just wasteful.” - Anne Biklé “In terms of individual consumer action, you look for the regenerative label in stores. People are starting to label food as regenerative now. A way that consumers can support that movement is to actually start eating that food, see how you like it. If you can connect with regenerative farmers at farmers markets and find out what they're doing and support them, supporting farmers who are doing the right thing by their land is a really good thing to do as a consumer. But it's not always possible to tell that when you go into a grocery store with the signals that we get of exactly how your food was sourced. And so there's also the idea of trying to exert political pressure on elected representatives.” - David Montgomery EPISODE TIMESTAMPS (02:18) David and Anne’s current roles (11:48) Getting involved in their work (23:04) Collaborating with other scientists (29:46) Conventional versus modern agriculture (39:52) Addressing the problem of agriculture: monocultures (47:53) How to contribute to reforming agriculture globally LINKS Dig2Grow.com [http://www.dig2grow.com] Phil’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/phildillard/] Thruline Networks [https://www.thrulinenetworks.com/]

ESG Trends Around the Globe with Coco Zhang, Vice President of ESG Research at ING

This episode features a conversation between Phil Dillard, Founder of Thruline Networks, and Coco Zhang, Vice President of ESG Research at ING, a pioneer in digital banking and on the forefront being one of the most innovative banks in the world. Coco actively provides analysis and engages with stakeholders on energy transition, climate change, sustainable finance, clean technology adoption, and environmental, social and governance regulation topics.  Prior to joining ING, Coco held positions with Eurasia Group, as well as United Nations agencies in New York, Geneva, and Paris. She has also done consultancy work for the Mexican Energy Regulatory Commission to optimize Mexico's Clean Energy Certificate reform plan.  Coco earned a bachelor's degree in government and film studies from Smith College, and a dual Master's degree in energy and the environment from Columbia University, and in international public management from Sciences Po Paris. In this episode, Coco talks about her current role at ING, her background in ESG, the recent trends in the market today, and ESG trends in different countries around the globe. KEY QUOTE “Learn more about what's going on in the climate change, sustainability, and ESG area. There’s a lot of good information sources for people to get more informed, but it also requires active thinking to filter out the noises that can be misinterpreted flying around the markets, but to get the essence of ESG and sustainability. On top of that, there is a great role for consumers to play as well. We might not be always incentivized to spend a premium to purchase a very sustainable product, but I think the trend is happening and a lot of the companies are indeed communicating with us to really build their brand, that puts accessibility at a center stage and as consumers we can eventually grow more of a willingness and habit to choose products in a very systematic way and ultimately live in a more systematic way. I think the demand side from consumers is something that's going to have a great impact on the economy as well.” - Coco Zhang EPISODE TIMESTAMPS (02:07) Coco’s role at ING (07:05) Coco’s background in ESG (11:50) Recent trends in the market (19:54) ESG around the globe (27:48) Final thoughts LINKS Coco’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/coco-ke-zhang-91ab7076/] ING Website [https://www.ing.com/Home.htm] Phil’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/phildillard/] Thruline Networks [https://www.thrulinenetworks.com/]

The Hybridization of Agriculture with Henry Gordon-Smith, Founder and CEO at Agritecture

This episode features a conversation between Phil Dillard, Founder of Thruline Networks, and Henry Gordon-Smith, Founder and CEO at Agritecture, the world's leading urban agriculture blog, consultancy, and now farm planning Software as a Service.  With over 11 years of experience in the field, Henry is a trusted advisor to corporations, investors, and new farmers on vertical farming feasibility, design, marketing, and due diligence. He is also a strategic advisor to several AgTech startups, including Smallhold, and Foodshed.io, and a board member of Indoor Ag-Con, EFUA, and previously Teens for Food Justice.  Henry holds an MSc in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, and coursework in Food Security and Urban Agriculture from Ryerson University. In this episode, Henry talks about all things vertical farming, the inevitable hybridization of agriculture, and the founding stories of his company, Agritecture. KEY QUOTE “I think most people simply have just been disconnected. As we've urbanized our society, we've been able to do that because of this greed revolution which has allowed us to centralize agriculture and lands far, far away. And the sophisticated supply chain that lets it bring us to anywhere we want in the world. Many of us can eat something from anywhere in the world. That system has led to us and both been part of us moving to cities and becoming more urbanized. And so, food and cities, agriculture and cities became separated when before that they were actually more integrated. Long story short, people don't have that connection to agriculture anymore.” - Henry Gordon Smith EPISODE TIMESTAMPS (01:50) Henry’s background (11:28) Agritecture’s mission (25:34) The hybridization of agriculture (28:42) Vertical farming (42:33) Quick hit questions (45:34) Final thoughts LINKS Henry’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hgordonsmith/] Agritecture Website [https://www.agritecture.com/] Phil’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/phildillard/] Thruline Networks [https://www.thrulinenetworks.com/]

Using the Financial System and Shifting Its Focus with Sasja Beslik, Chief Investment Strategy Officer at SDG Impact Japan

This episode features a conversation between Phil Dillard, Founder of Thruline Networks, and Sasja Beslik, Chief Investment Strategy Officer at SDG Impact Japan. With over 20 years of international experience in sustainable finance, Sasja has extensive knowledge of the global investor community and the emerging opportunities and challenges in the transition to a sustainable economy. He currently leads the development of innovative investment, lending, and advisory solutions that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and create positive social and environmental impact. His work has been recognized and awarded by various organizations, such as the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, and the Swedish Royal Family. In this episode, Sasja talks about his tool kit for driving real change in a modern world, the importance of continuing to inspire the next generation of environmental activists, and how anyone can use the financial system in order to shift its focus for the better. KEY QUOTE “I looked at the system that is, at its core, the most global denominator around the world, and that's money. So, you can be from any country in the world, but you can always trade and you can always talk money. And the global economic system and financial industry is a global citizen. The only, I would say, truly global citizen, because you shift the money across the borders all the time. In general, the financial industry has that sort of global touch. So, you can work in New York, Hong Kong, Japan, Frankfurt, or London, it doesn't matter. It's the same language.” - Sasja Beslik EPISODE TIMESTAMPS (02:14) About Sasja’s role (14:48) Creating impact through finance (20:05) Outsiders influence on environmental situations (23:47) Living in a world of artificial intelligence (28:59) Tools for driving change (35:58) Directing the next generation (41:02) Inspiring people to listen and make active change (44:08) Quick hit questions LINKS Sasja’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasjabeslik/] SDG Impact Japan Website [http://www.sdgimpactjapan.com/] Phil Dillard’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/phildillard/] Thruline Networks [https://www.thrulinenetworks.com/]