The Decade Podcast

Once we know what's right, how can we empower positive change towards that belief?

Join us as we dive deep into the world of values-driven leadership with Mary Gentile, the creator of the groundbreaking pedagogical approach known as "Giving Voice to Values" (GVV).

GVV is more than just a curriculum; it's a powerful, action-oriented methodology that equips individuals with the tools and strategies they need to transform their values into meaningful action. Mary Gentile joins us to unravel the core principles of GVV and discuss how it can be harnessed as a catalyst for enacting positive change.

Our engaging conversation revolves around a pivotal question: Once we've identified our values and discerned the necessary changes, how do we effectively turn those aspirations into reality? Mary Gentile shares insights on how we can connect with our authentic selves, allowing us to better understand our behaviors and actions in situations where change is desperately needed.

In this episode you’ll discover the actionable steps and strategies that can empower you to become a values-driven leader who not only identifies what's important but also takes purposeful steps towards realizing these values. Whether you're an aspiring leader, an experienced professional, or simply someone passionate about making a difference, this episode will inspire and guide you on your journey to becoming an effective change-maker.

Join us in an insightful conversation with Dr. Samer Nameer, the co-founder and Chief Sustainability Officer of Enerpoly, a groundbreaking energy storage company dedicated to global energy access and decarbonization.

In this episode, we explore Enerpoly's mission to deliver the energy storage solutions of tomorrow. Dr. Samer Nameer sheds light on how he and his colleagues created their patented zinc-ion battery technology. We delve into their commitment to long-term viability and how their innovative process allows for scalable production, making clean and sustainable batteries accessible to a wide range of applications, from residential to grid-scale.

Throughout our conversation, we discuss the advantages of zinc-ion batteries compared to traditional lithium batteries, highlighting the safety and sustainability aspects. Dr. Nameer also shares valuable insights into the challenges faced by the current battery industry and how Enerpoly's technology aims to meet the growing demand for energy storage.

Lastly, Dr. Nameer offers his personal perspective on being an entrepreneur in today's business landscape and the significance of innovation in driving positive change.

Tune in!

/Jonathan & Melker

Join us as we explore the concept of the regenerative renaissance with Rieki Cordon. He describe himself as a mapmaker working to enable a thriving world for both people and the planet. In this episode, we discuss the limitations of many of today's systems, which prioritize short-term gains over long-term sustainability, and explore how the regenerative renaissance offers a more holistic approach to design, governance and ownership.

At its core, the Regenerative Renaissance seeks to move beyond the limitations of traditional sustainability efforts, which focus on reducing negative impacts on the environment and society, towards a more proactive and regenerative approach that aims to restore and enhance ecosystems and communities. It seeks to foster more symbiotic relationships between humans and the natural world, and to promote a more equitable and just society.

Through our conversation, we gain insights into how the regenerative renaissance can help us reimagine our relationship with the natural world and create more resilient systems.

Learn more about the Regenerative Renaissance and Seeds:

"The investments we make are building the world we're living in tomorrow" 

Marco Vangelisti is an author, speaker, and 100% aware and no-harm investor. In this episode, he shares his personal story of why he left a successful career in finance and sold all of his investments to focus on no-harm investing. Moreover, he explains what it entails to be just that, an aware and no-harm investor who invest for people and the planet.

Marco is passionate about sharing knowledge and understanding of the money and banking system, the economic system, and the financial system and how to redesign them. By listening you will learn how most of our investments are unaware and what you can do to become aware and start investing in a non-harmful way and what you can do to go as far as positive and restorative investments.

“Relationships are the key to a successful career and a happy life, and the most effective way to build relationships is with great communication and meaningful conversation.”

This is what today’s guest and master mind Andrew Horn is passionate about. He dedicates his work to help others to connect better to their authentic selves and other people. Amongst other things, we talk about a framework he developed called social flow, which guides you to be more authentic, curious and present in your life.

Andrew Horn is a serial entrepreneur, life coach, speaker and writer. He did his first TEDx talk at 21, he has created companies such as Dreams for Kids DC and Tribute.co, and is also passionate about “men’s work” where he started the non-profit organization Junto.

What does it mean to be an NGO with a startup mentality?

Coral Gardeners is on a mission to revolutionize ocean conservation and generate collaborative action around the world to save our coral reefs! In this two part episode we talk with Karine Toumazeau who’s their head of strategy.

In this second part of our conversation, we dive deeper into the strategic decisions behind their work and how their entrepreneurial approach enables Coral Gardeners to generate positive impact, both locally and globally.

No Reef, No Ocean, No Air!

What would happen if there were no more coral reefs?

Coral Gardeners is on a mission to revolutionize ocean conservation and generate collaborative action around the world to save our coral reefs! In this two part episode we talk with Karine Toumazeau who’s their head of strategy. The devoted team at Coral Gardeners have set up an ambitious goal, planting 1 million corals and telling the story of the reef to 1 billion people by 2025.

Hear us talk about the journey of how coral gardeners started with a small group of young people in French Polynesia on the island of Mo’orea, the sister island of Tahiti. The small group were first hand witnesses to the rapid degradation of the coral reefs and decided to take action. This small group of young locals have now grown to an international collective of scientists, engineers, creators and advocates who are determined to save the reef!

No Reef, No Ocean, No Air!

Did you know that kelp forests are one of Earth’s most vibrant biomes and dynamic carbon sinks, drawing down more CO2 from the atmosphere by area than land-based rainforests do? Could this be one of THE solutions to keep us below 1,5 degrees celsius?

Brian Von Herzen is the mastermind behind Marine Permaculture. Brian and his team at The Climate Foundation have developed a technology that uses marine solar and wave-driven pumps in the ocean to restore natural upwelling and primary production to grow seaweed ecosystems. In this episode you will hear Brian talk about the incredible potential of seaweeds, for example, fixing significant amounts of carbon and having multiple uses including food, feed, fuel, biostimulants, and fertilizer. He explains that once deployed at scale, Marine Permaculture can regenerate life in seas and soils and restore a healthy climate while building a multi-billion dollar seaweed export market over the next decade.

Brian graduated magna cum laude in three years from Princeton University with a degree in Physics. He holds a Ph.D. in planetary science from the California Institute of Technology where he was awarded the prestigious Hertz Fellowship. After two decades of developing system solutions for companies such as Intel, Disney, Pixar, Microsoft, HP, and Dolby, Brian launched the Climate Foundation to investigate groundbreaking nature-based solutions to climate and other environmental challenges.

Is electrification really the silver bullet solution to our current transportation system? And how do autonomous vehicles fit into today's transportation system? Those are some of the questions we unpack in today's episode.

Our guest, Anna Pernestål is a senior researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology and is the director of the Integrated Transport Research Lab. Her research focuses on sustainable transport, connected and automated mobility, and shared mobility. She takes an integrated, or system-level approach, and studies impacts on sustainability from environmental, economical and social perspectives.

You will hear us talk about what our transportation system would look like in a sustainable society and why it is so important to have an integrated systems thinking approach when working with sustainable development.

Are our children and youth the answer to solving many of the pressing sustainability challenges we currently face?

Today's guest Kehkashan Basu is the youngest person in history to be elected (12 years old) as the Global Coordinator for Children & Youth at the United Nations Environment Programme. She says “I believe that every single person can learn from one another regardless of their age, that’s how you get a world where everyone is happy”.

We discuss why children are perfectly positioned to move the needle on climate justice, social equality, gender issues and more. She shares her inspiring family background that encouraged her to speak up and stand for something, and she explains how her work earned her the 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize.

Her catalyst to take action was when she at the age of 8 saw a picture of a dead bird with a stomach full of plastic and decided to raise awareness about plastic pollution. At the age of 12 she started The Green Hope Foundation, which provides young people in 16 countries a networking platform to engage in the sustainable development process and is currently the president of the organization. Her ultimate goal? To become the first female U.N. Secretary General.

See you in there! /Jonathan & Melker

Do you want to learn how to change the narrative on climate change so we can act from courage and excitement, and not fear?

Today's guest Anne Therese Gennari says, “When it comes to climate change, we’re asked to panic. But fear will never drive long-term, sustainable change, so it’s time we tell a new story. Climate Optimism is not about taking a step back and hoping for the best to happen. It’s about diving into awareness and choosing a path of resilience, action, and hope!”

Anne Therese is a speaker, educator, environmental activist, author, and podcaster. She’s currently writing a book with the title: How to shift the narrative about climate change and find courage and choose change that will be published this fall.

This episode is packed with many great insights on how to find optimism about climate change. We talk about what climate optimism is and myths around it, common barriers to action for the climate, and how science shows that optimism can serve as an antidote towards that inaction.

See you in there! /Jonathan & Melker

Personal development is a key component in navigating today's VUCA-World (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous). Tomas says "Democracy will not function if everyone in society is adapting to what peers and culture are expecting of people. We need a critical mass of independently thinking and feeling people who can reinvent purpose on their own. Do we live in crappy times? No. We live on the threshold of a new world. Let's give birth to it. Together."

Based on his understanding of human and societal needs in a world that is in many ways falling apart, Tomas has committed himself to facilitate the co-creation of a more conscious society. He's the founder of the Ekskäret Foundation and is involved in many other fascinating initiatives like Inner Development Goals, 29k, Emerge, K9 Co-living. He's written three books, The Market Myth, The Nordic Secret, and The World We Create.

See you in there! /Jonathan & Melker

Why is imagination so crucial for humanity in 2022? The latest IPCC report is telling us that we have a small shrinking window for change, and it’s shrinking fast.

What if, could actually be the two most important and powerful words in our world right now. Todays guest Rob Hopkins, the author of What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want, says “Physics demands that we re-imagine everything, our food system, education system, transport system, economic system. All transformative projects starts with great what if questions, and if we keep coming back to our imaginative spaces, our imagination grows, followed by a sense of what’s possible grows, and that’s what we need to see in the world, now more than anything.”

By listening to this episode you will learn how you to become more imaginative, both in your personal and professional life, what a great “What if-question?” with transformative capacity is and tons of inspiration and insights from some of the amazing transformative stories behind Rob’s work. 

See you in there! /Jonathan & Melker

Willem Ferwerda has an impressive resumé, he studied tropical ecology and environmental science in Amsterdam and Bogotá. He has worked in several countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia on tourism, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems. He’s been the director of IUCN Netherlands, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the largest international union of nature organizations, states, and scientists. Ferwerda is also appointed Special Advisor Business & Ecosystems at the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management, (Switzerland). He holds board or advisor positions at several institutions such as the World Land Trust (UK), the Charles Darwin Foundation (Galapagos, Ecuador), the Lippe-Biesterfeld NatureCollege Foundation (NL), and is an ambassador of the Dutch Platform on Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Economy. Ferwerda is also a member of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration. In 2013 he founded Commonland, an organization that scales up existing ecosystem restoration projects by developing companies that will generate investment returns. Its goal is to contribute to the Bonn Challenge, a multinational agreement to restore 150 million hectares in 20 years. 

In our conversation, we talk about how Commonland with their 4 Returns, a science-based framework transforms degraded ecosystems by focusing on 4 key returns over the course of 20 years. The 4 returns are return of inspiration, natural, social, and financial capital. We hear Willem speak passionately about his vision of a world that truly values nature and he explains what skills and capabilities he feels are needed within ourselves to be able to collectively restore our landscapes. 

Jamie Bristow is the Director of The Mindfulness Initiative, a policy institute about mindfulness and compassion training that grew out of a programme of mindfulness teaching for politicians in the British Parliament. Jamie work with politicians and other decision-makers around the world to help them make trainable capacities of mind and heart serious considerations of public policy and has supported the introduction of mindfulness courses in over 10 national parliaments. He is also the author of several publications including Mindfulness: Developing Agency in Urgent Times and his most recent publication Reconnection: Meeting the Climate Crisis Inside Out. 

Amongst other things, we talk about what mindfulness actually is, how it could serve as a form of self-defence in our current smartphone era where our attention is a constant victim of getting hijacked, and how mindfulness can serve as a valuable tool for sustainable development. In regards to sustainability, Jamie explains how mindfulness & compassion practise help us staying with the trouble, build psychological resilience and stimulate positive emotion and engagement. 

In the 32nd episode of The Decade Podcast we sit down with the biomimicry expert Fredrik Moberg. Fredrik is the founder and co-director of Albaeco, an independent organisation and sustainability consultancy. He is also working for Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) as a researcher and senior communications advisor. He has a book out (in Swedish, 2021) about biomimicry (sustainable solutions inspired by nature) and also recently co-founded a Nordic Knowledge Hub & Education Platform for Biomimicry (nordicbiomimicry.org). 

In this episode you will hear Fredrik talk about biomimicry from different lenses. You will learn more about biomimicry and what it actually is, and whatever challenge you're looking to address, nature can serve as your model, measure, and mentor. 

In the 30th episode of The Decade Podcast, we sat down with the incredible human being Johan Reunanen. Johan is the Director and Head of Sustainability Transformation at the company Cordial. Amongst other things, his work is dedicated to helping companies in their sustainability transformation and often the transition to stop being fossil fuel dependent and replace that with a greener source of energy. He's also a podcast host, an incredible thinker, and a leader fuelled with love. Johan shares many brilliant ideas in his talks and articles about Corporate Sobriety and Loving Leadership.

In our conversation with Johan, we talk a lot about addiction and specifically about Johan's former addiction to alcohol. He shares a lot of insights from his recovery and how he uses those insights and his personal development in his work and journey through life. Moreover, we talk about what similarities there are between our current collective unsustainable behavior and addiction, the importance and need of creating a positive shared sustainable vision, and more.. Buckle up, this was truly a great one!

In the 28th episode of The Decade podcast we speak with Daniel Gustafsson. Daniel is the Head of development for on shore wind power at Vattenfall and has a background in Sustainable energy engineering. Vattenfall is a Swedish multinational power company owned by the Swedish government with the vision to create a fossil free living within one generation. 

In our conversation with Daniel we touched on the three dimensions of sustainability, environmental, social and economic. We talk about the past, present and future of energy and in particular renewable energy. Moreover, we discuss different trade offs in regards to renewable energy sites such as wind power plants and how industry partnerships can be vital in our current transition towards a more thriving world. 

In the 27th episode of The Decade Podcast, we sat down with Hanna Lindquist as the Customer Success Manager at Trine. What Trine does is that you make it easy for people to invest in solar energy in growing markets, offering a return on investment that’s good for the people, the planet, and for profit. The company has won multiple awards such as Climate Solver 2016 awarded by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Solar Power Portal’s Finance Innovation in 2017, Best social impact start-up in 2017 at the Nordic start-up awards, and the winner of inUse award in 2018. 

In our conversation with Hanna, we discussed alternative ways to “business as usual”, how it is to operate as a company with a triple bottom line approach and Hanna tells us about how Trine as a company makes both social and environmental impact. 

In the 26th episode of The Decade Podcast we had the privilege of talking to one of the co-founders of Greenpeace, Captain Paul Watson. In 1977, he left Greenpeace and founded the SeaShepherd Conservation Society. He's a renowned speaker, accomplished author, master mariner, and lifelong environmentalist. Captain Watson has been awarded many honors for his dedication to the oceans and to the planet. He received the Genesis Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1998, was named as one of the Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century by Time Magazine in 2000 and was inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame in Washington D.C. in 2002. He was also awarded the Amazon Peace Prize by the president of Ecuador in 2007. In 2012, Captain Watson became only the second person after Captain Jacques Cousteau to be awarded the Jules Verne Award, dedicated to environmentalists and adventurers. 

Amongst other things we talked about the state of our oceans and the severe impact we humans have on our precious ecosystem, why it is important to take real action towards the change you want to see in the world the recent documentary Seaspiracy, what impact it made, and what we can learn from it and what Paul think is needed from humans and our current system to let our oceans recover and thrive again.

It was such a powerful conversation to have leaving us both inspired to continue our journey of making positive impact on this world. 

In the 25th episode of The Decade Podcast, we sit down with Elin Bergman who's a circular economy expert. She’s one of the most impactful drivers of change for the circular economy in Sweden and the Nordic countries. One could summarise that most of her work is dedicated to accelerating the transition from the dominant linear economy we see today to a circular economy which would help us move and operate within the planetary boundaries. 

In our conversation with Elin, we dissected the term circularity from different perspectives. Elin gives many great practical examples of what circular economy is and what it’s not, but we also talk about it from a more philosophical perspective which I found very inspiring. It was such a pleasure speaking with Elin, her positive energy really affected me and I would truly recommend you to check her out, she’s doing some incredible stuff with the organizations she’s a part of! So without further ado, I hope that you’ll enjoy this episode with Elin Bergman!

In the 23rd episode of The Decade podcast, we dove deeper into an often overlooked aspect of sustainability, our own personal sustainability. Today's guest, Oren Ipp has been working in the service of others for more than 20 years. He’s done many years in foreign aid, designing, managing, and evaluating multimillion-dollar programs in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

After many years of working on transitions within countries, communities, and institutions, he now focuses on personal transformation as a driver of social change. Oren work with activists, entrepreneurs, and innovators by helping individuals design and lead lives of meaning, service, passion, and balance.

Our conversation with Oren highlights the human experience. While working with societal and planetary challenges can be very overwhelming, and to stay in a positive direction while working on solving these challenges can itself be very challenging. Oren shares his tips and tricks about how we can navigate around our own personal well-being and it was really mind-expanding to listen to Oren speaking about his experience and expertise around the topic.  

In the 22nd episode of The Decade Podcast, we speak with Nicholas Marchesi who is an amazing impact entrepreneur! He’s one of the co-founders of Orange Sky, the world’s first free mobile laundry service for people experiencing homelessness. What started as an idea to improve hygiene standards and restore dignity to people has evolved into something much bigger and more powerful. 

Nic started Orange sky at the age of 20 with his friend Lucas Patchett in Brisbane Australia and it has now grown into an international enterprise that makes a real impact every day. Nic along with his co-founder Lucas have been awarded Young Australian of the year as well as Order of the Medal of Australia for their incredible contribution through their work with Orange Sky. Amongst other things we talk about the amazing story of Orange sky, impact entrepreneurship, and how important it is sometimes, only to take that first step towards making a positive impact and trust that the rest will fall into place.. Nic and Lucas are living proof of that! 

In the 21st episode of The Decade Podcast we had the pleasure of speaking to Joe Brewer. Joe has a unique background in physics, math, philosophy, atmospheric science, complexity research, and cognitive linguistics. More than a decade ago, he left the academics to trail blaze a path for other research practitioners to follow. Awakened to the threat of human-induced climate disruption while pursuing a Ph.D. in atmospheric science, he switched fields and began to work with scholars in the behavioral and cognitive sciences with the hope of helping create large-scale behavior change at the level of global civilization. He’s also the author of the book “The Design Pathway to Regenerating the Earth.”

Our conversation circled around the design pathway to regenerating the earth. Joe explains terms like developmental entrenchment and how that has affected us throughout our evolution, we talk about ecological trauma and grief. Moreover we talked about something that both Melker and I found very interesting, cultural scaffolding and how that will play a crucial role in the coming years….

In the 20th episode of The Decade Podcast we had the pleasure of speaking with Eva Karlsson, CEO at Houdini Sportswear. Houdini is a progressive outdoor company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Eva has been working at Houdini for about 20 years, she’s been awarded The Sustainable Leadership prize by the network for sustainable business in 2018 and one can often see Eva speaking passionately about sustainability at well-known conferences and seminars. Eva and her co-workers at Houdini Sportswear are truly paving new ways for businesses in the apparel industry and it was such a delight talking with Eva about the way they operate.

In our conversation with Eva we discussed growth and profit maximisation, how Houdini goes beyond legal requirements, the values that drives Houdini as a company and much more.

“We think we tell stories, but stories often tell us, tell us to love or hate, to see or be seen. Often, too often, stories saddle us, ride us, whip us onward, tell us what to do, and we do it without questioning. The task of learning to be free requires learning to hear them, to question them, to pause and hear silence, to name them, and then become a story-teller.” – Rebecca Solnit 

In this episode we had the pleasure of curiously exploring the rabbit hole of stories with Amit Paul in this context as the host of The World Of Wisdom Podcast. As summarised from the quote above, there is immense power and impact behind the stories we tell. We shared our own experiences and thoughts around stories and what it means to us. Moreover, we discussed it from both a organisational and global perspective and explored what impact stories have on our future development. 

If you would like to continue to explore this fascinating topic with the wonderful people behind World Of Wisdom press the link below. 

Carl Lindeborg is a passionate advocate for sustainability, he's the founder of Leader Evolve, a catalyst for Future Proof Leadership where he helps leaders and organisations evolve into the future. He has published two books on personal leadership and he's also the co-founder of Lindeborgs Eco Retreat, the world's first carbon negative conference, retreat and training center. We really enjoyed having this conversation with Carl, we discussed a lot around purpose, Carl shared a super inspiring story of how he gave up a promising career at a well known consultancy company in order to travel the world, the experience which later resulted in the book about personal leadership "Your Brilliant Self". Carl also covered the topic of Vertical Development which he sees as a key factor to develop for business leaders in the emerging complex times we face. If you would like to check out Carl's inspiring stuff, see below. /Jonathan & Melker

Todays guest, Pella Thiel describes herself as a systemic activist and cultural change agent. She organise, write and educate on issues related to adjustment for a society in harmony with nature. Pella is an educated ecologist and has been involved in starting Swedish parts of international networks such as the Network for Nature's Rights, End Ecocide Sweden (works for large-scale environmental damage as an international crime), and the Transition Network in Sweden, just to mention some of the cool stuff she does. We discuss why it is important for nature to have rights, what actually happens with us humans when we spend time in nature, what a transition network is and much much more. It was a real delight talking with Pella, she's very authentic and inspiring with the work she does, hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it :) / Jonathan & Melker

In this episode, we dive into personal development with behavioral scientist Jan Artem Henriksson. Jan works very closely with Robert Keegan that is well known for his theories about adult development. We discuss the importance of connecting with your inner values, the need of going beyond a socialized mind, what role self-discovery/development plays in our overall development as a species, and what this means for sustainable development. Jan is truly a pioneer in this field and it was such a pleasure having this discussion with him. Thanks for listening! /Jonathan & Melker

The modern world is a complex system of natural processes, human ambition and socio-cultural evolution, where adaptation and learning as a balanced dynamic is the key for survival, both for species in nature, (of which the human is one) as well as for organizations and their management teams. Generating a wide range of perspectives and in-depth experiences to explore the unpredictable future together is the trademark of Göran Gennvi. We discuss transformative leadership and development in a sustainable world, how Göran uses nature as a teacher and as a classroom, what you can gain and learn about yourself by doing one of his famous Nature Quests and much, much more. /Jonathan & Melker

Owen Gaffney is known as a global sustainability strategist, he's a writer, producer and analyst focusing on the future of people and the planet. Owen is involved in several remarkable organisations, the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Global Commons Alliance to mention a few. In our conversation with Owen we talked about the state of the planet, how we got where we are today and ultimately, what is needed for us to overcome the severe challenge we currently face of reaching a sustainable state for our home planet.