Psychiatrist, aviator and explorer, Bertrand Piccard made history in 1999 by accomplishing the first ever non-stop round-the-world balloon flight, and a number of years later the first round-the-world solar-powered flight. Piccard has dedicated his life to demonstrating sustainable development opportunities. He is Founder and Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation, which has assembled a verified portfolio of over 1400 actionable and profitable climate solutions. As a pioneer of new ways of thinking that reconcile ecology and economy, he uses his exploration feats to motivate governments and industries to take action. He is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Environment, Special Advisor to the European Commission, and is author of Réaliste, Changer d’Altitude, and other books.
“All the holders of solutions, all the innovators could be a startup or a big company, can submit their solution to us, and the solution will be analyzed by our group of experts. We have external and independent experts, about 370 of them, and they will observe three criteria: Is it a solution that exists today and is credible today? Because we don't want to have vague ideas for the future. We want to have solutions for today. Then it needs to be economically profitable for the company who produces it and for the consumer. The people buying the solution must save money, otherwise it's not profitable. And it needs to protect the environment, either because it's much better than anything else existing today, or because it's clearly a new business opportunity to protect the environment.
If you have these criteria that are all three positive, then the experts will give a recommendation that we give the label, and then they will receive the label. The Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label is currently the first and only label in the world that certifies the profitability of an environmentally friendly product.”
Solar Impulse Foundation
bertrandpiccard.com
Solar Impulse Solutions Explorer (1400+)
Réaliste
Changer d’altitude
www.oneplanetpodcast.org
www.creativeprocess.info
Photo credit: Philipp Böhlen