Supercool

Cambium is building the operating system for reuse—a digital supply chain connecting the fragmented network of companies needed to turn fallen trees into finished goods.Every year, tens of millions of urban trees come down. The scale is staggering, and most end up chipped, burned, or buried. Cambium links tree-removal crews, haulers, mills, and end customers through a unified digital platform—transforming what was once waste into market-ready material.Today, more than 500 companies across the U.S. and Canada coordinate each tree’s journey, forming a just-in-time network for reclaimed wood.Co-founder and CEO Ben Christensen calls it building a “tech-native forestry company”—one where reuse runs on code, data, and tight coordination. In this episode, Ben and host Josh Dorfman explore how mastering complexity becomes a competitive advantage, how data builds defensibility, and how scaling reuse could redefine how the material economy works.Show NotesGuest: Ben Christensen Company: CambiumFor more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks that drive their adoption—subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

AI, electrification, decarbonization—they all hinge on how effectively the grid is orchestrated. Yet thousands of clean energy projects are stuck in U.S. interconnection queues. The backlog is twice the size of all the energy we use today. It’s not a cost problem. It’s the grid—the largest machine on earth—built last century for stability and missing the cloud-scale infrastructure to handle what’s ahead.Astrid Atkinson has run a machine like this before. At Google, she spent fifteen years in site reliability engineering, keeping Search, Maps, YouTube, and Gmail online with 99.999% uptime. If google.com went down, her team got paged. Running one of the world’s largest critical infrastructure systems taught her a lesson: you don’t scale by adding infinite hardware. You scale with visibility, software, and flexibility.Now, as co-founder and CEO of Camus Energy, she’s applying that lesson to the grid. Camus builds a real-time data layer—linking past, present, and future—and turns it into signals utilities use to coordinate assets: charge later, ramp down, discharge when needed.With visibility and signals, utilities gain the control knobs they need—so projects connect in months instead of years and demand flexibility becomes part of the grid’s DNA.Show NotesGuest: Astrid Atkinson, co-founder and CEOCompany: Camus EnergyFor more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks that drive their adoption—subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

Curbside charging sounds obvious—plug in outside your apartment, wake up to a full battery. Yet more than 40 million potential urban EV owners are still waiting for someone to figure it out.it’s electric, co-founded by Tiya Gordon, is designing EV charging for cities—making curbside charging possible by inventing what didn’t exist: hardware powered directly by buildings, a revenue model that pays property owners, and a way to work with cities that clears the path to install. Its chargers are already operational in Boston, Detroit, and San Francisco, with more cities on the way.Tiya brings a unique background in public-facing technology and design to the challenge—she led the technology for the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Now she’s assembled a team from transportation, design, and public projects—people who know how to connect landlords, planners, and engineers into the same conversation. That’s how It’s Electric moves swiftly through city permitting in days instead of years—and why the future of EV charging will feel less like bulky infrastructure, and more like disco and sunshine.Show NotesGuest: Tiya GordonCompany: it's electricFor more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks that drive their adoption—subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

By fusing architect and developer, Alloy Development is proving that the riskiest choice in real estate isn’t electrification or Passive House — it’s clinging to the past.CEO Jared Della Valle joins Supercool to share the company’s journey to developing The Alloy Block in downtown Brooklyn—aiming to create the most sustainable block in the city. It’s anchored by 505 State Street, New York’s first all-electric skyscraper; two Passive House–certified public schools; and soon, One Third Avenue—the tallest Passive House tower in the world.Della Valle describes how Alloy built investor confidence project by project—staying nimble, controlling risk, and executing at a standard that pulled institutional capital toward climate performance. He explains why going all-electric lowered long-term risk, how policy and pricing dynamics shifted investor expectations, and why the most competitive real estate today is also the cleanest.Alloy is shifting how Wall Street perceives risk and return—redefining climate performance not as the exception, but the expectation.Show NotesGuest: Jared Della Valle, CEO Company: Alloy DevelopmentProject: The Alloy BlockBuilding: 505 State Street - All-Electric SkyscraperFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

Mike Faherty grew up surfing the Jersey Shore, surrounded by coastal style but chasing something that felt more enduring. Even as a kid, he obsessed over fabrics—the way silk ties carried weight, how colors layered, how clothes gained character through texture. By seventeen, he had already mapped the outlines of the brand he wanted to build.In 2012, he launched Faherty with his twin brother Alex and sister-in-law Kerry—creating a clothing company rooted in surf culture, elevated by craft, and grounded in responsibility. Today, it's grown into one of the most distinctive brands in American fashion—80+ stores, hundreds of millions in revenue, and a headquarters team of just over 100 people that still moves with the urgency of a “Day One” startup.Faherty doesn’t market itself as a sustainability brand, but responsibility is stitched into its DNA. Seventy-two percent of fabrics already meet the company’s responsible sourcing standard, with a goal of 100% by 2030—all disclosed in its public Impact Report. Regenerative organic cotton from the Amazon. Recycled polyester engineered for softness. Supply chain partners chosen for shared values and trust.In this conversation, Mike, the company's Chief Creative Officer, shares how a lifelong passion for materials became a strategy for innovation—why feel matters, how responsibility shows up behind the seams, and what it takes to scale a modern American fashion brand built for lasting impact.Show NotesGuest: Mike Faherty, Co-founder & Chief Creative OfficerCompany: Faherty Brand Resource: Faherty Brand Impact Report For more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks that drive their adoption—subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram 

Forum Mobility is electrifying how America moves freight. Every year, more than 30,000 diesel 18-wheelers haul containers in and out of California’s ports, logging over a billion miles, generating enormous carbon emissions and polluting nearby communities.Electric semis are powerful, quiet, and clean. But at $500,000 apiece with uncertain charging and maintenance, the math doesn’t work for the independent operators — often family-run businesses — who move most containers from port to warehouse, the first mile of logistics known as drayage. The technology is ready. The adoption is stuck.In 2024, Forum Mobility opened the world’s largest port-based charging depot at Long Beach. But the company’s breakthrough isn’t hardware — it’s the model: EV Trucking as a Service. By bundling trucks and charging into a predictable monthly subscription, Forum Mobility makes running electric cheaper than diesel and removes the risk that has stalled adoption.Founder and CEO Matt Leducq saw the same shift in solar, where he built his career and where financing innovation became the key to unlocking market adoption. Now he’s betting the same playbook can electrify freight.Show NotesGuest: Matt Leducq, Co-Founder & CEOCompany: Forum MobilityFor more Supercool climate solutions now scaling—and the playbooks that drive their adoption—subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram 

Most U.S. homes aren’t wired for electrified living, even though the clean energy future depends on it. Upgrading panels and wiring can cost thousands before a single new appliance is even installed.Plus, consumers aren’t demanding electrification. They want lifestyle upgrades—faster, more precise cooking, backup power in a pinch, and appliances that cost less and perform more.Copper has designed the solution. The company is building 21st-century appliances to work on 20th-century infrastructure, i.e., the aging grid we have today. No infrastructure upgrades necessary.Charlie, their first electric appliance, is a sleek, modern induction range equipped with a built-in 5 kWh battery. It plugs into a standard 110-volt kitchen outlet, cooks four times faster than natural gas, charges when renewables are on the grid, and keeps going even during blackouts.Copper’s Founder and CEO, Sam Calisch, helped shape clean energy policy incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act as co-founder of Rewiring America. Now he and the team at Copper are building battery-embedded electric appliances that install easily and perform better.The clean energy transition is cooking.Show NotesGuest: Sam Calisch, Founder and CEOCompany: CopperResource: Wall Street Journal—Maker of Battery-Powered Kitchen Stoves Raises $28 MillionFor more Supercool climate solutions now scaling—and the playbooks that drive their adoption—subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram 

Interface is a public company proving that carbon-negative is possible at scale. The billion-dollar flooring brand has more than 400 carbon-negative products on the market today and a plan to take its entire business carbon-negative by 2040. Liz Minne, Head of Global Sustainability Strategy, shares how Interface is operationalizing that ambition through product innovation, supply chain engagement, and a culture that keeps climate goals at the center of business decisions. She discusses what it means to lead as a public company, how to translate climate targets into everyday execution, and why culture may be Interface’s most important competitive edge. Interface shows that a carbon-negative future isn’t theoretical—it’s now being built in the heart of corporate America.Show NotesGuest: Liz Minné, Head of Global Sustainability StrategyCompany: InterfaceResource: "All In On Carbon" Climate CommitmentFor more Supercool climate solutions now scaling, subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

At Amazon, speed isn’t a carbon cost—it’s a carbon advantage. The company now runs 30,000 electric delivery vehicles, delivered 1.5 billion packages on battery power last year, and has built over 600 renewable energy projects in more than 20 countries—20 gigawatts of clean energy capacity, making it the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable power.Inside that scale is a playbook for how a global business operationalizes decarbonization without slowing down. Chris Roe, Amazon’s Director of Worldwide Environment for Carbon, and Chris Atkins, Director of Worldwide Operations for Sustainability, share how speed has become a lever for lower emissions, why regionalizing the network cuts both carbon and cost, and how they’re mobilizing teams across the company to hit net zero by 2040—ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement.We cover EV fleet deployment, renewable power strategy, packaging reduction, AI-driven efficiency, and Amazon’s push to bring suppliers and competitors along through The Climate Pledge. It’s a rare inside look at a company turning massive logistics into massive carbon cuts—and inviting others to do the same.Show NotesGuests: - Chris Roe, Director of Worldwide Environment, Carbon - Chris Atkins, Director of Worldwide Operations, SustainabilityCompany: AmazonResources:- 2024 Amazon Sustainability Report- Amazon's Sustainability ExchangeFor more Supercool climate solutions now scaling, subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

For fifty years, Brompton has been the most iconic name in urban cycling. Engineered and made in London, beloved by city riders, and still unrivaled in how fast it folds and how good it feels to ride.But in the U.S., where biking is still mostly recreational and folding bikes barely register, the brand faces a different challenge: how to scale a joy-filled, performance-driven mobility tool in a market that doesn’t know it needs it.Juliet Scott-Croxford, President of the Americas, is modernizing everything around the fold—retail, product, e-commerce, community—while keeping the company’s elite dealer network close. This is how a legacy brand retains its stature while accelerating growth—by evolving everything but the reason people love it. And why joy might be the most underrated climate signal of all.Show NotesGuest: Juliet Scott-Croxford, President of the AmericasCompany: BromptonFor more Supercool climate solutions now scaling, subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

To scale climate solutions, you have to know how to talk about them. The companies driving climate adoption don’t just offer better solutions—they tell better stories. Stories that reframe clean energy as the smarter, cheaper, everyday choice. Stories that win customers, sway skeptics, and shift markets.Keith Zakheim has spent two decades working with climate brands to sharpen their strategy and scale their message. As CEO of Antenna Group, he’s shaped the public narrative around clean energy, circular economy, and climate tech adoption—long before those terms entered the mainstream lexicon.Keith joins Josh to unpack the new landscape resulting from the One Big Beautiful Bill, the continued surge of private investment, and why even in the Age of Adoption, the right story still determines who grabs market share—and who falters. They break down how Antenna’s new AI tool, Conscious Compass, evaluates whether a brand’s sustainability rhetoric matches reality. And they explore why messaging grounded in prosperity, security, and abundance may be 2025’s most strategic climate language.Clean energy won’t scale because the climate crisis demands it. It’ll scale because it feels as distinctly American as football in the fall.Show NotesGuest: Keith Zakheim, CEO Company: Antenna Group Article referenced: The Hill - Why the climate and sustainability economy will thrive in a Trump presidencyFor more Supercool climate solutions now scaling, subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

Industrial hemp always had believers. What it lacked was a supply chain. Hempitecture is changing that—starting with the first commercial-scale factory in the U.S. making high-performance home insulation from hemp.Headquartered in Idaho, the company has shipped to 5,000+ customers across 48 states. It’s now the largest buyer of industrial hemp fiber in North America—proving that a crop once sidelined by regulation and volatility can power a fast-growing manufacturing business.In this episode, co-founder Tommy Gibbons shares the operational playbook: how Hempitecture proved its insulation performs, raised capital through crowdfunding when venture capital didn’t show up, and built a new distribution model in a category with no precedent. Hempitecture’s insulation cuts carbon in two ways—by lowering embodied emissions during manufacturing and reducing operational emissions once installed.Nearly a century after hemp was banned in 1937, the supply chain is finally getting built—with carbon impact to match.And this time, it’s not just legal—it’s scalable.Show NotesGuest: Tommy Gibbons, co-founder and Chief Innovation OfficerCompany: HempitectureFor more Supercool climate solutions now scaling, subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

Consumers want the upgrades. The climate does too. But the electrical panel in the garage stands in the way.EVs, heat pumps, induction stoves—electrification is becoming more attractive. The products are faster, cleaner, cheaper to run. But nearly 48 million U.S. homes still rely on outdated 100-amp service. That means expensive utility upgrades, long delays, and a halt to progress.Arch Rao, former Tesla Energy product lead, built Span to fix the bottleneck. The Span Panel replaces the old breaker box with a connected, intelligent device that lets homeowners add electric appliances without triggering a full service upgrade. It works with solar, batteries, and EVs—and gives people visibility and control over their energy use for the first time.Span is the upgrade that makes all the other upgrades possible. And with Span Edge, utilities can manage demand house by house, neighborhood by neighborhood—without building more poles and wires.Span turns a forgotten piece of hardware into a platform for electrification—at home, and across the grid.Show NotesGuest: Arch Rao, Founder & CEOCompany: SpanFor more Supercool climate solutions now scaling, subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

America invented the clean energy future. Now it may be dismantling it, just as the rest of the world hits the accelerator.The U.S. was first. The first silicon solar cell in New Jersey. The first wind turbine in Cleveland. The first microinverter in a California garage.But now it’s China scaling the clean energy transition—building factories, locking in supply chains, and racing toward a low-carbon economy at industrial speed.In the U.S., the president just signed the Big Beautiful Bill into law—gutting the historic clean energy investments at the heart of the Inflation Reduction Act. The country that helped invent the clean energy future is now stepping back. Just as solar keeps getting cheaper. Just as global investment hits $2 trillion. Just as the low-carbon transition starts to tip.David Roberts, founder of Volts, has spent 20 years as a journalist tracking this shift. In this episode, he joins Josh Dorfman to dissect the precarious moment we find ourselves in—when America’s energy future is uncertain, global momentum is accelerating, and the clean energy transition won’t wait. They talk solar’s 60-year cost curve, energy policy, and why the real revolution may be happening from the bottom up.This is what it looks like when the politics retreat—but the transition doesn’t.Show NotesGuest: David Roberts  Company: VoltsFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

TerraCycle takes on waste the rest of the world ignores—cigarette butts, diapers, pharmaceutical blister packs.But what makes the model work isn’t what they recycle. It’s how they get companies to pay for it.Even with one of the boldest missions in climate tech—eliminate the idea of waste—TerraCycle doesn’t lead with sustainability. It leads with the business case.In this episode, CEO Tom Szaky shares with host Josh Dorfman how the company has grown for 23 straight years by solving a problem no one wanted: how to make recycling hard-to-process waste worth paying for. Salons use it to attract new customers. Labs use it to retain top talent. Big brands use it to build loyalty. Every program works because it helps someone grow their business.Tom also explains how Loop, TerraCycle’s reuse division for consumer packaging, is scaling fast in France and Japan. The reason isn’t culture. It’s the right rules and incentives.This is a conversation about reimagining the entire business model of recycling and reuse—so waste stays out of the landfill, and the value shows up on the P&L.Show NotesGuest: Tom Szaky, CEO Company: TerraCycleFor more Supercool climate solutions now scaling, subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

When Roger Griffiths first heard about Formula E in 2014, he was intrigued but skeptical. A veteran of IndyCar, Le Mans, and Formula 1—and a self-described petrol head—he wasn’t convinced electric racing could deliver credible performance.Then he saw who was signing on.Michael Andretti. Alain Prost. Emerson Fittipaldi. Frank Williams. Plus early backers like Richard Branson. Racing legends and global brands were putting their reputations behind an all-electric series built for city streets, digital-native fans, and a new kind of mobility.That’s when Roger knew: failure wasn’t an option.He joined Andretti Global to help lead its Formula E team. Today, he’s Team Principal and Chairman of the Formula E Teams Association.Just over a decade later, Formula E is the fastest-growing motorsport on Earth. It races through city centers, draws 500 million fans, and connects with a global audience that legacy motorsports can’t reach.Roger takes us inside how Formula E became the sport brands chase, fans love, and the future demands.Show NotesGuest: Roger Griffiths, Team Principal, Andretti Formula ECompany: Andretti GlobalFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

Grid battery storage has gone from niche to necessary. Fast. Projects that were once 300 megawatt-hours are now hitting 9 gigawatt-hours. And companies like Wärtsilä are leading the charge, taking on the hardest, highest-stakes deployments around the world.In this episode, Dave Hebert, VP of Global Sales & Business Strategy for Wärtsilä's Energy Storage division, takes us inside the systems powering the clean energy transition. Wärtsilä has deployed over 17 gigawatt-hours of storage—enough to power millions of homes for hours at a time—across more than 130 projects worldwide. Many of these are first-of-a-kind systems built in remote deserts, on islands, and in densely populated urban neighborhoods, where batteries now operate alongside people, not just power lines.Dave shares what it takes to deliver at this level: fire safety, noise control, seismic readiness, cybersecurity, and software managing millions of real-time data points across every cell.Battery storage now sits at the heart of the energy transition. It’s how we make solar and wind reliable. How we stabilize grids shaped by AI, EVs, and electrified homes. Wärtsilä is building that future, where others won’t.Show NotesGuest: Dave Hebert, VP of Global Sales & Business StrategyCompany: Wärtsilä Energy StorageFor more Supercool climate solutions now scaling, subscribe or follow the podcast, plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* YouTube Channel* Supercool on LinkedIn and Instagram

Jaime Pumarejo helped lead Barranquilla, Colombia, through a stunning transition. When he first joined the city’s government in his twenties, Barranquilla was under bankruptcy protection, poverty was high, and public trust was fractured. Today, it serves as a global model for how climate action can drive economic growth, attract investment, and deliver tangible benefits to people’s lives.In 2020, when Pumarejo became mayor, he accelerated the transformation. He established a public-private tree company to enhance property values, increase tax revenue, and enhance climate resilience. Delivered 300 parks co-designed by residents. Made biodiversity and eco-tourism part of the city’s economic engine. And positioned Barranquilla to lead on clean energy, with major solar projects and Colombia’s first offshore wind farm underway.Jaime also secured capital on better terms. Convinced development banks to change how they lend. And showed that cities aren’t risky—they’re investable.Now, as a member of the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, he’s helping cities around the world unlock the climate capital they need to cut emissions and build the low-carbon future.This is what the ROI on climate looks like. Not someday—now.Show NotesGuest: Jaime PumarejoOrganization: SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, whose Secretariat is housed at the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR)For more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

The energy grid we know today was built for a different era—centralized generation, one-way power flow, no rooftop solar, no EVs, no AI-driven demand. If Thomas Edison were alive, he’d recognize it instantly. And that’s the problem.Raghu Belur bet the system would have to change. In 2006, he co-founded Enphase Energy and started from the distributed edge, designing a microinverter that made every solar panel smart, efficient, and self-reliant.That foundation became the starting point for a new kind of energy system—built to turn homes into mini power plants and partners to the grid, not just customers.Today, Enphase delivers integrated home energy systems encompassing solar, storage, EV charging, and intelligent management software that give homeowners control, reliability, and resilience in a rapidly shifting energy landscape.Raghu’s story embodies the American Dream—a young immigrant who came to the U.S. to study engineering, absorbed the best of Silicon Valley, and built a company reshaping how energy works in homes around the world. He joins Supercool to discuss how the decentralized grid isn’t just some day, it’s already here.Show NotesGuest: Raghu Belur, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer Company: Enphase Energy Video link referenced: American Innovation: Making Enphase Batteries in TexasFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low-carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter, right behind the United States and China, accounting for 8-10% of global carbon emissions. It’s a staggering problem: 30% of all food produced globally goes to waste. And for supermarkets already operating on razor-thin margins, that waste translates into billions of dollars lost every year.At the heart of the problem? A broken pricing model. Food hits an arbitrary sell-by date—and it’s trashed.Oded Omer thought that was absurd. So he built Wasteless, an AI-powered platform that helps grocers sell more food before it expires. Wasteless’ system uses dynamic discounting to find the sweet spot—just enough of a price reduction to move products at the right moment, without slashing margins.Today, grocers across Europe, the Americas, and beyond are embracing Wasteless. It’s not just a product—it’s business model innovation. Wasteless created a category that didn’t exist, and now it’s become the shorthand for solving the food waste problem—like Netflix is to streaming, or Kleenex is to tissues.In this episode, Oded shares how he built Wasteless into a global category leader—and why solving food waste is both a climate and profit imperative.Show NotesGuest: Oded OmerCompany: WastelessFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin