Neil Koenig, ideaXme board advisor and former BBC Producer interviews Christina Keller, CEO Cascade Engineering.
Time stamps:
00:00 We’re here to idea everyone. To fire up your curiosity and connect you with the people and ideas that shape our world.
01:05 A way of doing business that puts people and planet on an equal footing with profit.
01:33 He was a pioneer in how we can think of a triple bottom line organisation.
05:40 Take us through the process. You get plastic waste from various sources, then what happens?
14:59 Part of the triple bottom line approach is really thinking about the circularity.
15:05 Also thinking about poverty alleviation to create an environment in which everybody can thrive.
21:40 Our customers do appreciate the approach.
25:25 What motivates me is really making a positive impact.
26:40 Business can be done differently.
27:34 Looking at what is the most challenging part of the plastic supply chain because that is where you are going to find the solutions to bring it more circular.
27:54 Running towards those points where there are potentially barriers to making it circular today is how we make that economy circular for tomorrow.
Neil comments:
As worries about the health of our environment continue to grow, a big concern is the harm caused by plastic waste. Whilst intense efforts to find suitable alternatives continue, the need to recycle existing plastics is becoming ever more urgent.
One business that makes extensive use of recycled materials is Cascade Engineering, a family-owned plastics manufacturer based in Michigan, which makes products for a wide range of sectors, including the automotive and furniture-making industries.
Cascade’s CEO, Christina Keller, says that the company is keen to play a role in the so-called “circular economy”, in which materials can be recycled almost indefinitely.
Cascade Engineering was founded in 1973 by Christina Keller’s father Fred. The enterprise is one of a growing number of businesses that are pursuing a “triple bottom line” approach: putting people and planet first, as well as profits.
Ms Keller explains that, aiming for a “triple bottom line” can mean a number of different things in practice: for example, in addition to its push to increase its recycling efforts, the business also takes steps to foster an inclusive and supportive workplace, and to offer employment opportunities to as wide a range of people as possible.
I met Christina Keller at this year’s Symposium, a vast annual event organised by the students of the university of St Gallen in Switzerland. In this interview with me for ideaXme, Christina Keller talks about how employing a more diverse workforce can not only benefit employers but society too, how businesses can play a vital part in the circular economy, and the challenges and rewards of running a “triple bottom line” company.
LINKS:
Cascade Engineering: https://www.cascadeng.com/
IMAGE CREDITS: courtesy of Cascade Engineering
INTERVIEWEE VIDEO CREDITS:
Video footage of factory, etc in opening sequence, courtesy of Cascade Engineering
Video footage of panel discussion in opening sequence, courtesy of St Gallen Symposium
MUSIC:
Music: Space Heroes by MaxKoMusic https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
https://creativecommons.org/licenses
Further Video credits:
Video footage from Canva.
Voice over for ideaXme introduction: Neil Koenig former Senior BBC @BBC producer and journalist and current ideaXme board advisor and guest interviewer.
Music for ideaXme introduction: Music: Space Heroes by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…
Neil Koenig:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkoenig/
https://twitter.com/neilkoenig?lang=en
ideaXme links:
ideaXme https://radioideaxme.com
Contact Andrea Macdonald ideaXme’s founder: andrea@ideaxme.com
ideaXme is a global network – podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator series. Mission: To share knowledge of the future. Our passion: Rich Connectedness™!
