#4 - The scent of sustainability

Seaweed represents one of the most abundant biomass resources on earth. It also grows ten times faster than land plants, captures CO2, and produces oxygen for humans and other species. Despite being a renewable resource, the potential of seaweed is not used often in the production of goods. Jessica Farda, co-founder and CEO at Noriware, wants to change this. Her start-up has developed a new seaweed-based packaging solution. Noriware uses one hundred per cent natural materials that are free from toxic substances, fully biodegradable and compostable at home. With this product, Jessica’s start-up aims to significantly reduce the carbon footprint and water use compared to conventional plastic packaging. In this episode, Jessica talks about how Noriware was founded, why she decided to use seaweed for packaging, and a failed experiment that helped with product development.

Products for sexual health are not necessarily the first category that we think about when it comes to making the world more sustainable. For example, condoms were a taboo topic for a long time: many people bought them secretly and avoided talking about them. Martina Hammer wants to take away the shame around sexual health products and make them more accessible for people with the preference for a sustainable lifestyle. That is why Martina’s start-up called feelgood Condoms offers the first certified vegan and sustainable brand for sexual health products in Switzerland. Martina explains why the condoms of the known, large brands are not vegan, what makes feelgood Condoms more sustainable, and how the introduction of self-checkouts in supermarkets have benefited sexual health products.

Many companies try to make their existing product offerings more sustainable and ecologically compatible. But only a few firms subject their product development fully and from the very beginning to the principles of complete circularity and responsible sourcing. An example for such an approach in the watchmaking industry is ID Watch. The co-founders Nicolas Freudiger and Cédric Mulhauser have developed luxury watches that are made of recycled high-quality stainless steel, reused existing movements, and straps based on vegetal compost. In this rerun episode from April 2022, Nicolas and Cédric tell their founding story and explain how they want to change one of the most traditional industries in Switzerland.

Today many travellers ask themselves which mode of transport they should use for their next trip. Airplanes are fast but have a large carbon footprint. Trains are more sustainable but feature only few overnight connections with which people can bridge the longer travel time by sleeping. And buses also do well in eco-friendliness but are less comfortable for overnight travel because passengers cannot lie down. A start-up that aims at changing this and offering a new solution for overnight buses is Twiliner. They are developing a bus with comfortable, reclining seats that are safe in lying position. Twiliner’s target group are so-called mindful optimists – people who want to travel with respect to the environment and who believe that their choices have an impact on the world. In this episode, Luca Bortolani, co-founder and CEO at Twiliner, explains what his motivation to start the company was, how he and his co-founders managed to partner with two well-known institutions early on, and what their buses will look like.

How can scents enhance our well-being and mental health in the workplace? And what role does 'ma' – the Japanese concept of negative space – play in this context? These two questions are at the core of MĀ Moments, a start-up that offers curated essential oil blends for consumers, customised scents for companies as well as well-being retreats and corporate gifts for employees. The philosophy of MĀ Moments emphasises connecting with nature, the healing power of art and beauty in simplicity. Co-founder Esther Payerols talks about the inspiration behind MĀ Moments, their deliberate focus on well-being and how sustainability is incorporated into their products.

What happens when two former scouts and childhood friends from Lenzburg meet for a beer and get the idea to start a business? They build one of the trendiest and well-known sustainable fashion labels in Switzerland. This is the story of NIKIN and its co-founders, Nicholas Hänny and Robin Gnehm. Their ambition is to make sustainable fashion (more) affordable and plant a tree for each product sold. In six years, they have sold enough products to plant over two million trees. In this episode, Nicholas talks how NIKIN was founded, the reason for planting trees, and the trade-off between the costs of sustainable fashion and affordability.

Sustainability performance and a company’s impact are often measured using ESG standards (environmental, social, governance). However, some experts criticise ESG frameworks for their focus on financial measures, risk assessment and the impact of ESG on a company rather than a company’s impact on the environment and society. Impaakt is a start-up that aims to broaden the lens of ESG assessment. To do so, Impaakt applies collective intelligence and lets thousands of people rate how companies impact society and the planet. Bertrand Gacon, co-founder and CEO at Impaakt, talks about what inspired him to create his start-up, what criteria companies should be assessed by and how collective intelligence works in the context of impact measurement.

Can you build wealth with a clear conscience? Are healthy financial returns compatible with a positive social and environmental impact? Yes, says Tillmann Lang, co-founder and CEO at Inyova Impact Investing. Inyova is an impact investing platform that allows users to select their focus areas, for example renewable energy or circular economy, and to personalise their investment strategy. Inyova’s aim is to make responsible and sustainable investment possible for everyone. In this episode, Tillmann talks about how Inyova was founded and why we should all become impact investors.