041. Steve Evans: The Eco Factory Revolution

TODAY'S GUEST   Professor Steve Evans leads one of those fields that sound boring, but are actually super critical to our world and our future. He is a Director of Research in Industrial Sustainability at Cambridge University, where he leads research that helps factories become sustainable at scale. He helps industry bring about sustainable change at scale, including business model innovation, system transformation, and helps push the limits of efficiency in both advanced and developing countries.   Steve has over 30 years of academic experience and spent over 15 years in industry, where he led groundbreaking projects with Airbus, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Electrolux, Toyota, as well as the city of Porto, Portugal, among many others.   EPISODE SUMMARY   In this conversation we talk about: What he learned from his early interest in martial arts. How his time in both academia and industry helped him think about the right relationship between the two. Why industrial sustainability is so crucial for avoiding catastrophic climate change and why it also represents an enormous financial opportunity. How to make making itself more sustainable. What the shadow of a bike is, and why we need to think about the sustainability of products we buy as larger than simply the materials used in their making. What his vision for industry in 2050 is. And what are some of the most promising developments he's seen in this field?   This conversation is one of a dozen or so weekly conversations we already have lined up for you with thinkers, designers, makers, authors, scientists, entrepreneurs, and impact investors who are working to change our world for the better. So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to remakepod.org to subscribe.   And now let's jump right in with Professor Steve Evans.   TIMESTAMP CHAPTERS [3:22] Life During Covid [9:05] Early Childhood Guiding Forces [11:31] Tenacity in Sustainability [14:20] The Importance of Industry [18:09] Seeing the Whole [22:01] A Teacher's Trick [25:36] The Size of the Shadow [28:12] Optimizing for Variables [30:18] Science Based Targets [34:56] Industrial Revolutions [38:09] The Future of Factories [46:26] Sustainable Design [50:09] A Wishlist for Designers [53:53] The Future of Cities [57:40] A Short Sermon   EPISODE LINKS Steve's Links 🏫 University of Cambridge 🎤 Falling Walls Talk 🎤 The DO Lectures 💼 LinkedIn: LinkedIn Profile Other Links 👋 Facebook 🎤 TED Talk - Alain de Botton   ABOUT US Remake Podcast: Visit us: RemakePod.org 🙏🏻 Rate the show on iTunes 🙏🏻 Support us! Join the Podcast Member community 💌 Share your thoughts: [email protected] 👉 Listen or Subscribe to the show: Apple Podcasts・Google Podcasts・RadioPublic・Overcast・Stitcher・PocketCasts・Castro・SoundCloud・Spotify・YouTube・Deezer Remake Labs:  RemakeLabs.com・Medium・LinkedIn・Community・Twitter・Facebook・Instagram Eran Dror:  EranDror.com・LinkedIn・Twitter・Medium