Is Sustainability Dispensable? One would think that COVID-19 would heighten people’s environmental sensibilities and cause businesses to double down on efforts toward environmental sustainability. Not so – the health crisis has instead created the opposite effect. Worried about their survival, businesses are undertaking extensive cost cuts, and sustainability programs are usually among the
The autonomous driving industry is supposed to a $126.8 billion business in 2027 according to a Research and Markets report. If you believe the media cheerleaders, all is well and good with the industry. However, as you can see from the list of recent accidents at the bottom of...
In recent months, the private equity industry has been convulsed with accusations of discriminatory and exploitative behaviour. I’m really proud that the Kaufman Fellows, who are in a unique position to shape conversations on the industry’s code of conduct, have authored a Pledge that has been embraced by many Fellows and their firms. All partners at...
The secular rise in global incomes, population and consumption are creating intense pressures on ecosystems around the world. The effect is felt not only in environmental degradation, but also in rising economic hardship and social suffering for some of the poorest and vulnerable communities, especially...
Technology is increasingly cluttering our lives. This is the business model of the greatest tech leaders –offer clutter (another name for ‘engagement’) in exchange for freemiums. Clutter used to be easy to see and live with when it was outside our homes. Now, it is invading our personal spaces in family rooms and bedrooms, in our workplaces and work...
Tesla garners as much media attention as do the Big Five of the digital economy—Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook. Tesla’s valuation now exceeds those of major U.S. automakers, and is now positioned to compete in the highly contested category of mid-to-upper priced vehicles. But the resurgence of electric vehicles (EVs) is not just an American...
The financial media cannot stop tweeting about the possibility of Dow Jones Index breaching the 20,000 mark. Rising stocks boost public confidence and sense of affluence. Yet, for the broad population, the rising market index doesn’t seem to generate widespread excitement. Why is that? A possible reason is: lower direct participation by the public in market...
Sadly, my worst fears about the Ivanpah’s projects under-performance came true (see the blog “Operational Hiccups at Ivanpah”). The project owners BrightSource, Google, and NRG have requested financial relief from the federal government. After going live in February, the project has accumulated payment deficits of over $400M...
The world’s largest solar thermal facility was brightly unveiled to the American Public in Ivanpah, CA by the U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on February 13. The project, designed and sponsored by BrightSource Energy and owned by BrightSource, NRG Energy, and Google, cost $2.2 billion and received $1.6 billion federal loan guarantees...
“If energy efficiency improved by 2% a year, the entire global population at the turn of this century could live at the American standard of living with less energy than we use today.” Dr. Richard Muller, speaking at WAVE event “GENIUS: Ideas and People that Move Us,” makes no apologies for being a capitalist, one who believes that “a solution which is not...