S7E84: Tobias Peggs / Square Roots - Exploring the Maturity of Indoor Farming and the Challenges of Achieving Carbon Neutrality

Artwork for podcast Vertical Farming Podcast

Episode 84 • 10th February 2023 • Vertical Farming Podcast • Harry Duran

Episode Summary

In this episode of the podcast, Harry Duran interviews Tobias Peggs, the CEO & Co-founder of Square Roots, a leading vertical farming company. Tobias shares the company's innovative approach to creating a more sustainable and resilient business, from their technology platform to their sustainability initiatives. He highlights the company's focus on reducing carbon emissions and environmentally friendly packaging, as well as the importance of staying strong and focused on delivering products that customers want. Tobias encourages his peers in the industry to join Square Roots in paving the way towards a more sustainable future. Listen to learn how Square Roots is making strides in sustainability through vertical farming.

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Key Takeaways

Tobias shares how Square Roots has been exploring new ways to grow and manage their farms, from the software solutions they've developed to reduce human error, to the materials they use to reduce carbon emissions.
Square Roots also has an impact strategy with four pillars: diversity, equity and inclusion; employee empowerment; environmental sustainability; and community engagement.
Tobias also talks about how the industry is currently in the trough of disillusionment, and how current macroeconomic conditions are amplifying this. He encourages his peers to stay strong and focus on delivering products customers want.

Tweetable Quotes

“Can we grow initially? Right? And then, what software do we build to help train farmers and sort of minimize human errors in day to day production.”

“The steel that we use, the concrete that we use in the foundation pads, in the manufacturing of those raw materials, they're pretty intense in terms of carbon emissions. So now as we think about future farms that we're deploying, we've had to relook at the design.”

“We’ve always thought about running Square Roots with a triple bottom line mindset. So do it in a way that's good for people planning as well as profits.”