Welcome to The Firestarter Podcast—people, ideas and conversations that move us forward. It’s your host Willa Kammerer’s business and passion to make the world a better place through storytelling, which is why we’re here today. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers of impact.  

In this episode, Willa is joined by Steve Bradley, Vice President of Cleantech Strategy and Investments at Cox Enterprises. The business is focused on tackling sustainability challenges to drive profitability, topline growth, and diversification. It does this through investing in solutions to transform agriculture, energy, and waste to sustainably meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. Steve’s role is to cultivate positive environmental change within the company. Listen as they talk about Steve’s leadership in sustainability, the evolution of his role over time, and how sustainability benefits both business and the environment. 

The episode begins with Steve sharing more about the structure of the company Cleantech. He first defines Cleantech as having the goal of resource efficiency, resiliency, and adaptation. Steve shares how he originally started out his career on the path of mechanical engineering, and slowly began to have a desire to address environmental changes. When Cox began to focus more on sustainability, he then began to work in the field of tackling environmental challenges and helping the company grow its sustainability. 

Willa then moves on to ask Steve about some of the company’s current sustainability goals. One of the biggest goals this company has for the future is to become waste neutral by 2024 and carbon water neutral by 2034. The end goal of these strategies is to help Cox eliminate its footprint on the environment. He also talks about some of the challenges he has faced in tackling sustainability issues, the biggest of these being figuring out where to start. The amount of environmental issues that need to be tackled can feel overwhelming at times, and Steve encourages listeners to take it one choice and one step at a time, and that this steady approach can make an impact. 

A big part of what Steve does is connecting profitability with sustainability, and Willa asks Steve to speak about this. In his work at Cleantech, Steve has the goal of proving that businesses can do good things for the planet while also bringing profit to the company. Thinking sustainably allows you to build a better company in the long run, and Steve shares how it has boosted some of the company’s greatest returns. Businesses have a lot of power and responsibility to address environmental issues, and Steve encourages businesses to take the lead and inspire others to do the same. 

Next, Steve dives into his own passion for helping the environment and how it’s the driving force behind what he does. He shares how thinking about future generations and the effects of our choices on them and the environment they live in is what inspires him in his work. Rather than leaving future generations with environmental problems, he wants to leave them a healthy natural environment with resources. Additionally, he goes on to encourage young people to follow their own passions through daring to be curious, take risks, and find jobs that suit their passion and calling. 

With all the changes brought by the pandemic, Willa asks Steve to share how it impacted Cleantech. The results of the pandemic brought lots of accelerated change due to the hyper-focus and time for reflection. He shares how this time of reflection helped the company improve, but not without lots of time and effort. Additionally, he describes two of the newest projects he is most excited for: investments in sustainable agriculture and working with Nexus, a chemical recycler of plastics. Both of these will allow Cleantech to continue moving toward their sustainability goals and growing their resilience and adaptation.

The episode concludes with Steve expressing his hopes on a personal level for the planet. We all have the ability and choice to do better, and it is our job to own this and embrace rational thinking to solve these environmental issues. Steve shares how he encourages this belief in his workplace by engaging his employees in the sustainability process and helping them realize that no matter how small the change, it can still make a lasting impact on the environment.

Timestamps:

0:01 – Host Willa Kammerer introduces the podcast

0:45 – Willa introduces today’s guest, Steve Bradley

2:30 – Steve joins the conversation and shares about the structure of the company Cleantech

4:58 – Steve tells his journey to working at Cleantech

13:17 – Some of Cleantech’s sustainability goals and strategies 

17:39 – Different challenges Steve has faced in tackling sustainability issues 

21:28 – Willa asks Steve to share about the connection between profitability and sustainability

26:00 – The responsibility of businesses in addressing environmental issues

29:40 – Steve dives into expressing the passion that drives him in what he does

31:36 – Steve gives advice on how to be passionate in what you do

33:47 – Steve talks about important mindsets that have helped him be successful

38:47 – The changes the pandemic has brought to Cleantech 

42:52 – Steve talks about some of the current projects he is most excited about

49:49 – What are his hopes on a personal level for the planet?

54:00 – Final reflections on sustainability

Links:

Learn more about Cleantech at their website

Connect with Cleantech and Steve Bradley on LinkedIn

Learn more about FirestarterIX. 

Connect with Willa on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

Keywords:

Strategy, Cox, enterprise, environment, business, sustainability, sustainable, challenges, solutions, transform, agriculture, energy, waste, environmental, change, Cleantech, resource, efficiency, resiliency, adaptation, goals, neutral, waste, carbon, water, eliminate, footprint, impact, profitability, profit, returns, generations, resources, passions, curious, risks, job, pandemic, work, reflection, projects, recycler, planet