Climate Confident

Most Food Waste Never Reaches a Plate

Send me a messageWhat if one of the most effective climate tech moves in hospitality isn’t flashy at all, but simply wasting less food with far better data?In this episode, I’m joined by Olaf van der Veen, co-founder of Orbisk, to unpack a climate tech story that sits right at the intersection of decarbonisation, operational control, and the energy transition. We talk about food waste, but this is bigger than leftovers. It’s about hidden system failure, margin pressure, emissions reduction, and why cutting waste may be one of the most practical net zero levers available to commercial kitchens right now.You’ll hear why food waste in restaurants, hotels, cruise ships, and corporate dining is often less about bad habits and more about broken forecasting, poor process design, and weak visibility. We dig into how Orbisk uses AI, computer vision, and IoT to show kitchens exactly what is being wasted, when, and why, and how that turns a vague sustainability ambition into something measurable and fixable. You might be shocked to learn how often the real losses happen before food ever reaches a plate.We also get into the harder-edged business case: why food waste is pure bottom-line loss, why economics still drive most action faster than policy, and how the smartest operators are linking profitability and sustainability instead of pretending they sit on opposite sides of the ledger. No fluff. No green gloss. Just real-world climate solutions that cut costs, improve control, and reduce emissions.🎙️ Listen now to hear how Olaf van der Veen and Orbisk are turning food waste into a serious climate tech and decarbonisation opportunity.Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day.Support the showPodcast subscribersI'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers:Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes.ContactIf you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.

The Infrastructure Was Built for the Climate We Had. Not the Climate We’re Getting

Send me a messageHeat is becoming a business risk in plain sight. And if cooling demand is set to soar, the energy transition has a problem most people still aren’t talking about. In this episode, I’m joined by Rob Atkin, co-founder and CEO of Pirta, a climate tech company developing passive cooling coatings and additives. We dig into a part of decarbonisation and the energy transition that gets far too little attention: how we keep buildings, warehouses, data centres, and infrastructure cool in a warming world without driving up electricity demand, emissions, and cost. You’ll hear why Rob says “sustainability doesn’t sell itself”, and why that blunt truth matters for every founder, policymaker, and business leader chasing net zero. We dig into how Pirta is trying to turn passive cooling from clever materials science into something customers will actually buy, deploy, and scale. And you might be surprised to learn that air conditioning already accounts for about 15% of global electricity demand, with that figure set to triple by 2050. We also get into the hidden role of titanium dioxide, why reducing it matters for emissions reduction, and where passive cooling could have the biggest impact first, from affordable housing to warehouses to AI-era data centres. One of the sharpest insights in this conversation is that some climate solutions win not because they sound noble, but because, as Rob puts it, “a paint’s not gonna break down.” Grimly practical. Exactly the point. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Rob Atkin and Pirta are pushing climate tech towards real-world adoption.Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day.Support the showPodcast subscribersI'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers:Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes.ContactIf you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.

Carbon Markets as Outsourced Mitigation: Smart Climate Strategy or Convenient Fiction?

Send me a messageWhat if voluntary carbon markets are either a vital climate tool... or a polished excuse to delay real decarbonisation?In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Dr Jennifer Jenkins, Chief Science Officer at Rubicon Carbon, to unpack one of the most contested questions in climate tech and net zero strategy: what role, if any, should voluntary carbon markets play in real-world emissions reduction? At a time when companies are under pressure to decarbonise, prove integrity, and navigate fast-moving policy shifts, this debate matters more than ever.We dig into why some firms see carbon credits as a practical way to close the gap between ambition and operational reality, and why others see them as a dangerous distraction. You’ll hear why quality, additionality, MRV, and long-term offtake agreements are becoming central to the future of the market, and why high-integrity supply may be far tighter than many buyers realise.Jennifer also explains how buyers like Microsoft are shaping demand, how voluntary and compliance markets may be starting to converge, and why policy tools like CBAM could reshape the market faster than most people expect. You might be shocked to learn that one of the clearest ways to think about this space is as outsourced mitigation, a framing that makes the economics easier to grasp, but also exposes the credibility problem at the heart of the whole system.🎙️ Listen now to hear how Jennifer Jenkins and Rubicon Carbon see the future of decarbonisation, climate tech, policy, and net zero.Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day.Support the showPodcast subscribersI'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers:Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes.ContactIf you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.

Why Turbine Shortages Could Slow AI, Data Centres, and Decarbonisation

Send me a messageAI may be booming, but the real bottleneck to it's growth may be turbines. And if firm power can’t scale fast enough, parts of the energy transition hit a wall.In this episode, I’m joined by Brad Hartwig, Co-founder and CEO of Arbor Energy, to unpack a part of the climate tech and energy transition story that gets far too little attention: the physical machinery needed to deliver reliable, round-the-clock power. Arbor is developing modular supercritical CO2 turbines with integrated carbon capture, aimed at tackling one of the hardest problems in decarbonisation: how to provide firm, scalable electricity while still driving emissions reduction and keeping net zero in view.We dig into why turbine shortages are becoming a serious constraint on hyperscale data centres, utilities, and industrial electrification, and you’ll hear why Brad believes this is now a critical choke point for both AI infrastructure and climate progress. You might be surprised to learn how stretched the traditional turbine supply chain has become, and why legacy manufacturers may be structurally mismatched to meet the moment.We also get into oxy-combustion, methane leakage, biomass, carbon sequestration, long-duration storage, and the awkward reality that wind, solar, batteries, and grid expansion, while essential, may still leave gaps when it comes to firm power. This is a grounded conversation about climate tech, policy, energy transition strategy, and what serious infrastructure thinking looks like when the easy slogans run out.🎙️ Listen now to hear how Brad Hartwig and Arbor Energy are rethinking firm power for a faster, tougher, more honest climate transition.Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day.Support the showPodcast subscribersI'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers:Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes.ContactIf you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.

The Iran War, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Real Cost of Fossil Dependence

Send me a messageWar doesn’t just kill people. It also blows up energy security, drives up emissions, and exposes fossil fuels for the liability they’ve always been.In this first Climate Confident+ bonus episode, available exclusively to subscribers, I unpack the unnecessary, illegal, and profoundly ill-advised war being waged by the US and Israel on Iran, and why its fallout matters far beyond the battlefield. This is not just a military crisis. It is an energy transition, climate tech, decarbonisation, and policy story with real consequences for emissions reduction, net zero, inflation, and industrial resilience. In this episode, I look at how attacks on energy infrastructure and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz have once again exposed the fragility of fossil-fuelled “energy security”. You’ll hear why fossil dependence is no longer a security strategy, but geopolitical exposure. I dig into how roughly $88.7bn was burned in the first 17 days of the conflict, and why the Pentagon’s reported $200bn request to Congress shows just how grotesque the opportunity cost has become. We also dig into the emissions impact, including how gas shortages in India are already pushing parts of the economy back towards coal, kerosene, and biomass. And crucially, I lay out why electrification, renewables, storage, and stronger grids are now central to real energy security.Climate Confident+ is just €5, and gives you regular access to in-depth, timely analysis like this.🎙️ Subscribe and listen now to hear why the clean energy transition is no longer just a climate imperative, but a resilience strategy.Support the showPodcast subscribersI'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers:Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes.ContactIf you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.