Earth911 Interview: Urvashi Bhatnagar on The Sustainability Scorecard

Urvashi Bhatnagar, co-author with Paul Anastas of The Sustainability Scorecard: How to Implement and Profit from Unexpected Solutions, explains the four principles for managing and scaling sustainability. These ideas can be applied to build a sustainable business at a startup or large company to accelerate progress toward low- and no-waste products and services. Urvashi discusses reframing business decisions to emphasize waste reduction. She suggests what we waste today can be the basis for profitable growth without the severe environmental damage that resulted from the Industrial Era. She shares ideas about how to engage executives and employees in sustainability programs and how to be transparent about their environmental commitments.

In several of our recent interviews, we’ve looked at how industries, such as fashion, clothing, beauty, and personal care companies, are working to become more sustainable. The new book extends the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry that Anastas, who is known as the father of green chemistry, and John Warner first introduced in 1998. Those ideas transformed the way chemistry is done. Following their introduction, a new generation of chemists has focused on using low-temperature, biologically responsible processes that mimic natural processes. They create chemicals and products that are recyclable or biodegrade instead of leaving toxins in nature. The Sustainability Scorecard: How to Implement and Profit from Unexpected Solutions is available on Amazon and at Powell’s Books.

This podcast originally aired on August 8, 2022.