All Quotes

# sustainability50 quotes

SUSTAINABILITY

Proof of stake is not just a consensus mechanism. It is a way of reducing the environmental cost of a blockchain to near zero.

ethereumproof-of-stakeEthereum Foundation blog, 2022

The average car is parked 95% of the time. That's not a transportation system — that's a parking system. We want to change that.

sustainabilitytransportationJohn Zimmer, Lyft co-founder, TED Talk 2016

A refurbished iPhone costs 40% less, works the same, and doesn't require mining anything from the earth. The only reason people don't buy refurbished is stigma. We're killing the stigma.

productsustainabilityBloomberg Interview, 2022

We're not competing with Apple. We're competing with the idea that new is always better. That's a much harder fight.

competitionconsumer-behaviorTechCrunch Interview, 2022

Fifty million tons of e-waste every year. That number will double by 2050. If that doesn't justify a company, I don't know what does.

e-wastemissionSifted Interview, 2022

The best phone for the planet is the one that already exists. We just need to stop throwing them away.

e-wastemissionWeb Summit Talk, 2021

Critics call us unsustainable. They're right that fast fashion has environmental costs. But 500 million people in emerging markets want affordable fashion. Telling them they can't have it isn't a solution either.

accessibilitycriticismCompany Statement, 2023

I started ThredUp because my closet was full of stuff I never wore. Turns out 73 billion garments end up in landfills every year. That felt like a problem worth solving.

founding-storymissionSXSW Talk, 2019

The future of fashion is circular. The linear model of make, wear, dispose is just not sustainable.

fashionsustainabilityInterview, 2021

1 Hotels exists because I believe the next generation of luxury travelers want sustainability without giving up the thread count. They want to save the planet and sleep on great sheets. We built a brand for that.

1-hotelsluxuryBrand Launch Event, 2019

I wanted to build a vehicle that could take you off-road without destroying the environment you drove to see. Adventure and sustainability shouldn't be opposites — they should be the same thing.

Mining lithium is expensive, environmentally destructive, and geopolitically complicated. Recycling it from old batteries is cheaper, cleaner, and keeps the supply chain domestic. The economics are obvious.

I co-founded Tesla and helped create the EV revolution. Now I'm solving the problem we created: what happens to all those batteries when they die? The answer shouldn't be a landfill — it should be a new battery.

An avocado lasts twice as long with Apeel. That means fewer avocados in the trash, fewer trucks on the road, and less water wasted growing food nobody eats.

We run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel. Supersonic should not mean sacrificing the planet for speed.

Every scooter trip replaces a car trip. That is measurable, real carbon reduction happening 100,000 times a day.

The hardest part of running Signal is not the technology. It is the fundraising. Servers cost money and we refuse to sell data.

Sustainability is not our marketing strategy. It is our product. Every item sold on Depop is one less item in a landfill.

Ninety-five percent less water. Zero pesticides. Year-round production. The problem was never the technology. It was the electricity bill.

Every tree planted. Every transaction tracked. Banking should be transparent about where your money goes.

We measure our carbon footprint on every product and print it on the label. Total transparency.

Every major shoe brand now has a sustainability line. We started that conversation. That matters even if the stock doesn't reflect it.

Sustainability shouldn't be a luxury. It should be the default.

Wool and eucalyptus make better shoes than plastic. Nature already solved the material science problem.

Owning a closet full of clothes you wear once each is environmentally and financially irrational.

Removing the free tier was painful. The community was angry. But building a sustainable business matters more than free users.

I sold my private jet to reduce my carbon footprint. If you're going to talk about sustainability, you have to live it.

Sustainability is not a cost center. It's the future of luxury.

The enemy is carbon, not internal combustion engines.

AI data centers consume megawatts. Photonic interconnects could cut that by 10x.

Venture-subsidized convenience isn't a business model. It's a temporary subsidy.

Al Gore invested through Generation. If supply chain visibility reduces waste and emissions, it's a climate solution.

95% less water, zero pesticides, year-round production. Indoor farming is technically perfect. Economically? Working on it.

The world doesn't need a billion cars sitting idle 96% of the time. It needs shared transportation that works.

Now we are also doing something new, in that we wish for El Gouna to become a CO2 neutral entity, by making as much clean energy as we consume.

sustainabilityBespoke Magazine, 2018

Fashion, with its intense production of stuff, has a huge role in climate change, and we should all act on it, as soon as we can.

sustainabilityHighsnobiety, 2021

Concrete is the second most consumed substance on Earth after water. If we can print with it instead of pour it, we eliminate half the waste in construction.

We started Mighty Buildings because traditional construction wastes 30 percent of all materials. Our factory process cuts that waste to near zero.

Farms using CropX save 20-30% on water. In a world running out of fresh water, that's not just profitable. It's necessary.

Your bank uses your deposits to fund oil pipelines. We don't. That's not a slogan. It's a legal commitment.

The recycling business is the future. Every ton of cardboard we recycle is a tree we do not have to cut down.

environmentrecyclingSustainability Forum, Melbourne, 2020

Sustainability is not charity. It is the only viable business model for the long term.

businesslong-termVarious speeches and interviews, 2019

If you pay the farmer well, you get better coffee. If you get better coffee, you build a better brand. The ethics and the economics point in the same direction.

businessethicsWorld Economic Forum remarks, 2020

Success and sustainability are not opposites. We can grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time. We just have to be serious about trying.

energyenvironmentCynthia and George Mitchell Foundation Annual Report, 2008

Being a good company and a profitable company are not mutually exclusive — and frankly, in mining today, being a good company is the only way to remain profitable.

esgleadershipWorld Economic Forum Panel, 2022

We do not need to choose between financial returns and environmental outcomes. The best investments deliver both.

impact-investingreturnsBuilders Initiative Annual Report, 2022

Poland can and will be, thanks to the projects developed by Polenergia and Equinor, powered by clean energy produced in harmony with nature, with respect for our planet's resources and in service of future generations.

clean-energypolandPolenergia, 2025

For me personally, this brings great joy and satisfaction, because I understand that the Earth's gifts are finite, and we are entrusted with the responsibility to use them wisely.

stewardshipsustainabilityPolenergia, 2025

Sustainability is not a slogan for us. If the supply chain is not clean, the customers will not stay.

palm-oilreputationOn Wilmar's deforestation policy

A business has to be sustainable whether you fundraise or not. But what is most important is that there is real economic value created by these tech platforms.

fundamentalssustainabilityIndonesia Business Post interview, 2023