Sustainability, Innovation, Competitiveness — An Interview with Bill Bohnett
GFCC sat down with Bill Bohnett, a leader in sustainability and strongly involved in awareness for policy combatting climate change in the context of economic policy and sustainable growth, to talk about how to keep the balance between maintaining competitiveness and sustainability. But are these terms really contradictory? According to Bill, competitiveness is sustainability in the coming years. This and many more aspects were discussed in this interview.
GFCC: What is the connection between sustainability and competitiveness?
Bohnett: The global community of nations is in virtually complete agreement that combating rapid climate warming is an urgent priority in the next 30 years. Building more sustainable societies as quickly as possible is the “common cause of mankind”, in Angela Merkel’s words. Societies that remain fossil-fuel based will no longer be competitive. In short, competitiveness is sustainability in the next 30 years and beyond.
GFCC: How have you been personally involved with those topics?
Bohnett: My own history with competitiveness dates to 1975 and included sustainability since 2000. As a Wall Street attorney, I had extensive domestic and international experience with all aspects of the capital formation and investment process, participating in over 60 major corporate financings and representing mutual funds, hedge funds, investment advisors and brokerage firms. As a founding investor in GeoCities in 1995, I had an early and intensive education and success with a pioneering Internet company.
GFCC: What are the main trends you see around the globe related to sustainable technologies?
Bohnett: Large-scale solar and wind projects have grown significantly in the last 10 years; and it is vital that such growth continues. The electrification of transportation vehicles, from all types of trucks and commercial vehicles to off-road vehicles and personal cars, has been slow but is finally gaining momentum. Adoption of electric vehicles must be rapidly increased globally.
GFCC: Where is innovation in sustainable technologies coming from today in the world?
Bohnett: Badly-needed research initiatives in battery and storage technologies are concentrated principally in China and the United States; and Japan is a leader in fuel cell technologies. Off-grid rural solar installations are beginning to scale in India and must be expanded dramatically there and in China, Africa, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Burgeoning advances in energy efficiency such as large-scale climate-friendly wood buildings are occurring sporadically — massive advancements in energy efficient construction and refrigeration management are urgently needed.
GFCC: In which areas is innovation most needed?
Bohnett: In regards to climate change mitigation; reforestation and afforestation must be undertaken globally in a massive and unprecedented fashion. Additionally, advances in soil carbon retention through regenerative agriculture, when applied widely, would be impactful in mitigating climate warming. In terms of sustainable energy sources, any advances in economical & reliable small-scale nuclear power plants that could be implemented in the next decade are worth investing in.
GFCC: What are the main opportunities you see going forward?
Bohnett: In addition to national government-level action, the building of significant non- governmental public engagement- i.e. “citizens action groups”- is urgently required.
Bill Bohnett is currently the Chair of the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and served from 2009–2018 as a member of the National Board of the
Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex. Bill sits on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, a non-partisan NGO working on national competitiveness issues. He is a Board member of American Forests, the nation’s oldest conservation organization, and Little Sun, Inc., a solar energy non-profit working in Africa. He has served on the Boards of The Synergos Institute, City Harvest, the Island School and New York Sun Works, and has been a member of the National Council of the Environmental Defense Fund and a Visiting Fellow of the World Resources Institute. Bill also is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
Mr. Bohnett is the President of Whitecap Investments, LLC, a private family investment firm, and a retired partner of the international law firm of Norton Rose Fulbright, where he maintained an extensive international corporate and securities practice.
Bill is married with three grown children and has homes in Jupiter Island, Florida and Princeton Junction, New Jersey. He was a founding investor and board member of GeoCities, an internet community company which went public in 1998 and subsequently merged with Yahoo! He is a graduate of Princeton University and its Woodrow Wilson School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He maintains an active international speaking schedule on innovation and sustainability.
