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58 | SOLUTIONS FOR THE OCEAN / INNOVATIONS

“We need to shift from
a society of waste to a society
of efficiency.”

Bertrand Piccard
Swiss explorer and environmentalist, initiator
and President of the Solar Impulse Foundation.

In just a year, you have exceeded your goal of What does this Monaco Ocean Week event de-
accrediting 1,000 ecological and cost-effective dicated to innovators mean to you?
solutions. Were you expecting such an abun- It has made it apparent that all the solutions exist
dance of successful solutions? for not one single piece of waste to end up in the
I was sure that many solutions existed, even if we ocean or on public wasteland. It is possible to
weren’t aware of them. There are a huge number take household waste from a town and to turn it
of companies, innovators, start-ups, and SMEs into building material or plastic to make furniture,
working on these innovations. What was needed any plastic bottle can be recycled infinitely, and
was exploration work in all areas, and this is exactly its transparency maintained… This event has pre-
what I like. At the beginning, we had to win the trust sented many concrete solutions that are available
of innovators, explain to them the purpose of the and economically viable. The focus was on actual
Solar Impulse label. Today, our Foundation is reco- action and not simply on a pipe dream for change.
gnised as being “the” foundation for solutions and
our label is being given to an increasing number Did you advocate in this respect at COP 26 in
of solutions. We reached 1,000 solutions in April Glasgow?
2021. Since then, we have accredited one solution Absolutely. At COP 26, I demonstrated that coun-
every day, which has resulted in 1,400 solutions ha- tries often fear making environmental commit-
ving our support at the moment. ments because they imagine that this will be de-
trimental to their economic development. Yet, it is
What is the specificity of the Solar Impulse la- exactly the opposite that happens: if we shift from
bel? a society of waste to a society of efficiency, we will
It is the only label in the world that certifies the generate enough additional profit to be able to co-
cost effectiveness of systems, products and mate- ver the initial investment. Consequently, the more
rials that protect the environment. Supported by a countries commit to environmental protection, the
commission of independent experts, the labelling more they will create jobs, the more they will gene-
process is certified by the auditors Ernst & Young. rate a profit margin, and the more they will boost
To obtain the label, the solution must exist, it must their economy.
protect the environment and must be economical-
ly viable for both the person producing it and for
the person using it. And we take into consideration
the entire life cycle when assessing these solutions
from an ecological point of view.