Leading Voices in Global Sustainability
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Erik Dyrkoren
CEO, Zeabuz
10 Questions to Change The World
January 2022
How does climate change and the global sustainability agenda impact on your corporate strategy for the next 3-5 years?
Zeabuz is developing and will provide a zero-emission urban waterborne mobility solution that will incentivize people to walk and bike more and leave cities will lower demand for road traffic. Our system will contribute in making cities more environmentally benign and hence be part of the solution to tackling climate change.
How do you describe your corporate purpose and what are you doing to help realise that purpose?
The purpose of Zeabuz is to disrupt maritime mobility with zero-emission autonomous solutions. Our technology brings life to new business models for waterborne mobility and we are actively working with industrial partners in making this change. Our starting point is urban mobility and we cooperate with a leading Norwegian ferry operator on realizing the potential of autonomy in that segment.
Sustainability needs to be part of any business plan
What could stop you from achieving your sustainability goal?
Slow market adoption is the highest risk we face.
What do you think are the greatest benefits of having a strong sustainability strategy?
There is a clear trend in finances now shifting towards sustainable solutions and as such cannot be omitted.
Sustainability needs to be part of any business plan, whether it is as part of the product / service offering or internal processes. There is a clear trend in finances now shifting towards sustainable solutions and as such cannot be omitted.
What are some the wins you have achieved in your role?
As CEO of a start-up, my greatest achievement is to have built a company from scratch that is now well underway to deliver disruptive sustainable technologies and solutions. Zeabuz is founded on top of sustainability goals and is an integral part of our organization and culture.
What advice would you give for organisations looking to start or advance on their sustainability journey?
Newsletters from World Economic Forum offer unique short stories on big topics that matter. There are tons of inspiration in Medium also.
Make sustainability an integral part of an organization’s culture. It’s not something you just do. It’s something you are and always improve on.
Make sustainability an integral part of an organization’s culture. It’s not something you just do. It’s something you are and always improve on.
Who do you go to for inspiration in this space?
- The Zeabus, urban, emission free, autonomous ferries. -
How do you offset your own footprint?
We have not yet done a full footprint calculation of our operation. But as a provider of sustainable solutions we have that as an important part of our business plan, then seeking answers in direction of companies like TerraVera.
What is your one ‘guilty / non-eco’ pleasure? (that you can’t live without)
I have a pretty fast gasoline fuelled boat that we need to get to our cabin on an island on the Norwegian coast.
If you had to choose one person to lead the world in sustainability, who would it be and why?
I think Elon Musk is already doing that by transforming several businesses.
In the political world maybe Angela Merkel could be a good front runner.
"If working apart we are a force powerful enough to destabilise our planet, surely working together we are powerful enough to save it. In my lifetime I have witnessed a terrible decline. In yours you could - and should - see a wonderful recovery.”
-​ Sir David Attenborough