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Bart Langius on the Climate Forward Podcast Cover art

Why Better Plastic Doesn’t Win Easily: Bart Langius on PEF, Avantium, and Rebuilding Europe’s Materials Base

Bart Langius explains why replacing fossil-based plastics is not just a chemistry challenge, but an industrial one. At Avantium, he is helping bring PEF, a polyester made from plant sugars, from pilot scale into the real market. The conversation moves from Europe’s weakening petrochemical position to the practical hurdles of new materials: cost, scale, customer risk, and existing recycling systems. It is a grounded look at what it really takes to build a new materials category.

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Olivier Rolland on the Climate Forward Podcast Cover art

Why Good Science Isn’t Enough: From Aviation Fuel to Beauty, Cost Gaps in Climate Innovation with Olivier Rolland

Olivier Rolland is a chemist turned sustainability strategist working at the intersection of biology, business, and climate impact. Over two decades, he has worked on bio-based materials, sustainable aviation fuel, and large-scale supply systems across companies like Michelin, Total, Boeing, and now L’Oréal. He speaks about what it takes to bring sustainable technologies to market, why economic viability is often the missing piece, and how large companies are starting to rethink their value chains from the inside out.

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Caroline Westerik-Sikking and Jules Blom on the Climate Forward Podcast Cover art

Palm Oil Isn’t the Problem: Land, Perception, and Supply Chain Reality with Caroline Westerik-Sikking​ and Jules Blom

Caroline Westerik-Sikking​and Jules Blom from AAK challenge one of the most emotionally charged debates in sustainability: palm oil. They argue the issue is not the crop itself, but how it is produced, and that replacing palm can increase pressure on land rather than reduce it. In this episode, they unpack what supply chain sustainability actually looks like in practice, from satellite-based deforestation monitoring to direct sourcing models in West Africa. The conversation shifts the focus from labels and perception to land use, data, and the realities of scaling sustainable ingredients.

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Lilian Cooper on the Climate Forward Podcast Cover art

Art and Climate Change: Visualizing Rising Sea Levels and Urban Nature with Lilian Cooper

Lilian Cooper is an artist and European Climate Pact Ambassador whose work connects nature, science, and everyday places. For nearly three decades she has documented fragile coastlines, rising sea levels, and the quiet resilience of urban nature. She speaks about drawing disappearing shorelines, rehabilitating so-called weeds, working with scientists, and why careful observation can make climate change visible.

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Bart Langius on the Climate Forward Podcast Cover art

Why Better Plastic Doesn’t Win Easily: Bart Langius on PEF, Avantium, and Rebuilding Europe’s Materials Base

Bart Langius explains why replacing fossil-based plastics is not just a chemistry challenge, but an industrial one. At Avantium, he is helping bring PEF, a polyester made from plant sugars, from pilot scale into the real market. The conversation moves from Europe’s weakening petrochemical position to the practical hurdles of new materials: cost, scale, customer risk, and existing recycling systems. It is a grounded look at what it really takes to build a new materials category.

Read More