Green Shoots & Big Shifts

Reetu Gupta
  • 5.0 (6)
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Green Shoots & Big Shifts is hosted by Reetu Gupta, who started the show to have open, hopeful conversations about what it really takes to make sustainability part of how we live, lead, and work. Each week, she talks with people doing innovative, meaningful work, turning ideas into action. From startup founders and corporate change-makers to community leaders - reimagining how business, society, and the planet can thrive together. These are stories about innovation, collaboration, possibility, and the everyday shifts that move us toward a more abundant and resilient future.

  1. 17h ago

    70% of Wildlife Is Gone. This CEO Is Racing to Map What's Left - Dan White, CEO Gentian

    Wildlife populations have dropped 70% over the last 50 years, and most organizations still can't say what nature exists on the land they manage. Dan White, CEO & Founder of Gentian, measures biodiversity using satellite imagery and AI that detects plant species and habitats from space, then hands that data to property developers, farmers, oil and gas firms, and First Nations communities so they can act on nature/ ecological risk. His path runs from childhood bird watching through behavioral economics work that cut aviation fuel use, and he connects both to the value we fail to count. Chapters: 00:03 Welcome to Green Shoots and Big Shifts 00:55 Dan's early love of nature and bird watching 01:45 A career arc from music to CEO 02:32 Serendipity, doors, and following your values 04:25 What Gentian measures with satellites and AI 05:14 Why habitats matter and the extinction crisis 06:48 Who uses biodiversity data and why 08:20 Regulation, TNFD, and nature on the bottom line 11:19 Nature based solutions and climate resilience 12:56 Losing one drug every two years to plant extinction 14:32 Behavioral economics and changing decisions 15:24 District heating data and meeting Rob Metcalfe 17:45 The Virgin Atlantic fuel efficiency trial 18:31 Signal: feedback for pilots and ships captains 20:01 Why personalized goals beat leaderboards 23:08 Advice for people starting out in this work 25:18 What's next for Dan and Gentian 27:36 A word for the audience: chicken Learn more about Gentian: Website - https://gentian.team Follow the host, Reetu Gupta here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/guptareetu/

    70% of Wildlife Is Gone. This CEO Is Racing to Map What's Left - Dan White, CEO Gentian

  2. Sep 30

    Closing the Ocean's $150B Funding Gap through Donor Advised Funds: Laura Francis, Sea Forward

    Less than 1% of philanthropic capital goes to ocean causes, and the funding gap for a healthy ocean runs at least $150 billion. Laura Francis, Founder of Sea Forward Fund, is closing that gap with a collaborative multi donor fund now invested in 12 ocean health funds that span roughly 200 companies across 53 countries. After 27 years at NOAA and a career as a kelp forest ecologist, she built a model where a $250 donation and a $2 million donation both matter, returns cycle back through a donor advised fund, and everyday people learn how ocean impact investing works. Chapters: 00:03 Welcome to Green Shoots and Big Shifts 00:53 Falling in love with the ocean at 11 years olf 02:26 From UC Santa Barbara to 27 years at NOAA 03:53 Move into impact investing 06:12 The ocean funding gap and SDG 14 08:41 Inside Sea Forward Fund: 12 funds, 200 companies, 53 countries 09:26 Choosing science based fund managers and measuring impact 11:40 Why a $250 donation matters as much as $2 million 13:12 Impact Investing without a donor advised fund through CataCap 14:46 The living laboratory and the Ever Blue model 16:22 Ripple: community, webinars and newsletters 17:53 California Ocean Summit in Santa Barbara, December 2026 19:27 Lessons on mobilizing small donors for big impact 21:44 The ocean as a financial ecosystem 22:28 What's next: new platforms, field trips and growing to 15 funds 24:43 A science to finance pathway for students 25:35 Closing on resilience and hope You can follow Laura Francis here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraannfrancis/ Learn more about Sea Forward Fund: - Sea Forward Fund Website - https://seaforwardfund.org - Sea Forward Fund on Catacap: https://catacap.org/investments/seaforward - California Ocean Summit: https://calocean.org/ DAF Commons: https://www.dafcommons.com/ Follow the host, Reetu Gupta here: - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/guptareetu/ - https://www.linkedin.com/company/green-shoots-big-shifts/?viewAsMember=true

    Closing the Ocean's $150B Funding Gap through Donor Advised Funds: Laura Francis, Sea Forward

  3. Sep 23

    Helen Zhang on Turning Coffee Waste Into High Value Ingredients!

    Coffee manufacturers pay millions to dispose of waste that still holds most of its value. Helen Zhang built a company on that gap. She is CEO and Founder of Coffee Elf Inc., which pulls oil from commercial coffee grounds to make a premium emollient for hair care and skincare, and presses grounds with cork and peanut shell into vegan leather for promotional merchandise. Helen traces the path from a kitchen project at Columbia that nearly set off her neighbors' smoke complaints to early commercial partners, and to donating profit back to nonprofits serving women coffee farmers in Kenya, Ethiopia and Colombia. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to Green Shoots and Big Shifts 00:54 Meet Helen Zhang and what Coffee Elf does 01:43 The kitchen project that nearly burned down an apartment 03:16 Discovering coffee's hidden chemical value 03:47 Coffee waste as a commercial problem 04:54 Growing up in an entrepreneurial family 07:16 The bigger vision: a waste to value engine 09:37 Inside the product line: emollient and vegan leather 12:08 Replacing palm oil with coffee oil 13:16 Giving back to women coffee farmers 17:00 Material innovation beyond plastic 18:38 Safety, silicones and clean beauty 20:35 Milestones ahead: hair care and the ASI supply chain 22:00 How to partner with Coffee Elf 24:24 Sustainability and profitability together 28:22 Advice for founders building in this field 30:46 One word to leave listeners with Learn more about Coffee Elf Inc.: Website - https://thecoffeeelf.com Follow the host, Reetu Gupta here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/guptareetu/

    Helen Zhang on Turning Coffee Waste Into High Value Ingredients!

  4. Sep 16

    Efficiency First: How Weber State University Cuts Carbon and Costs -- Justin Owen

    Weber State University set a carbon neutral target of 2040 and has spent 15 years working toward it with efficiency, electrification, and renewable sourcing. Justin Owen, Director of Utilities and Sustainability at Weber State University, walks through the specifics: half the campus electrified, two and a half megawatts of solar, ground source wells under parking lots, and a revolving loan fund now generating around $3 million in cost reduction. He is a Weber State alum who started as an hourly student worker, and he explains why housing sustainability inside facilities changed what the team could get done. Chapters: 00:03 Welcome to Green Shoots and Big Shifts 00:54 Weber State's carbon neutral goal for 2040 01:40 Campus size and location in Ogden, Utah 01:55 Justin's path from pre med to sustainability 03:20 Early adopters: the 2007 climate commitment 04:31 The president signs on, facilities figures it out 05:14 Measuring the baseline and finding low hanging fruit 05:57 The central heating problem and electrification 07:26 How ground source fields work at Weber State 08:58 Life cycle, learning environment, and per room thermostats 11:15 Win wins: comfort, cost, and getting occupants on board 11:56 The internal revolving loan fund 13:27 Producing two thirds of campus electricity and avoiding easy undos 14:55 Efficiency first, then electrification, then renewables 16:29 Getting stakeholders and finance on board 17:53 Sustainability housed inside facilities management 21:24 Students and interns in sustainability work 23:31 Rescuing leftover food and campus engagement 24:15 What's next: onsite battery storage and a campus microgrid 25:36 Focus and avoiding distraction in sustainability programs 26:19 One word: hope 27:05 A investment problem, not a technology problem You can follow Justin Owen here: LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/justinrowen Learn more about Weber State University: Website - https://weber.edu Follow the Green Shoots & Big Shifts Podcast here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/green-shoots-big-shifts/

    Efficiency First: How Weber State University Cuts Carbon and Costs -- Justin Owen

  5. Sep 9

    Green Jobs, Second Chances, and Policy - Nisha Anand, Dream.org

    Nisha Anand, CEO of Dream.org, ran the playbook to help pass a legislation, which has seen 60,000 people return from prison. She grew up as the daughter of Indian immigrant parents in Atlanta, learned to be the bridge early, and now builds tables wide enough to make change that lasts. Nisha explains: Growing up a self-described misfit in Atlanta and turning bridge building into a career Why durable policy comes from including the most excluded voices, not checking a box How the First Step Act brought 60,000 people home from prison Green for All's origin: Van Jones training Oakland youth to install solar panels Solving poverty and pollution at the same time instead of one at a time The Green Reentry cohort, training people coming home from prison for green jobs Working with unlikely allies, from libertarians to military bases facing rising water Common values under criminal justice reform: second chances, dignity, shrinking a bloated system Making nuance cool again and practicing self-curiosity while doom scrolling Connecting siloed solutions from conferences into full city-wide plans What gives her hope: her kids, the next generation, and science that is bigger than us 00:00 Welcome to Green Shoots and Big Shifts 00:44 Introducing Nisha Anand, CEO of dream.org 01:21 From Atlanta misfit to activist and bridge builder 02:52 Justice at scale: legislation and the First Step Act 03:51 Building a big table and why it makes policy durable 04:41 Beyond tokenism: inviting the blind spots you cannot see 06:16 Green for All's origins with Van Jones and Oakland solar 07:47 Green infrastructure, reentry, and green jobs today 10:03 Equity as the door that opens for everyone 11:57 Practices and challenges of building broad coalitions 15:56 Common values behind unlikely allies 17:36 Making nuance cool again and modeling curiosity 19:00 Self-curiosity: asking why you react the way you do 21:33 What the podcast reveals: hope in science and startups 23:00 Connecting the dots across silos and conferences 25:28 What keeps Nisha going: her kids and the next generation 28:00 One word to leave with: perseverance Learn more about dream.org: Website - https://dreamcorps.us

    Green Jobs, Second Chances, and Policy - Nisha Anand, Dream.org

  6. Sep 2

    40% of Our Food Is Wasted! -- Robert Lee, Rescuing Leftover Cuisine

    Forty percent of the food produced in the United States gets thrown out, and the nutrition in a third of that waste is enough to end food insecurity. Robert Lee, founder of Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, left a finance job at JP Morgan to close that gap. He grew up as the second son of Korean American parents who struggled with food access, joined a student club at NYU that carried leftover dining hall food to shelters, and built that idea into an organization now rescuing food across all 50 states. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and show intro 01:00 Robert's journey and what inspired RLC 02:46 What Rescuing Leftover Cuisine does 03:33 Scaling carefully and sustainable growth 06:03 Where RLC operates today 07:00 The scale of food waste 08:33 A food rescue story that stuck 10:02 How to donate food and how pickup works 10:58 Partners, shelters, and a school program 12:33 Launching the Every Bite app in Boston 13:33 What's next and making food rescue the standard 15:35 Advice for starting small and taking action 17:53 How Robert thinks about impact 19:53 One word to leave listeners with Learn more about Rescuing Leftover Cuisine: - Website - https://rescuingleftovercuisine.org - Download the Evrybite App: https://www.evrybite.com/download-evrybite

    40% of Our Food Is Wasted! -- Robert Lee, Rescuing Leftover Cuisine

  7. Aug 26

    Can Data Drive Impact? Insights from Nelli Garton of Tablecloth.io

    In this episode of *Green Shoots & Big Shifts*, host Reetu Gupta welcomes Nelli Garton, the founder of Tablecloth.io, to discuss the transformative power of data in driving sustainability efforts. Nelli shares her inspiring journey from the world of philanthropy and academia to launching a company dedicated to helping organizations effectively measure and understand their impact. With nearly a decade of experience, she highlights the evolution of her mission and the importance of making data-driven decisions in both non-profit and private equity sectors. The conversation delves into the challenges and surprises of pivoting from a philanthropic focus to working with private equity, emphasizing the need for organizations to integrate sustainability into their core values. Nelli also explores the role of Artificial Intelligence in sustainability and the critical importance of building trust within organizations as they navigate these changes. The episode wraps up with a powerful message about the collective responsibility we share in shaping a sustainable future, urging listeners to embrace the possibilities that lie ahead. (00:00) - - Intro to Green Shoots & Big Shifts (01:23) - - Welcome to Nelli Garton (02:45) - - Nelli's Journey in Sustainability (06:12) - - Transition to Private Equity Focus (10:15) - - Data-Driven Decision Making (14:40) - - Working with Clients and Projects (18:30) - - Connecting Data to Sustainability (24:05) - - Long-Term Client Relationships (28:40) - - The Role of AI in Sustainability (32:15) - - Challenges and Opportunities with AI (37:10) - - Exciting Future for Sustainability (41:30) - - Activating Change in Communities (45:00) - - Closing Thoughts on Possibility (46:15) - - Thank You and Farewell sustainability, data, impact investing, ESG, climate change, private equity, decision making, AI, community development, transformation

    Can Data Drive Impact? Insights from Nelli Garton of Tablecloth.io

  8. Aug 19

    The Future of Carbon Fiber: Turning CO2 waste into Gold - Aaron Fitzgerald

    In this episode of Green Shoots & Big Shifts, host Reetu Gupta sits down with Aaron Fitzgerald, the founder of Mars Materials, Inc. PBC, to discuss innovative approaches to sustainability and climate change. Mars Materials is pioneering a transformative method of producing carbon fiber and water treatment chemicals from waste materials (i.e. carbon dioxide), instead of traditional fossil fuels. This not only creates valuable materials but also serves as an effective means of carbon sequestration, addressing both environmental concerns and market demands. Aaron shares his inspiring journey from working on Capitol Hill to becoming a serial entrepreneur focused on carbon dioxide removal. He discusses the challenges and triumphs of building a startup in the climate tech space, emphasizing the importance of resilience, community, and the need for market-based solutions to combat climate change. The conversation highlights the growing demand for sustainable materials and how Mars Materials is positioned to meet that demand while making a significant impact on the environment. (00:00) - - Introduction to the Podcast (01:30) - - Welcoming Aaron Fitzgerald (02:15) - - Overview of Mars Materials (04:45) - - Motivation Behind Mars Materials (07:30) - - Technology Insights: Carbon Fiber Production (10:15) - - The Role of Acrylonitrile in Production (12:00) - - Environmental Concerns with Traditional Processes (14:30) - - Rising Demand for Carbon Fiber (17:00) - - Aaron's Journey as a Founder (20:00) - - Lessons from Previous Startups (24:00) - - Impact of Personal History on Career (27:30) - - Key Pivotal Moments in Entrepreneurship (31:00) - - Exciting Future Projects for Mars Materials (35:15) - - Funding and Support for Mars Materials (38:00) - - Commercialization and Market Validation (41:00) - - Diverse Applications of Products (44:00) - - Collaboration Across Geographies (47:30) - - The Importance of Subsidies in Climate Tech (50:00) - - Final Thoughts: Optimism in the Climate Space (52:30) - - Closing Remarks and Thank You (00:00) - - Introduction to the Podcast (01:30) - - Welcoming Aaron Fitzgerald (02:15) - - Overview of Mars Materials (04:45) - - Motivation Behind Mars Materials (07:30) - - Technology Insights: Carbon Fiber Production (10:15) - - The Role of Acrylonitrile in Production (12:00) - - Environmental Concerns with Traditional Processes (14:30) - - Rising Demand for Carbon Fiber (17:00) - - Aaron's Journey as a Founder (20:00) - - Lessons from Previous Startups (24:00) - - Impact of Personal History on Career (27:30) - - Key Pivotal Moments in Entrepreneurship (31:00) - - Exciting Future Projects for Mars Materials (35:15) - - Funding and Support for Mars Materials (38:00) - - Commercialization and Market Validation (41:00) - - Diverse Applications of Products (44:00) - - Collaboration Across Geographies (47:30) - - The Importance of Subsidies in Climate Tech (50:00) - - Final Thoughts: Optimism in the Climate Space (52:30) - - Closing Remarks and Thank You sustainability, carbon fiber, innovation, climate change, entrepreneurship, waste-to-product, polyacrylamide, carbon dioxide removal, market demand, resilience

    The Future of Carbon Fiber: Turning CO2 waste into Gold - Aaron Fitzgerald
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About

Green Shoots & Big Shifts is hosted by Reetu Gupta, who started the show to have open, hopeful conversations about what it really takes to make sustainability part of how we live, lead, and work. Each week, she talks with people doing innovative, meaningful work, turning ideas into action. From startup founders and corporate change-makers to community leaders - reimagining how business, society, and the planet can thrive together. These are stories about innovation, collaboration, possibility, and the everyday shifts that move us toward a more abundant and resilient future.

Information

  • Creator
    Reetu Gupta
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Pistachio LLC
  • Show Website
    Green Shoots & Big Shifts