Green Premiums Podcast

Johannes Frosteman

The Green Premium is the additional cost of choosing a clean technology over one that emits a greater amount of greenhouse gases. This podcast focuses on how green premiums can be reduced, by involving various stakeholders.  A podcast by Johannes Frosteman. Check out my blog: greenpremiumspodcast.com!

Episodes

  1. 03/21/2022

    Episode 5: Electricity and How Politics can Incentivize a Shift to Renewable Energy Sources

    Episode 5 of the podcast focuses on a specific economic policy initially implemented in Germany: the feed-in tariff (FiT). The FiT incentivizes citizens to invest in renewable energy sources by providing an above-market price for producers. That price is achieved by letting electricity consumers pay an extra tariff on their electricity bills. In that sense, it works as a stick for people who are not investing in renewable energy and a carrot for those who do. It was exciting to have one of the originators of the feed-in tariff in the podcast: Hans-Josef Fell. He was in the German parliament (Bundestag) from 1998-2013, representing the Green Party. Today, he is the president of the Energy Watch Group, a global network of scientists and parliamentarians focusing on clean energy. Mr. Fell is also considered one of the “fathers” of the Renewable Energy Act, of which FiT is a robust legislative framework. Mr. Fell is talking warmly about the FiT, so I brought Merethe Dotterud Leiren into the conversation to complement his view on the tariff. She is a political scientist focusing on green electricity policies, and she has written multiple papers on the FiT. Merethe Dotterud Leiren added some additional views on FiT. For example, she mentioned that the main issue with the feed-in tariff is that it is challenging to select which technologies to choose for the tariff. A Capstone-project by Johannes Frosteman, Minerva University. Check out my blog!

    Episode 5: Electricity and How Politics can Incentivize a Shift to Renewable Energy Sources
  2. 03/16/2022

    Episode 4: Cars and How Corporations can Make Their Supply Chains Green

    Before doing Episode 4 of the podcast, I watched this Ted talk by Jens Burchardt about how the green premium for many products is smaller than we may think. Mr. Burchardt and his team at Boston Consulting Group have been calculating what it would cost to produce products that are CO2-neutral. For an average European mid-size sedan with a cost of 30,000 euro, the green premium would only be 500 euros. The explanation is that the extra cost from the supply chain is low compared to the cost to the final consumer - only about 40% of all expenses come from suppliers. However, a large part of that goes to shipping and production. Ultimately, only 15% of the price of the car comes from the materials in it. That means that even if a company has to pay 50% more for the steel, it is only a fraction of the final sales price to the customer. The low extra cost is also something consumers could be willing to pay, but companies are held back because of price competition. To evaluate the Ted talk, I reached out to Mr. Burchardt, who helped me contact BCG consultant Miranda Hadfield. We talked about the calculations that she and the team had been making and how companies will likely need pressure from legislators to shift more of their supply chains to come from sustainable sources. In the episode, I also talked with Thomas Hörnfeldt, who works at Hybrit, a company making CO2-neutral steel. For corporations to shift their sourcing, there need to be alternatives that can supply them with sustainable materials. A Capstone-project by Johannes Frosteman, Minerva University. Check out my blog!

    Episode 4: Cars and How Corporations can Make Their Supply Chains Green

About

The Green Premium is the additional cost of choosing a clean technology over one that emits a greater amount of greenhouse gases. This podcast focuses on how green premiums can be reduced, by involving various stakeholders.  A podcast by Johannes Frosteman. Check out my blog: greenpremiumspodcast.com!