About this keynote
Firstly, thank you to Vivek and the directors at Aditya Birla, one of India’s largest conglomerates with over 140,000 employees and revenues of over $45 Billion, who produce everything from aluminium, concrete, and precious metals, through to consumer goods, fabrics, fertilisers, financial services, and much more, for asking me to show them the future of a vast array of different topics, all with re-invention and sustainability at their core.
From discussing new environmentally friendly ways to package and produce cement through to discussions about new Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) waste water technologies not only did we seem to cover everything but in many cases we showed how even the most mundane aspects of a company’s operations are being re-invented right in front of our eyes using both new emerging technologies, but also thanks to good old fashioned human grit and ingenuity.
Stepping outside of those areas I also discussed new carbon negative building materials and techniques, new energy, energy storage, and carbon capture solutions. I also showed the leadership teams from 36 different countries new revenue streams outside of their core businesses, and showed them how in many cases those new streams could help them re-enforce their leadership positions in key markets while at the same time lowering operating costs and helping them embrace the circular economy and sustainable business practises.
As I always say, the only thing that’s changing is everything, in this case whether it’s new technologies to let us produce green aluminium or mine Lithium from sea water while at the same time dropping the cost of desalinated water by over two thirds, store electricity in bricks and compressed gas, or many other things. So stay tuned for more to come, much more because this is just the beginning as Aditya Birla and I embark on our new journey together.
