In celebration of Climate Week 2021, we spoke with Minerva creator, Amer Jandali.
For the past 5 years, Amer has produced the Marketplace of the Future event in New York City which has hosted thousands of visitors and climate friendly brands from all around the world. We spoke about how he uses Minerva to onboard his team and set them up for success.
Inspired by the 1939 New York World's Fair, The Marketplace of the Future is an annual expo showcasing products and services embodying a sustainable future. From breakthrough renewable energy technology to zero-waste packaging, social designer and environmental futurist Amer Jandali is on a mission to bring sustainability to the forefront.
This week, The Marketplace of the Future is the closing event for Climate Week 2021 and will host thousands of attendees both virtually, and in person from September 24th to September 25th.
Over the past 5 years, the event has had over 90 climate friendly vendors participate, and over 5000 attendees. Partnering with social entrepreneurs, innovators and hundreds of eco friendly brands, Amer has carved out a niche platform for climate-consciuos citizens to not only learn but engage with one another. Keep reading to learn how you can participate.
Tell Us About The Marketplace of The Future.
Can you name something in your house that didn’t begin as someone’s imagination? Visualizing something in your mind is a precedent to creating it. Now, what if we visualize a time after we’ve “solved” climate change? What will our daily lives look like? What organizations, products, services, and resources will be normal? That’s the idea behind the Marketplace of the Future - it's an expo of companies that operate with environmental/social benefit at their core.
What have you learned about scaling a business from solopreneur to now?
I’ve learned that the most important aspect of building a business or project is to clearly articulate the vision. That comes before anything else - even before the plan.
Are we all looking in the same direction? Do we all see the same thing? Do we all agree that’s where we want to go? If the answer is yes, it’s then a process of assigning roles, responsibilities, goals, timelines, and making sure everyone feels taken care of along the way.
What Advice Do You Have For Others Looking To Get Involved?
First thing I would say is to check out Project Drawdown. They’re the world’s leading resource for climate solutions.
Next, find out which government representatives in your area are supporting climate action.
Reach out to your public utility commissioners. Those people are the ones that sit behind the table determining the energy mix of the state. We need all the country’s PUCs to be supporting renewable energy. That alone will cut the United State’s emissions down by over 25%.
What is your favorite Minerva feature?
Minerva is not just a tool, but a community - a curation of experts offering steps to learn what they know. I can get really nerdy with climate solutions. I’ve even printed out an energy “dashboard” of a zero-emissions world and pinned it to my vision board. I love that I can easily create a guide to share how anyone can explore the simulator tool I used. Nerdy for real, right?
Feeling inspired to help support NYC? Join us for the Marketplace of the Future this Thursday and Friday, September 24th & 25th for a virtual and in person event. If you'd like to join, we have some spots still open (free but $50 value). Email Theon@minervaknows.com for more info.
