Ken Alston In Conversation with Albin Kaelin, EPEA Switzerland

Here's my recent conversation with long-time friend and fellow Cradle to Cradle design practitioner, Albin Kaelin.

I've known Albin for over 22 years. His story starts with the Genesis of the Cradle to Cradle design collaboration of William McDonough and Dr. Michael Braungart. Namely, creating the Climatex Lifecycle textile that confounded the Swiss water authorities because they could not find any trace of pollution in the factory wastewater.

Albin talks about his journey as CEO of a small Swiss textile mill reinventing his core products to become more sustainably circular, through to his award-winning role today as CEO of EPEA Switzerland.

Albin's work is ever practical, grounded in business reality, and completely focused on creating what he calls Networks of Trust to reinvent supply chains so that sustainable circularity can be enabled.

About Albin Kaelin - in his own words:
"I'm actually left-handed. When I got to school, I was forced to write on the right. Back then I asked why, but I didn't get an answer.

This experience has taught me not to accept anything whose sense I do not understand. I want to shape my life so that it makes sense for me and for the community. In doing it becomes visual how I take responsibility.

I work professionally to enable innovations to develop new concepts of production that no longer produce waste, but become 'nutrients' for other products. 

 I find my track of interface, where I am neither saying yes nor no and I am confident to bare my responsibility."

Website: www.epeaswitzerland.com