Annual Report - Sens

Interview
e-Recycling:
money and mind
Mr Varnholt, as a financial expert, how do you assess the
value of natural resources?
Burkhard Varnholt: Natural resources are the Achilles heel of
our global existence, so recovering raw materials is just as
impor tant as extracting them in the first place. In my opinion, saying
that our generation is now experiencing the worst economic
crisis since time immemorial is an exaggeration. Of course we
face huge challenges but we should have more faith in the ability
of economies to adapt. However, the crisis will certainly deepen
if – and I’m deliberately expressing this as a condition – we do
not succeed in reducing our fatal dependency on scarce natural
resources. Resource efficiency is therefore an issue that
profoundly affects us all, regardless of the industry we work in.
“Natural resources are the Achilles heel of
our global existence.”
How can we create incentives so that using our resources
efficiently becomes the normal way to behave?
If nature could choose, it would use the market economy
to protect itself. Resources must actually be priced according
to how scarce they are if people are to change the way they
behave. The problem is that the state frequently still sets the
prices of resources at far too low a level. This encourages
people to continue to waste resources. Take water for instance:
water is far too cheap in most countries in the world, in some
it is even free for the majority of the population.
Do you detect a change of attitude in your business
environment, a new investment mentality?
Yes, definitely. In this connection we are at what the sociologist
Malcolm Gladwell would call a tipping point. That means
24 SENS Annual Report 2011
we have reached the point at which many investors all over the
world have suddenly become aware of the problem. We are
poised for the transition from the era of nuclear and fossil fuels
to that of renewables. The crises in the recent months and
years have contributed to this: the nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima,
the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the crises in the
European Mediterranean countries, the global financial crisis.
These events mark a turning point that has prompted people
all over the world to think differently. I see investors searching
harder than ever for a holistic, sustainable investment principle,
and doing so in all sectors. I am convinced that in five years’
time, sustainable investment will be the new standard.
“I see investors searching harder than
ever for a holistic, sustainable investment
principle.”
How do you assess the growth potential of renewable
sources of energy in this context? And how do you use the
scarcity of resources as a sustainable business model?
Renewable sources of energy will easily be recording doubledigit
growth rates in the next 10 years. Solar energy and wind
power technologies will become established. What will be
crucial for investors will be investing in the companies that can
provide the most profitable technological products or services.
“Renewable sources of energy will easily
be recording double-digit growth rates in
the next 10 years.”
As regards sustainable investment it is important to understand
that this must mean sustainable investment across the