In this episode we discuss
Howard Gunstock refers to life as the great adventure. A career people developer, Howard is one of the co-founders of Carbon Kapture, a business whose intention is to help the world reframe their relationship with carbon and CO2 pollution; he is never one to shy away from a daunting challenge.
His career is a bit of an adventure too. After leaving school in the mid 90’s he became an early practitioner of the Law of Attraction, living in Australia and working in sales under the tutorage of Julie Renyard (EatPlayLive). After a stint in Telemarketing he worked in event management and lived and worked in Ibiza before another career pivot in 2003 took him into Banking and Insurance whilst he studied HR. Now, with over a decade’s experience in executing corporate development strategies for some of the world’s best-known brands, he is pivoting once again into monetising one of the world’s biggest challenges, the climate crisis.
Want to support this daring young company? click here to support their crowd funding campaign.
Katherine Ann Byam 0:02 Howard Gunstock, welcome to Where Ideas Launch, and I'm going to launch straight into a question. You just begun fundraising for this fascinating, sustainably savvy project called Carbon Kapture. Tell us about this journey for you.
Howard Gunstock 2:12
Thank you. Yeah, it's about four months ago, I had a couple of life moments. I was looking for opportunities. I ended up reflecting on myself what was going on with the climate crisis at the time. Greta Thunberg was talking quite passionately about the effects of climate change. And I guess like many people of similar age have similar thinking, I took some personal reflection time, and I ended up going to some Friends of the Earth meetings, some extinction rebellion meetings, just to find out what might interest me on what I could do that fitted in with me, right?
As part of that journey, I ended up joining Friends of the Earth and watching this incredible firm called climaterace.org. It's really incredible. And the directors, they're doing an open Q&A. So there's me sitting there, and I get this idea, looking at this film, that I would actually I'd actually pay good money to reverse some of my impact on climate change. And that was what was going through my head at the time when I was seeing all of this film. I would pay money for this. And they were talking about the ways of extracting carbon, and it's based on some ideas and concepts that hadn't happened. And there was a joke that went around that said If only there was a way to extract carbon naturally.
And the joke was there are the trees. And this guy behind me just piped up and said, "kelp grows 30 times faster than trees." And those two thoughts together just clashed. Unlike there's something in this, right. There's something in this and me and this guy, Dave ended up having a couple of conversations and we got on really well. He's the idea and the engineer guy. And I had no idea of taking advantage of this potential opportunity. And we stuck with it for a few months. If you see something bad happening here like if you're across the street, you saw someone being mugged or robbed or something, and you walk by and do nothing. You're complicit in that.
Katherine Ann Byam 4:35
That's so wonderful. So you didn't come from a background in science. You came from a background in human resource management, I think. Tell us about what that gave you to be able to be doing this. I mean, how did that happen?
Howard Gunstock 4:52
Also a great question. I've always been into people development and I had some fantastic training when I was younger. I met a lady named Judy Renyard when I was something like 19 or 20 years old. She taught me the law of attraction and taught me the power of positive thinking and how to see things that visualise ideas. Make things happen by being a good influence, having a good impact on the world. I got into sales. I was always into sales, team development, and then I got into event management.
And I got into developing musicians. And then I got into HR and the development of people. It's fascinating, I enjoyed psychology. But what it helped me do was develop this diverse network of connections and people. And it's that network, which and my understanding of people's skill set that I've used to help develop Carbon Kapture. We have something in the region of nine or ten kelpers. So our collective names of people in the organisation Kelpers. And it's been brilliant. It's been a really enjoyable process for us.
Katherine Ann Byam 6:17
Howard, this is such a wonderful story. But please tell our listeners what exactly is kelp.
Howard Gunstock 6:23
Kelp is a type of fast-growing plant that grows in the water. It's not seaweed, seaweed is a catch-all term for any plant really that grows underwater. kelp is a particular type of tree of a maritime plant that grows naturally on shorelines and grows really rapidly. You can eat it, it's a superfood. What we're doing is we're using it for additional purposes. So we are using the kelp to rapidly grow and capture carbon through the use of photosynthesis. Essentially, it takes the carbon in the sea out of CO2. When it's fully grown, we take the kelp harvested, dry out and use it for animal feed or fertiliser.
The reason why it's such a fantastic product is that when cattle eat it, they produce 90%, less methane gas. Additionally, if you use it for fertiliser, it's not about plant fertiliser, it gives the ground 30% more nutrient yield. You're taking Earth, which is nutrient-poor through farming and taking carbon that is from the sea which is extremely nutrient-rich, that's been living at the bottom of the oceans for years. And we're not destroying the oceans. By using this we're using natural wave power to get that nutrient up with an upwelling technique, and we then live in the kelp, which is essentially a carbohydrate, right. So when you know you're taking it from one location, and changing it into another province and putting it into another location,
Katherine Ann Byam 8:30
It must have been an incredible undertaking for you to start a company of this nature, get under the science into them into the brand building into the mapping out of everything that you need to do. What was it like for you?
Howard Gunstock 8:47
It's been an incredible income, I've really enjoyed it. What's fantastic is that we get an opportunity to create an entirely new business model, we get to do something that's never been done. And that takes an element of strategic conceptual development and turns it into something operational. Nothing that I've done on this volume at this level ever before in my life. But what's been really useful is knowing what the outcomes should be. You can then reverse engineer some of it. That's sensible. That's what I've been focusing on and knowing what the outcome goals are and what the end product is and enables me to build that invisible bridge between operational activity and strategic plans.
Katherine Ann Byam 9:39
So tell us about the business model of carbon capture.
Howard Gunstock 9:43
So I had the idea of being able to pay for something to do with capturing carbon was the bit that really started I guess, the worm in my head more than anything else. And I realised that actually, it's not about having a green idea. It's about being able to monetize something that other people want to get rid of a waste product, CO2. And if you can find a demand and a buyer for that, that's brilliant. I think the original part of the idea came from a story that I heard about a guy who went round to large corporate headquarters and was starting to get paid to pick up their coffee grounds.
And then what he did was he got the coffee grounds and put it into, I guess, fertiliser. And the coffee makes the plants grow faster, right. Like that's a brilliant idea. So he's getting paid to take the grounds of coffee, and also getting paid to sell the fertiliser. What a brilliant idea. And that in itself was part of the dual model for Carbon Kapture. We can capture the carbon and make oxygen and take carbon out of the CO2, freeing oxygen and all the other brilliant benefits of doing that. And there's a demand in the market, I believe, for that product. But at the same time, when you've captured the carbon, there's all this kelp. And that's, that's like, there's something that needs to be done with that.
And then when we found the idea of what the and there are multiple uses for kelp, but the feed and fertiliser will have the most environmental impacts. And then what you're then doing is then finding additional streams of income, right? You're trying to find out, okay, this is a new idea people will want to buy into it. There are going to be businesses that want to attract into it. And then you're thinking, So there's an element of people who want to buy the carbon but there'll be farmers that that will benefit from it.
And then all of a sudden, you're creating a really viable story that will give us the advantage over the large multinational corporations because this is going to be a people-growing business. This is a mindset, this is about changing behaviours, and finding ways that people will agree to do something, not an individual approach or one string approach, a multi-strand approach. That's different. That's not being done.
Katherine Ann Byam 12:15
I think you should explain to our listeners the two-sided aspect of your business model.
Howard Gunstock 12:20
It's based on everyone taking ownership. So typically, what's happened is, you'll have a great activity, or whatever it is to benefit the environment. So let's say plant trees, great activity. One, one thing, plant trees get money. But what you don't do is get other revenue streams from that. So my thinking is if I can get a revenue stream, from people who really care about the environment individually, and want to reduce carbon, if I can get a revenue stream, from companies that want to do the right thing, by sponsoring activities that are really going to have an impact on the environment, by getting individuals to invest and give them a product and a portfolio that can give them some sort of remuneration.
And if we can get involved in green bonds and services, that's another revenue stream. In addition to that, there will be some financial support they'll be able to get from governments, and also probably from some local councils. Because wherever we decide to grow our kelp in the UK, or wherever, one thing that you will know is that when you grow kelp, there will be an increase in the development of maritime life such as fish. And if you live in a seaside resort, so or seaside town or have ever lived in there, they pride themselves on being able to get a locally sourced fish issue that we have in the UK is we've depleted that this is a nursery for fish. This will be an incredible development and give and give, you know, incredible new lease of life to some of these fishermen that are without stock.
Katherine Ann Byam 14:14
What is the impact that you expect to make as carbon capture?
Howard Gunstock 14:19
The farm is one hectare. To be able to do that, to be able to have a significant impact on the environment. It's about getting two gigatonnes out of the ocean. I believe we can ramp ourselves up to doing that relatively quickly. There's a lot of good intensity and a lot of goodwill from people all over the world. But we don't have is clear vehicles on how to make those adjustments. There are companies and countries that are doing similar activities and I'm all for them. I just don't think they've got what we've got.
Katherine Ann Byam 14:56
In this model in this model of circular economy and my business quite sustainable and relevant, are you considering collaborating with some of these other people who are trying to do the same thing?
Howard Gunstock 15:11
We are. This is not a closed book this is about this is a collaborative approach. We've got partners currently, around the UK, we've got partners in the Philippines and Australia. And we will be developing networks, anywhere that opportunities open up to us. This is not that I might be running this show. But this is a collaborative approach and the team that got us to this stage, we wouldn't have got to this stage if it wasn't for a collaborative approach. I've definitely not got all the skill sets to do this. I just, I've got a good idea along with my business partner, and we're gonna run with it.
Katherine Ann Byam 15:52
So Howard, tell us where you expect Carbon Kapture to be in 10 years’ time?
Howard Gunstock 15:58
We have quite a clear plan. We need to get to 10,00 one-hectare farms globally. That's a huge growth curve. Since Chile, we believe that we can grow our farms on a big scale using our investment model to facilitate that growth.
Katherine Ann Byam 16:22
What support can people give to this journey?
Howard Gunstock 16:26
Well, we're currently in fundraising mode. It’s like, share, follow and donate, we're building our first four-hectare farms. For sometime January, February of this year, we've got a crowdfunding page. Please donate towards that we would love to get your your your support for that. Plus. the more donations we get, the faster we get farms in the water. I am really keen on having conversations with people in HR and CSR. And anything to do with that green movement. Any directors who were akin to wanting to do the right thing by our planet because this is an opportunity that hasn't been around before. And we believe that it will have really transformative effects on our oceans.
Katherine Ann Byam 17:22
Hey, this is an excellent chance for people to participate, and to become a part of the movement. So I'm keen to support you.
Howard Gunstock 17:31
Thank you very much.
Katherine Ann Byam 17:32
So my final question to you today would be - there are a lot of people who are thinking they want to do something green, they want to do something sustainable, something relevant. What would you recommend to them and get started on a green business and a green business idea?
Howard Gunstock 17:51
That's a good question. I think when you're when I was thinking about whether this is important, whether this is doable, you have to be focused on the fact that we are in a capitalist world. And however much your intention is great, it has to make money to have an impact. That's really the bottom line. I'm where I'm trying to find a way to monetize a waste product, which is carbon and CO2.
But if you can find a way to make your business pay, that gives you leverage, it's better than just the intent. Not saying that the intent is not good. If you want to help Friends of the Earth and the World Wildlife Fund and plant tree, I'm all for everything. The solution to the climate crisis is not it's not a one magic pill. It's a multiple strand approach. It's a multiple strategy approach, tree-planting living sustainably, driving, driving, driving, electric cars, switching your providers, going vegan, not flying, all of those are excellent. But when you find a way to make it pay, people are really interested - they want an avenue. There just isn't enough.
Katherine Ann Byam 19:26
Such great advice. Thank you so much, Howard. It's been a pleasure hosting you. And thank you to our listeners.
Howard Gunstock 19:32
Thank you so much for having me. Have a great day!
Katherine Ann Byam 19:37
Thanks for listening. This podcast is brought to you today by the depot virtual service hub. The virtual service hub is our digital transformation strategy service that supports startups needing to optimise their processes and their performance to scale up growth. We also help medium-sized firms in modernising their operations and Our services include sustainable strategy, analytics, and tech enablement. To find out more contact Katherine Ann Byam on LinkedIn