Following a careful selection process which involved support from the businesses, a full complement of 12 employees from Akzo Nobel will be joining Robert Swan’s Leadership On the Edge educational expedition, which takes place from March 13 to 26.

Polar explorer and environmental campaigner Robert Swan, whose 2041 organization signed a partnership deal with the company last year, has already staged five similar expeditions, but this year he will live in Antarctica for two weeks—surviving entirely on renewable energy—prior to the arrival of the Akzo Nobel group and their fellow Leadership On the Edge team members (a total of around 70 people from different companies will be taking part).

One of the team members, John Rowland, a Senior Research Chemist for Akzo Nobel Surfactants, was interviewed prior to leaving for the program:

What was your reaction to being selected?

I was very excited and much honored to be selected. This is an incredible opportunity for me as an employee of Akzo Nobel, a worker in the chemical sector and as a person living in this world.

What do you hope to gain from the experience?

Perspective. Sustainability and environmental responsibility are currently receiving major attention in the US media. A proper perspective of the key issues is the only way to start heading towards a better place.

What are you most looking forward to?

I am looking forward to the chance to meet other people within Akzo Nobel, from other industries and academic institutions that have made a commitment to Robert Swan’s 2041 project. I think this will be a very interesting group of people and I cannot wait to listen and discuss the reasons they have for being involved in such an expedition.

What are you least looking forward to?

The cold goes without mention!!

Tell us something about your business case?

I am particularly interested in some form of quantification of renewability or sustainability in our products. Sustainability, renewability and eco-efficiency are fundamentally difficult entities to measure despite their common use to describe processes and products.

How important is sustainability to your particular business?

In our business, we constantly work to find more efficient ways to operate the plants and develop new chemistries for our customers. This is driven by internal operating methods and external customer requests that are becoming more focused on sustainability issues.

How do you think the trip will alter your opinions on environmental issues?

The trip will no doubt alter my opinions on environmental issues. The biggest impact I hope will be a better understanding of how corporations and governments can address the environment. Sometimes, the best answer is not always obvious.

How do you think being in such an extreme environment can aid leadership development?

In extreme situations, I think people become a little more creative in looking at an issue. Perhaps they are more willing to try something different.

What effect do you think the experience will have on you as a person?

I am going in with an open mind. It really could be just about anything.

What kind of impact can this expedition have on Akzo Nobel?

Akzo Nobel has been listed number one on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2007. This achievement is extremely impressive and I expect sponsoring this and other similar programs will help the industry as a whole value environmental issues. I also think it will impact employees. In general, people are interested in these types of projects and appreciate the attempts to make a difference.