As one of the leading Environment & Sustainability speakers in Europe, Dr Elena Morettini is a driving force behind global efforts to transition to cleaner, more responsible energy systems.
With a PhD in Geophysics and deep expertise in ESG strategy and climate innovation, she helps businesses align purpose with action—ensuring sustainability is not just a goal, but a measurable outcome.
In this exclusive interview with The Champions Speakers Agency, Dr Morettini shares her insights on renewable energy, ESG, and the future of sustainable business.
Q: Renewable energy is often described as a critical solution to our climate crisis—but how do you define it, and is it truly sustainable when you consider the full life cycle of these technologies?
Elena Morettini: “The renewable world is a fantastic world. It has been there for a while, depending on the technologies. Geothermal is one of the oldest renewable type of energy, possibly one of the purest.
“All the others are very much linked to the development of technology, and the reason the past ten years—especially the past ten years—have seen very increased and very fast development of that type of industry.
“What I think it is very important to bear in mind when we talk about renewables is that there is a life cycle for all the technology that we use within the renewable set of energy. And we need to be very careful that the entire life cycle is actually sustainable.
“So when we produce all the technology and the tools that are necessary for developing our world of renewable energy, we really need to be careful that our entire full life cycle is sustainable—from the mining of the critical elements and minerals all the way to when we put up a windmill or a solar panel anywhere we are in the world.”
Q: Given the urgency of decarbonisation, do you believe renewable energy alone can meet the world’s growing energy demands, or will a hybrid approach be necessary?
Elena Morettini: “I think that being realistic, we really need a complementarity among energy, because we cannot support all the energy needs of the world only through renewables—that we know very well. The percentage is relatively low.
“So we need to make sure that, as from today, we produce cleaner energy through renewables and other energies in a complementary way.
“So yes, definitely, renewables is the path, but it needs to be coupled with other energies, because at the moment you cannot support and sustain all the energy needs of the world, and they will not be able to do so exponentially in the coming years.
“So there is a need for innovation, new technology, disruptive innovation, digitalisation, etc.
“All apply to the energy world so that we are able to produce the clean energy that we deserve, and that the world needs to keep on being the same beautiful place that it is still today.”
Q: ESG has become a cornerstone of modern business strategy—how do you interpret its meaning and significance in today’s corporate landscape?
Elena Morettini: “To me, it’s a new way of doing business. To me, ESG today equals sustainability. ESG equals a new way of looking at any businesses in order to make it legitimate. So it can be environment, society and governance.
“You can add letters to that, because you can add community. You can add science-based. You can add many concepts that are incorporated in three letters.
“But the important thing is that we keep a holistic view in which we really do no harm—neither people nor environment. And of course, we take care of profit.
“So the ESG sort of concept is still today the one that holds to keep everything of what we’ve mentioned together.”
Q: In your view, how essential is ESG in driving meaningful progress in the fight against climate change?
Elena Morettini: “Absolutely. We all need to know what this is about.
“Why do we think that a different governance within an industry or an organisation can actually push forward everything about society, everything about environment, everything about climate and the harmonious relationship among them?
“And we really need to be aware and be knowledgeable—not in a sophisticated sense, but in the sense of knowing exactly what we need to tackle in every new business, in every new profession.
“We need to have an eye to sustainability. We need to have an eye—the harmonious balance between people, planet and profit. And we cannot do without it. So, it’s absolutely necessary that we all know what it is about.”
Q: With sustainability becoming a global imperative, do you think businesses that resist ESG principles risk being left behind—and how soon could that happen?
Elena Morettini: “They’re going to be standing out much sooner than what they think—way sooner than what they think.
“This is going at such a speed, with a lot of social movement behind, with everybody actually behind—from the public and private partnership, society, public organisations, private enterprises.
“There is a lot of virtuous thinking in this, and whoever is reluctant to open eyes and see what is going on, I’m afraid to say that it’s going to be standard very soon.”
This exclusive interview with Elena Morettini was conducted by Jack Hayes of The Motivational Speakers Agency.
