ertrand Piccard says
startups must prioritise good
communication if they want
to push their innovations to market.
Speaking to Innovators Magazine
for this special edition showcasing
the European Innovation Summit’s
inaugural EU Top 50 Startups
event, where he is giving the
keynote speech, the ‘serial pioneer’
has a clear message to the young
innovators taking part: ‘success will
come from good communication.’
Words of advice from a man
with a strong record of doing
just that, and with real impact.
In 2016, Bertrand successfully
communicated the epic potential of
clean technologies, when he piloted
the first ever round-the-world solar
flight, alongside co-pilot André
Borschberg, in the history-making
Solar Impulse plane.
“The Solar Impulse flight showed
the world that it is possible to
push the limits of technology in
order to build the foundation for
a sustainable future,” said Ban
Ki-moon, who was then United
Nations Secretary-General.
1000 solutions
And now Bertrand is heading
around the world again – this
time with 1000 solutions that can
‘protect the environment in a
profitable way’.
Launched at this month’s UN
Climate Change Conference
(COP23) in Bonn - via the Solar
Impulse Foundation, which
Bertrand is the Initiator and
Chairman of, the World Alliance for
Efficient Solutions (World Alliance)
will select and promote 1000
solutions that can help contribute
to international climate targets.
“I want to select the best 1000
solutions and go around the world
again - not with a solar plane but
with a catalogue of solutions. I
want to take them to governments,
heads of state, to parliamentarians
who have to make legislation, and
to institutions and big corporations.
It will show them what exists today
and make clear they can be much
more ambitious in the targets they
want to reach,” Bertrand said.
To do this effectively, he will
communicate to decision-makers,
in governments and industry, in
a language they can understand,
which is simply that profit and
ecology go hand-in-hand.
“Heads of state all tell me that
the main problem is inertia; the
difficulty to move things. And that
ecology isn’t enough, as you have
too much resistance from industry.”
He continued: “What you need is
to have the politicians owning the
solutions, so they know which are
the best solutions for their country;
what is profitable, what can create
jobs, and then they can incorporate
it into their political programme.
They are then in a position to
say - look, we are going to do this
because it will create jobs, it will
make profit, it will sustain growth.”
“Even for climate change deniers,
it will be logical to use these
solutions,” Bertrand added.
And it is this criteria, the
combination of economy and
ecology, that an expert panel
will use to rigorously assess the
“You innovate when
you understand the
paradigm that prevents
you from moving
ahead, and you get rid
of this paradigm.”
Bertrand Piccard © Solar Impulse Revillard Rezo.ch
© Solar Impulse Revillard | Rezo.ch