John Melo believes that the path to making sustainable development mainstream is to create environmentally-friendly products so appealing that demand forces the replacement of traditional manufacturing methods. He hopes this will eliminate a great deal of pollution and environmental degradation, as he builds synthetic genomics firm Amyris, where he is CEO.
He wants to “make it easier for people to choose better for themselves and for the planet,” he says. “For the average consumer in 10 years, sustainably made products should become the new normal, and harmful products will be the exception.”