Vivek Venkatram
Air France-KLM seems to be making significant strides in walking the sustainable path: in-fact it is already piloting a project to upcycle carpet into shoes!
In 2023 Vivek Venkatram took part in the TeamWork programme sponsored by Air France - KLM. Students joined from across our EUTOPIA Alliance. At the end of the programme Vivek was invited to present at the Air France Procurement Forum in Paris. Here he shares his story....
Our Project
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As Procurement Interns – Disruptive Innovations, CSR & Circular Economy – we created 11 feasibility studies to reduce the environmental impact of specific fleet carpets, curtains and seat covers. it was incredible to see our project wrap up with a rewarding culmination.
My role
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As part of our collaboration, I coordinated our approach, aligned internally, delegated tasks, and supported my peers. By focusing on separate areas within procurement sustainability, we were able to tackle the wide scope of the project.
Working Together
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A key element which was conducive to the success of our project was the warmth and supportive environment created by the Air France team
We all learned from and collaborated with the Air France-KLM team, the rest of the student group and all of the EUTOPIA staff.
Our weekly student meetings were a wonderful way to interact with peers from across the world and I still remain in touch with some of my EUTOPIA friends.
An incredible invitation...
Fast forward to a few weeks later when I was invited to present at the Air France Procurement Forum in Paris. I was excited and knew this would be a brilliant opportunity to enhance the impact of our collective efforts across the project, explain in detail the rationale behind our sustainability-driven practical solutions and engage with procurement sustainability experts across companies, universities and nonprofits. I began developing and refining our proposals further. Over several weeks, I knocked on many doors across the university and the prospect of me attending the Forum became increasingly bleak. One fine morning, I received a successful reply from the leaders of the TeamWork program, Nicola & Esther!
Like a kid in a candy shop, I was awestruck!
There were a plethora of amazing technologies showcased: from a headhunting app that excluded background information to remove biases, to exoskeleton technology that assists the carrying of heavy loads, a precision-guided industrial robot arm and a reusable cup closed-loop system, to name a few. Though most of the placards were in French, everyone was kind and accommodating in answering my inquisitive questions.![](venkatram6.png)