Robert Falck

Robert Falck is CEO and founder of Einride, a Swedish company decarbonizing ground freight. Einride works with some of the world’s largest companies – including Mars, Heineken, PepsiCo, and Maersk – to electrify trucking fleets and make freight movement more efficient. This year it partnered with port operator DP World to start electrifying Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, the tenth busiest port in the world, which Einride says will prevent 14,600 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. And in March, Einride opened the largest charging site for electric heavy duty freight in North America, near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. The station can charge some 200 trucks a day, and is a significant step toward integrating electric fleets into America’s shipping operations.

What is the single most important action you think the public, or a specific company or government (other than your own), needs to take in the next year to advance the climate agenda?

Governments need to be mindful when intervening in technology alternatives and restricting the creativity entrepreneurs and private companies can bring to the table. They should be tough, as tough as they can be, on emissions targets, but too much red tape will hinder innovation, which will hinder the ability to find solutions we need to effectively address and drive the climate agenda. This sense of “over-legislation” is especially true in Europe. From an influential and economic position, Europe is falling behind and it’s difficult to name an area in which they are leading. There’s a sense of protectionism versus looking to stay competitive and foster innovation. At the core, a lot of this can be stemmed back to the over-legislation that the government is imposing.

What's the most important climate legislation that could pass in the next year?

I think it’s more of a matter of looking at what we need to not pass in the coming year. In Europe, we need to focus on implementing the climate legislation that has already been decided on. Take the emission trading system for example: We’re seeing this phase out emissions at a much faster pace than most seem to realize, which means the clock is ticking loudly for those that have made their business out of polluting. Let's focus on actually getting this done, rather than over-legislating in other areas. Political and regulatory chaos is not going to push the needed changes forward.

If you could stand up and talk to world leaders at the next U.N. climate conference, what would you say?

Climate solutions will be most effective if they make sense from a business point of view. New solutions and technologies need to clearly showcase a strong and future-proofed business case. Entrepreneurs and private companies are uniquely positioned to lead this given their culture of driving innovation, but also because they are best positioned to pivot quickly, adapt, and scale solutions. Embracing sustainability is not merely a moral obligation; it is a strategic business decision that makes way for innovation, market differentiation, and long-term resilience. 

I have long said that the best days of mankind are ahead of us. How we’ll get there is by letting these new ideas and leaders be granted the needed incentives and room for their solutions to not only flourish, but to have others follow suit. However, it’s also imperative that we remain realistic in our optimism. When people are ungrounded to reality and promise the moon – be it to society or investors or customers – that’s when we risk losing trust. A step-by-step approach aligned with a strong business case will get us there.