#05: Web Summit 2022: Interview with Lubomila Jordanova, CEO and Co-founder of Plan A.

December 22, 2022 / 7 min. read

Interview with Lubomila Jordanova, CEO & Co-founder of Plan A

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Web Summit connects people & ideas that change the world.

I attended Web Summit, one of the world’s largest tech conferences, representing TechBBQ and Danish media.

Thanks to its size and profile, Web Summit attracts some of the biggest names in the technology sphere. I had the opportunity to interview some of these speakers, who kindly took time from their busy schedules to share insights from their lives and experiences.

In 2022, November 1-4, the conference had over 71,000 attendees from 160 countries.

"GRILLED by TechBBQ" aims to inspire and connect Nordic audiences with voices from the global tech scene.

Lubomila is the CEO and Co-founder of Plan A, which is a SaaS platform supporting businesses like BNP Paribas, N26, Sorare, Mollie, GANNI and 1000s more to decarbonize and align to ESG policy. Photo: Web Summit / PR

Exclusive interview with Lubomila Jordananova,
CEO & Co-founder of Plan A:

Everyone has a different approach to thought leadership and to the purpose that they found in life. I Co-founded Plan A on the belief that there's no better way to use my business skills into something that would achieve progress for humanity that is bigger than my own life.

Interview with Lubomila Jordanova:

Keyvan Thomsen Bamdej:
»A pleasure to finally meet you in person. How are you?«

Lubomila Jordanova:
»I'm good, thank you.«

Keyvan:
»Great to hear, now let's just jump straight into it. What are some of your biggest achievements so far with Plan A? Could you perhaps name a few?«

Lubomila:
»Well, Plan A is a company that is not driven by vanity, so I'm not going to start listing any of the awards that we've won, which are plenty. But the biggest achievement, to be honest, is the team that we have assembled. At the moment, we are over one hundred people in the company, all coming from all walks of life, science, data, engineering, sales, machine learning, and all aligned with the same vision that we want to see this economy thrive, but in a sustainable way, where we are decarbonized, and also, we allow for industries to continue to exist without being continuously threatened by climate risk.«

Keyvan:
»That sounds interesting, please continue.«

Lubomila:
»The second big progress has been the amount of businesses that we've been able to start working with. We work with over a thousand businesses across the globe. Definitely, Europe is a bigger part of our footprint because the legislation here is more prominent. Key examples would include GANNI, Chloe, BNB Paribas, European Commission, and a lot of other companies from different industries, all aligned towards a vision that sustainability needs to become a core part of their operations rather than something that is just done one off. One of the final things is that, maybe, more on a personal level, I'm really proud of the progress that we've been able to push forward. There's been a lot of misunderstandings about climate change and continuous gaps in the knowledge that needed to be filled. And we relentlessly, together with the team, have explained to clients what it is all really about. We've explained to investors and so many people in a way that it matters to their context. From today's perspective, especially over the last few years, I definitely see that people are starting to speak a similar language.«

Photo: Keyvan Thomsen Bamdej / Bamdej Communication ApS

Keyvan:
»That must be rewarding to see. Now, how does attending all of these conferences support your agenda and Plan A? Currently, you are here at Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, before that you were present at the Sifted Summit in London, TechBBQ in Copenhagen, and I could go on.«

Lubomila:
»Well, there's two sides of the engagement with these kinds of events. One is more philosophical, the other one is more practical. On the philosophical level, fact is, we who work in this space, know it is our responsibility, which means that we need to share all of this knowledge with the world surrounding us. So, having the chance to speak on all of these stages and contextualize for people, why does it really matter for them to care about sustainability and climate change as a business, is something that I definitely know pushes the progress of the whole industry. On a more practical level, a lot of businesses reach out after my talk and they find it incredibly powerful to hear a story that is applicable to them, that makes them feel empowered, but also gives them immediate indications of the fact that they have not taken enough actions. With this, we know that it definitely just pushes the larger agenda to improve.«

Keyvan:
»What progress have you seen in the field of sustainability, since you have Co-founded Plan A? What is the current situation in your opinion?«

Lubomila:
»At the moment it is still messy. The problem is that there's a lot of action, but this action is not aligned. There's legislation on plastics that came from the EU. There are startups that work on hydrogen. There are other companies that work on educational products for sustainability. There are businesses like ours that track decarbonization. And, if you look at the value propositions, they're so diverse. Yet, quite often, they have not accounted for the externalities that they bring for, and quite often don't work with one another.«

Keyvan:
»What does this mean exactly?«

Lubomila:
»That we don't have time for this kind of an approach. Even though I truly believe in chaos as the biggest lever for creativity and achievement, I think that this particular case, we need to align a little bit better. I think, we should give ourselves, as a society, the credit for getting comfortable with the uncomfortable topic. It's been quite a long journey for businesses to get to the point of understanding that a CSL program is not a climate risk program. These are two different agendas. They require different budgets, different amounts of management, and also employee engagement. I know how uncomfortable it is for many businesses to get on this journey. Today, this comfort exists not for all, but for many. And that's something we should be proud of.«

Photo: Keyvan Thomsen Bamdej / Bamdej Communication ApS

Keyvan:
»Ok, brilliant. You are going on stage to talk about a certain related topic at Web Summit. What is it about?«

Lubomila:
»I'm going to talk about the connection between economy and climate change. I think that we still don't understand the math that is associated with our success, growth, profit margins, equity, debt etc. It's actually not reflecting the full picture. There's a reason why our economy has been with nonexistent growth for the last decade. It's because we've ignored extensively the externalities associated to our existence. A T-shirt cannot cost two Euros. A piece of food that has travelled all over the world cannot cost 50 cents. Even with economies of scale, there's a responsibility on behalf of businesses to account for pollution that is created in connection to the transportation and all of these steps involved. It's not because they're to be blamed. It's more like they're losing money along the way as well. They need to make sure they know about this. So, I will be explaining this, and hopefully give the chance to people to see their businesses as a lever for change.«

Keyvan:
»You and your team are extremely active, both on social media, but also attending conferences and being very visible and vocal, communicating your message of sustainability on multiple platforms. Both physically and digitally. As a thought leader, could you see yourself pushing this particular agenda forward without being this active - or is this the only way forward?«

Lubomila:
»Everyone has a different approach to thought leadership and to the purpose that they found in life. I co-founded Plan A on the belief that there's no better way to use my business skills into something that would achieve progress for humanity that is bigger than my own life. On top of this, I'm someone that is incredibly energetic, so I have an engine that never stops. And I think that I have a responsibility to use this towards a good cause.«

Keyvan:
»Could you tell us a bit more about Lubomila? Who is she really apart from the CEO and Co-founder of Plan A, and how did she become such a strong voice within this topic and field?«

Lubomila:
»Well, Lubomila is someone that meditates a lot. She does yoga, goes into nature, and loves skiing. Actually, I used to compete at a top level when I was a child until 18 years' old. So, it is really a big part of my identity. I'm also someone that has been learning lately a bit more in a difficult way to find space and time for myself. Because I'm full embracing my purpose and my job. And slowly but surely, I'm getting into it. I'm feeling fulfilled by everything that I do. But being fully honest, my life is climate change, discussions, decarbonization for businesses to the extent that really, even in my free time, these are the books that I read. But OK, I do go dancing, I do go partying. I love doing a lot of social activities that are not professional. But yeah, I do identify myself a lot with Plan A.«

A quick backstage profile photo of Lubomila Jordanova at the interview booth in the Media Lounge. Photo: Keyvan Thomsen Bamdej / Bamdej Communication ApS

Keyvan:
»Was it set in stone for your career that you would follow this path because you come from a business background? Also, could you do a quick overview of your journey in life, from you were born until today?«

Lubomila:
»I was born in Bulgaria, left when I was 17 years, moved to the UK, studied there, and my life has always been defined by the agenda of going towards Finance. I was in investment banking, then I was in a Venture Company in Asia, then moved back to London to work in FinTech. And climate change found me in 2016 on a beach in Morocco.«

Keyvan:
»Ah, yes, I read about this in my research. Please go on.«

Lubomila:
»Yeah, so, instead of surfing in Morocco as I had originally planned, I ended up cleaning the beach from plastic and a few other places. After that, I decided to dive deep into the knowledge of understanding what is really the connection between human actions and the impact on our planet. I think, the only way I found myself able to respond to this knowledge that I had gathered was really to build a company, because in 2016 there was no interest in the topic whatsoever. No businesses were being built around that, and governments were not necessarily having it as prominently as they do now. And along this journey, I've had an incredible support from my family, but they come from business. They're business people. But the one thing that probably has brought me to where I am now that comes from this is values. They have embedded in me deep values of love, belief, responsibility and community, and also being hardworking. It has shaped myself as an individual and as an entrepreneur.«

Keyvan:
»Fantastic to hear that! What about role models, do you have any you look up to?«

Lubomila:
»I would not allow myself to pick one, but maybe a few. First is my mom. She has been with me as a friend, as a mother, and as a business partner. She was the first person to invest in Plan A. There's been a lot of different levers to learn from her. I'm incredibly grateful, because she has reinvented herself so many times, and has always been this person that is really prominent in the choices that she makes in her community, and the place where I'm from. I also have a lot of admiration for Jane Goodall.«

Keyvan:
»Jane Goodall, why exactly her?«

Lubomila:
»She is the scientist that was the first woman to do a Ph.D., and then essentially be able to explain that animals have emotions through her work with chimpanzees. What I admire about her is that she, in a similar way to what I have experienced as an entrepreneur, was ahead of her time, as back then, women were far from the gender you would think of when you thought of scientists. When you compare it to thinking of a businessman, a businesswoman is now becoming more permanent of a concept, but it's not always been the easiest thing.«

Keyvan:
»Why not?«

Lubomila:
»I think, I have a lot of respect for her battles that she has had, because she has had to stand up for all of us women. Finally, I would actually mention not one, but five more people, from my scientific board of Plan A: Martin Winstein, the founder of Yale OpenLab, Kirsten Dunlop, the CEO of EIT Climate-KIC, Gonzalo Muñoz, High Level Climate Champion of Cop25, Michael Sheron from Bank of England and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). These people are phenomenal. Put them all in one room - and you have an endless source of knowledge. They are for sure role models for me!«

About Plan A:

For far too long, humans have ignored nature's capacity to transform our lives in seconds, but we no longer can. Heatwaves, floods, hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity across the globe. Untold members of humans, animals, and ecosystems have endured the costs. The time to act on climate change is now. This is why we built Plan A, the leading software that enables businesses to measure, report, and reduce their emissions while improving their ESG performance.

Keynote by Lubomila Jordanova at TEDx 2021:

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