TIME Studios and Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s leading authority for project professionals, have teamed up to co-produce a new documentary series called The Solutionaries, highlighting three innovators driving scalable transformation to address the climate crisis. Cyrill Gutsch, Rebecca Hu-Thrams, and Lisa Dyson are The Solutionaries, making bold moves to tackle the world’s most urgent challenges and expanding their impact through project management.
United by a shared mission to drive cultural and social impact through storytelling, each innovator’s work is featured in an episode, the first of which premiered on Wednesday, October 8th, on time.com. Further episodes go live on Tuesday, October 28th, and Monday, November 10th.
“The Solutionaries demonstrate that the answers to our greatest challenges often come from individuals with the courage to build the world they imagine,” said Menaka Gopinath, Chief Marketing Officer at PMI. “To deliver real-world impact and address the urgent climate crisis, these innovations need to be unleashed – the world can’t afford to keep them in experimental labs. That’s where the power of project management to scale innovation makes all the difference, and The Solutionaries are doing just that.”
Episode #1: Parley for the Oceans – October 8
Episode one introduces viewers to Cyrill Gutsch, a German-born designer and founder of Parley for the Oceans, a global environmental organization that brings together creators, thinkers, and leaders to raise awareness about the fragility of our oceans and collaborate to end their destruction. Through Parley Future Material® they are introducing natural materials, biofabrication and green chemistry as alternatives to conventional and often harmful and toxic material standards, disrupting the status quo of the fashion and design industries and driving a material revolution.
- In 2024, Parley intercepted 1,609,979 kg of debris from the environment, cleaning a
16,028,161 m2 area.
- In partnership with Dior, Parley launched their third Beachwear Capsule collection, crafted entirely from innovative materials, including 30% made with Parley Ocean Plastic®, a bold step toward an eco-innovative future and a ‘Symbol of Change’ for fashion.
Parley’s mission is a powerful reminder that ocean health is the foundation of human and economic well-being. This is extremely evident in Africa, where the ocean is both a lifeline and a vast reservoir of opportunity. Africa’s oceans are among its greatest economic assets. Stretching over 30,000 kilometres of coastline and bordering two of the world’s most dynamic oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian, they sustain millions of livelihoods and power key sectors such as fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, and transport.
Healthy oceans are essential to Africa’s food security, biodiversity, and climate resilience, but they are under increasing threat from pollution, overexploitation, and climate change. Protecting these blue ecosystems is therefore both an ecological and economic imperative. As global innovators like Cyrill Gutsch demonstrate through their work, reimagining our relationship with the ocean can spark a material revolution, one that aligns sustainability with creativity.
For Africa, maintaining ocean health is not just about conservation; it is about safeguarding a foundation for future prosperity, ensuring that the continent’s blue economy becomes a driver of inclusive growth rather than a casualty of neglect.
Episode #2: Glacier – October 28
The second episode spotlights Rebecca Hu-Thrams, co-founder of Glacier, a next-
generation robotics company reinventing recycling to reduce landfilling and unlock a circular
economy at scale. Today, Glacier’s robots process recycling streams for 1 in 10 Americans,
a sign of how quickly material recovery facilities in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit,
Phoenix, and San Francisco are adopting the technology.
Glacier designs custom-built robots powered by proprietary AI models to trace and recover
more recyclables from the waste stream. Their compact units install directly into recycling
facilities, where robots extract valuable materials and computer vision captures real-time
footage of every item, using AI to classify each one. The result: more materials recovered,
higher-quality feedstock for manufacturers, and verified evidence for brands seeking
accountability.
- Physical AI meets recycling: Glacier’s models already identify and sort more than 50
categories of materials—including plastics, fiber, metals, cartons, glass, and branded
packaging—at industrial scale.
- From waste to feedstock: A single Glacier robot can recover over 10 million items per
year, preventing 2,000 tons of CO₂ emissions (the equivalent of removing 500 cars from the
road!)
- Circular manufacturing + brand intelligence: At full scale, Glacier could divert 200
million tons of recyclables annually and eliminate over 260 million tons of CO₂-equivalent
emissions, while delivering the item-level data brands need to design more responsibly.
Episode #3: Air Protein – November 10
Episode three features Dr. Lisa Dyson, a physicist turned entrepreneur whose work was
inspired by witnessing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. She is the founder and CEO of
Air Protein, a company that is pioneering AirFermentation™, a NASA-inspired process that
transforms elements of the air (CO₂, oxygen, nitrogen, and water) into complete, highly
nutritious protein. The result is a flour rich in essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals
that can function as a drop-in alternative to egg, dairy, and soy.
Air Protein’s technology is patent-protected and backed by leading partners including ADM
and DARPA. By producing nutrition anywhere on Earth without relying on fragile agricultural
supply chains, the company is creating what it calls the “Air Chain™”, a new category of
ingredients designed for resilience, reliability, and scalability. For governments, food
producers, and humanitarian organizations, it offers a stable, future-proof way to secure
supply with efficiency and climate benefits built in.
- Air Protein is rich in vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, with all 20 amino acids,
including all 9 essential amino acids and 2x the amino acids of soybeans. It contains more
protein per kg than most other proteins and is free from GMOs, pesticides, herbicides,
hormones, and antibiotics.
Menaka Gopinath adds: “More often than not, the barrier to implementing solutions tackling
seemingly insurmountable challenges is just figuring out where to start and having the tools
and mindset to move from idea to action. The project profession is a critical element to
enabling action. At Project Management Institute, we’re redefining how the world tackles
environmental challenges, championing for every project to be designed with sustainability at
its core. Our research shows projects with sustainability baked in are nearly twice as likely to
deliver successfully. Our mission is to inspire project professionals to use their skills to shape
a more sustainable future to drive meaningful change.”
Directed by Academy Award nominee Edward Buckles Jr., whose film Katrina Babies
demonstrated his ability to find hope and humanity within complex challenges, The
Solutionaries brings emotional depth and visual artistry to the climate conversation.
About Project Management Institute (PMI): PMI is the leading authority in project
management, dedicated to guiding the way to project success. Since 1969, PMI has shone a
light on the power of project management and the people behind the projects. With a global
community, gold-standard professional certifications, and career-long learning opportunities,
PMI empowers current and aspiring project professionals, as well as organisations, with
knowledge and resources to lead effectively and create an impact in the communities they
serve. Join PMI in elevating our world – one project at a time. Connect with us at
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