Redefining Sustainability: A Lincoln Family Collaboration

High school student Salvatore and his mother, Elena Morettini, have co-authored an article exploring how scientific structures can inform regenerative thinking by drawing parallels between the periodic table and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

If one thing amazes us, it’s when our students go beyond the classroom to pursue their passions. Salvatore, one of our high school students, did exactly that, and he also had the chance to share his scientific interests with his mother, the isotope geochemist Elena Morettini, by co-publishing a professional piece: “Building a Better World, One Molecule at a Time,” available on illuminem, an expert network in sustainability.

“This reflection was co-created with my son Salvatore, whose curiosity and questions became the spark for much of what follows,” Elena Morettini explains at the beginning of the article. Vilhelmiina Vulli, a media professional at Illuminem, also took part in the publication, giving this intergenerational dialogue a global platform. 

The fresh perspective of our IB student, combined with the professional insight of Elena Morettini, Global Head of Sustainable Business at Globant, resulted in a piece that explores how scientific structures can guide regenerative thinking by paralleling the periodic table and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the article covers a global topic, it began with a morning ritual between mother and son:

It was an early Sunday morning in Buenos Aires when my son Salvatore climbed into bed with a simple request: did I have a new notebook for him? As it happened, I did, a hardbound journal with the periodic table printed boldly on its cover. That small moment began a conversation that reminded me why chemistry and material science still hold me captive with wonder — and so seems true for Salva!

Elena Morettini, a leader in sustainable business strategy, not only sees perfection and elegance in the periodic table, but she also recognizes a roadmap for the future of our planet. One of the most interesting insights is the concept of incompleteness. Dmitri Mendeleev´s periodic table has, as it is known, intentional gaps for elements that hadn't been discovered yet. What Salvatore and Elena propose in their article is that economies should be designed with integrity, leaving space for discoveries, such as new technologies and new voices in the next generation.

This mother-son conversation also highlights three pillars for social inclusion and global cooperation: Reactivity (how we act faced with the urgent pressures of climate change), Bonding (driving change through the strength of the social and corporate connections), and Stability (aiming for a circular, regenerative economy).

What are the key takeaways from this creative collaboration? There is always the unknown, so a space should be left for discoveries; when looking for a logic on how to bond together, chemistry is the key; sustainability moves forward through conversations between generations.