Jiva Leading the Charge Toward Sustainable Innovation

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

Environmental sustainability in business—product circularity—is a high priority these days. “Circularity,” the term meant to replace “recycling,” in its simplest definition, describes a full circle life for electronic products and all their elements. The result is re-use or a near-complete reintroduction of the base materials back into the supply chain, leaving very little left for waste.

For what cannot be reused productively, the ultimate hope is to have better, less harmful means of disposal and/or materials that can seamlessly and harmlessly decompose and integrate back into the natural environment. That is where Jiva and Soluboard come in. In this interview, Steve Driver, CEO at Jiva Materials, shares the company's history and mission and how he believes they are on the way to being a major disruptor.

Marcy LaRont: Jiva has such huge implications for our industry and, hopefully, for the future of materials used in electronics manufacturing. How did Jiva come to be?

Steve Driver: Jack Herring is the inventor and founder of the company. He had an inspiration while studying for his degree in product design in 2017. He came to me with his idea in 2018, and we agreed that it had legs but needed re-engineering and development. I heard from him again a year later, with a smile on his face and a pocketful of money: Jack had successfully secured an investment and an Innovate UK government grant. He then asked me to join Jiva and help develop and commercialize the product. It was perfect timing because I had just sold my PCB company and wasn’t ready to hang up my boots.

LaRont: What is your background and how does it fit in with Jiva?

Driver: I started in this industry in 1977. I spent 12 years working with a major PCB company, starting as an operator, and eventually fulfilling roles as production manager, technical manager, and general manager.

To continue reading this interview, which originally appeared in the September 2025 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.