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185 / Sustainable Ambition, Soccer & Samuel L. Jackson (+ We’re Hiring!!!)
Published 4 months ago • 7 min read
Hey friends 👋
For so many of us, our work isn’t just a job. It’s personal. It’s a vocation, even a calling.
Which can make ambition an infinitely complex topic to grapple with as a sustainable business professional. Over the past few years, I’ve been on my own journey of redefining success as an entrepreneur, a new (2x) parent and a recovering overachiever living as an expat in a culture that prioritizes happiness over hustle (these Dutch love their extended summer holidays!).
It’s made all the more complicated because when working in sustainability, we don’t exactly get to “opt out” of ambition. The issues we’re tackling demand bold thinking, strategic vision, relentless drive. And yet... we’re also human. And we’re no good to the causes we care about if we’re constantly teetering on burnout.
A few years back, I heard a podcast episode with Kathy Oneto in which she introduced her concept of Sustainable Ambition. The phrase jumped out and grabbed me; I was instantly intrigued. What does ambition look like when it’s a bit more personally sustainable? And what does that balance look like when your ambitions revolve around global, societal and environmental sustainability?
This month, we’re opening up that conversation with our first-ever Reconsidered Summer Book Club. We’re reading Kathy’s new book — a top pick on our 2025 Sustainable Business Reading List— and Kathy will be joining us live on August 14th for a special gathering to unpack the key themes most relevant to sustainable business professionals. You don’t need to have read the *whole* book to be a part of it; even just scanning a summary should equip you enough to join in the conversation.
This event is free and open to the entire Reconsidered community, so feel free to join (and invite a friend) by RSVP’ing here 👇
P.S. On the topic of sustainable ambition and Dutch holidays… we’re taking a short summer pause and will be skipping the next edition of this newsletter. We’ll be back in your inboxes in early September! 😎
🔥HOT JOB ALERT🔥 — Reconsidered is seeking a Freelance Sustainability Communications Strategist & Project Manager to help support our exciting portfolio of impact strategy and communications projects. You’ll be the right-hand support to our founder and a key player in making sure our client projects run smoothly from start to finish. If you’re a super organizer and stellar communicator looking for a part-time, contract, fully remote gig, we want to hear from you!
What does it look like to lead in this new era of sustainable business? What skills and mindsets do we need to unlearn — and which ones do we double down on? These are some of the questions we’ll be exploring in a special Community Power Hour that we’re co-hosting with the Girls Club Collective. If you're craving connection and a safe space to explore these questions with like-hearted sustainability and social impact professionals, join us on Wednesday, August 27th at 8am PT / 11am ET / 5pm CET.
For August in the Change Hub, we’re exploring the “Hot Topic” of Sustainable Ambition with help from author Kathy Oneto, who literally wrote the book on it.In addition to co-hosting ourBook Club gathering on August 14th, Kathy worked with us to co-create a series of weekly challenges just for members, featuring Monday prompts that channel Sustainable Ambition’s three pillars for staying motivated, focused and sustained.
Last week, the Trump administration delivered a gut punch to the climate community with its move to repeal the EPA’s Endangerment Finding — the legal foundation for regulating greenhouse gas emissions. This piece breaks down the implications for companies, who now face a wave of uncertainty: Will the rollback survive litigation? Will future administrations impose stricter rules? Will global markets and tech shifts keep decarbonization on track anyway? We also appreciated this deep dive from The New York Times’ The Daily podcast and this hopeful(ish) take from author Andrew Winston on LinkedIn. (6 minutes)
John Elkington may have dubbed 2025 the year of the “sustainability recession,” but this edition of BCG Partner Tim Mohin’s Sustainability Simplified newsletter suggests that we may be nearing the bottom of the dip. I especially appreciated his roundup of encouraging stats from recent reports — like the Deloitte finding that 85% of companies have increased their sustainability investments this year. It’s a refreshing reminder that even in the midst of backlash and uncertainty (see above) business momentum for sustainability is still very real. (5 minutes)
I always love a hot take from ethical business thought leader Alison Taylor, this one challenging our obsession with sustainability heroes and villains. Instead of chasing tidy narratives, she makes the case for a more nuanced approach that rewards progress over perfection. “We’ve spent far too long in a fraught and arcane quest to score good versus bad, and it’s getting us nowhere,” she says. Amen. (8 minutes)
We’ve seen a lot of heavy news lately, so when this article about the Vermont Green FC soccer team (part of The New York Times’50 States, 50 Fixes series) crossed our feeds, it felt like a breath of fresh air. The team’s approach to climate advocacy — joyful, inclusive, community-first — is a masterclass in creative climate activation. It’s fun. It’s hopeful. It’s exactly the kind of space we need right now. (5 minutes)
👉 LOOKING FOR MORE BRIGHT SPOTS? We’ve just created a new community space in the Change Hub dedicated to sharing the types of joyful, hopeful stories we need to stay motivated. And memes, don't forget the memes!
The latest viral sustainability ad stars none other than Samuel L. Jackson — “the face of righteous fury in every movie ever” — spotlighting the unexpected perks of offshore wind farms. It comes from Swedish energy company Vattenfall, which created its “Wind Farmed Seaweed Snacks” as a concept to show that wind infrastructure can do more than generate power — it can help regenerate ecosystems, too. This advertising trade magazine article shares the story behind the stunt. (7 minutes)
Yup, we’re hiring! 🙌 This part-time, freelance, fully remote role will support our founder with our portfolio of sustainability strategy and communications projects and is ideal for someone early in their impact career (or making a career transition).
Balancing strategic oversight with detailed project management, the Account Supervisor helps lead public relations and influence efforts, ensuring campaigns are aligned with client objectives and effectively executed.
In these weekly community events for impact job-seekers, you’ll hear from special guests, exchange resources and cheer each other on. Guests need to join Spencer Campbell’s paid membership community to participate but Change Hub members can join for free.
Join our first-ever Reconsidered Summer Book Club, focused on Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work, with author Kathy Oneto.
Reconsidered is teaming up with the Girls Club Collective to co-host their free quarterly Community Power Hour. The theme: rethinking how we show up as change agents in 2025.
📆 September 23 — Leaders Summit 2025 | 🇺🇸 New York City | Hosted by UN Global Compact
During Climate Week NYC, Jess will be leading a workshop on “The New Landscape of Sustainability Communications” at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit — unpacking allllll the shifting regulations/stakeholder expectations and sharing practical guidance for brand leaders looking to navigate this particularly tricky period for sustainability.
Join Bespoke ESG for a Climate Week NYC conversation with sustainability leaders on how to move sustainability strategies forward in a time of limited resources, shifting priorities and political volatility.
📣 **Partner Post. Hosting an event for sustainability and social impact professionals? Book a Sponsored Event Post and we'll help spread the word.
💥 In the Reconsidered LinkedIn Group, members are sharing free webinars on zero waste, panel discussions on sustainable fashion and loads of social impact gatherings. Join 19,000 of us here.
📣 We love spotlighting values-aligned work. Share your sustainability or social impact project with our thousands of readers by booking a Sponsored Post.
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Get fresh finds from the world of corporate responsibility, sustainability + social impact delivered straight to your inbox, every other week. Each issue includes 5 thought-provoking links, a curated list of impact job opportunities, interviews with global impact leaders and loads of exclusive tools + resources for sustainable business professionals.
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