ISSUE 208

Hello friends,

In my last letter, my mind was swimming with Climate Week NYC takeaways (granted, it was late Thursday at the airport). Now that I’m home, rested and have had a moment to unpack - literally and figuratively - I’m ready to report back.

Really, there are so many things I could say. Yes, it was overwhelming. The scale of the gathering is massive, and it really is a choose-your-own-adventure type of event. Yes, it’s a big investment to be there, and I recognize my privilege in having been able to make that investment. At the same time, I save for it all year by saying no to other events (and book my accommodations welllllll in advance). And yes, of course, one of the best parts of the whole thing is the people. Hugs with old friends and colleagues are awesome.

But what I want to share today is a personal realization that came up for me during the week.

In a previous newsletter edition, I shared an idea from the late Gloria Steinem - an “on the road” mentality that informed much of her activism and changemaking work. She described it as being fully open to the present moment, like "birds riding a current" or "a surfer riding the waves."

I took this mindset with me into Climate Week. Balancing the rooms where it made logical sense for me to show up with the events that sparked a little thrill in me, even if they felt a bit out of left field. Making sure I was organized with my RSVPs while also being open to detours. Keeping my eyes open on the subways and streets, which allowed for so many joyful run-ins. Opening my mind, heart and energy to new people, ideas and experiences - because if there’s anything that live experiences deliver over virtual, it’s the opportunity for serendipity.

I credit this mindset with making the week exactly what I needed it to be this year. Energizing, inspiring and perspective-shifting in just the way I was craving.

And it got me thinking about the role of presence in change work.

Because one thing that was very clear from Climate Week is that the sustainable business space is in a massive transition. Many of us don’t fully know what the next iteration of our work looks like yet - but we sure as hell know that what got us here won’t get us there.

So what are we to do in this “messy middle”? Certainly there’s a good amount of continuing to work with the tools we know. Maybe there’s some experimentation with new frameworks and approaches. But I also feel that this moment is calling us to be fully present and plugged into the reality of what’s right in front of us. And to be flexible, adaptable, even improvisational to meet the moment.

This doesn’t come naturally for many people, especially those of us who professionally came of age in corporate environments where even the most run-of-the-mill meetings had to be carefully scripted and polished. But I also believe it’s an approach that can be learned - a muscle that can be trained (alongside all the other muscles my cohort of elder millennial women is strength training en masse 🏋️‍♂️).

Which is why I’ve signed on to the final session of the u-lab: Leading From the Emerging Future course on Otto Scharmer’s Theory U methodology (see 5 Links below). I’ve heard transformative things about Scharmer’s work over the years, and this is the last opportunity to learn about it via this free online course from MIT Learn. I’m considering hosting a study group session or two; send me a note if you’d be interested.

I’d love to know more about how you think about presence in your work and if there are other resources and practices that have been helpful. This is an important topic and I’m eager to explore it more with this community.

✌️

Jessica Marati Radparvar
Founder, Reconsidered

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What's On In Our World

• EmpCo is officially here, changing the game for how companies communicate sustainability to consumers in Europe and beyond. I’ve been advising and training on green claims regulations since 2014, and this is one of the biggest regulatory changes impacting sustainability communications I've experienced. Check out our new EmpCo primer to get up to speed and chart your next steps.
• Celebrating my fellow Chamoru climate activist Julian Aguon for being named to the TIME100 Next list for arguing last year’s historic International Court of Justice Vanuatu climate case 👏👏👏. This David-and-Goliath story is the kind of stuff movies are made of - and one is being made! A Guam-based documentary crew has been following Julian and the Blue Ocean Law team over the past few years, and they're currently building partnerships that can help bring the film to the mainstream. If this is your world (arts funding, film distribution, etc.), I’d love to help make some introductions.

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Since September 27th, the EU's new rules on green claims now apply to every company communicating sustainability to consumers in Europe. We've put together a plain-language primer to help you understand what the law is, why it matters and what you should do next. Whether or not you sell in the EU, the bar for sustainability claims has been raised. Here’s how you can level up your communications to meet it. READ THE PRIMER →​

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This Week's 5 Links

🎤 U.N. Leader Uses Final Speech to Issue Stark Warning — The New York Times

The UN General Assembly might take a backseat to Climate Week in this community, but it's no less consequential. The latest edition was Secretary-General António Guterres's final UNGA, closing out eight years with climate as one of his signature issues. Though not always the most effective, I was always impressed by Guterres’ passionate advocacy and the evocative, visual way that he communicated the scale of the crisis. His farewell speech kept that streak alive with a powerful “faultlines” metaphor and two “stories of power” that world leaders need to choose from. (4 minutes, gift link 🎁)

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🔌 ‘Eat the rich, save the planet’: climate protesters call out big tech’s disconnect from reality — The Guardian

AI was clearly the theme of Climate Week this year, on stage and off. "Unplug AI" protesters picketed OpenAI, Google and Amazon's Manhattan offices; clergy were arrested for disrupting a closed-door AI health summit; and several of the Big Tech panels fielded coordinated heckling from campaigners in the audience. The high tensions - and direction of that protest energy toward the sustainability leaders who are often advocating for the same changes, just from the inside - only show how these issues are becoming an increasingly volatile flashpoint. (4 minutes)

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🎙️Podcast 383: The Easy Wins Are Gone. What's Actually Next for Net Zero? — Outrage & Optimism

The whole episode is worth a listen, but I particularly appreciated the starting reflections on Climate Week and discussion around Net Zero verbiage around minutes 9-13. The polarization of words like climate, sustainability and Net Zero was a frequent topic of discussion in the events I attended. And while there’s a case to be made for swapping out a word when it no longer feels useful, we shouldn’t forget that there are targeted campaigns underway to discredit these concepts - and we run the risk of muddling our message and losing our momentum if we continue falling prey and chasing new terms. No right answers here, but definitely some interesting questions. (41 minutes)

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🌎 On Sustainability Shifts and Ikigai — Michael Kobori on LinkedIn

In his Climate Week recap, ex-Starbucks and Levi’s CSO Michael Kobori reflects on the personal challenge facing corporate sustainability professionals as budgets are cut and positions (especially senior ones) are eliminated. He encourages peers to reflect honestly on our Ikigai - the place where our talent, our passion and what the world actually needs from us right now intersect - and shares where that exercise has led him. “It takes immense courage to walk away from the familiar,” he writes. “By taking that leap and deploying ourselves where our power is fully unleashed, we will ensure the arc of history bends, permanently, toward a sustainable future.” (3 minutes)

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📚ulab: Leading From the Emerging Future — Presencing Institute & MIT Learn

After 10 years and 250,000 students, the u-lab MOOC on Leading from the Emerging Future is running one final free (!) cohort. The online course teaches Theory U, Otto Scharmer’s blend of systems thinking and civic action, straight from Scharmer and senior MIT faculty using a “learning by doing” approach. Reconsidered study group, anyone? Reply if you’re in. 🤗

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Impact Jobs

A few highlights from this week’s curation:

• ​adidas — Intern, Sustainability Direction, Circularity (Herzogenaurach, Germany)
• ​Earthshot Prize — Head of Content, London Lead (London)
• ​Google — Technical Program Manager, Sustainability, DeepMind (New York City or London)
• ​United Nations Foundation — Director, Adaptation and Resilience, Climate and Environment (Washington, D.C.)
• ​WWF — Communications Specialist, Private Sector Engagement (Washington, D.C.)

View This Week's Jobs Curation

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Quick Hits

🧭 Most clicked from the last issue… The Sustainability Double Bind — Higher Ground on Substack. You dove into Alison Taylor’s new Substack series on the changing nature of the sustainability profession.

👯 In the Reconsidered LinkedIn Group, members are sharing social entrepreneurship incubators, carbon accounting webinars and impact consulting primers. Join 23k+ of us here.

*All posts marked with an asterisk and 📣 this emoji 📣 were sponsored by our partners - thank you for supporting our work! If you're interested in amplifying your job or initiative to our community, you can explore our sponsorship offerings here.

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About Reconsidered

We are a boutique strategic communications consultancy specialized in sustainability and social impact. Through hands-on advisory, practical trainings and value-add resources, we help sustainability leaders meet this moment with clarity and courage.

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