ISSUE 209

Hey there friends,

Business school was never a given for me. When I decided to seek higher education as a pathway into corporate sustainability work, I could have just as easily landed in a forestry school or a fashion design program (sustainability masters pickings were slim in the early 2010s).

In the end, I went the MBA path. I opted for a Top 10 traditionally finance-focused program, eager to learn the language of the business status quo so I could become a better infiltrator from within.

So naturally, I read the recent NYT op-ed “I Teach at a Business School. It’s Time to Shut Them Down.” (see today’s 5 Links) with great interest. Cambridge professor Chris Marquis questions the foundations of modern business education, writing:

Reading through his arguments brought me back.

Back to the famous Corporate Finance professor who spent a whole session gleefully dismantling the case for corporate social responsibility (based on a very outdated definition, even then).

Back to the Professional Responsibility adjunct who regularly dismissed the readings and implied that the topic of ethics was a waste of time, with winks and nods to the finance dudes in the back.

Back to the time Jared Kushner was invited to speak to our whole class about corporate ethics as the endcap to that same Professional Responsibility program. I’m not kidding. He mostly talked about how hard it was having his dad in jail.

Back to the corporate recruiting events that dominated our first semester social life: room-temperature white wine and networking circles and Big 3 and Big 4 firms talking up their pro bono programs to lure the best and brightest from our class.

Back to the black Theory suits and Cole Haan heels and other corporate cosplay accessories that all the women (there weren’t many of us) were encouraged to adopt.

These recollections sit alongside the fact that actually, I really loved business school. I met some of my dearest friends there and never missed the weekly school-sponsored happy hour. My PowerPoint skills are *chef's kiss* (if I do say so myself) and I can swap corporate jargon with the best of ‘em.

And though impact opportunities were few and far between back then, I hustled my way into some pretty meaningful ones. I joined the school’s newly formed Center for Business & Human Rights as its first graduate assistant and accompanied its leaders to Bangladesh for a multistakeholder apparel industry convening in the year after Rana Plaza. I led a strategy consulting project for West Elm to build out an operational scaling plan for its Local initiative. I spent my summer commuting up the Hudson to EILEEN FISHER for an internship on their Social Consciousness team. And when I met an alum hiring for a role in Sustainability Communications & Stakeholder Engagement at a Fortune 500 apparel conglomerate - a role that was pretty much unheard of at the time, and in my chosen industry no less - I jumped on the opportunity and spent my second year balancing full-time work with night classes.

Business school was an important step in my journey, and I’m not sure I’d be where I am today without it. At the same time, I found myself aggressively nodding along to many of Marquis’s arguments. Maybe it’s because my journey to building Reconsidered as a values-aligned, anti-capitalist small business has required a lot of unlearning the paradigms drilled into me in business school.

Or maybe it’s because I’m more generally questioning whether we’re at a point with big institutions - whether universities, governments or corporations - where “tinkering at the margins” no longer suffices. “Shutting them all down” feels dramatic - but maybe we need more radical rethinks when the foundations of these institutions no longer feel fit for the world we’re in?

I know I can’t be the only one grappling with these questions; I’d love to hear your thoughts.

✌️

Jessica Marati Radparvar
Founder, Reconsidered​

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What's On In Our World

• Busy week onboarding and kicking off a burst of new and returning clients - it’s shaping up to be a packed fall! If you’d like to explore working together in 2027, now's the time to start talking. Hit reply and let's jump on a call.
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• ​Amsterdam Climate Week is coming in May 2027, and Reconsidered has signed on as an official partner. 🎉 We’re gearing up for this to be a can’t-miss event on the continent; if you’re based nearby and want to be a part of it, I invite you to join the launch event on November 5th.
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• In the meantime, I recently RSVPed for two local events I’m super excited about: TEDxAmsterdam (November 12th) which will grapple with the question of what comes after growth (only the question currently haunting my subconscious day and night 👻) and the next edition of Futures & Sustainability (November 20th) focused on creativity and culture.
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• Last edition, I shared that I was joining the free u-lab: Leading From the Emerging Future course offered by the Presencing Institute and MIT Learn. A few dozen of you indicated interest in being a part of a study group, so we’re making one happen! I’ll be sending out a scheduling note on Monday; reply if you’d like to join our "hub".
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• We’re continuing our research into how companies are showing up for sustainability given (gestures wildly around) and have nearly wrapped up the interview portion. I’d love to speak with a few more in-house practitioners before getting into writing mode; as a reminder, conversations are off-the-record and all participants get access to a deeper set of insights than what we’ll make available publicly. Hit reply if you’re open to having a chat!

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This Week's 5 Links

🎓 I Teach at a Business School. It’s Time to Shut Them Down — The New York Times

In this talked-about op-ed, Cambridge business professor Chris Marquis interrogates the MBA, arguing that it perpetuates the harmful mindsets and practices dominating the business world and preventing positive progress. Rather than “tinker at the margins with a class on corporate responsibility or ethics,” he suggests a more radical, burn-it-all-down rethink of modern business education. This is one where I came in critical but ended pretty convinced. (12 minutes — gift link to bypass paywall)

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🗳️ Climate Change Is on the Ballot—Even If Dems Aren’t Saying Those Words — The New Republic

This year’s U.S. midterm campaign trail has been noticeably quiet on climate, and it’s sparked plenty of debate in our sector. Are Democrats learning from past missteps and smartly meeting voters where they are on issues like cost-of-living? Or does not naming climate mean burying it as a legitimate issue? Pair with this piece from University of Michigan climate comms researchers on the three kinds of climate candidates. (6 minutes)

👉 TAKE ACTION: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has launched a massive campaign mobilizing communities to respond to threats that would erode their power at the polls - and companies have a big role to play. If you’re working in-house, make sure your leaders are familiarized with their company toolkit.

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📈 The Politics of Sustainability Have Changed. The Business Case Hasn’t. — Harvard Business Review

Ten years after co-writing an oft-cited HBR article laying out “The Comprehensive Business Case for Sustainability”, NYU Stern’s Tensie Whelan is back with a 2026 update. This time she draws on a decade of data from NYU’s ROSI tool to spotlight more specific business case drivers. While I’m still skeptical of broad business case generalizations (at this stage, they really need to be company-specific) I did find some handy proof points here. (7 minutes)

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​🧥 Patagonia Just Made a Brilliant Update to Its Website — Fast Company

Patagonia, at it again. This time with a smart website update rather than a loud campaign, but one that’s likely to inspire other retailers (in the same way Patagonia’s other efforts tend to catalyze industry action). After a four-year build, shoppers can now buy new and used in one cart. Might sound simple, but this piece lays out all the technical and logistical challenges it took to get there. (3 minutes)

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🚺 Lis Best: The leadership to solve the climate crisis — TEDxEncinitas Blvd

Most people want climate action. So why isn’t it happening? Lis Best, a friend of Reconsidered who spent years working in corporate sustainability and government affairs before starting the Girls Club Collective, says it’s a leadership problem. Her TEDx talk makes the case for feminine relational leadership: collective, long-term, curious and comfortable not having all the answers (no gender binary required). Read her recently published manifesto for the full framework. (19 minutes)

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Impact Interview

​Amber Westerborg, Director of Sustainability & Impact, The Social Hub On choosing an impact career path, sustainability communications best practices and the importance of relationship building.

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Impact Jobs

A few highlights from this week’s curation:

• ​Apple — Sustainability Reporting and Audit Analyst, Global Energy and Sustainability (San Jose, California, U.S.)
• ​Earthjustice — Digital Operations Associate (Remote, U.S.)
• ​Rituals — Intern, Sustainability (Amsterdam)
• ​Sephora Canada — Manager, Social Impact and Sustainability (Toronto)
• ​Starbucks — Senior Manager, Climate Action (Seattle)

View This Week's Jobs Curation

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Quick Hits

📚 Most clicked from the last issue… u-lab: Leading From the Emerging Future — Presencing Institute & MIT Learn. You all were interested in upskilling right along with us with this popular free course on Theory U.

📣 2027 Sustainability Budget Builder: Bespoke ESG's give-back to the community. It's a free resource grounded in practical ideas for next year's budget. Register for their walkthrough webinar on Wed, Oct 28 at 12pm ET! *

👯 In the Reconsidered LinkedIn Group, members are sharing post-growth incubators, philanthropy news briefings and remote impact jobs. 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.

learn about our services / browse our trainings / explore our resources​