ISSPVoices

Your source for updates from our members and network of sustainability professionals.

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Harrison Ashcroft is a Small Business Sustainability Partner, based in Sydney, Australia.

What brought you to this moment in your career where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) made sense for you?

I completed a Diploma of Sustainable Practice and began implementing sustainable strategies in a small business in 2021. The internal and external benefits were immediately perceptible, and I committed to a career furthering sustainability goals. I joined ISSP and began attending the monthly webinars, which have all been exceptionally informative. The opportunity to solidify my core knowledge whilst studying for the SEA exam was attractive, and the credential has given me the confidence to operate as a sustainability professional.  

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

The knowledge and skills I continue to gain whilst maintaining my SEA credential have enabled me to partner with businesses and map pathways towards embedded sustainability. Focus areas often include the business case for sustainability, systems thinking, theories of behaviour change and innovative tools and technology. 

I work with nano, micro, and small businesses — listening, observing, and assisting where possible to understand the operation and the people as best I can. The sustainability journey is seldom linear, and flexibility is key. Outlining a path forward can be a helpful start, but I am always prepared to walk off the beaten track.

For those starting out in the sustainability field, what advice do you have for them?

Make a commitment to lifelong learning. Investigate the principles of sustainability as general concepts, and then find your own style — your own way of applying what you know, to where you are. The world needs different individuals with contrasting views from diverse backgrounds working on complex problems.

Kyle Ropski is a Constituent Service Representative for the Office of Senator Nick Miller.

What brought you to this moment in your career where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) made sense for you?

The SEA made sense for me as I looked to gain more qualifying experience in the sustainability field following my graduation from Muhlenberg College in May of 2022. I majored in both economics and sustainability, but was eager to learn more in depth about the field to better position myself as a sustainability advocate. My previous experience with USGBC's LEED program led me to the ISSP as an avenue of further education to explore. I am particularly interested in the topics and solutions to some of our most challenging issues tied to the climate emergency such as water scarcity and urbanization.

I appreciate the insights provided to me through the program, and I plan to pursue SEP in the coming years. 

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today? 

The most beneficial aspect of the SEA that I bring into my current career is the "big picture" analytical viewpoint of systems thinking. Many issues we face in sustainability involve a lot of moving parts, especially when it comes to approaching impactful legislation. Through my current position and the application of systems thinking I have learned so much about how to elevate ideas and enact change by connecting with local and state government officials, environmental advocacy groups, and community organizations. The Lehigh Valley (previously inhabited by the Lenni Lenape) is one of the fastest growing regions in the state. Its rapid growth only emphasizes the need to put sustainable development at the forefront of it's priorities for the sake of future generations. I hope to continue to advocate for sustainability in the area to the many stakeholders involved and utilize a systems thinking approach to achieve real progress. 

For those starting out in the sustainability field, what advice do you have for them? 

The best advice for those starting out in the field would be to just dive in and get involved in your immediate community as much as possible. Whether that be on your college campus, your local government, or wherever you call home. Attend webinars on issues you are interested in. Join your local environmental advisory council or club. If there is not one, then make it! It is important that the field has a presence in our communities as we transition into the clean energy economy and face the complications caused by the climate crisis. Interacting with people of different perspectives and viewpoints to escape informational echo chambers is a more valuable experience than any education. And most importantly - get out to vote! Encourage others to vote. Knock doors and register people to vote. The people in our communities have the power to leverage our politicians to expedite necessary change. The future generations are depending on us to make these changes now. The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit...

Across the workforce and around the world, professionals are making strides in the field of sustainability, turning ideas into action and creating change within their organizations. Meet six such sustainability professionals, each with their own unique approach, but all driven by the same goal: to create a more sustainable future for us all. 

Representing Canada, Morocco, Trinidad and Tobago, Indonesia, Germany, and the United States, these professionals all earned the globally recognized Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) credential. Some even went a step further and achieved the challenging Sustainability Excellence Professional (SEP) credential. They put this knowledge into practice across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. 

For Virginie in the tourism industry, this looked like designing a national plan for sustainable events across Canada. For Jahan in the public sector, her advocacy efforts centered on a policy memo on desalination. Each interview is a testament to how they leveraged their skills to advance sustainable action within their organizations or communities.

Read the full interviews by clicking on the images below.

None of these changemakers accomplished their achievements on their own. Perhaps a colleague encouraged them to learn more, or they asked for help from another sustainability professional who was ahead of them on their journey. 

At ISSP, we believe sustainable change is possible, but we need each other. And thankfully, our members span every continent (except Antarctica!) and dozens of industry sectors. As a mission-driven organization, we are focused on providing sustainability professionals the community, training, and tools they need to make progress – both in their careers and within their communities.

Looking to commit to sustainability and receive industry recognition? Study for the Sustainability Excellence credentials. ISSP provides study materials as the official education provider, and our partner Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) manages the exam and registration process. You can learn more about the credentials and registration for the exam here.

Ismail KARFAL is a Senior Sustainability Manager at OCP Group, where he has made significant contributions to project structuring and initiatives aimed at integrating ESG systems and improving ratings from various rating agencies.

What brought you to this moment in your career where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) made sense for you?

I began my career in a Finance & Controlling department, where short-term financial performance management is critical. It was a strategy focused on increasing shareholder wealth. With the definition of a new corporate strategy and the opening to other leadership and strategic planning topics, as well as the constraints of the external environment, my interest in sustainability grew over time, and I began to work on it part-time before switching to full-time. 

On a personal level, I've always been involved in environmentally responsible practices, waste reduction, recycling, and ethical business practices. I enjoy watching TV programs about climate change, biodiversity, supply chains, and other aspects of sustainability. Knowing and mastering the language of sustainability was a big challenge for me when I first began working full-time in sustainability. That is why I believed that obtaining a professional certification would help me accomplish my learning objectives.

I chose to become a SEA because it is a generalist credential that perfectly fits my requirements and my ultimate objective. Indeed, given my current position, having a broad knowledge base and a holistic strategy to problem solving is critical.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

As a member of an entity that works with various departments and profiles, it is crucial to have a 360° view of the business and its relationship with sustainability in its entirety. In this regard, I am confident that SEA has given me the opportunity to gain a bird's-eye view of a variety of subjects, especially how to incorporate systems thinking into analysis and problem solving processes. 

I am currently heading transformation projects aimed at making sustainability part of our company's DNA, and SEA provided me with the required jargon and cleared the way for me to prepare for the SEP, which enabled me to realize my ambition of becoming a sustainability professional with a significant impact. 

Of course, in the spirit of constant development, I will continue to support SEA through continuing education as well as the opportunities provided.

For those starting out in the sustainability field, what advice do you have for them? 

First and foremost, I will urge them to have a desire to learn from other industry colleagues and to be open to others on a continuous basis. Indeed, as a sustainability professional, learning the key concepts of sustainability is a critical step toward completely understanding the philosophy and history of events that have shaped the global face of sustainability. 

And I believe that SEA offers a fantastic opportunity to do so. My advice to newcomers who want to have SEA is to read the material and attempt to comprehend the connection to the real world. 

The final crucial point is to learn from the experiences of others. Indeed, I think that sharing and learning are essential for career advancement in the sustainability industry. Joining a professional organization, such as ISSP, is an excellent idea!

Virginie De Visscher​, SEP - Acting Executive Director, Business Events, Destination Canada

What brought you to this moment in your career where the Sustainability Excellence Professional (SEP) made sense for you?

I’ve always been aware of our surrounding world and the impact that, as humans, we have on the world. As a mother of teenage boys, I’m conscious of the world that they are inheriting and the part that we all have to play to ensure they have a better future. In my professional career, my day job with Destination Canada is to promote Canada as a place to host international business meetings and events. Focusing on attracting global conferences that are aligned with Canada’s economic priorities, these conferences are a catalyst to economic growth. They drive talent attraction, trade and investment opportunities, research & development, increase innovation as well as move policy changes. These are strong economic benefits for host destinations and can also shape social changes for the better. That said, the movement of thousands of people around the world to a conference destination is carbon intensive and the environmental pillar of sustainability is at a disadvantage compared to the social and economic pillars.

The complete stop of our entire tourism industry with the pandemic was pivotal in my career. Realizing that without business events, our country would be suffering from the lack of all the benefits mentioned below, yet there was a way to come back more resilient and more climate friendly. I had to do something. That’s when I dove head deep into sustainability and educating myself, taking all the possible courses available to understand the challenges that we were facing as well as the potential solutions that could be uncovered. That led me to start my SEA and follow with my SEP.

That said, I did not start from scratch. A continuous learner, I am a bio-systems engineer and always been attracted by environmental as well as social aspects of work, with past work experience in driving ISO certification for coffee processing plants in East Africa, setting up organic cocoa plantations as well as developing a social wellbeing clinical program for women workers on the plant.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills and ability demonstrated in the SEP to work in your career (or work) today?

In an effort to make Canada a more sustainable place to host international business events, I used my SEA baseline knowledge to develop a national plan for sustainable business events. It was launched in May 2022. The plan required to convince and motivate stakeholders across the country that this was the right way to go, despite them being still in recovery mode and resource strapped. With stakeholder engagement knowledge, we managed to have 16 destinations across Canada to engage in the plan. That’s representation from all of our larger cities and many of our tier 2 destinations. The first phase of the plan was to provide our stakeholders a knowledge base to be able to talk about sustainability. When one does not feel comfortable talking about a subject because of lack of vocabulary or knowledge, it won’t drive change in behavior so we offered about 16 hours of training to our stakeholders on sustainability. Each one of our destinations had to create a ‘green’ team to champion their sustainability initiatives. These teams are composed of destination management organizations, convention centres, city representatives, hotel properties and more. It was incredible to drive change and observe these destinations coming together. The second phase of the plan, in which we are now, is that our 16 destinations are going through a benchmarking process with the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-I). Aligned with the 17 UN SDGs, the 70 criteria of the GDS-I will allow our destinations to understand where they stand in regards to environment, socio-cultural and economic sustainability for their destinations, as well as in regard to governance. Only by understanding where we stand now, can we measure progress going forward. Finally the third phase of the plan, will be for our destinations to go through a storytelling masterclass. That will allow them to take all of the sustainability initiatives that they uncovered in their destination and tell their story to their business events clients for more sustainable meetings. Making it easier to host sustainable meetings in Canada and driving change elsewhere. What I learned through the SEP credential was that communication was crucial. From stakeholder engagement, to sharing the plan, to measuring and reporting, communication is embedded in all aspects of successfully moving the needle on sustainability projects. I’ve been applying my knowledge throughout.

For those starting out in the sustainability field, what advice do you have for them?

One person can drive a lot of change. Working in the tourism industry, there is nothing in my job title or my job description that has to do with sustainability. I am passionate about it and I drove it. A single person can motivate many others. Jokingly, my colleagues and partners call me the ‘sustainability police’ and no one would be caught near me with a plastic single use water bottle!

I would recommend just being authentic and following your passion.

Engage those around you, build support internally and externally. I could not have driven a national plan without support and some of the first things I did was to create an internal team of volunteers – by just asking my colleagues who had a passion for sustainability (I was surprised by the enthusiasm and number), and an external task force of sustainability experts (almost like a coaching team).

Continue to learn, it is always evolving. That creates credibility and expertise. And then just start, as I said, even if you are just one person and it’s not in your title, there is a lot that can be done.

Sessario Bayu Mangkara, SEA - Head of Environmental Practices Department, Green Initiative and CSR Division - President Office, Sinar Mas Land. Based in Tangerang Regency, Serang Province, Indonesia

What brought you to this moment in your career where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) made sense for you?

I have had a passion for the field of sustainability since I studied at Sebelas Maret University (UNS) majoring in Biology, so this SEA credential has become one of my targets since I started my career journey in community development, environmental management, solid waste management, sustainable development, and etc. 

I earned SEA credential at the end of October 2022, and this credential supports my work as Head of the Environmental Practices Department, where I am still conducting some review for the framework and strategy of sustainability that has been planned and implemented by Sinar Mas Land.

Today, I am maintaining and developing knowledge and practical experience on sustainability through networking with sustainability experts and joining a sustainability community like ISSP Indonesia. Also, I am continuing to renew the SEA credential through joining webinars and courses that are provided by ISSP.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

I realize that sustainability does not only focus on one aspect, but it is comprehensive, and business activities can contribute to a sustainable environment and the creation of social equity and community welfare. So I still read the SEA study guide and take part in webinars, courses, and workshops that support my plan to provide recommendations on the implementation of sustainability to the companies and my colleague in environmental consultant and NGOs. 

I feel very helped by the SEA credential, namely in that I can understand how to describe the need for tools and standards that can be developed from the existing sustainability framework in the company. In the future, I will discuss the results of my brainstorming with my supervisors and advisors regarding the sustainability strategy, which will involve various parties and will determine the priority of sustainability initiatives.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

The SEA credential is not only to gain recognition that we understand the definition of the sustainability. However, as a sustainability professional we have to provide an appropriate recommendation for implementing the sustainability initiatives that we initiate both in companies and in the communities and or associations that we already joined. 

After earning the SEA credential, I still read articles and inspiration to review my understanding in dealing with a case study to create a sustainability strategy. The other advice I’d give to newcomers is to maintain the foundation knowledge of sustainability by creating a sharing session to your colleagues in the companies or in the community impacted by sustainability. Also, broaden your network through webinars, seminars, workshops, etc., as these are places where you will find sustainability practitioners and get new insights regarding the sustainability initiatives that you have implemented.

Jamie Arnold, SEA - Senior Marketing Specialist with a Sustainability Modifier, SWCA Environmental Consultants, Denver, CO, USA.

What brought you to this moment in your career where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) made sense for you?

My professional role fairly quickly became at least part time sustainability focused, as my company recognized it is where my passions lie, and the firm wished to further reduce their footprint. I found the SEA certification to help build my credibility in sustainability.  Being backed by the GBCI, it seemed like the perfect cert. to add to my resume. I appreciated that it covered a wide range in sustainability topics and left me feeling confident in my sustainability knowledge as I brought it back to my career.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

The history sections of the SEA have been useful as I continue my sustainably work. It’s important to understand where sustainability has come from, to help guide it to where we need it to be. Overall, the SEA provided me with a solid base of knowledge that I hold in my back pocket while coordinating sustainability efforts. I am now more aware of the tools we hold to help us combat climate change, which helps know where we can start implementing further change. In my environmental consulting firm, many other employees have similar master’s degrees to the one I’m working towards (Master of Science in Env. Management and Policy, emphasis in energy and sustainability) so the SEA helps set me apart. It may only seem like a small way to set me apart, but anything helps in this competitive industry!

For those starting out in the sustainability field, what advice do you have for them?

I feel like I am almost still starting out in the sustainability field, but I would recommend that you be loud about your passions and have the knowledge to back it up! I was hired on as a marketing specialist, simply happy to be joining the environmental industry. Within months my role morphed into a mix of marketing and sustainability responsibilities, including managing company-wide green initiatives. I don’t think this would have become my reality, at least not as quickly, if I had not brought my passion to the table. When you do get the green light to implement sustainability initiatives, you should be prepared to make the business case for it as well. While everyone wants to do what’s right, companies need to make revenue, so come with an impenetrable plan that makes sense for the business and the planet.  

Jahan Taganova, SEA - One Young World Peace Ambassador, researcher, nonprofit professional, and fearless sustainable development advocate based in the US.

What brought you to this moment in your career where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) credential made sense for you?

In spite of the fact that "sustainability" is assumed to be about the environment, it is, at its core, a social issue. As a global development professional, I realized early on  sustainability involves balancing environmental concerns such as climate change; social issues such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), upskilling local workforce, eradicating poverty and hunger; and economics such as affordability and fair wage. My experience working in the social impact sector has given me first-hand experience in harnessing human creativity,co-developing innovative solutions to pressing global challenges, forging shared value among stakeholders, cultivating respect and peaceful coexistence, and centering the voices of marginalized communities. As a project manager working in the social impact domain, I did not merely focus on scaling the ideas but also seeing sustainability from a macro level, reflecting on organizational culture, structure, and processes, existing human resource skills and personnel practices. A desire to enhance my practical experience and build credibility with employers, clients, and colleagues as a professional that took sustainability seriously motivated me to become a certified Sustainability Associate Excellence (SEA).

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

The SEA certification has provided me with the visibility needed to share my unique expertise with a broader audience. For example, recently, I was invited to present about the nonprofit landscape in Central Asia and shed light on the implementation of the sustainable development goals number 5 (gender equality) and 6 (clean water and sanitation) at one of the lecture series on Central Asia held at the Foreign Service Institute. There, I also  got the chance to shed light on the relationships between global development frameworks, local action plans, and the risks and best practices when engaging with local stakeholders. 

Additionally, this certification allowed me the confidence and knowledge to create and fight for bold and robust policy changes that highlight the importance of sustainability. This confidence has led to undeniable accomplishments, including co-authoring a policy memo titled, “Should Turkmenistan use the Caspian Sea to quench its thirst? A feasibility assessment of building a desalination plant on the Caspian shore.” This policy brief is not only providing sustainable solutions to major water challenges facing Turkmenistan, but it is also helping to promote international solidarity between Central Asian countries and other global players that pave the way for a more sustainable future.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

While there are organizations hiring "Sustainability Directors", "Sustainability Officers", or teams of “Sustainability Analysts” to help drive sustainable initiatives forward, finding the rare gems with "sustainability" in the job title can be challenging. 

My first piece of advice to newcomers in sustainability work would be this: don’t be limited by your title, your background, or being new to the field, everyone has something they can contribute when it comes to sustainability! Oftentimes, we fall into a trap of believing that sustainability initiatives must be handled by the environmental, social and governance (ESG) team. However, no matter your current job title or occupation, you have something to contribute to sustainability initiatives. Sustainability is a broad and relatively new field. Because of this, my second piece of advice for all newcomers in the sustainability field is to narrow down their interests, and understand what type of sustainability excites them. Examples of sustainability fields could include:

• Climate change (adaptation, greenhouse gas emissions, resiliency)

• Corporate social responsibility

• Ecological or environmental justice

• Environmental health

• Environmental protection

• Environment, social, and governance (ESG)

Finally, my third piece of advice for newcomers is to continually pursue education within the field. If you don’t have the time or resources to pursue credentials, there are still ways to get involved in elevating your skillset and becoming more sustainably minded!  Webinars organized by the ISSP and other organizations are great resources to learn more about the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. Even something as simple as a TED Talk on YouTube can provide incredible insight on how to incorporate sustainability into your daily life. Ready to take it a step deeper? Large corporations such as McKinsey and PwC offer sustainability reports to show how they are taking strides to create a more sustainable workplace that aligns with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

It made sense for me to attain the SEA credential as proof that I am genuinely invested in sustainability along diverse applications, and since its completion I've reframed my work to improve sustainability within the automotive industry.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

The abilities, knowledge, and skills I've mastered from earning the SEA credential are demonstrated in my work by furthering sustainability initiatives which reduce impacts from resource consumption on local communities and ecosystems. Networking within ISSP has created new connections for me which expand my comprehension for the application of sustainability for businesses. Responsible stewardship in the automotive industry is possible when firms invest in their stakeholders such as clients, employees, and suppliers to create sustainable growth with reduced impacts. Through my career in marketing, I have used my skills as a sustainability leader to create events which connect communities and invest in serving the underserved. I truly believe that the collective action and partnership of businesses among diverse industries can mitigate the negative impacts of human development, and I seek to create sustainability in many forms throughout my career.

For those starting out in the sustainability field, what advice do you have for them?

Career transitions can be messy and lead to a lot of curious discoveries, and our adaptivity to these transitions is necessary. Sustainability can be a field which comes with confusion as many people are still figuring out the applications of sustainability. My advice to those entering the field of sustainability is to embrace the adaptive qualities of sustainability leaders and study how sustainability is integrated into your community. Understanding how you can help become a proponent of change can lead you to your true passion and create tangible impact on the world around you.

I found my passion in sustainability and as a result was determined to progress further by acquiring more knowledge in sustainability. From then, there was no looking back. Today I am a SEP and hoping to do more for sustainability as a professional and for my passion.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

At work, I have the advantage to use my passion to continue to play my part in continuously initiating sustainability programs in the community. In addition, I was fortunate to be able to help in designing the tender specification for mass producing SMART - LED lamps for nationwide deployment by adopting the concepts of Life Cycle Assessment, Dematerialization, Repairability, and Extended Producer Responsibility.

For those starting out in the sustainability field, what advice do you have for them?

Come on board. Build on your passion in sustainability. Make a Difference!!

SEP's interconnected domains reflect a great deal of knowledge I need on a daily basis: from scientific sustainability concepts, systems thinking, and policy development - over stakeholder engagement, strategy development, and implementation - to measuring sustainability performance, KPIs, and improvement.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEP to work in your career (or work) today?

SEP's interconnected domains reflect a great deal of knowledge I need on a daily basis: from scientific sustainability concepts, systems thinking, and policy development - over stakeholder engagement, strategy development, and implementation - to measuring sustainability performance, KPIs, and improvement.

In my work as an expert in technological solutions to measure, analyze, and improve the environmental impacts of companies, I am very focused on understanding sustainability data, setting the right goals and ambitions, and creating processes for the best possible decision-making in corporate sustainability. I help companies do things right (efficiency).

In my work as a freelancer for sustainability strategy, I even look at the bigger picture. From co-creating a sustainable corporate vision, over translating it into actionable corporate strategies, to introducing measurable programs of organizational development. I help companies do the right things (effectiveness) for the right reasons (ethics).

For those starting out in the sustainability field, what advice do you have for them?

Passion: find your reason why you want to work in sustainability. Your real, true, personal reason. Your why. This reason will light the fire in you that keeps you going even through challenging times. 

Education: dive deep into the science of climate and sustainability. Leverage the wealth of free online resources and also curated content provided by ISSP.

Network: leave your bubble and be courageous to connect to people you don't know. Connect to corporate sustainability managers, NGOs, scientists, standard-setting experts, policy professionals, professors, biologists... Use networks like LinkedIn. Learn about their work and experience. Start sharing and contributing content yourself. Together, we are many. Reach out to me to on LinkedIn.

For someone who had only worked in the private sector, it seemed something I could relate to and I recognised common matters which overlap with enterprise risk management. However, I couldn’t find any globally recognised CSR certification. But, I discovered the ISSP website and I decided to study for the SEA certification on my own while I was working. I remember writing all the key terms, acronyms, events, organisations, etc. on post-it notes and putting them in sensible groups. As you know, there are quite a few terms to learn. I had four walls full of those notes grouped in different colours. (If only I had known this technique when I was in high school.) I achieved my SEA certification in March 2018, which now feels like ages ago. So much has happened since, both personally and globally, as we all know. And, also in the sustainability field. During the pandemic, I continued my studies and earned certifications in green project management (2020) and the GRI sustainability professional (2021). Furthermore, there is quite a lot going on around sustainability reporting, and I deepened my knowledge with various standards and frameworks such as GHG Protocol, TFCD, and TFND. Additionally, the EU CSRD directive and standards will come into effect next year. The ISSB standards will follow soon after. The ISSP SEA has provided a solid foundation for all of my later studies.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

During the pandemic, I was fortunate enough to be able to work from home with a laptop. I decided to continue my studies to connect the dots between sustainability, enterprise risk management, data analysis, and project management. I have previously worked as a risk consultant, and I am able to bring many things from there to sustainability. The risk and opportunity assessment workshop structure can also be modified to identify materiality issues, and business continuity planning and impact analysis improve organizational resiliency. Furthermore, the workplace equity plan and occupational health and safety plan can improve employee satisfaction and reputation. Scenario analysis is a risk management technique that has gained a lot of publicity due to recognition in the finance sector and science-based initiatives.

As we all know, there exist so many best practices, frameworks, standards, etc. At least I was a bit confused and needed to figure out the big picture. Thus, earlier this year, I began writing LinkedIn articles to share my understanding of known best practices. It has been a great way to summarise my thoughts in a way which others would understand too. It will be beneficial to me in future positions and projects, as I am currently designing my own consulting business. Starting my business ended one studying era, and I am excited to put my new skills and knowledge into practice.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

Firstly, a career change can be overwhelming as there are other things in life as well. When things don’t go as planned, be gentle with yourself. Keep moving towards your goal, even if it is just a few small steps at a time. Take advantage of your earlier experiences and knowledge. Consider your previous working experiences, hobbies, and other interests and how you could combine them with sustainability matters. You may discover surprising connections and things that you already know. For example, for a long time, I was unsure how I could use my earlier experience in risk management and banking with sustainability. However, sustainability reporting brought all of those together, and the finance sector is also beginning to understand that our planet is important too.

Secondly, don't be discouraged by all the new terms, acronyms, and organizations. There are so many of them, and more are likely to come if the past can be used as an indicator. However, you should build your own understanding of various concepts and keep yourself updated. Don't overwhelm yourself, but instead pick some newsletters, news sites, and organizations to follow.

Lastly, I find watching nature documentaries soothing. Since childhood, I have enjoyed them, and during the pandemic, they had a nice calming effect amid the same bad news every day. You can travel back in time to the places you have visited in real life, or even learn a language with them.

The climate emergency we face drove some colleagues and me to do more and to search for organizations where we can broaden our knowledge. That's how I found ISSP, and I quickly learned about the SEA credential. I immediately saw the value through the body of knowledge in linking key concepts to the work I was already doing and wanted to expand.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

Two years ago, Sustainability was incorporated under my purview and this provided an opportunity to demonstrate my new competencies. The SEA credential gave me the confidence and the foundational knowledge to operate as a change agent. With the support of my leadership team, we have been successful in delivering the targets we have set and have seen tremendous engagement from our employees and their families. In addition, I have the pleasure of leading the Sustainability Institute of Trinidad and Tobago as we work with key stakeholders to progress the Sustainability agenda in my country. As such a key objective is capacity building and the SEA credential can certainly play a role in this regard.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

Tell your story. I have learnt that many people do not understand what Sustainability involves and how they can incorporate aspects into their daily lives. There can also be misinformation and storytelling is an effective way of raising awareness as well as countering misinformation. My other advice is to reach out to others. You are not in this journey alone. Networks are important for continued growth as well as building resolve.

Oluwaseun Joshua Agbebi, SEA, MNES, MIAIA, MASPN, is Sustainability (ESG) Manager - Sugar Division/Value Chain (Golden Sugar Company) at Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) Plc. Based in Lagos, Agbebi is putting his SEA to work making the sugar industry more sustainable while opening career pathways for Nigerians in sustainability. In September 2022, ISSP talked to Agbebi about his career journey.

What brought you to this moment in your career, where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA credential made sense for you?

I earned my SEA credential in December 2018. At the time, I was an environmental consultant, working on compliance and environmental management, when I began to think about the next phase of my career. I had already gained experience in lab work, field work, technical report writing, and other areas and was feeling ready for the next steps in my path.

I realized I could be an early adopter, becoming one of the first SEAs in Lagos. To prepare for taking the credentialing exam, I used ISSP’s SEA Study Guide. The material opened my eyes to what sustainability really is in a holistic sense. It gave me the core concepts that I could build on from there.

After earning my SEA, I transitioned into a new role as a member of Dangote Industries Limited. During my interview and onboarding process with Dangote, I was able to bring my SEA knowledge forward. It worked, and I was hired as a Sustainability Specialist. 

Today, by continuing to renew the credential through earning CEUs [continuing education units], I am building my sustainability knowledge even more. Pairing this learning with networking makes for a well rounded way to approach career advancement.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills and abilities demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career today?

I am now a sustainability and ESG manager within the sugar industry, working with Flour Mills of Nigeria, which is the second-largest sugar refinery in the country. I put the SEA and the knowledge base to work in my day-to-day work, and continue learning by accessing webinars. The webinars cover a wide range of topics—biomimicry, circular economy—but that diversity informs my work in the sugar industry. It helps me think creatively and in full systems.

People in this industry are always interested to learn what an SEA is about. When I am in conversations with people working in the U.S., Europe and other regions where ISSP is a bit better known, it opens doors. I now have plans of becoming an SEP. Since 2019, I finished a Masters Degree and see SEP as a good complement to that.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

Because sustainability is a field that only now is beginning to have some standardized knowledge — the ESG accounting space is a good example — newcomers can use ISSP as an opportunity to learn and meet practitioners in the industry. Being an ISSP member, I have access to other members at all stages of their career.

My advice is to not use ISSP membership as a checkbox! Use it to learn, to meet other professionals, and refine your career plans.

When I earned the SEA, I remember writing to my manager to give him the news. He said, “I’m also thinking of earning my credential”! I realized then that the credential and ISSP is about creating community.

The difference in professional associations is clear. Many networks now have sustainability programs. But ISSP is the network with sustainability at its core from the beginning. What I would like to do with ISSP from here is help put more of a spotlight on Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Africans are certification-conscious. I have a mentoring group on WhatsApp (we are over 500!) and it is a good indicator of the demand for this career support and opportunity to keep growing as a community.

Simone Buffa, SEP, is a sustainability manager and consultant to Sustainability Management School (SUMAS). Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Buffa uses a systems-thinking approach to inform clients’ sustainable procurement practices.

What brought you to this moment in your career, where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA)—and later, the more advanced Sustainability Excellence Professional (SEP)—credentials made sense for you?

I worked for 16 years in the oil and gas industry, mostly working with downstream operations. During this time, I was introduced first to sustainability while working as supply chain manager of the company's biorefineries, transforming vegetable oils into green fuels, replacing diesel, LPG, and so on.

Amid the war in Ukraine and the upheaval that it has caused, I wanted to transition into sustainability. I now no longer work with any organization but have moved to become a self-employed project-management consultant. I also cooperate with the business school where I studied for an MBA in Sustainable Business Management.

For me, the SEP is not only important—but crucial. It gives me information I completely did not know. I often think about a case in Italy, where I’m from, of a famous scientist who started to claim that climate change is not caused by human activity, which is totally wrong. Resistance persists here and there all over the world, of course, but it is especially bad when misinformation comes from scientists. The IPCC is the world’s panel of many, many scientists who are purporting climate change as a matter of fact.

I now refer to system thinking often in my world, and the concept has evolved a lot. System thinking offers a new way to rethink entire industries, including the oil industry. I see it as fundamental. The SEA, and SEP, gave me the fundamentals to understand global institutions, policies, and regulatory trends moving forward — in other words, overarching systems influencing economies and society. The credential showed me where we are now and where we are moving to.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills and abilities demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career today?

When we talk about project management, which is what I primarily focus on these days, people normally think of a typical approach, which basically focuses on the product and processes, and how to largely improve only those cycles of the project. But I believe that these two pillars now must be completed with the people-planet-prosperity mindset.

The “new” project management, which incorporates the systems thinking mindset, involves these “three P’s”, as well as their links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is an entirely new way of thinking and planning. It’s like putting on new clothes; a new perspective.

For example, when I work with a client today to assess their resource use, the conversation is no longer a matter of simply finding the cheapest materials. It is about purchasing in a way that can have a positive impact. I encourage my clients to explore an impact assessment of their procurement practices. And it is not to say this conversation is easy! Often, the most difficult aspect is translating ESG-related considerations into money — sometimes the ecological choice is not the most economical (in the short term). Looking at the long term, it’s a totally different story!

I help my clients be better aware that regulatory and national laws are changing quickly; that the emerging frameworks are supportive of this new approach to doing business. This trend is not stopping at all! Thanks to initiatives like those ISSP puts forward, I am supported to share this information more.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

One of the main pillars of sustainability consists of “lessons learned” — sustainability as a discipline follows a continuous-learning model. The difference between sustainability and some other fields is that it is in no way static. If you look at a math textbook from years ago, you will find the same equations and processes (for the most part). This is not so for sustainability. Every year—every day—new technologies, news, and policies related to sustainability are released. To be successful, you must stay updated continuously.

My advice is to keep studying continuously and never stop. I think back to when I decided to enroll to take the SEA exam and then to become an SEP. My first time sitting for the SEP, I failed! But I knew that intrinsic to sustainability is the drive to learn, grow, and try again. I received news each week from ISSP newsletters and what ISSP shares on social networks, gathering all the learning I could. The next time I sat for the exam, I was prepared and I passed. That is what I love about being a sustainability professional: you are encouraged to learn and if you are open to this, you will succeed.

We set up a Sustainability Academy with participants from varied industry backgrounds, and we taught them to use the same language for sustainability. The SEA gave us this shared language to use.

I also had earned a number of other credentials, including GRI Professional Certification. When I registered for the SEA, it became clear that the SEA can serve my career in a unique way: I understand sustainability both as an industry and a topic — but one that combines with my own experience! The SEA allows for professionals to learn how to think, how to adapt, how to tailor what we learn in our organizations.

The study materials organize the modules in a good way to facilitate learning, and they have a flow. Since earning the SEA, I continue to take courses, including ISSP’s, and each course offers information in a way that can be tailored to my organization.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

For 40% to 50% of companies I work with, their interest in sustainability centers on economic impacts. What I learned most within the SEA is how the economic sector works, how to set up economic priorities, and why supply and demand can influence sustainability decisions. I did not find these concepts anywhere but the SEA exam.

What I call “critical thinking” includes tailoring the SEA material for a particular client. I do this through a matchmaker exercise, matching an organization’s needs to the sustainability skill needed. For economic, for social, for considerations around nature — differing solutions are needed for particular situations. I want to see that everyone in Malaysia and across the region will learn to speak the same language and align our sustainability strategies around a common framework. ISSP allows for this; to ensure that sustainability jumps out of a paper and becomes something real — for example, by leading to a real impact on a carbon footprint.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

First, I would ask them to learn how to speak a shared language for sustainability. I encourage this foundational step, to define definitions, because honestly, if we are not expanding knowledge through the way we communicate, we will not reach our goals.

Second, understand the business case for sustainability. The SEA module on the business concepts will help you with this.

Third, bring specific case studies and examples to your work. These resonate with clients.

I will be studying for my SEP very soon, to learn the more advanced modules. I was pleasantly surprised to see that what is contained within the SEP is expertly aligned with what my current organization works on with our clients. It is very applied, albeit quite advanced. I compare SEP modules to our organization delivery plan. Different terms but same concepts!

See how you can put the Sustainability Excellence credentials to work in your career. Visit ISSP’s credentials page to learn more.

Meanwhile, I had begun to make changes in my personal life that support sustainability, including composting, divesting my retirement savings from the fossil fuel industry, supporting second-hand clothing market, and more. At some point, I realized that roles in sustainability go far beyond what might initially come to mind, such as “environmental scientist” — I could turn my passion into a career. From there, I read a lot, listened to podcasts, and immersed myself in sustainability research, learning all about the industry and ways I could shift my career.

When the time came to formalize my knowledge, I leveraged my network to talk to many industry professions and hear their advice about different educational programs. I I explored various certifications, determining that a self-study, self-paced approach would be best fit for me as I was already working full-time.

I chose to become an SEA, because, as a generalist and someone who wanted to earn my way into the sustainability industry, I viewed the SEA credential as a best opportunity to gain broad-based knowledge. Also, I could use my time studying as a bit of a gut-check: to ensure that I am truly interested in sustainability. If I found studying enjoyable, I would know this was the right industry for me (and it is!).

The SEA study guide covers a lot on systems thinking. My background is in engineering, and I appreciated how the material was encouraging to think about full systems.

When I started studying for the SEA, I didn’t realize how much it would impact my knowledge. Now that I’ve successfully transitioned into a career in sustainability, I realize how much the SEA serves as my knowledge base well beyond simply earning a credential.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and abilities demonstrated in the SEA to work in your work today?

As an energy and climate consultant with 3Degrees, an amazing firm that has supported renewable energy, transportation, and decarbonization solutions for more than 15 years, my goal is to help organizations around the world take urgent action on climate change.

The SEA showed me that no one-size-fits-all solution exists for companies or organizations seeking climate solutions. A tailored approach is needed, and the SEA gave me the foundation for tailoring solutions. This foundational knowledge also helped me jumpstart my learning; I did not need to spend time looking up acronyms or stumbling through the landscape of industry actors, because the SEA had already taught me the basics!

During the interview process with 3Degrees as well as other climate-focused organizations, I received the feedback that my decision to pursue the SEA showed my excitement and dedication to learning about the industry, which was very important since my background was at the time unrelated to climate or sustainability.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

As a newcomer to the sustainability field myself, I found that it was relatively challenging for me to break into the industry. However, those interested in doing this work should be encouraged, because many different types of opportunities exist and many different skills are needed —  there really is a place for everyone. For instance, at 3Degrees, we know that we need experts in human resources, IT, recruiters, and sales.

If you are worried about your skills not being transferable, think again: Sustainability is an industry with room for everyone.

Second, the entire sustainability industry is evolving very quickly. Don’t worry about not being an expert today, because current professionals are required to evolve their own expertise rapidly as well. If you are excited to continue learning, you have the best tool you need.

Finally, keep in mind that all your past career experiences can still carry forward. For example, the healthcare industry is where my appreciation for the Sustainable Development Goals developed. When I talk to clients today, I bring my technical and data analytic skills from my  engineering backgrounds into supporting those conversations.

Stephen Jensen helps organizations from all sectors communicate their impacts and initiatives, engage stakeholders, and advocate for positive change. He has served as lead translator on three sustainability reports for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and worked with clients including United Nations University, Greenpeace, and Toyota. ISSP talked to Jensen about how he is using his Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) credential to further his sustainability career.

What brought you to this moment in your career, where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) credential made sense for you?

I studied Japanese in college, moving to Japan after graduating to work for a local government and as an International Coordinator, bridging cultural and language gaps between local government and foreigners. I moved into translation as a natural career step. When I returned to the United States, I chose to focus within my translation work on environmental issues and environmental reporting.

For more than a decade, I followed along with the evolution of corporate reporting: environmental reports, corporate social responsibility, diversity — and how these themes have become more integrated as part of annual reporting. Now, I am able to provide more strategic input in the content creation process, writing and taking other roles, which brought me to a place of transition in my career. I want to apply that knowledge and skills to a role that involves more collaboration, strategic thinking and visual communication.

The SEA made sense as a way to validate and communicate the work I’ve already done. But I’m also finding that it’s a great way to network, stay on top of developments in this field, and continue to build new skills. It’s opening doors I couldn’t open on my own.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

Studying for the SEA exam gave me knowledge I didn’t have before. It filled some gaps that my work in translation and editing hadn’t filled yet, and that gave me more confidence to do my job well.

The other thing is that I’m using SEA to market myself in new ways. I’ve noticed an uptick of interest from potential clients. SEA tells them that I’m not just saying that I have the knowledge and skills they need — someone else has assessed my knowledge, skills, and abilities and now backs me up.

I’m now at the stage of acquiring continuing education units (CEUs) to maintain the credential. I’m finding that I can focus on topics and skills that are useful for the direction I’m moving in. Just this week, I took the “Marketing for Sustainability” course offered by ISSP, and it gave me some insights for helping clients market their products and initiatives. I like the fact that I can take advantage of the CEU requirements in ways that align with my interests and career goals.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

I think one of the challenges with sustainability is that it’s overwhelmingly broad and comprehensive. When I talk about my work with friends, I often get asked, “What do you mean when you say sustainability?” So I have to talk about it in more specific terms.

I think trying to find a place to work within the “field” or “industry” of sustainability shares the same dynamic. It’s important to have a broad understanding of the concepts and trends, but it’s also necessary to focus and get specific about what it means.

I don’t know if there’s an easy way to bridge these two — the abstract, systems-level thinking with the specific issues and their context. There’s tension between the two when it comes to career development and day-to-day work. But I think within that tension, it’s helpful to focus on a field or set of skills that interests you and that you find exciting.

I’m focusing on brand design and strategy right now, because I want to apply more visual creativity and strategic thinking to my work. I love how the concept of a brand cuts to the core of what a business is for and the choices it makes. And I’m learning more and more that a thoughtful and cohesive brand is crucial for promoting business solutions to sustainability.

Earlier this year, ISSP welcomed Bangaly Kourouma, electric utility technology expert, as a member of our Governing Board. As a trusted technology leader in the electric utility industry, Bangaly leads key deliverables of a multi-year Strategic Infrastructure Transformation Program at Austin Energy. With a proven record of building high performing teams focusing on strategies for IT resource allocations, he ensures maximized business value while consistently prioritizing sustainability and carbon footprint reduction. We recently spoke with Bangaly about the career trajectory that brought him to this moment, where he can now lead the community of sustainability professionals on the Governing Board—and where he would like to see the profession go from here.

ISSP: Bangaly, we are excited to have you with us as a member of the ISSP Governing Board, and especially grateful for the wealth of IT knowledge you bring to the organization. Understanding that ISSP serves as the professional association for sustainability, what in your view, is the power of association for this profession?

Bangaly Kourouma: Every impact, every change, starts with the people — their habits, their knowledge, their options. Our world is currently in a place where most people have grown up with certain behavioral expectations. These are embedded in our culture and society. For example, most now have an expectation that they take their car to a gas station. These behaviors become generational knowledge embedded in our societal DNA. Moving away from this takes massive energy. But people’s collective and individual consciousness does come around—and especially during times of crisis.

I want people to feel empowered before the typhoon strikes, before a major worldwide event causes destruction, to realize they can make changes that build community resilience. Those options need to be not only available, but clearly understood and shared. Sustainability professionals are at the heart of this work, but their impact is accelerated when they work together. In my opinion, that is the power of ISSP as a network of sustainability professionals.

At this stage of the profession, we are still needing to focus on education, to shift the human-planetary consciousness. Even as ISSP has evolved over the past two decades, we remain that light for those people curious enough to look in this direction. ISSP is an awareness provider. Still, I believe we currently reach only those who are most curious. In my opinion, the critical mass of people is not yet reached that’ll take the work forward fast enough, but ISSP is an anecdote to convene the professional community to solve the challenges.

Can you tell us a bit about your background and what brought you to this moment joining the Governing Board?

When I was 19 years old, I left the Ivory Coast. During the beginning of 2001, my home country was entering the early stages of politically induced  civil war. I was fortunate to be coming to the United States for college, which completely diverted me into my current career path. I was exposed to an awareness and personal growth I would not have had otherwise—culturally as well as in my education. Specifically, I got to see New York City transform, from a city that was very driven by cars to one that made room for pedestrians, cyclists, runners. It showed me there is room for humans to leverage the national energy around us. I began to understand how solar and wind power can integrate into the everyday life of people. There was an option outside of fossil fueled for vehicle fuels. This realization warranted me looking more deeply into how this is incorporated into my career.

In sustainability, these concepts come together — technology, progress on energy, policy, and changing people’s habits—in ways that significantly improve  lives. These transformations require policies and sufficient upwelling of society’s support. These technologies require an entire ecosystem to grow around them hence will generate an economy of their own to ensure their viability over time. Sustainability is the glue that holds these approaches for action together, in line with nature and mindfulness of our human footprint, both on the planet and on each other.

When I met with my fellow ISSP Governing Board member Trisha Bauman, I grew excited to have this opportunity to engage. It was refreshing to see that there is a community that comes together to convene broad expertise and backgrounds and offer the chance for sustainability to take hold.

What’s next for ISSP as an organization?

I join the ISSP Governing Board bringing my expertise and excitement around technology. I want to modernize our technology stack, so that ISSP can offer even more for our members. Sustainability professionals need technologies and solutions that are responsive to their specific needs. My goal is to focus on our own technology standing and add value for our members in the association.

I’m very excited about joining. It is a great way to give back. Coming from a West African country, I see a lot of people who are excited about sustainability but are not able to be part of the conversation, due to lack of technology or access to a platform. I see my presence as a bridge for people from West Africa to find a voice.

What brought you to this moment in your career, where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) credential made sense for you?

Sustainability has been my passion all along although I work in IT as my main career. My background is in packaged software implementation, in North America for the most part where I was exposed to sustainability in built environments. I have visited Indian Green Building Council during one of my visits to India and studied and obtained the IGBC – Accredited Professional credential. Since that trip, I have moved back to India, from Canada and led a start-up in the Sustainability space, developing chemical-free products in the food, personal, and beauty products space. Part of this work involved mapping products to contributions they make to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

After that, I have joined EY as Associate director in Client Technology. I am proud of how EY is walking the walk with sustainability. We are carbon negative as of 2021 and have set science-based targets to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. We have a Corporate Responsibility program called Ripples, where we engage with the Community, students, NGOs, etc., We bring sustainability initiatives into our internal and external communities through Climate Ideation Clinics and Climate Action workshops and I volunteer in these initiatives as a Facilitator/Co-facilitator.

As I began to explore the professional bodies in the Sustainability space, I came across ISSP. I have joined ISSP as a member and engaged with other members in the ISSP Community platform, I saw that others were earning their SEA and I have started my SEA credentialization journey.

You are using your SEA credential in a very applied way then, transferring that knowledge into your community-based training.

That’s right! Because of the SEA, I can bring into these workshops how shared frameworks lead to increased action, how we got to this moment in the sustainability industry, and other foundational knowledge. For example, in my climate workshops with youth and community members, I use the case studies from the SEA study guide.

I think that if you have a strong foundation, you can build anything out of that, no matter your sector or career field. I spent about 8 weeks studying before taking the SEA exam, and that time and depth really paid off, by helping me not only to earn my SEA but also bring the material into my work. It forms a great foundation. Having earned the SEA, my next goal is to earn the SEP.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

My first piece of advice is to have a passion for the environment — and being part of ISSP and preparing for the SEA signifies this passion and commitment.

Secondly, having the Sustainability Excellence credential gives you that foundation to build and excel in your sustainability career, no matter the type of work you do and employers will see it positively.

My focus was on the SDGs for quite some time. The SEA has opened more doors for me, to understand the need for systems thinking, other frameworks and standards such as GRI, Biomimicry, Industrial ecology, etc. For the new generation of sustainability professionals, this foundation can be a great starting point.

You take this role leading an international association of sustainability professionals at a time when the world's challenges must be addressed with urgency. Where do sustainability professionals fit in this decisive moment — and how can a network like ISSP support their work?

This is the most critical decade of action in the mission we, as sustainability industry professionals, have dedicated our lives to undertaking. While it can be easy to feel discouraged by the science or slow progress, the sheer number of professionals who have activated across the vast scope of this field offers us immense hope in the midst of this urgency. ISSP’s role is to accelerate this movement by empowering its professionals — both emerging and established — through building capacity for individuals and organizations, no matter their level of expertise, and convening the profession to enable collaboration, support, and connection in this difficult and important work.

You come to ISSP with extensive experience in entrepreneurship and education, having worked with a wide variety of partners and sectors. How has your career journey brought you to this role as ISSP Executive Director?

I join ISSP as a successful business leader, international trainer, and strategic community-builder. As a member of USGBC Faculty, a LEED AP BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador, and Green Classroom Professional Faculty, I have trained a global audience in partnership with ASHRAE, USGBC and Ideas for Us. The power of membership in professional networks and the support of my local Central Florida region has opened doors for both myself and my husband, Jeff Benavides (Chief Sustainability and Resilience of Orange County, Florida and long-time ISSP Member), and changed the trajectory of our careers and impact. 

From the time of my childhood, I have been immersed in the power of nonprofit organizations to create positive change, at my father’s side as he started and led major nonprofit organizations at a regional and local level.  At my core as an educator and former classroom teacher, I believe that empowerment and building skill-sets is the key to creating a brighter future. I know the equalizing power of education when students of every background — whether in a university classroom or a training session for professionals — come together to uncover and build solutions that create a better future. Most importantly, I believe that it will take collective action to create the future envisioned by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and I am honored to work closely with the ISSP Governing Board to lead this mission.

What is in store for ISSP and the community of sustainability professionals in the coming months and years?

ISSP’s mission is to empower sustainability professionals across the workforce and around the world. In the coming months and years, we will continue to advance this mission by offering innovative opportunities that enable every professional to accelerate their impact. We will do this by engaging our members to develop a user experience that meets your needs, delivering learning and connection across levels of career and varied industry sectors, and employing responsive, human-centered design that allows ISSP to remain nimble to the rapidly changing demands of the sustainability field. Our members will see even greater opportunities to deepen knowledge across people, planet, and prosperity and additional support in your quest to obtain the Sustainability Excellence credentials (SEA and SEP). ISSP Education Partners and their students will have enhanced resources for growing the future of the industry. ISSP Organizational Members will gain networking opportunities and training tailored to equip their teams with the tools to define, meet, and surpass sustainability goals.

If you haven’t yet joined ISSP, now is the time to engage in this movement — your network of support, collaboration, and empowerment is waiting. I hope that you will be with us on 2 March at 3:30 pm ET-US, when I will be in conversation with Denise DeLuca, PE, SEA, ISSP Governing Board President, to talk about ISSP’s trajectory.

After six years serving as member of the ISSP Governing Board, Lucinda Brown, SEP, steps away from this role while leaving a stronger ISSP, imprinted with her steadfast dedication to the people that make the association thrive. We spoke with Lucinda to recount some highlights from her years serving in various positions on the Governing Board.

ISSP: Over the years, you have served as Chair of the Research and Resources Committee, Treasurer, and finally Governing Board President. What stands out from your time serving in each role?

Lucinda Brown: I joined the Governing Board in 2016, but I have been part of the ISSP community since 2009, when I went to the Portland [Oregon] Conference. While I was there, I decided I would take a course with ISSP. I had already completed a certification for greenhouse gas emissions accounting, and so ISSP had me serve as a teaching assistant for that portion of the course series, which got me involved in the research and education work that the organization does.

My first role after joining the Governing Board was as Chair of the Research and Resources Committee. I went to workshops including with Alan AtKisson. Alan is an awesome guy and offered really good ways of thinking about sustainability in terms of the field being a set of strategic planning tools. We began thinking about a definitive set of knowledge, skills and abilities a sustainability professional should have, regardless of what industry they worked in or where in the world they worked. Like anything, you begin to pull a thread and it gets really unraveled! I thought I could help with this. We already had what was essentially a table with the sustainability domains and the Job Task Analysis, plus a series of websites to look up info, and I took the steps to turn those into study guides. Now, the SEA and SEP Study Guides have been revised and are providing hundreds of people each year with this baseline knowledge for the profession, and I’m very proud of that.

In 2017, I became the Board Treasurer. What I am proud of is bringing a great degree of financial organization to ISSP from my commitment to bookkeeping excellence. Later in 2020, as Board President, I instituted a consent agenda—which opened structured space for thinking strategically—and together with the other members ensured the highest transparency. I know these more formalized approaches will allow for a strategic dialogue to continue for many years.

ISSP: You are the Founder of STET Environmental Consulting and know the joys and challenges of working in this industry. You often talk about the profession needing a strong community—of people and of practice. It seems community-building remained the unifying element of your leadership.

LB: I always felt that ISSP was home; my community. You can understand ISSP as a professional project, but you can also see it as a place for people to be together. Sometimes being a sustainability professional can feel like a very lonely place. It can feel like the world is falling apart around you all the time and your job is to hold it all together. You need a place to come back to and rejuvenate. Because ISSP is my community, I wanted to give back to my community, which is why I not only joined the Board but dedicated the hours to it that you’d give to a full-time job for many years.

ISSP had two more conferences [after Portland], one in Denver and the Global Congress in Chicago. I went to each to be with the community. There was a time in Chicago when a group of us were hanging out after hours. We found an empty conference room upstairs, ordered a bunch of pizzas, and talked about books we had read, and a lot of ideas for how to move the profession forward came into focus.

ISSP: It seems those moments where people come together are what has made ISSP special.

LB: It is about individuals. I remember being at the 2009 conference where behind the stage, a member pulled out a decorative rug and put a vase on the table full of flowers. It was a thoughtful touch, and no one in the audience would see this, but it was done to make the speakers feel welcome. It showed me that this is a community.

ISSP has always been, and I hope it always will be a place—no matter what company you work for or sector you’re in—where we meet, we are doing the same job, and we have each other; we watch out for each other.

Lucinda, thank you for your service! We are excited to see what’s next for you and your career.

Lucinda’s time on the ISSP Governing Board has closed, but the community can remain in touch with her for years to come by connecting with Lucinda in the ISSPCommunity platform. Find her book Small Steps, Big Strides: Building Sustainability Habits at Home for more of Lucinda’s insights.

PHOTO: Chuck Fazio

Sustainability professionals like you continued to work hard to secure a healthy planet where everyone thrives, despite the year’s tremendous stresses. You give us much to be grateful for. As part of this work, your support of, and engagement with, ISSP has helped the organization to have a fantastic 2021. As Governing Board President, I want to recount several successes from the past twelve months and give you—our members, supporters, and partners—a sense of what’s next for our community of sustainability professionals.

2021 By the Numbers

ISSP Accomplishments

Engaging Community

• 2,225+ ISSP members

• 750+ new members in 2021

• 15 sustainability professional networking sessions

• 12 Spotlight Members profiled

• 1 TEDxISSP event, featuring 6 ISSP Hall of Fame Honorees

Developing Capacity

• 11 professional development webinars

• 8 Education Partners connecting classroom instruction to ISSP’s standard of sustainability excellence

• 3 new ISSP on-demand, for-credit foundation courses

Defining Excellence

• 2 updated and redesigned Study Guides

• 8 Sustainability Excellence professional credential GBCI info sessions supported

• 950+ SEA and SEP credential-holders

• 1 new Governing Board member

During 2021, ISSP initiated the exciting process of transitioning from a working Governing Board with a General Manager to an advisory Governing Board with an Executive Director and an expanding team of devoted staff. We have been very thankful to Gina MacIlwraith, our former General Manager, and Jamie Creola, Interim Executive Director, for their work, experience, and insights in guiding this process while maintaining seamless operations.

ISSP in the year ahead

Grow our team. As many of you have seen, we are in the process of hiring a new part-time Executive Director and full-time Programs Manager. As we welcome these two new team members, ISSP is looking forward to building and expanding our core capacity to serve our mission — and you, our members, partners, and wider network of sustainability professionals! 

Grow our network. Our work in the year ahead will focus on strengthening our ability to provide a reliable, recognizable, and comprehensive source of sustainability knowledge and resources that help professionals develop literacy, remaining current, and foster agility in the sustainability market. As part of this work, we will continue to respond to our growing membership—including an enhanced Organizational Member program—build on our revamped Educations Partners program, expand ISSP Chapters to new regions, and build partnerships that create and support a community of practice for sustainability professionals.

Grow our offerings. Already in the works is the third of our 3-course series of on-demand foundational courses. This course will be the most comprehensive of the three and will align with the content in the (beautiful and updated) SEA Study Guide. You can also look forward to our monthly professional development webinars, special topics courses, and networking opportunities. We’re also planning a website revamp to make navigating to and finding these valuable resources easier and more enjoyable.

As 2021 comes to a close, the ISSP Governing Board and staff thank you for your continued commitment to advancing sustainability goals across disciplines, across industries, and across the globe. We look forward to the work to come.

Denise DeLuca, PE, SEA is ISSP Governing Board President and Director of Minneapolis College of Art and Design's Master of Arts in Sustainable Design (MASD) program. She is the co-founder of Biomimicry Creative for Innovation and author of the book Re-Aligning with Nature: Ecological Thinking for Radical Transformation. Connect with Denise on LinkedIn.

PHOTO: Eberhard Grossgasteiger | Pexels

Keep 1.5 alive. Although the United Kingdom, host to COP26, offered “uniting the world to tackle climate change” as it’s official slogan for the United Nations’ climate conference, by the end of the event’s second week, it was this unofficial tagline that more loudly resounded throughout the halls of the Scottish Events Campus.

And rightfully so. The UK Presidency and world leaders were under enormous pressure from local governments, NGOs, businesses, and millions of people around the world to deliver updates to the Paris Agreement that can secure a future for our planet where warming does not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius. The stakes are incredibly high.

I was on the ground in Glasgow for the conference’s entirety, primarily in my role to elevate the voice of local governments in the international climate negotiations, but also tangentially as an ISSP member, ensuring that the perspectives of sustainability professionals were well represented. Indeed, we as sustainability professionals are instrumental to this and every COP — a role that only continues in ever increasing intensity as we turn COP-related pledges and commitments into true, measurable, transparent action from our companies, communities, and organizations.

Sustainability Professionals Contribute to COP26

The ISSP network is a vast, 2,000-member family of sustainability professionals working across sectors and around the world. Our wider network is 10 times larger. Some of us work in government at all levels; some of us work in universities, professional service firms, nonprofits, and companies (both enormous and tiny). All of us have roles related to securing a livable planet where everyone can thrive—work manifested as personal-professional commitments embedded in our belief systems and often our job descriptions. We also have several primary avenues to engage in international negotiations.

If you are like me, you are not directly employed by your national government as a climate negotiator. However, you may contribute either directly or indirectly to one of the United Nations major constituency groups. There are nine: women, children and youth, Indigenous Peoples, NGOs, local governments and municipal authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, science and technology, and farmers. Sustainability professionals, including many ISSP members, fill the rosters of every core constituency! Perhaps you support sustainability reporting for organization, or maybe even helped it to sign on to the Race to Zero, a key initiative of the COP26 Presidency?

In many different ways, the work of sustainability professionals reverberates up a grassroots-to-global chain to influence the annual climate negotiations. You made the conference’s achievements possible. And if you followed COP26’s outcomes during the past few weeks, you likely were struck by mix messages regarding the conference’s success (or lack of success). Groups including Carbon Tracker point out that only if every single nation upholds its end of the Paris Agreement will warming be limited to under 2 degrees—and even the most optimistic analyses (looking at you, EIA) still do not forecast meeting 1.5 degrees, the threshold considered necessary to avert catastrophic climate outcomes.

However, progress was made and the ISSP network should celebrate a few key outcomes. I will highlight only a few here:

More than 100 countries signed a Global Methane Pledge to slash CH4 emissions 30% by 2030. The issue of methane was left out of many discussions in the past. Thanks to sustainability professionals working in data science, the oil and gas industry, and watchdog groups, nations now know the sources confidently enough to make a pledge to tackle them together.

More than 140 countries will halt forest loss by 2030. Significantly, Brazil, Russia, and other nations that hold the keys to safeguarding the lungs of the planet are now included (unlike in previous forest-related deals). Moreover, the commitments are backed by $19.2 billion in funding to protect forests. Thanks to sustainability professionals working on conservation, biodiversity, science-based targets and more, nature had its day in this COP unlike ever before. (Stay tuned next spring for the Biodiversity COP15 in Kunming, China.)

Coal (closer to being) consigned to history. For the first time, references to “fossil fuels” are included in the Paris Agreement and the pact reached by the end calls on member states to “phase down”—if not completely “phase out”, thanks to India—coal and fossil-fuel subsidies.

Local communities get a boost. The final updated Paris Agreement text now also makes reference in multiple places to local governments, calling on nations to advance “multi-level action”, or collaboration across all levels of government, as a foundational mechanism for achieving their climate targets. In addition, over $1 billion of forest-protection funding is earmarked for Indigenous and local communities, recognizing the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and local wisdom for managing forests.

What Sustainability Professionals Need to Do to Advance Climate Negotiations

At least two issues remain that need our concerted effort: Equity and finance.

On equity, the awakening around the world around gender equality, Indigenous People’s rights to land and traditional know-how, and the rights of those unduly burdened by climate change but who contributed nothing to cause it carried forward into COP26. Across dozens of interventions in the main pavilion hall, I heard sustainability professionals bringing messages on environmental justice into every conversation — not confined to talks specifically assigned to the topic, as in years past.

Environmental justice in terms of global governance means rich countries, which have perpetrated the climate emergency, are those responsible for fixing the problem. Billions of dollars in finance will need to be delivered by these wealthy countries directly to those countries that are most impacted by climate change. Paraphrasing Maldivian Environment Minister Aminath Shauna, what is pragmatic for you, is too late for us.

Environmental justice at the personal and community levels means recognizing that marginalized people and neighborhoods have historically suffered the human health costs of climate pollution. COP26 provided a forum where people who do not normally have access to places of power, including Indigenous Peoples, women and youth, could be heard and seen in the halls. Yet, there were immense tensions around access to the official negotiation space. Sustainability professionals need to push for civil society and the constituency groups to have a main seat at the table for COP27 and beyond.

On finance,  Article 6 of the Paris Agreement made progress. This is the delivery mechanism for how the agreement can be funded. Rules around double-counting emissions-reduction credits were clarified, but “loss and damage” was a hot-button issue that remains to be resolved. This is related to the earlier point about nation-to-nation environmental justice; ahead of COP27, the EU, the UK and U.S. will need to step up and deliver on their responsibility. Technical assistance, like that which sustainability professionals deliver on, will be required to assign value to these loss and damage figures.

Reporting and Accountability in the Road Ahead

Of course, the true outcomes from Glasgow will depend on agreements around transparency and reporting. Countries made progress codifying what type of reporting is needed on mitigation, adaptation and finance. We need the same for the corporate sector and finance sector!

More than 2,000 companies have pledged to set science-based 2030 climate target. Sustainability professionals will be the ones to model the actions needed to achieve them, realign supply chains and operations, and bring critical transparency to the reporting. This will be necessary to determine which companies are serious and which are greenwashing—consumers and citizens will be watching.

So, while there was a plethora of announcements and confetti falling nearly every day, we will only get there with multi-sectoral support on the ground for many years to come. Sustainability professionals will be the ones doing this work.

Kale Roberts is ISSP Communications Manager and Senior Program Officer at ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, where he provides technical support to cities, towns, and regions on climate resilience, biodiversity, United Nations advocacy, and the SDGs.

PHOTO: ISSP was on the ground in Glasgow for COP26, hosted by the UK Government from 31 October to 12 November, 2021, where we posted some moments to our Instagram feed. Follow up to receive further updates.

Do you want your organization—a corporation, university, or city—to become carbon neutral? But does it feel overwhelming, like pushing on a mountain?

Forget the organization for now. What if instead you helped individuals in the organization become carbon neutral? When they walk the talk by internalizing a carbon price, they will become high-integrity, persuasive advocates. They will transform the organization from the inside out, like holes in swiss cheese.

I invested one year to interview 300 people working on the environment in the Midwest. I discovered that:

1.     Indiana is one of ten states producing half of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions

2.     The state receives perhaps 5% of the national climate philanthropy it would if it was distributed equitably by population and

3.     Our environmentalists felt dispirited. One Executive Director told me the last ten years felt like, “pushing a rope up a hill.”

So, my friends and I got to work. We created a nonprofit and enshrined the goal within its name, Carbon Neutral Indiana. We designed it as a social enterprise, to pay for staff with earned income. And because losing attitudes are infectious, we avoided the established environmental community. Instead, we built a new community one household at a time.

This led to an energized grassroots movement and the state’s first bipartisan climate legislation. We achieved this in a conservative state, during the pandemic, with no grant funding, and an all-volunteer team. In a culture that felt like molasses, we’ve learned how to spark change and progress.

Why This Matters

Organizations like corporations, universities, and cities aren’t decarbonizing fast enough. Second Nature tracks over 700 commitments by academic institutions to reduce carbon emissions. Over 60% either haven’t reported emissions since or increased their emissions.

Let’s use a real university near my home as an example and call it “Knowledge University.” They invested over a million dollars into sustainability staff and projects. Eight years later, their emissions increased 30%! You’ll find similar patterns in cities as well.

Root Cause

Why? Accountability is the root issue. This in turn has three deeper causes:

Lack of S.M.A.R.T. goals. Committing to become carbon neutral in a few decades is dangerous. It gives us a false sense of accomplishment. A local seminary even gave Knowledge University an award for their commitment— but words aren’t actions.

Lack of institutional memory. I met with Knowledge University’s sustainability staff. To prepare for the meeting I read their 50+ page sustainability report. Then they told me, “Our predecessor created that report. It’s irrelevant. We’re taking a different approach.” What’s the turnover rate for sustainability staff? One to three years? And what about the people around them? In a university, the students come and go like mayflies. In cities, so do the elected officials. Who sticks around, maintaining a thread of memory?

Lack of repercussions. What happens if an organization doesn’t achieve its climate goals? Usually nothing. Why? Commitments usually don’t include a failure penalty. Also, the broader community of stakeholders isn’t aware of the commitment to hold the organization accountable. Who would let them know? Newspapers laid off 51% of their employees between 2008 to 2019.

A Solution: The Swiss Cheese Approach

Often sustainability professionals are idealistic. They try to change an organization in a few years. When it doesn’t work, they feel stuck, overwhelmed, and leave the organization. What if instead you tackled a smaller challenge? Organizations are nothing but a collection of individuals. So, what if you taught those individuals:

1. How to measure their personal, household carbon emissions

2. That these emissions are damaging others—perhaps to the tune of $220 per ton and

3. They can clean up their “carbon trash” immediately, not just reduce it over time but reduce it all now.

Once successful, you can do it again and again. This will create momentum, confidence, even a sense of inevitably. Eventually you’ll transform the organization from the inside out, like holes in Swiss cheese.

Above: "Some of the 200+ carbon neutral households and businesses. The community grows as friends speak with friends."

Benefits

This answers the three root causes listed above:

SMART goals. The sustainability profession can get lost in vague, unmeasurable terms like resilience, balance, or sustainability itself. In contrast, an individual can measure the specific amount of carbon trash they create. Then they invest financially in verified projects that reduce or sequester that exact amount. This is concrete and tangible.

Institutional memory. What if you become carbon neutral this week? Then three to five others at your organization this month? Then 20 to 25 others this year? Even if you leave the organization, you will leave behind people who understand this approach. These individuals will be a distributed network—like the internet, mycelium, or the blockchain—that will outlive any single individual.

Repercussions. Words are not action. It’s too easy for someone to put up a yard sign, signalling they’re on the righteous side of history. It’s too easy to click “Like” on social media and become a mere clicktivist. Our carbon emissions are damaging others. This is true at any level of scale—the individual, the household, the organization. And each level can put a price on carbon by paying to be carbon neutral immediately.

Common Responses

“But that’s what Big Oil wants! They want to shift our attention from systems change to individual responsibility.”

This is a false dichotomy. Why can’t we do both at the same time? In fact, by walking the talk we’ll have more integrity and be more persuasive when advocating for systems change. And recent research echoes this:

"Two studies using large, well-powered samples show that focusing attention on one’s sustainable behaviors rarely results in a decrease in support for a climate policy like a carbon tax.”

“But financing carbon reductions outside of our boundary with carbon offsets is a last resort!”

This is another false dichotomy. Why can’t we become carbon neutral immediately and reduce our direct emissions over time? Second Nature explains it this way:

“Some institutions reverse the usual carbon management hierarchy and achieve carbon neutrality through offsetting before beginning other mitigation efforts. These institutions feel that the threat of climate change is so pressing that it is their moral responsibility to become immediately carbon neutral...

...It is important to keep in mind that the very act of offsetting puts a price on GHG emissions. This price signal can drive internal emission reductions, because every ton of carbon that is not emitted represents one less offset that needs to be purchased.”

And this is exactly what Microsoft did using an internal carbon fee to shift its culture.

Next Steps

So instead of trying to make your entire organization carbon neutral, what if you focus on individuals within the organization for now? You’ll build momentum and an army of internal advocates.

Here’s what to do next:

Register for my ISSP technical series webinar on Tuesday, 2 December at 2:00pm ET / 6:00pm GMT. It’ll be highly interactive.

Learn more about the voluntary carbon market. If nothing else, watch David Antonioli’s remarks before the House Agriculture Committee. Then go read Securing Climate Benefits: A Guide to Using Carbon Offsets by the GHG Management Institute and Stockholm Environment Institute. Additional resources include Second Nature’s Carbon Markets & Offsets Guidance, The Oxford Principles for Net-Zero Aligned Offsetting, and The Taskforce on Scaling the Voluntary Carbon Market.

Daniel Poynter is an experienced founder of social enterprises, international speaker, and recipient of a MacArthur Young Innovator award. He is a former executive coach to more than 100 social entrepreneurs. Now, Daniel focuses his time on climate at Carbon Neutral Indiana.

PHOTO, Top: "Swiss Cheese" by thenoodleator is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
PHOTO, Bottom: courtesy Daniel Poynter, Carbon Neutral Indiana

Minnesota has a large and active sustainability community. We’re known as the “Land of Ten Thousand Lakes”, although the state is actually home to some 14,000 lakes, not including all the wetlands and other delicate ecosystems in the state. We experience some of the coldest winters and hottest summers in the United States, so having high-efficiency buildings is not only important, it’s essential. We feed the country and the world with our crops and animal products, and most people have products from Minnesota in their homes; from Target, 3M, General Mills, and BestBuy, just to name a few.

Minnesota is also being affected by climate change at a higher rate than other areas because of its location and geography. The state is located in the low 40s latitude and in the center of the North American continent, both of which result in warmer temperatures and greater temperature variation as the jet stream increasingly oscillates.

With so much air, land, and water within and along our borders, the Minnesota sustainability community finds an interest in water quality, regenerative agriculture, freshwater aquaculture, pollution and waste management issues, climate change science, urban development, supply chain and procurement transparency, Indigenous rights and wisdom, and more.

How the ISSP MN Chapter Began

The ISSP MN Chapter was founded in 2015 by Shannon Pinc, our former Lead, and Jennifer Kruse, our most recent Chapter Lead. The Chapter was seeded by an introduction from current ISSP MN Lead, Kris Coperine and Former Executive Director, Maureen Hart.

It’s taken a few years to grow to its current size — about 50 active members and a wider network of 110 professionals — and now hopes to build out both its membership and governance structure. After several years of dedicated leaders from Shannon and Jen, both stepped down and continue to support the Executive Committee with their valued guidance and sustainability expertise.

Looking forward into 2022, the ISSP MN Chapter hopes to bring on additional Board members, to create committees that tackle specific operational needs — including Events, Membership Development, and Strategic Partnerships. Scott Firman, current ISSP MN Chapter Co-Lead, will replace Kris Coperine as Lead, and Tracey Anthony, current Chapter Secretary-Treasurer, will replace Scott as Co-Lead. This leadership transition will leave abundant opportunities for ISSP MN Members to fill the leadership ranks within the Chapter. Longer term, the Executive Committee will be filled through a nomination process and election process.

Minnesota Sustainability Professionals Leading the Way

Fundamentally, the Chapter organizes and promotes networking opportunities for sustainability professionals in the region to share knowledge covering practical applications of sustainability while providing ongoing career training and development opportunities for sustainability professionals. We serve as a collective group in practicing sustainability honorably and with integrity — in all professions — to prevent greenwashing and positively impact our communities and the world.

We support members in their sustainability professions and initiatives professionally by offering resources and a sounding board for best practices, as well as aspiring sustainability professionals who are pursuing the ISSP-created and GBCI-managed credentials, the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) and Sustainability Excellence Professional (SEP).

Where We’re Going: A Call to Action for the Minnesota Sustainability Community

The ISSP MN Chapter is a voluntary association that thrives by having a robust membership and volunteer base. We are a member-driven group of practicing sustainability professionals who are part of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals, the world’s leading professional association of sustainability practitioners. 

In addition to growing our organization (please consider joining us!), we are looking to add new Board members to our governance structure. We also seek individuals who can help us with sharing our message online through social media and other communication platforms, with planning engaging events where our members can network and share their experiences, and to eventually have agency in the State of Minnesota to advocate for change.

In coming months, we will resume virtual monthly ISSP membership meetings so that professionals can meet, share their ideas and experiences, and gain the comradery that so many of us have missed professionally and due to COVID. 

We also host weekly 30-minute “Hot Pockets” on Friday mornings at 8:30am Central U.S time, where we spend a few minutes reviewing the individual UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), discuss where we see the SDGs applied, and co-define our own experiences with the Global Goals in the workplace. This is a great opportunity to meet and enjoy a bite-sized portion of a big topic while sipping a cup of coffee or tea.

Get in Touch

Please email us at isspmn@sustainabilityprofessionals.org with questions, to request viewing links to our events, or to sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Photo: Inclusive Selfie by Former Chapter Lead Shannon Pince during the June In-Person Happy Hour at The Lowry in Minneapolis. Pictured: Shannan Pinc, Jen Kruse, Tamara Will, Andy Janetski, Scott Firman, and Kris Coperine. Photo by Shannon Pinc