Nourishment by & for the change making class
Attempting to be and acting as a change maker in organisations unable or unwilling to change is depleting. Once you know and feel the need to act, you can't look away. How are you nourished?
Editor’s Note
Welcome to the first publication from Finding Nature. Mag Nation was a place I used to glorify and hold a lot of reverence for in my 20s and 30s. I would head there for hours each weekend, abusing their barista service as a way to peruse and read whatever caught my eye in their store for hours. Magazines are something I grew up with and read ferociously into my early 30s - Inside Edge, Rugby League Week, Thrasher, Drum Media, The Brag, Monocle, HBR, The Good Weekend, Esquire, Outside, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Men’s Health, WIRED, Time, Dumbo Feather. The mix of diverse stories where writers needed to immediately capture my attention ignited my imagination, the imagery that accompanied what I didn’t know even existed, the sense that every page held a new discovery. What is about to be revealed to me? I was, have been and am still hooked on magazines. I see a line up of magazines in the office and I have to wander over to see what’s there, what story jumps at me to learn about. Kanga News and Brighter do not do it for me, yet I still can’t stop myself from flicking through. “What could be in here?!”
For many years I dreamt of magazine editing as a dream job. One of many castaway imaginations of what my life could and would be. If not for the daily goings on of work and other life responsibilities and duties, I could and would have pursued it. At least I tell myself that, To finally be doing this feels surreal yet wonderful.
The written form of Finding Nature will be a monthly curation from the people I admire and respect who work in the sustainability, ESG and impact oriented professions. This is about understanding them, learning about them, being able to hear their stories of strength and hope, and relating to their experiences.
This months theme is nourishment - how do the people who do this work day in and day out take care of themselves, how do they maintain their spirit when (too many) days can feel like it’s a masochist job of Sisyphean proportions. Pushing a boulder up a mountain, neither of which want to or can give an inch.
For me, I need the relationships of the people I work with and around. I have learnt from you, I have admired you, I have been intrigued by you, I have attempted to help you. I know that I need you, need the words in these contributions below. They are beautiful, heartfelt and reveal the extraordinary nature of the people who work day in and day out to create a more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.
If you’re a podcast listener, head here (for Apple users, awaiting their approval sorry)
I am honoured to be doing this, for your attention and care, and the nourishment of my own spirit as I undertake the launch of Finding Nature.
Thank you
Nathan
Iron sharpens iron - Chris Nunn
Chris is truly one of Australia’s sustainability leaders. A multi decade career across multiple sectors, just about every technical environmental credential you can imagine and a work ethic that is only matched by his passion and determination to bend the arc of impact towards his will. Chris the professional and the person is a gift and role model to any of us.
My optimistic take on the Sisyphus myth is: when you push a rock uphill all day every day, eventually you get really strong. If like Sisyphus I push the rock of your ESG-related business proposals up the hill of corporate approvals enough times, eventually I will get really good at it. So, while the Sisyphus myth is often invoked to describe repetitive tasks that are laborious and futile, working in sustainability is neither. It is highly varied, purposeful and while there are frustrations like in any job, there are also occasionally immensely satisfying moments. Like achieving net zero carbon (albeit operational scope 1 & 2). Then when you get there, at the end of even that most successful day, there is always more to do (like Scope 3, embodied carbon, supply chain impacts – the list is endless); there’s always another rock (read ESG initiative) to push uphill. It can feel like an endless, maybe even utopian struggle, and I may fail, but the journey is rewarding. It makes for a career filled with meaning.
To push that boulder each day, I find I need to be a relentless optimist. If I'm not, the stream of actual and impending environmental disasters, social injustices, and governance failures will grind me down. To keep going, knowing what you and I know, facing into the challenge of difficult organisational and behaviour change, finding solutions that hit that magic sweet-spot of achieving positive environmental and/or social outcomes while contributing to core-business success and profitability, I need to be very optimistic and hopeful.
I’ve been fortunate to work on a lot of great building and infrastructure projects over my career that, when finished, I can take satisfaction in having influenced for the better. I’ve been lucky enough, and worked diligently in sustainability roles long enough to see big, hard projects like net zero carbon through and to get those results has been rewarding. I built a legitimately sustainable family home and that offers a daily source of satisfaction and happiness. It was a dream to achieve that, and now my family and I get to live in it and enjoy it every day.
It can of course be lonely and demoralising when I’m not successful. That’s when I need a dose of optimism and hope from the sustainability community. To cope, I find people like me, who share this passion, who experience similar challenges; and we share knowledge, what’s worked, what hasn’t, congratulate each other on successes and commiserate on frustrations. Professionally I’m very lucky to be part of some great sustainability communities of practice – the Property Council of Australia National Sustainability Roundtable, the Australian PassivHaus Association and the network of passivhaus professionals, the Green Building Council of Australia, Net Zero Carbon Buildings Alliance, GRESB, NABERS, IGCC, AIRAH and CIBSE to name a few. There are a lot of opportunities to connect with people working toward similar, related sustainability goals in the built environment. Through these networks there are meetings, events and conferences to attend where I can feel part of a community, and engage in stimulating conversations that help fill the tank.
Outside of these networks I know it is valuable for me to get outside the green buildings world I’m in and hear more about sustainability in other industries. I like to be involved in cross-disciplinary conversations and to get beyond the sustainability echo chamber. It’s easy to linger in the cosy bubble of caring and passionate sustainability people. While it’s a nourishing and wonderful place, moving beyond this to other professional disciplines (finance, treasury, fund & investment management, development and operations) is where I think I and the sector need to go if we want to effect change. Hearing different perspectives can create insights about others’ priorities that I have to work with or around in order to be successful.
Personally I need to get outside and into nature. I mountain bike and try to get out for a ride every Sunday morning. The thrill of it, the joys of hanging out with my biking mates and being out in nature sets me up for my week.
Time with my family is essential. I make a discipline of leaving work on time, something which was difficult as a lawyer and consultant in my life pre-kids. When I became a dad almost 10 years ago, I pledged to myself that I’d be home for my kids and I make the deliberate choice to leave the office at 5.30 every day so that I’m home for dinner, bath time and stories with the kids. I won’t get a second chance at being there when my kids are young (I know too many dads who’ve missed their one and only shot).
I go to a CrossFit gym each morning before work and this daily intense exercise is great for my physical and mental health. In addition to the obvious health benefits of being fit and strong physically, there is a huge mental benefit both in terms of positive mood and attitude. Taking on and achieving micro-goals through exercise, mastering a new skill or lifting a slightly heavier weight, build a kind of grit and confidence that certainly translates to work.
As an ESG professional who’s been in this space for a long time, I like encouraging others to focus on what they can control and influence. The rest is just noise. Pick battles that matter to you, that are audacious, but that you can maybe win, and fight that good fight, that’s the best use of your time. Find where the big impacts can occur and tenaciously go after that. If you focus on just one or two big, significant outcomes, and push hard until they’re done, you can achieve good things, then move on to the next goal.
The time is right for significant change. It’s been a long road to this point where ESG is now so prominent in corporate and popular culture. It’s taken it all getting to a crisis point, but here we are. Now is the time when we can be successful. It was a lot harder five, ten and 20 years ago. Trust me, I was around. Now is the time we can get the big stuff done. We can switch to renewables cost effectively, we can build passive house towers affordably, investors want to see real ESG performance outcomes not business as usual with a thin green veneer, new disruptive ESG business models are offering ever more sustainable options to an increasingly aware and sophisticated consumer. It’s the best of times and the worst of times. There is opportunity in the crisis. Go after it!
The Times They Are A-Changin’, But Fast Enough? - Katherine MacKenzie
Like many, Katherine undertook a serious tertiary education only to end up terrified of her professional prospects. Knowing the planetary crisis we face are real and to be dealt with she pushed on, and now has experience working across multiple large corporates who all have a role to play in changing the structural and institutional make up of Australia and its future.
When invited to reflect on my relatively short career to date, a story that I love telling is about my experience deciding to pursue a career in sustainability in 2013. If you cast your mind back more than a decade, you may recall how rare it was (or at least how rare it felt) to encounter a sustainability initiative or sustainability professional in the corporate world at that time. So rare, that when I started my master’s degree specialising in sustainability and environmental management that same year, I often had to try to explain to curious (“why is it the role of business to do address this?”) and suspicious (“but the climate has always changed?”) enquirers what sustainability meant in a corporate context. Other people, who were also having these conversations around that time, relay to me that they similarly struggled to convey that there was a bit more to it than getting your employer to swap to purchasing only recycled paper… I also recall the very real and very deep fear I had about securing a ‘real’ job in the field after graduating. To fuel this fear, I would frequently challenge my commitment to the cause by searching for open ‘sustainability’ jobs in Australia on SEEK – and in my mind the future was looking bright if there was more than two relevant job ads posted somewhere across the entire country for the month. Based in Perth at the time, I would often think to myself; I could move to Alice Springs or Canberra, right? Oh, how times have changed!
I know I’m not at all alone when I say I’m genuinely so relieved the profession is now booming, a signpost many of us hope means that organisations across the board are finally taking sustainability seriously. But probe anyone who feels as though they have been orbiting this space for a while and you’ll likely encounter an energy that is both equal parts relieved and a little frustrated. All professions have elements that wear you down and test your resolve. Relatively few, however, specifically require you to constantly consider a future that, at this rate, doesn’t always look particularly bright all while advocating for solutions now that sometimes feel as though they are not even five percent of what is required to course correct.
I count myself as being so very fortunate to have worked alongside incredibly intelligent, passionate, and curious colleagues over the last decade – many of whom have made significant contributions in integrating sustainability wherever it is that they live and work. The profession by its very nature tends to attract people who essentially give a sh*t – people who want to look back and feel as though their time and energy at work was spent solving important problems. One thing I have noticed about many of these bright minds, however, is that they can also feel as though they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Unsurprising I would assume, given the nature of the topic and the issues many in the field are expected to grapple with almost daily. Add to that the pace at which it feels progress is actually made and sustainability professionals can have themselves a recipe for a sense of daily, possibly subtle yet still omnipresent, dread.
I’m aware this is probably the part where I am supposed to share some profound insights around how to use your omnipresent dread to fuel change and drive action. The truth is, I’m still trying to figure this one out for myself. What I do know for sure though is that sustainability professionals are patient and resilient in how they manage to apply the practice of consistently showing up to affect the changes they want to see in the world and also those that we know are needed. Whenever I catch myself feeling unconvinced about my own personal contribution, or whether the broader pace is fast enough or focus is tight enough, I remind myself it’s an exciting time to be working in sustainability given the spotlight on the issues and the diversity of players now in the game.
At the end of the day, while I haven’t got it figured out, I do think it’s important as a sustainability professional to remain curious, connected with likeminded colleagues and friends and harness whatever small waves of momentum you might find yourself within from time to time. This makes initiatives like Finding Nature’s so important and I’m looking forward to engaging with the content and community going forward!
Optimism, perspective and hope - Jeff Oatman
Jeff Oatman is a legend in the Australian green building world. Anyone who has met Jeff, remembers him. Gregarious, helpful and constantly the man in your ringside corner. Jeff has and continues to play a critical role in how the built environment transitions, and the variety and diversity of who he speaks with and helps makes him a truly valuable and interesting person to sit with.
In the world of organisational dynamics, playing the role of Sisyphus can feel like a never-ending struggle – always pushing for progress but often met with setbacks. For 15 years, I've been immersed in purpose-driven circles, surrounded by individuals striving to make a difference. How have I stayed sane amidst the battle for progress in sustainability?
A bit of background
For context, my professional journey has been anchored within a peak body organisation, dedicated to leading the sustainable transformation of the built environment. I’ve worn several hats while I’ve been there which makes me a deliberate generalist across a number of different areas including green building rating frameworks, sustainability reporting, policy and advocacy related issues, and stakeholder engagement. Jack of all sustainability trades, master of none, so to speak. According to Cliftons Strengths, I’m a dyed-in the wool people person who is perhaps a bit overly positive at times. A sunny disposition and an affinity for working with people makes some of the challenges inherent in this career easier to manage.
It's not uncommon for us sustainability practitioners to succumb to the prevailing narrative of imminent catastrophe – an abyss teetering on the brink of ecological collapse. Every new IPCC report headline, and now most of my LinkedIn feed are a reminder of this. While I acknowledge the gravity of our predicament, I rarely succumb to its paralysing anxiety. I’m not suggesting this is some kind of superpower I possess, but perhaps a combination of practicality and applied ignorance. Elon Musk may have found a way to harness despair to serve a constructive purpose effecting meaningful change, but I’m no Elon. Instead, I scale down from the macro where I’m less useful and focus on the micro, specifically the individual level, where I feel a bit more at home.
Working within the sanctuary of a purpose-driven organisation and among people who support us is where I’m best placed. I’m energised when I’m around great people doing important work and gain a sense of hope and possibility, fortifying against the corrosive effects of despair. This isn’t to say it’s immune to its own set of pressures and paradoxes – there is constant push to exceed expectations while navigating the delicate balance between being ambition and being feasible. However one thing I have noticed is that if you’re not ruffling a few feathers in your ambition, it’s possible you’re not pushing hard enough. Not everyone is going to be happy with the progressive agenda sustainability practitioners set. Anyone working in sustainability needs to accept this is the uncomfortable space that comes with the job and this uncomfortable space isn’t for everyone.
But back to the glass half full side. As a sustainability practitioner, I also find it hard to ignore the fact that real progress has been made and is worth acknowledging. Doing so is a reminder that our efforts aren’t in vain and that it’s possible to continue pushing the dial forward and make progress. Over the past decade in the green buildings sector, where I work, things like scope 1-3 carbon emissions, circularity in product and material selection, and the impact on biodiversity in developments, are now mainstream and expected. Executive and Board-level involvement in ESG is a thing, as is climate change and the fiduciary duties of directors, and even taking action on green washing. None of this was on the agenda a decade ago. Of course, this progress hasn't occurred by accident, and it's been catalysed by global crises, underscoring the urgency of our mission. However it is true that there remains a considerable gap between leaders and laggards in sustainability practices. Until this imbalance is rectified, our work is far from over.
An emerging problem and straightforward solution(?)
Perhaps it’s always been here but one thing I’ve observed that seems to be far more apparent in recent times is the propensity for people to become increasingly inflexible in their thinking and positions in sustainability related issues. Extremes abound, from vehement climate change denial to radical activism, leaving little room for constructive dialogue or pragmatic solutions. I quite like Bjorn Lomberg’s approach but apparently he’s been cast out of polite society too. As sustainability edges towards the mainstream, I see a risk of entrenched ideologies and dogmatic stances, exacerbating divisions and impeding progress. In navigating this ideological minefield, sustainability practitioners are tasked with the arduous endeavour of fostering open-mindedness and cultivating spaces for nuanced, inclusive discourse.
To bolster our impact and efficacy as sustainability practitioners, I’m convinced that embracing the art of listening will be the most important skill we can hone. Despite its deceptively simple premise, listening is a skill that demands diligent cultivation and unwavering commitment. Most are a long way from mastering it (myself included). Daryl Davis' remarkable feat of dissuading over 200 Klan members from their supremacist beliefs through the power of attentive listening serves as a poignant testament to its transformative potential. By transcending the confines of echo chambers and engaging with dissenting voices, we lay the groundwork for genuine understanding and constructive dialogue.
Over the last 15 years, significant developments have underscored the vital role of sustainability practitioners. Looking ahead, the next 15 years will likely bring both challenges and opportunities for innovation. By promoting collaboration, embracing diverse perspectives, and prioritising empathy we can collectively navigate the path ahead. The time to enact sustainable change is now; let's seize this opportunity.
Other Finding Nature News
Listen!
A decade long aspiration to be another white guy with a podcast has finally materialised. In these I want to go long form with the people who work around us who are seeking to transcend and transition the current paradigms we exist in.
The first three episodes are live and waiting for you to hit play if you’re a Spotify listener. Apple podcasts has a much longer approval process and unfortunately hasn’t made it in time for this first edition (I’ll keep you posted).
See who the first guests are here.
Launch!
Last night was remarkable - did it actually happen or am I in disbelief?
80 of Sydney’s wonderful sustainability and impact-focussed professionals put their faith in hearing more about Finding Nature, and they weren’t disappointed. The food and drinks were sensational, the conversations great and the workshopping treading that fine line between scary and imaginative.
Thank you to those who came.
Experiences!
Each month Finding Nature will be aiming to host 3-5 events that are designed to create memorable and meaningful experiences. Not a conference and not a meet up, but a range of formats in between that are interactive, challenging, nourishing and playful. They are about helping you to connect, share wisdom and come away rejuvenated.
Some of what to expect to see invitations to:
April 10 - Deceit, Apathy and Desperation - Addressing the Uncertain Harms of Artificial Intelligence
April 17 - Everything You Thought About Sustainability Communication Is Wrong - A Masterclass with a Global Advertising Guru
April 23 - Earth Day - Servicing Technologies to Help Regenerate Mother Nature
14 May - Climate Action Week - Balancing Citizenship & Professionalism
22 May - Sydney Writer’s Week - The Books That Shaped and Shape You
29 May - International Affairs, A Year of Elections and Speculations on The Future of Global Climate Politics with Bob Carr
A fellow nature boulder enthusiast and warrior, I found myself on the negative side of things this morning, wondering where my inspiration for the day would manifest. And here it is. Such brutally honest, vulnerable and relatable stories, which resonate to my core. To say the very least, I am inspired to pick up the mantle, find new ways to engage with my audience, and drive that change that I know we are all so passionate about. I can't wait for the next edition.
Inspiring stories of resilience and commitment. Finding paths forward in any field that is about systemic change require communities of interest, practice and action. And it’s exciting to see the seedlings of this one emerging. To quote Margaret Wheatley “whatever the problem, community is the answer”.