"Have you quit working in sustainability?"
Earth Day topics: career change edition.
Hi there!
I’m writing this on the crisp morning of April 22nd, also known as Earth Day. Over the past years spent primarily in sustainability communications, April was the biggest month in terms of client work - there were campaigns to prepare, scripts to write or edit, brochures to proofread, events to moderate or attend…
… there was - still is 🤦🏼♀️ - also *a lot* of greenwashing to spot online, and it pains me every year to see many big polluters pedal “green” initiatives around this time of year.
Usually, only around the big environmental holidays.
Usually, only with a compartmentalized approach where they boast about their (usually minor) sustainability initiative and try to remove the spotlight from their (usually major) contributions to the rapidly deteriorating state of our planet.
This topic was one of my focus points for years.
And then I decided to close down my communications consultancy and shift to a new industry.
Naturally, many people asked me the following question: “Does this mean you’ve quit sustainability?”.
What better day to answer this question than Earth Day, right?
Here’s the thing: it’s 2024. It’s time to redefine “working in/on sustainability”.
Earlier this month, you might have seen media titles on how the United Nation’s Climate Chief Simon Stiell said that we humans have two years to take action to avert far worse climate change.
In other words, here’s what we need to do as a collective, with all our governments, businesses, financing mechanisms, and other homo sapiens creations:
Due to a need that’s so severe that using the adjective “severe” is actually me putting it lightly, I believe that every.single.job. must become a climate-aligned job.
The way I see it, we are a short period away from there not being a thing called “a green job” anymore - the main groups I see will be “climate-aligned” and “climate-deteriorating” industries/positions.
Why? Because there is no such broad thing as “an expert on sustainability” - that’s currently an umbrella for a plethora of experts on subjects like biology, oceanography, environmental protection, urban planning, waste management, systems thinking, green materials, agriculture…
… and the diversity of occupations under this umbrella must continually grow until it encompasses every industry there is and we phase out those that can’t be there (*I’m looking at you, fossil fuels*).
Everything else must align with the planetary boundaries. It’s not a question of whether someone likes it - it is a logical business move on a planet with a finite amount of resources and it has nothing to do with someone’s value system.
Here’s an example of how I see it:
A communications expert working with sustainability non-profits, using ethical and respectable techniques to help them advocate for a kinder way of living on our Earth? A climate-aligned job.
A communications expert helping big polluters increase sales and get some of that “we’re a responsible business” messaging out, knowing (and not caring) that it isn’t the whole story? Oh hell no, that’s a climate-deteriorating job right there.
This is the way I look at things.
With all that being said, let’s come back to that question we opened today’s chat with: "Have you quit working in sustainability, Andjela?".
Here’s the answer: No. I’ve quit working in communications. I’m learning the ropes of a new industry and a new position. And I’m gonna do my best to be the best, most climate-aligned version of a professional in that industry that is doable to me, year after year. And yes, that is going to take some time but I am okay with that.
An important point I’d like to make
Remember how I said that all jobs need to become climate-aligned jobs?
Here’s why that matters when you’re making a move to a previously unexplored industry: you can choose the sustainability-driven approach to your career choice even in that new field.
I’m generally a chatty introvert. I like to write and no one has to hold me at gunpoint for me to accept a gig related to public speaking, event moderating, giving a lecture, or something similar. I believe I’m good at teaching and consulting.
But things we’re good at and things that we’re energized by are not necessarily in the same bucket. I learned that the “trial & error” way.
I found my energy being depleted by the work I was doing not because it didn’t matter to me - quite contrary, it mattered so much that my values and my drive usually didn’t match my energy reserves. It was because I chose a way too extroverted way to work on sustainability-related projects.
It took me WAY TOO LONG to realize that the problem wasn’t that I needed to “suck it up” and that things would get easier eventually.
I learned that I needed to find a way to work on what mattered to me in a way that felt safe for a totality of Andjela Boskovic, not just for my communications-related talents.
So here we are. 🙂
The Career Pivot Diaries are essentially about me looking for that alternative. I’m sure that this will turn out to be as much of a “trial & error” process as everything I did before was.
My reading wishlist is filled with titles like “Building Green Software” and “Sustainable Web Design” that I can’t wait to dive into.
If the diversity of my work endeavors has taught me something, it’s that it won’t be long before I get to a place where I can work on what I find important from a new angle.
So this Earth Day, I invite you to consider what is the relationship between your job description and your industry, and the state of the environment.
Try typing “sustainability” or “green” and then the title of your industry into LinkedIn search to see who are the big content creators exploring the connections between what you do and the planet.
Follow them. Expose yourself to new ideas.
Whatever it is that you are doing, imagine yourself as doing a climate-aligned job.
See how it feels. See what pops up as a “must address” issue in order for you to feel like that description fits your job.
As cheesy as it sounds, we really only got this one home.
May we grow into being proper stewards of it, hopefully sooner than later.
Your fellow Earthling,
Andjela
🌍
Welcome to the Career Pivot Diaries where I chronicle my journey from sustainability communications to QA testing! This is where we’ll cover all things career change, such as going from entrepreneurship to 9-to-5, exploring new professional identities, and *finally* updating that dusty CV. Most importantly, we’ll explore how to see ourselves as more than our work and find a sense of safety in choosing a new path while allowing room for creative play.
If you could use a boost in career change endeavors of your own, subscribe to receive a new article straight to your inbox each week!