Impact Interview: Mike Tannenbaum

Name: Mike Tannenbaum

Role/Function: Director, Sustainability Solutions, GreenBlue

What are you working on these days?

I’ve been focused on bolstering recycled content in packages by understanding how consumers think about recycled materials and then educating on the benefits of using recycled materials. I’m also onboarding our first Executive Director to Circular Philadelphia and working to further connect Philadelphia's sustainability-centric businesses and entrepreneurs in the region.

Overall, I’m envisioning the next chapter of my career and looking for where I can further scale my impact.

What was the “aha” moment that sparked your interest in social and environmental impact? 

I've always wanted businesses to be better and have read the books and explored the fields where I can help them do that. My early career was not impact-focused — it was focused on finding work I was good at that would help me pay my bills. After becoming close friends with another couple working in climate and sustainability I learned it was possible to combine impact and earnings. When my first kiddo was born in 2020 I decided to go seek work in "climate", whatever that meant, and it's been a journey ever since!

How did you break into the impact space? What career advice would you give to professionals who are just starting out or looking to transition?

I put myself out there online and took every conversation I could get. This led me to apply for a job that I didn't get, but was able to springboard into a conversation with the CEO about the organization's needs. This then led to creating a role dedicated to organizational effectiveness within the recycling and materials management space. I'll take the opportunity to remind folks that the world is rarely black or white, binary or zero-sum. If you're presented two doors into a place and both are closed, how might you find the third way in? Sometimes you're not a fit for one role but you can bring your skill set to another problem the organization has. I've done it many times, though it's always a challenge.

Working in impact is often about driving change. What is the skill or trait that has been most important for your work as a change agent? How did you learn or hone it?

Without a doubt I'd say relationship building, which some people might call stakeholder engagement. Learn to communicate well. Learn to understand your audience and their needs, wants and motivations. Learn how to wrap your message to them in a clear, concise and compelling way. Learn to build buy-in and alignment. Learn how to help people achieve clarity. I'd say that a close second is endless curiosity, which has always served me well. Ask questions nobody else is asking. Challenge the status quo. Understand why things are the way they are — and how might you change them? Be kind the whole time. Impact work is a team sport.

What most excites you about the impact space right now?

Wow where to start?!! There is so much excitement in the sustainable packaging space, though this is certainly countered by the air being taken out of the sails from the current U.S. administration. Sustainability is becoming a compliance issue in many parts of the country (thanks EPR!). Meanwhile, corporate spending is also largely on hold as businesses work to retain their cash, forego investments in new machinery and services and reallocate resources to help them survive the economic tailwinds that have unnecessarily been thrown our way. Outside of that, the emergence of AI within the materials space is fascinating, as it’s enabling data gathering in ways never before possible. That leads to making better, more data-informed strategic planning decisions.

This season, our Impact Interviews series features members of the Change Hub, our membership community for busy sustainable business professionals. Tap into trainings, tools and a trusted network of fellow impact practitioners (including Mike!) by JOINING US HERE.