What’s On Our Radar: 09.25.26
Every other week, we share five links that made us think in our popular sustainable business briefing. Sign up here to get the next edition delivered straight to your inbox.
🧭 The Sustainability Double Bind — Higher Ground on Substack
Alison Taylor’s new Substack series on the changing nature of the sustainability profession perfectly captures so many of the sentiments I heard from in-house friends this week. Following a soul-stirring first installment on the grief and pragmatism that's required to work in this space, this second article interrogates the “party line” that was shared on stages across NYC this week: “Yes, the terminology has changed, political pressures are real, but under the hood, the work continues.” But does it? The reality, Alison argues, is much more complex. (16 minutes)
☔️ At Climate Week, Elmo recalls a storm on Sesame Street: ‘Courage is when you still help others’ — The Guardian
Elmo was one of the hottest tickets in town this Climate Week - which either means the climate conversation is getting brilliantly more creative or things in our space have gotten really, truly weird. Both/and, baby!!! The furry guy popped up at a sold-out Solutions House panel exploring the impact of extreme heat on children, with the conversation highlighting Sesame Workshop’s recent Storm on Sesame Street special featuring Post Malone. (3 minutes)
🎮 The Hit Video Games Sneaking in Climate Storylines — The Hollywood Reporter
What is an April article doing in my Climate Week roundup? At a separate Solutions House panel, Futerra founder (and new novelist) Solitaire Townsend, author Jo Piazza and Grist’s Tory Stephens explored the power of fiction and worldbuilding in driving climate action. The conversation about writing was fascinating, but the moment that caught the room’s attention was when Jo teasingly suggested turning Soli’s new book Godstorm into a video game. You could hear the collective gasp around the potential of this participatory medium, so I had to do more research into what’s happening in this space. There’s momentum here and there - but imagine what’d be possible with more? (9 minutes)
🪫 Gen Z Isn’t Checked Out. They’re Worn Out. — BBMG, Earth Guardians, GlobeScan, Culturas & Guru Media
Say the word “climate” and feelings of stress, urgency and overwhelm rise to the surface. But “nature”? Connection, awe, calm. This is just one insight from new research around the question: why are so many young people who care the most also the least likely to act? This "Gen Z dilemma" feels as present for my peers as it does for those starting out, and this analysis (anchored in a meaningful personal story from BBMG founder Raphael Bemporad) proposes a few answers… or at the very least, first steps on a path out of overwhelm. (10 minutes)
🌻 The Lost Art of Connecting — Susan McPherson
There’s a lot of networking happening during Climate Week. But connecting - really connecting? Much harder to come by. I was fortunate to be included in an intimate pre-Climate Week gathering co-hosted by Susan, known across the social impact space as a serial connector, and witness her approach to holding space firsthand. Her book, published in 2021, shares her “gather-ask-do” method for building meaningful relationships and is worth a read (or reread) before next Climate Week rolls around.