We Need to Act

Can we find different and better ways to relate to one another? What can traditional Ojibwe teachings tell us about our place on Earth, the interconnectedness of things and beings, our responsibility for future generations, sharing, and living in community? On today’s episode, I welcomed Anton Treuer, Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and author of many books. His equity, education, and cultural work have put him on a path of service around the United States and the world.

We don’t often talk about it, but it isn’t possible to separate spirituality from sustainability because spiritual or religious beliefs about creation shape attitudes and behaviors about sustainability, the natural world, and issues such as future generations, health, and environmental protection.  On today’s episode, I welcomed a special guest, Asha Frost, an Indigenous (Ojibwe) healer, best-selling author, speaker, and guide, to discuss the interconnection between spirituality and sustainability.

Bienvenidos y bienvenidas a este primer episodio en español, el primero de muchos en este idioma, para que este podcast pueda llegar a más personas. Estoy muy feliz de poder compartir este espacio con ustedes y abrazar este nuevo desafío.  Nos estamos acercando a la Cumbre de Biodiversidad 2024, más conocida como COP 16 - o Conferencia de las Partes que es el espacio de discusión y negociación más importante del Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica de las Naciones Unidas (CDB). Este año se celebrará entre el 21 de octubre y el 1 de noviembre en la ciudad colombiana de Cali. Este es un marco muy importante para Colombia y un reto para todos los países, por eso este año el eslogan es “Paz con la Naturaleza”. Se trata de un llamamiento a la reflexión para mejorar la relación que tenemos con el medio ambiente y para que repensemos un modelo económico que no priorice la extracción, sobreexplotación y contaminación de la naturaleza.  Por eso, hoy, les invito a escuchar a una persona muy especial, que está haciendo un trabajo maravilloso en la Amazonía, Julio Andrés Rozo, cofundador y Director de Estrategia y Restauración de Amazonía Emprende. Sabe más sobre Amazonía Emprende: https://www.amazoniaemprende.com

This week, we are participating in a festival dedicated to promoting sustainability and sustainable behaviors in Portugal, the Greenfest, and we decided to have a special episode to highlight the importance of small changes in our daily lives that can make a huge difference, like slight nudges in our behaviors. Find out what nudging is and how it can be used in sustainability with our guest, Marta Santos Silva, a PhD in Law and currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Research Centre for Justice and Governance at the University of Minho. She completed executive training in Behavioral Economics and Nudging at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and served on the EC’s Expert Group on Liability and New Technologies. She is a Council member of the European Law Institute and contributes to the Sustainability and Environmental Law and Digital Law Special Interest Groups. She was commissioned to author the ELI Innovation Paper ‘Framework for Good Green Nudging,’ forthcoming in 2024. She is also the Founder of the ecotrepreneurship project "consumo.essencial" in Instagram, which aims at fostering minimalist consumption patterns. Visit the Greenfest website: https://greenfest.pt/?lang=en

In previous episodes, we mentioned the complexity, vagueness, and amplitude of the sustainability concept and how it shapes how we communicate, especially regarding climate change, a more distant, almost intangible phenomenon. In our previous episode, I talked about its concept, and in today's episode, I welcome Eleanor Ross, a journalist and author of the book "Communicating Climate: How to Transmit Your Climate Message and Avoid Greenwashing" to discuss climate communication and its relevance for organizations.

The subject of today’s episode needs no introduction. It has been in the spotlight for many years, with increased visibility after 2015 with the Paris Agreement, bragging in corporate strategies, and increased policies. But despite the talk, for many years, it was almost an intangible, distant concept whose impacts were not visible, at least not for the non-scientific community. But those impacts have been increasing and are now more clear than ever, with temperatures hitting records, floods in many parts of the globe, wildfires, and so on. So, despite the talk, action has not been enough to tackle this crisis. Can you guess? Indeed, we are going to talk about climate change. Sources:  Maslin, Mark (2014). Climate Change: A Very Short Introduction.  London: Oxford University Press https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change https://www.slvwd.com/sites/g/files/vyhlif1176/f/uploads/item_10b_4.pdf https://climate.ec.europa.eu/climate-change/consequences-climate-change_en https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/05/climate-crisis-health-malaria-alzheimers/ https://theconversation.com/the-world-is-not-moving-fast-enough-on-climate-change-social-sciences-can-help-explain-why-218091 https://www.cmu.edu/gelfand/lgc-educational-media/succeed/climate-environment-lesson-plans/bathtub-model.html

There was a time when we looked into nature to find answers. Nowadays, we look into nature to find resources. The awe and respect we once had have now given place to a disconnected world, and the challenges we face are leading to eco-anxiety feelings. In this episode, we welcome Oliver Dauert. He is a LinkedIn Top Green Voice & passionate biodiversity builder. In his role, he leads the strategy and business execution of the start-up Wyldia but has previously worked in the travel tech, mobility tech, e-commerce & non-profit industries.

Saving our planet is now a communication challenge because communicating is a way of building strong communities. But to do so, we must have a common understanding of how we ended up here and where we are going. How can we do that? We need to regenerate the way we have been communicating. In this episode, Jean-Philippe Steeger discusses regenerative communication and new ways of communicating sustainability through unique storytelling.

Climate change is exacerbating many existing challenges, including gender inequality. Did you know that it is not gender-neutral? It affects more women than men but also vulnerable groups, such as children, people of color, and indigenous, to name a few. In today’s episode, we welcome Giulia Marzetti, a young leader recognized internationally for her achievements as a consultant, project manager, and policy officer in sustainable transport, energy storage, and tech applied to cities and industries. She is a TEDx Speaker, is among the Top 50 women in ESG by the Financial Times, and has worked as a European Commission Project and Policy officer, responsible for a multimillion euros portfolio of sustainable innovation projects in Europe fostering the green transition. If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit www.weneedtoact.org.

Do you know what it takes to become a leader for change in a challenging world? Today, we will find out through the inspiring talk with Dr. Cathy Sorbara, a neuroscientist who worked for ten years as a researcher in Canada and Germany studying neurodegenerative diseases and who, after experiencing Antarctica, did a drastic career shift having worked for start-ups and the non-profit sectors in several leadership roles, including Greenpeace International, where she specialized in governance and strategic planning. If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠.

Who hasn’t heard about biodiversity? A mighty term that encapsulates the variety of life on Earth and its interactions, in all its forms from genes and bacteria to entire ecosystems such as forests or coral reefs. But despite the increasing public discussion around the topic in the past decade, it is still too little to amount to its importance for our survival.  If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠. Some resources: Biodiversity (nationalgeographic.org) Biodiversity - our strongest natural defense against climate change | United Nations Institut für Biodiversität: Biodiversity Origin of the Term Biodiversity | BioScience | Oxford Academic (oup.com) WWF Living Planet Report: Devastating 69% drop in wildlife populations since 1970 | WWF https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/09/what-are-biodiversity-hotspots/ https://www.cbd.int/article/cop15-final-text-kunming-montreal-gbf-221222

In this first episode, I will briefly discuss the difference between sustainability and sustainable development and their origins. Although those concepts have been used interchangeably as synonyms, they have distinct meanings. Let's find out! If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠.

Did you know there are two distinct approaches to sustainability? A strong sustainability and a weak sustainability. As we discussed previously, the concept of sustainability is not consensual, and part also because there is no agreement regarding the assets we should leave for future generations. Learn more on this episode. If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠.

Does talking about climate change make you worry? Do you feel anxious and avoid talking about it? Are you afraid of apocalyptic scenarios? That feeling has many names: eco or climate anxiety, environmental distress, ecological grief, and many more, and is a type of distress caused by the awareness and feeling of the existential threat imposed by climate change. If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠.

Are you familiar with the acronym ESG? It stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, and is a very popular term nowadays, also very controversial, especially in the corporate world. It is also often used to refer to sustainability, yet they mean different things. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, stay tuned as I will explain what ESG is and its main challenges, and if you already know, you can also stay with us, as you might learn some new stuff.  If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠.

In the first episode of 2024, I will raise awareness of an essential yet challenging topic: our responsibility to the seventh generation or what we define as intergenerational justice. It is related to our capacity for long-term thinking and planning for the benefit of future generations. In a few words, what will be our legacy for those who will come after us? If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠.

Christmas nears, and we are all engaged in the spirit of the most magical season of the year! A season of love, light, family, and, of course, gifts, plenty of gifts. Commercials are all over, filling our heads with nonsense desires and a lust for wasteful spending. What better time to talk about the importance of Conscious Consumption in the path towards #sustainability? If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠.

Greenwashing is not a new phenomenon, but with the sustainability marathon and increasing regulation, companies are pushed to communicate more about their initiatives and actions and want to build a positive image amongst their stakeholders. However, that positive image is often misleading as it contrasts with their organizational structure. Let's learn more! If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠.

This 3rd episode is part two of our previous discussion about sustainable development. It focuses on the characteristics of the concept that make it hard to implement and communicate while also providing some suggestions on how to approach the subject. If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠.

Following the first episode about the difference between the concepts of Sustainability and Sustainable Development, today we will dive deeper into the meaning of Sustainable Development. If you want to know more about the podcast, please visit ⁠www.weneedtoact.org⁠.