WHO  WE  SERVE

Our ideal client is a sustainability change agent in a leadership role at their company. They’re influential, respected and well-liked inside and outside their business. They’re not afraid to take risks. They want to achieve big things by fostering lasting positive change, so they’re looking for guidance on strategy, initiatives and alliances. They want to achieve fiscally responsible sustainability outcomes that also enhance operational and financial outcomes.

If they come from a mid-size organization, they’re likely a C-Suite leader tasked with sustainability goals in addition to other responsibilities. They’re often COOs or a leader who deeply understands their business. If they come from a large organization, they’ve probably been an effective departmental or team leader for at least a decade. They’re looking to make incremental changes that will have a huge impact on ESG initiatives.

Our ideal clients usually have a strong personal connection to nature. As a child, they may have had a special place where they felt at one with the environment. They may view themselves as caring steward of both place and the people connected to those places. They’re also keen to see a diversity of people advance in their careers, specifically within their industry and the field of sustainability.

Our Ideal Clients’ Top Six Goals

1. Get clarity on the role, charter and anticipated outcomes of being a sustainability leader. They want to get alignment with other executives about what success looks like for their role. They want to identify short-term initiatives that are high-impact and get buy-in from others. They also want to develop a long-term roadmap that outlines, by phases, on what sustainability initiatives they should accomplish at their company.
2. Influence the mindset, values and decision-making of executives at their organization to set a new direction. As a leader at their company, they want to educate, persuade and align other leaders to focus on sustainability and long-term change. They know that for them to achieve their goals, they must enroll other powerful people at their company. They also want to promote the values and outcomes of sustainability to the senior-most ranks at their business.
3. Find a guide who can help them become a positive disruptor in their organization. Given how new their role is and rapid changes related to ESG and sustainability, they want a guide. They want the guide to help them assess risks, establish priorities, plan budgets and then report outcomes to stakeholders. They want a long-term partner who can help them maximize each initiative, so that they increase political capital and credibility.
4. Successfully execute numerous targeted initiatives that, when put together, equal big positive change. Because ESG and sustainability can be overwhelming, they want to pick several strategic initiatives that are high-impact and knock them out of the park. They know that long-term change can only come about incrementally. They are committed to doing each of the critical steps at a high level, with a commitment to excellence.
5. Effect meaningful and long-term sustainability change for their organization. Because they see themselves as a change agent, they have big dreams for their role. They see opportunity where others only see problems. They are confident in their ability to effect change, even when the path forward is not always clear. They are hungry to effect meaningful change.
6. Enhance their organization’s social license to operate. They know that we now live in an age when viral social media posts and activist groups can undermine a company’s brand in a matter of minutes. They also recognize that performative-only efforts ring hollow with people who want to see real change. They want to make meaningful public commitments, do the work to fulfill them and then communicate outcomes to a broad array of stakeholder groups.

Common Elements of Our Ideal Clients’ Organizations

Our clients typically work for Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies that are in resource dependent industries and for public agencies that are entrusted to steward environmental resources. These are the common elements of organizations that we support:

• Makes public claims and commitments relating to environmental stewardship and sustainability
• Directly owns and/or manages significant and diverse environmental assets
• Invests in environmental restoration (for compliance and/or reputational benefit purposes)
• Faces highly complex environmental and business conflict issues around land use, stakeholder and community relations, and regulatory compliance
• Desires strategic advisement about sustainability and stewardship issues beyond their in-house expertise