Over 200 episodes taught me more than 25 years of consulting"

We have recorded 208 episodes of the Sustainability Solved podcast. Over 20,000 followers. Guests from every corner of the climate space. And the thing that changed my thinking most was not a guest. It was a pattern.

When we started the podcast, I expected to learn about new technologies, new regulations, new frameworks. And we did. But the pattern that kept coming back, episode after episode, was this: the organisations making the most progress on climate were not the ones with the biggest budgets or the most ambitious targets. They were the ones that treated their people with empathy.

We could be much more empathetic to how hard this is for businesses. Proving people wrong, shaming them for not acting fast enough, making them feel stupid for not knowing what Scope 3 means: none of that drives action. It drives defensiveness.

The oil and gas industry learned from the tobacco industry's playbook. They spent decades sowing doubt. And our response, too often, was to respond with frustration instead of understanding.

After 25 years and 500+ organisations, the single most effective thing we can do is listen first, then help. Not lecture, not judge, not score points. Just help.

That is why we built our model at 51toCarbonZero around named Climate Success Managers, not faceless dashboards. Because the transition is ultimately a human one.

What has changed your approach to talking about sustainability with people who are not yet engaged?

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