DeepSummary
The episode explores ways for people to take climate action through their professional lives and workplaces. Amanda Souter shares her journey from working in the oil and gas industry to transitioning into a role helping Los Angeles transition away from fossil fuels. Despite initial struggles finding her place in climate work, she was able to make the transition with help from an online climate school called Terra.do and building community with like-minded professionals.
The hosts discuss the importance of democratizing climate action within organizations, rather than relying solely on designated sustainability teams. Jamie Alexander from Project Drawdown highlights how employees across all job functions can contribute to their company's climate efforts through actions like advocating for sustainable policies, greening retirement plans, and pushing executive leadership.
The episode emphasizes that almost any job can be a climate job, whether directly climate-related or not. It provides examples of people who have transformed their existing careers, like a real estate professional focusing on sustainable buildings and an elementary school teacher working to electrify schools. The key is finding ways to apply your skills and role to climate solutions.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Almost any job or career can be oriented towards climate action, whether directly climate-focused or not.
- Building community and finding like-minded people is key when trying to transition into climate work or drive change within an organization.
- Employees across all job functions and levels can contribute to their company's sustainability efforts through actions like advocacy, policy changes, operational shifts, etc.
- Climate work within corporations could potentially help transition beyond the current capitalist system towards more sustainable, worker-driven models.
- People from diverse backgrounds and skill sets can find ways to apply their talents and interests towards climate solutions.
- Online education programs and communities can provide training and support for professionals looking to enter the climate space.
- Democratizing climate action across an entire workforce, rather than relegating it to a small sustainability team, can drive broader organizational change.
- Making personal career changes is possible even after many years in a different, contradictory industry like fossil fuels.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I've heard stories of like, a fleet manager at a big tech company who literally worked in the garage where all of the company's cars were. And he ran a back of the napkin calculation around how much cheaper it would be for the company to switch over their fleet to electric vehicles and got that eventually into the hands of the CFO and they ended up switching over their fleet to electric vehicles and installing charging infrastructure.“ by Jamie Alexander
- “Employees across the company want to contribute more and more and have emotion about climate change and feel like they want to bring it into their jobs and not have to leave and go work for a climate nonprofit, but, like, do it from where they are.“ by Jamie Alexander
- “Every skill set, whether you're in tech, whether you're in fashion, even if you don't have a degree, if you like to garden, if you like to teach, like, there's opportunities.“ by Amanda Souter
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Episode Information
A Matter of Degrees
Dr. Leah Stokes, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson
9/29/22