Why Are You Passionate About Environmental Sustainability?
From travel inspiring sustainability advocacy to an Amazon journey fueling eco-friendly mission, ten dedicated professionals, including CEOs and founders, share their personal motivations behind their passion for environmental sustainability.
- Travel Inspiring Sustainability Advocacy
- Creating a Positive World Through Sustainability
- Business Planning with a Sustainable Focus
- Business Waste Realization Spurring Action
- Acting on Climate Change for Humanity
- Applying Hiking Principles to Business Sustainability
- Dedicating a Career to Sustainable Business
- Finding Entrepreneurial Responsibility for Environmental Action
- Guiding Organizations to Sustainable Practices
- Amazon Journey Fueling Eco-Friendly Mission
Travel Inspiring Sustainability Advocacy
Most people spend their time at work, and many are not particularly thrilled with their jobs. I, on the other hand, never dream of work. Instead, I dream of traveling. I want to explore Earth and marvel at all it offers. I work to earn plane tickets.
Traveling pushes me out of my comfort zone, which is where I feel most alive. It inspires me to push the limits, and there’s something powerful about chasing adventures as they unfold and sharing new and meaningful experiences with others.
Whether it’s a majestic mountain or a serene sandy oasis, it’s always disheartening to see signs of disrespect towards our planet.
Plastic pollution hampers the ability of our ecosystems to adapt to climate change and directly impacts all life, our food systems, and our collective well-being.
The more I travel, the more I recognize that our world needs significant attention. In my role as a Sustainability Consultant, I educate people on how to turn their waste into resources through recycling and composting initiatives.
Samantha Nieman
Sustainability Consultant, Hillside Solutions
Creating a Positive World Through Sustainability
I’m passionate about environmental sustainability because I want to protect nature, support strained ecosystems, and create a more positive world. Humans have quite literally changed the face of the world.
Unfortunately, we’re seeing the consequences of that rapid change through more and more extreme climate events. The world we inhabit is special and unique. Not just that, but it sustains us. We rely on nature and a stable environment. For this reason, we need to work with the environment and not against it.
I started Tiny Eco to share knowledge and inspire others to live more sustainably—whether this is by making better everyday choices at home or supporting ethical companies. My goal is to use my platform to shine a light on causes I care about. Small, positive steps compound over time—that’s my belief. I aim to educate and help people live more in harmony with the environment and create a better world for tomorrow.
Ben Hardman
Founder, Tiny Eco
Business Planning with a Sustainable Focus
Doing business in 2023 means putting environmental sustainability at the forefront of your planning processes—a fact that suits me just fine, as I find it to be among the most important factors that should be guiding our decision-making. It is the longest of long-term views that we can engage with the actions we take today.
Without it, we’re going to be left with some fairly big issues in the not-so-distant future, so I have always felt that putting in the effort to do what I can is the least I can do.
Onno Halsema
CEO, Contentoo
Business Waste Realization Spurring Action
Being a business owner means opening your eyes to the massive amount of waste each and every company produces. It’s not hard to realize the effect a conglomerate one hundred times your size must be having on the environment; all you need to do is take a look at the dumpster outside your office.
And while making better choices at home is one thing, it’s truly a drop in the bucket compared to industry. Contributing to this, even as a mid-sized business, is disheartening. It’s driven me to make decisions to lessen our waste. A few bad choices add up fast when you have dozens of employees.
If I truly believe that capitalism can align itself with environmental responsibility (and I do), owning my own business means I now have a chance to prove it day to day.
Rob Reeves
CEO and President, Redfish Technology
Acting on Climate Change for Humanity
Personally, I’m passionate about the environment because climate change will affect all of us. It’s in the best interest of mankind to reduce emissions and work on eco-friendly solutions to mitigate damage to the environment.
It’s a good cause that is backed by rigorous scientific research, and we have to act fast. Ignoring the problem, or worse yet—denying it—can only harm everyone’s chances of having a comfortable and livable planet down the road.
Cillian Reynolds
Managing Director, CBD Oil Ireland
Applying Hiking Principles to Business Sustainability
Mostly because I would like to keep living on this planet for a long, long time into the future. Levity aside, it really does form the cornerstone of good business practices and good practices in life as a whole.
I’ve always been a fan of the hiking mantra “carry in what you carry out,” which I try to apply to environmental sustainability practices wherever possible—like maintaining carbon neutrality. A lot of it is an adjustment, but not as big of an imposition as some would have you believe, and I think doing our part is important.
Dragos Badea
CEO, Yarooms
Dedicating a Career to Sustainable Business
One of my top priorities when working for different businesses over my career has always been environmental sustainability. I believe it’s important for businesses to do what they can to offset their environmental footprint and even help the environment if they can. They are essentially the ones creating the products, after all, and that means that if they get big enough, they could end up doing a lot of damage to our planet if they’re not careful.
One of the things that appealed to me when I found Oxygen Plus was their values when it came to sustainability. It was even part of the application process to discuss sustainability initiatives and how I thought they could improve. Since I joined the team, we frequently look at what’s possible, where we can improve our sustainability practices, and what might change in the future. And to me, that’s one of the most exciting aspects of my job.
Lauren Carlstrom
COO, Oxygen Plus
Finding Entrepreneurial Responsibility for Environmental Action
I am a serial entrepreneur with kids, so if I don’t take it seriously and pursue it as hard as I can, then who will? This is a mindset that I hope is shared by many other business leaders, especially the younger generation who will have to shoulder the impact of a changing climate.
While individual actions, or even the actions of small businesses like my own, may be a drop in the bucket against what is being done on a global scale, I like to think that enough drops can make a difference.
Kate Kandefer
CEO, SEOwind
Guiding Organizations to Sustainable Practices
As a sustainability consultant and educator, I find fulfillment in guiding organizations toward sustainable practices. It’s more than a job to me; it’s a rooted desire to make a positive impact. My passion for sustainability is personal. I believe in living a life that respects and preserves our natural world for future generations.
The field of sustainability is ever-evolving, and staying at the forefront of sustainable technology and practices is exhilarating. I thrive on the challenge of adapting to and embracing new sustainable solutions.
Josh Prigge
Principal and Sustainability Consultant, Sustridge
Amazon Journey Fueling Eco-Friendly Mission
One experience that has profoundly shaped my passion for the environment occurred during my travels in South America, where I visited a virgin area of the Amazon rainforest. Being lucky enough to explore an ancient jungle that was completely untouched by human development left me with a real perspective on why we need to protect and preserve our natural environment.
For me, environmental sustainability is about reconnecting with nature as much as it’s about the advancement of technology and culture. We’re responsible for creating a more equitable and sustainable planet for future generations, and I believe that even the smallest efforts will leave a lasting impact.
I channel my passion for sustainability into my website, which aims to encourage others to adopt eco-friendly alternatives in their daily lives. I find it really empowering to know that I’m inspiring others to make sustainable choices.
Omar Agor-Wood
Founder, Pick Ethical
Submit Your Answer
Would you like to submit an alternate answer to the question, “Why are you passionate about environmental sustainability?”