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Sammy-Jo LiefveldWe need more positive conversations about sustainability to feel empowered, motivated, and confident about the changes we can make towards a better world.
Powering individual impact
Over the summer, I took some time to reflect on the daily choices I make and their impact on my journey to a sustainable world. Like many of us, I felt both proud of my conscious decisions, such as buying eco-friendly groceries and reducing waste, and conflicted by the choices that didn’t align with my sustainability values, like booking a flight in the absence of good train connections to visit friends. This introspection made me realize how we often view sustainability through a negative lens, emphasizing what we haven’t done well, resulting in guilt and frustration, instead of fostering enthusiasm and hope for positive change. Conversations I had with others made me realize how we often see ourselves as powerless to make a change in the bigger scheme of things, making us feel out of control rather than motivated to make a change.
We need confidence, not guilt
Feeling bad about our choices is not helping us make lasting changes in our lives and drive positive change. We need to feel empowered, motivated, and confident about the changes we can make towards a better world. And we need to have more positive conversations about this to ignite the same feelings with others.
Therefore, I decided to create a collection of ways we as individuals can make an impact. For me personally, it helped to see my options and the broader perspective to make a more focused plan and feel motivated.
This is not to say that this is a checklist or a roadmap of how you should live your life. Or even worse, a way of measuring and comparing with others. See it more as a menu of options to evaluate and reflect on: Where do I feel motivated to make a change? Excited to do more of the good things I have already started? Or keen to talk about the things I found useful?
Impact can take many forms
As individuals, we play multiple roles in our lives, each representing unique opportunities to make a difference. Whether you are a consumer, employee, parent, family member, friend, investor, voter, or volunteer, you have the power to influence positive change in many ways. Seeing this wide variety of perspectives may give you some inspiration on where you want to act.
Figure 1: Individual impact through the lens of our roles in life
Footprint, handprint, and climate shadow
When talking about sustainability, our ecological “footprint” has become a widely known term to indicate the negative impacts of our decisions. Actions that reduce our footprint are about reducing the number of global hectares we need for our consumption behaviors[1].
Ex-Unilever-CEO Paul Polman introduces the term “handprint” in addition: the actions and decisions, such as planting trees or doing volunteer work, that contribute to a positive impact on both the environment and our society[2].
Environmental scientist Katharine Hayhoe takes it a step further. In her opinion, the footprint and handprint take too much of an assumption that everything can be measured. In her opinion, it is also important to look at your “climate shadow” – the actions that can’t be measured precisely, but impact and influence people in a climate-positive way[3]. “Think of your climate shadow as this shape stretching out behind you. Wherever you go, it goes too.” It tallies not just the energy you consume or have saved, but all actions and words that contribute to amplifying urgency through influencing others. Your climate shadow recognizes that your actions ripple beyond yourself. As we embark on our sustainability journey, our choices and conversations with others can inspire and influence those around us. Leading by example is a powerful tool to ignite positive change in your social circles and beyond.
So, when thinking of ways to make a positive difference, we have multiple ways to doing that:
Figure 2: three ways to make an impact
An intentional sustainability plan
Combining the various perspectives we can take, with the different ways we can make an impact, we can build our personal sustainability plan to make a difference that matters to us. Here’s a simple set of steps to follow to get started.
- Create clarity on your motivations: Think about what you find important in life, for yourself, your family, your environment, or your passion. This needs to be something simple, something that will remind you why you want to do this.
- Define Your Goals: Identify the aspects of your life where you believe you can make the most meaningful change. Is it reducing about single-use plastic, supporting ethical businesses, travelling less, or advocating for renewable energy? Clearly define your goals, envisioning what success looks like for you.
- Actions and Choices: From the roles you fulfil as a consumer, employee, parent, etc., brainstorm actions and choices that align with your goals. Explore eco-friendly products, initiate conversations about sustainability at work, support green initiatives as a family, or invest in sustainable companies.
- Claim Your Space: Taking the first steps can be daunting but remember that every journey begins with a single step. Try out new habits and integrate sustainable choices into your daily life. Embrace a growth mindset, accepting that progress is more important than perfection.
- Reflect and Celebrate: Pause and assess your progress periodically. Celebrate the actions you've taken and the positive conversations you've had. Reflecting on your achievements builds the confidence needed to keep moving forward and striving to reach your goals.
I’d like to end with a reminder (also for myself), that it's not about perfection or following a rigid plan; it's about acknowledging the choices we have and taking meaningful steps towards a better world. We can embrace the various roles we play in life, and let them become catalysts for positive change.
[1]https://www.footprintnetwork.org/our-work/ecological-footprint/
[2]https://hbr.org/2021/09/the-net-positive-manifesto
[3]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/10/katharine-hayoe-climate-change-interview
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