The 5 Types of Sustainable Change-Maker
Which one are you?
Hello change-maker!
We’re often given general advice about climate action. Change your diet. Drive less.
But this misses the real opportunity: each of us have unique strengths and interests that we can leverage to drive systems change towards sustainability.
After interviewing 122 professionals working in sustainability on the Green Urbanist podcast, I’ve noticed some patterns. Each of these change-makers are working in different contexts, at different scales and with different levels of influence. But the way they are influencing change falls into 5 general ‘change-maker types’.
I think anyone can jump into these roles and contribute to systems change. Take a look below and see which ones you resonate with.
The change-maker types are:
Champion and Coordinator
Those that champion sustainability within their organisations, bring people around the table, creates spaces for knowledge sharing and processes for implementing sustainability in projects.
(Examples: sustainability coordinators within organisations, community organisers, facilitators).
Researcher and Storyteller
Those that constantly learn and share their knowledge, inspire others to do sustainable work, create visions for the future and shift the narrative away from business-as-usual.
(Examples: writers, podcasters, academics, campaigners).
Topic Expert
Those that develop a deep understanding of their sustainability specialism and deliver huge value in their work.
(Examples: engineers, architects, consultants and other experts).
Innovator
Those that challenge the status quo, show new possibilities, champion novel ideas and create innovative solutions that can scale up.
(Examples: cutting edge practitioners, theorists, experimenters, inventors).
Systems Influencer
Those that collaborate to create new standards and targets for the wider industry, influence legislation and planning policy, and set new expectations for sustainability.
(Examples: those working in professional associations, NGOs and voluntary networks).
If you’d like a deeper exploration of this topic and to be guided through a framework for unlocking your unique role in climate action, it’s one of the modules in my course, Urban Sustainability Career Kickstart.
In the meantime, this week’s episode dives into these topics a bit deeper.
At Urbanism Now we're definitely aiming to be more the storytellers but personally I'm also aiming to have more local involvement and try to make the physical changes.
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