Selling sustainability
Incorporating marginalized services in mainstream projects
Sustainability has become a marketable buzzword. Yet in our prevailing capitalist and extractive global order, profit often takes precedence over human and ecological well-being. To resist this imbalance, environmental advocates must embed their expertise within the very systems that perpetuate the harm. Working from within—not simply outside—is essential.
Serving Everyone—Especially the Overlooked
Stream restoration, parks, and recreational spaces are magnets for environmental professionals. These are vital efforts, but they tend to attract attention already. Meanwhile, the greatest ecological harm often originates from sectors like energy and technology—industries that seldom bear proportionate responsibility for the damage they cause. Environmental professionals must deliberately direct their services toward these high-impact sectors. Whether by renegotiating contracts, embedding sustainability standards into procurement processes, or leveraging governmental and legal pressure, the focus must shift toward holding the most destructive players accountable.
Strengthening Teams, Not Starting Over
Rather than obsess over building idealized “green teams,” we should prioritize upskilling existing ones. The most effective approach is to embed sustainability knowledge into teams with established trust and institutional memory. Long-standing relationships are difficult to replicate; guiding and equipping existing teams with proven sustainable practices offers a scalable, realistic path forward. Creating new teams for each initiative may sound ideal—but in practice, it is slower, more expensive, and often disconnected from power structures where change must occur.
Programs not Projects
To truly make an impact, sustainability services must move beyond project-based work toward programmatic, long-term engagements. Projects may appeal to professional interests, but when each one ends with the client relationship, the cycle restarts—and that reset is costly in both time and trust. Building a stable client base that not only funds the work but provides a consistent pipeline of opportunities is essential. Programs that integrate sustainability into ongoing operations are more durable and more influential than one-off interventions.
