Bella, Where Have You Been Loca?

I haven’t actually seen Twilight - though it’s on the ever-growing list, but I am enough of a Kristen Stewart fan to know this line and of course have not been in your inbox in a while.

From some spammy subscribers and issues to other professional needs, I have been unable to send out a newsletter in too long. And, as I have long discussed, I am grappling with the best way to share with you all and others my work in a way that best aligns with my intentions and needs as well.

Where I’m Writing

As such, I am excited to share a few pieces I have written for other publications:

First, Keep Cool, a just incredible publication I have read for a few years now yesterday published a piece of mine called Untapped Potential which details much of my work in senior living and commercial real estate water efficiency. It would not have been possible without the amazing Nick van Osdol. He gathered data that I think we should all be aware of: yes AI and ChatGPT use a ton of water and energy. But the water use of that energy use - yes very meta - may be more important and while we should be diligent in our usage, one hamburger still uses hundreds of times more water - yes one hamburger - than hundreds of ChatGPT queries. Leaky pipes also mean quite a bit. Though agriculture - sometimes rightfully - gets its attention for water use, our homes, and especially commercial buildings can and should do more.

Second, the Rochester Beacon published my piece on local election consolidation. At a conference recently, I was told that regarding jurisdictional combinations, the term regionalization was much more acceptable than consolidation. The consolidation of elections I propose does not actually change or combine any governmental entities - though I think some should be as I allude to and will write about more in the future. Rather, it is about making all of what we’re already doing and voting on easier to digest and reducing the time, money, and other frictions for both voters and election administrators when there are dozens of elections back-to-back. This piece is also in the context of changes to New York State’s local (non-NYC) election calendar - a fairly significant change that occurred well before the current gerrymander fuss.

I also encourage you to check out and subscribe to The Rooftop at New America, a publication and think tank which describes itself as highlighting “innovative ideas to solve the housing crisis.” That includes affordability, the supply of homes and development, and, of course, climate change and energy efficiency. A case study on Rochester by me will soon be featured and it would not be possible without amazing research from folks at the Urban Insitute, Climate Solutions Accelerator (where I am a board member), and the Institute for Market Transformation. This piece will be a foundation for a whole series of publications and research to come out in months ahead focused on Rochester, but applicable to the housing and rental markets more broadly.

Finally,

…a shoutout to a young ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) professional who just graduated from my alma mater, Boston College, and reached out to me to chat about my journey in “sustainability.” These conversations always invigorate me and leave me with hope. They also help me further articulate what the heck it is that I do every day.

When I started in the sustainability world and began exploring careers about 13 years ago, I cold called the head of sustainability for Disney - wasn’t that hard to find their email then. That conversation and dozens that followed with others across industries made me realize how many sustainability professionals started in other areas in their companies and ended up finding themselves in or created a sustainability position. That’s awesome, but in many cases, the fact that they started elsewhere in a company can make it difficult for them to see how more “entry level” positions should be developed and the interests and passion those people may have to make sustainability their whole career.

There were many benefits to coming out of school with personal interest in this field, but also practical knowledge - I studied frameworks from CDP to GRI. But there was also an ongoing assumption that this was my way “in” to a company or industry and I would shift to other departments or functions over time which was never my intention.

BC now offers even more detailed courses and hands on experiences in ESG, but I fear this disconnect remains - there are jobs out there and work is still being done, but there is an expectation that a new grad would not seek it out or only do so as a steppingstone. As such, and due to other national factors, titles change continually from ESG to sustainability to stewardship or social responsibility. This applies well beyond the climate convo - more companies than ever are committing to DEI and having basic human decency within the workplace - some bad actors are getting worse through enablement - but the “work” is still being done from what I can see (again not everywhere and in some places getting much worse). Emissions will be lowered. Certain workplaces are becoming more inclusive. But we’re not talking about these accomplishments that might otherwise attract the right people to come in.

If anything, whisper networks that have always existed among women, LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and many other groups have only strengthened these days. There is slang, false buzzwords, and even just glances that can indicate where to find the right job, how to access certain healthcare, and more. Technology, too, has made this easier.

And, yes, I am putting climate in the same conversation as various identities - not to equate them by any means - but to acknowledge the tactics and strategies many are using now to stay safe and even thrive professionally and personally across identities, interests, and more.

I wish these companies that I see and know of rapidly approaching zero emissions were shouting about it from the rooftops. But I guess I’d rather they remain silent and do the work than greenwash.

I also am doing my best to remind people that we should all seek a sustainability job - certainly one that does not harm the environment or our communities, but one that brings value and has some connection to Earth whether through nature, animals, water, energy, food, or just people. You don’t need to work for a nonprofit or government or even in a sustainability-labeled role in a company. But you do have an obligation to work toward a regenerative and inclusive economy. Take a sec to think about how your role may have even a small connection to anything I mention here as I’m sure it does.

All that to say, I am grateful to those of you reading. I am grateful to those of you still doing the “work,” however you may define it. And I hope you know that others are too, even if we’re not talking about it - or, I ask that you look closely to see how they just may have changed how they talk about it.

That’s it for this week.

Stay true,

Kyle