Edition #1 | Environment Forward
Ikea’s superpower, hurricane-proof power plants, and the dark side of “green” investing.
Hi y’all, in this new bi-weekly series called Environment Forward, I will share out things I’ve been reading lately in the ever-changing and fast-paced world of sustainability. This column is not meant to serve as breaking climate news; there are other outlets for that (some that I enjoy are BloombergGreen and Grist). These are things that I’ve found interesting and worth sharing, now in a forum that goes beyond my team’s Slack channel. I hope you’ll follow along on this journey. Happy reading! Cheers, Nicole
The surprising story behind the making of ‘Captain Planet’
As an older millennial, Captain Planet was one of the shows I was most fond of in the 90s (as was our founder, Tri), and it motivated me from an early age to consider environmental stewardship and recycling. This article provides fascinating insight into the creation of Captain Planet and the planeteers – there was so much that I did not know about the show and the generation of eco-kids like me.
Can we hurricane-proof the grid?
This piece hits close to home for me, as New Orleans was my home for several years prior to landing in Austin, TX. The people of New Orleans dealt with sustained power outages as a result of Hurricane Ida. Canary Media sums up some helpful thoughts on opportunities to hurricane-proof power plants and ready the grid for intense storms.
How font choices affect CO2 emissions
In an increasingly digital world, it's exciting to see design that is forward-thinking and pushes the envelope while simultaneously working to minimize the energy consumption associated with surfing the internet. Until visiting FORMAFANTASMA's site, I had never considered the linkage between font choices and CO2 emissions.
IKEA continues to make sustainability affordable
A trip to IKEA often leaves me overwhelmed as I work my way through the maze of lamps and furniture. However, I've been impressed in following along on their sustainability journey and was surprised to learn that their offerings now go beyond furniture and meatballs as they expand into the clean energy space in Sweden with their renewable energy offering.
The Secret Diary of a ‘Sustainable Investor’ — Part 1, 2, & 3
This three-part series is a long read but was an interesting take from the former Blackrock Chief Investment Officer, Sustainable Investing, on how impact/sustainable investing isn't always that impactful - there can be a dangerous placebo effect in "green" investing.
Nicole Sullivan is the Climate Services Manager at CarbonBetter. When she's not working on sustainability reports and helping clients to decarbonize, she's busy reading about the environment or is outdoors exploring it. Connect with her on LinkedIn and drop her a line to let her know what you thought about these stories and share what you're reading.