Better Future: No Role is Too Small in Sustainability Efforts, With Solitaire Townsend Scale Conscious

Solitaire Townsend is the Co-Founder and Chief Solutionist at Futerra, a change agency. The team focuses on making “the Anthropocene awesome.” Through campaigns, training, and strategy, Futerra helps companies get closer to their sustainable goals. The agency operates under the ethos of “logic and magic,” merging elements like data and creativity to work towards a more sustainable, just, and regenerative future.

In today’s episode, Soli Townsend joins us to discuss why we should dream big and set goals that are “bonkers” when it comes to sustainability. We also chat about the importance of everyday people in the sustainability movement, and why even so-called small actions make a big difference.

Plug into this episode if…

You have been doom-scrolling and want some positive thinking tied to sustainability.
You want to play a part in the climate movement but aren’t sure where you fit in.
You want to understand how long-term and short-term goals factor into efforts for sustainability, for both companies and individuals.

Resources

Futerra
“The Happy Hero: How to Change Your Life by Changing the World”
The Awesome Anthropocene Goals
Hip Hop Caucus
“The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet” by Leah Thomas
Everyday Climate Heroes

Episode highlights
Why imagining a better world is a difficult necessity

Coverage about the climate crisis is so dire that it can often be difficult to imagine a better future — but doing so is necessary if we ever want to enact change.
Sometimes you have to set goals that are completely “bonkers” in order to get to a more sustainable and equitable world.
There’s no downside to imagining a better world — it’s all about dreaming big, then backing those dreams up with challenging stretch goals that set you into action.

Everyday people can make a difference

You don’t have to be a celebrity or well-known activist to take steps towards a more sustainable life and world. You just need to constantly ask yourself, of every decision you make: “Is this decision serving the solutions or serving destruction?”
If people can’t envision themselves as activists or changemakers in their own communities, they won’t take actions to make a difference — and we need everyone on board. This is why everyday representation in the climate movement is so important.
There are no small roles in the larger movement towards sustainability and equity.

How any company can set itself up for positive change

It can seem like taking action on sustainability requires book-long guides and huge commitments. All it actually requires is making the right choice decision after decision after decision.
Solitaire recommends setting radical goals for 2030 — seven years away — and then setting hard targets in a 6- to 18-month cycle that help you get there.
It’s important for businesses to set goals that they don’t yet know how to achieve, since the rest of the world is doing the same. Trust that new solutions will emerge as you work towards your “bonkers” goals, and that if they don’t, you’ll find new ways to achieve them.