Real Progress Over Bold Promises: Key Takeaways from the Business and the Environment Conference

I remember stepping out of a classroom at SOM in September 2024, energized after our first kickoff meeting for the Business & Environment Conference organizing team. The idea of building a brand-new conference for the Yale community—alongside passionate peers from SOM and YSE—was thrilling. Fast forward to the conference, one Saturday in February: as I boarded the Yale shuttle from my home to Evans Hall early that morning, I felt a deep sense of anticipation. Months of planning had led to this moment, and I couldn’t wait to see it all come to life.

As someone who has spent years at the intersection of personal and corporate sustainability, I was eager to take notes. Before coming to SOM, I had driven change in various ways—founding and leading a nonprofit in Ukraine for over four years, transitioning my career toward sustainability, creating the online community for changemakers Grow Your Impact, and launching the Future Transmission newsletter. Throughout my journey, I’ve wrestled with one key question: What are the most effective ways to create real change? I hoped our conference would offer new insights.

The event kicked off with a keynote from Paulette Frank, chief sustainability officer at Johnson & Johnson. She delivered a powerful message about thinking big, reminding us that while J&J originally set renewable electricity goals for 2050, they’ve already achieved 87% of expected progress. Her words were a much-needed reminder that in sustainability, we often dwell on challenges without celebrating the wins. She closed with a piece of advice that stuck with me: “I will take actual progress over bold ambition every day.”

The panels explored diverse pathways for sustainability leadership: corporate strategy, local policy, entrepreneurship, and consulting. Each speaker offered unique insights on navigating challenges, especially in today’s uncertain policy and business climate.

One particularly inspiring moment came from Hannah Berman, senior manager of sustainability and philanthropy at Aspen Skiing Company. She shared how her company didn’t just focus on energy efficiency within the four walls of the company but partnered with a utility to reduce grid-wide emissions in Colorado. And as if that wasn’t impressive enough, she casually mentioned that she also serves as a local elected official, helping to pass a sustainability proposal for her town. Talk about embodying the values of empathy, curiosity, pragmatism, community-building, and optimism!

The most inspiring part of the conference? Seeing that even when political and market conditions seem discouraging, there is a committed community of changemakers pushing forward. Knowing that makes it easier for me to wake up each day, keep learning, work toward my goals, and create content that inspires action.

This conference was more than just a series of discussions—it was a testament to the power of collective effort. And if there’s one thing I took away, it’s that the path to a sustainable future is being built by those who refuse to give up.