Any Job Can Be A Climate Job

James Connelly is an architect who ended up running My Green Lab, the sustainability certification now adopted by many of the world's largest pharma companies.In this episode, we get into how and why scientists are stepping up to certify their labs, without a required law or mandate.Why James believes life sciences will be the first industry to separate growth from carbon impact.Real life examples of pharma employees who paved the trail for their companies, and got promoted along the way.Why certification works well for scientists (and builders).How to stay focused on the end goal of reducing environmental impact (instead of drowning in numbers and excessive reporting).How James taught himself about climate through a junior-high research project, why he became an architect, and how that eventually set him up to become CEO of My Green Lab.--⏱️ Chapters00:00 Cold open01:29 Meet James and My Green Lab02:14 What labs find on their first assessment04:38 The freezer that uses as much energy as two homes05:38 Why certification works for scientists07:37 How it scales from one champion to a whole lab12:37 The AstraZeneca supplier cascade16:39 Pernilla, Andrew, and getting promoted for sustainability work20:05 From architect to CEO24:21 Leading scientists when you're not one27:33 ESG, DEI, and political headwinds32:06 Why a nonprofit raised venture capital35:43 If not science, who else?38:15 Reporting vs. action43:28 Travel, anxiety, and self-care47:42 Where to find My Green Lab-- 🔗 ResourcesMy Green LabAmbassador Program (free crash course)Accredited Professional program ($25 student / $75 commercial)Annual online conferenceContact James: [email protected]🎧 Watch & Listen to the podcastYouTubeApple Podcasts🗞️ Sign up for the newsletter🤝 Partnerships ⁠[email protected]⁠✨ Work with me: For speaking, coaching, and workshops: kidoki.comKnow someone who thinks their job has nothing to do with climate? Send them this episode.

Mastercard saved $28M cutting digital waste. Three more companies in this episode did the same.This episode is part of Any Job Can Be a Climate Job, a podcast exploring how people bring climate impact into everyday work, even in roles that aren't labeled 'climate.'If you're in tech, reducing emissions might be easier than you think. While it accounts for 4% of global emissions (and rising), most of it is wasteful by default, not by necessity. No one's bothered to look and make a shift.In this episode, Nolwenn and I dive into examples from 4 companies, talk about what they did, and what the impact was. Leboncoin (French Craigslist) - 85% of Leboncoin's half-billion weekly API calls were returning 404 errors. A two-week sprint cut total calls by 72%. Raptor Maps (solar field software) - App had grown so heavy that workers were buying new phones to run it. An offline-first redesign cut data load by 99%. Brussels Environment (government website) - Hired eco-designers, set new baselines (page size, load time, eco-score), and rebuilt their site to be both lighter and more usable. Mastercard (GreenOps program) - Saved $28 million and cut data center electricity by 40% in two years by shifting workloads to cleaner regions, right-sizing, and turning off unused instances.The playbook is free, and the case studies are reusable. You don't need permission to start. What will you do to make the world a better place today?About NolwennNolwenn Godard is the founder of Carbon 2C and co-author of the Climate Product Leaders Playbook. She previously led product at PayPal and worked inside California state government, where she helped push climate considerations into the GenAI executive order. Her full story is in Part 1.Who this episode is for Software engineers who want to do climate work without leaving their current job Product managers looking to bake sustainability into their roadmap CTOs and engineering leaders who need a credible, cost-defensible sustainability story Climate-curious tech workers who feel stuck or unsure where to start Anyone who wants to understand the actual environmental cost of running AI at scale━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Chapters0:00 Carbon vs cost: why workforces respond differently0:32 Welcome: a playbook episode for tech teams2:14 The 4% problem: tech as much emissions as aviation3:22 Leboncoin: 85% of half a billion API calls were 404s9:39 Raptor Maps: 99% data reduction for solar field workers15:01 Brussels Environment and the search bar story19:22 Mastercard's $28M GreenOps story24:28 GreenOps vs FinOps vs DevOps26:05 You don't need permission29:09 Water, AI data centers, and the closed loop myth34:25 How Nolwenn uses AI (and the AI Wattch extension)37:21 Self-care and eco-anxiety38:33 Where to find the free playbook━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Resources mentioned Climate Product Leaders Playbook (free) Carbon 2C Green Software Foundation Green IO podcast/conference GreenPixie GreenPT AI Wattch: Chrome extension | GitHub Greenspector Nolwenn Godard on LinkedInFor the full resource list, see the show notes on Substack.A note on the digital emissions stat: ICT is estimated at 1.5-4% of global GHG emissions today; one academic projection estimates this could rise to ~14% by 2040 under business-as-usual growth (Belkhir & Elmeligi, 2018).Disclaimer: This episode is for informational purposes only. Views are the guest's own.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎧 Listen to the podcast YouTube Apple Podcasts Substack━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✨ Work with meFor speaking, workshops, and leadership programs: kidoki.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎙 CreditsProduced and hosted by Louisa HenryEdited by Alex LeffMusic by Run Riot RunLogo by Cassidy Frost━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🤝 Sponsor or partner with the show: [email protected] someone who thinks their job has nothing to do with climate? Send them this episode.

Sometimes saving the planet starts with a banana slug on your face.Alex Sherry is a 23-year-old naturalist at Mission Springs Outdoor Education in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We talk about what happens when you put city kids in the redwoods for a week, what it's like to grow up inside the climate crisis instead of watching it approach, and how small moments outside can stick with kids for years.This episode is for teachers, coaches, parents, nannies, or anyone who works with kids. You have more influence than you realize, and Alex has ideas for how to use it. Fun, educational, and just a little outside the comfort zone.In this episode:The one-week transformation from "afraid of dirt" to eating edible plants off the trailA food waste system that took one group from 28 pounds to 4 in a weekThe Thanksgiving table moment that changed Alex's majorHow being outside every day is what actually calms her eco-anxietyWhat any adult who works with kids can do starting tomorrow━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━About Mission Springs:Website: https://missionspringsoe.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missionspringsoe/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Chapters:00:00 Cold open: The banana slug club01:00 Why this conversation stuck with me03:13 The Oakland kids transformation09:41 Comfort zones and how kids grow at camp13:23 The Banana Slug Club Challenge15:50 Food waste: 28 pounds to 424:28 Screen time and Gen Alpha26:28 From climate doom to the redwoods32:48 Advice for anyone who works with kids35:35 What sticks in you?37:29 My closing reflection━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎧 Listen to the podcast⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🗞️ Sign up for the ⁠newsletter⁠━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🤝 Partnerships⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠✨ Work with me⁠⁠For speaking, coaching, and workshops⁠━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Know someone who thinks their job has nothing to do with climate? Send them this episode.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎙 CreditsProduced and hosted by ⁠Louisa Henry⁠ | Edited by ⁠Alex Leff⁠ | Music by ⁠Run Riot Run⁠ | Logo by ⁠Cassidy Frost⁠

The tech industry talks about AI's carbon footprint. Nolwenn Godard says the real issue is resource limits: energy, water, rare earth minerals. "Tech doesn't want any limit, but the world has limits, nature has limits."Nolwenn spent 13 years at PayPal, where she pitched a carbon calculator that was too early for a US conversation. She went on to help write California's first executive order on Generative AI in just 60 days, fighting to get climate language into the policy. Today she runs Carbon 2C, helping software companies find the massive waste hiding in their own codebases.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━In this episode, we cover:The physics of why an AI query uses dramatically more energy than a Google searchHow she got climate language into California's GenAI executive order in 60 days, and the moment she asked "Am I the only one thinking of this here?"Why companies are going quiet on climate ("green hushing") even when they still want to actHer argument that resource limits, not just carbon, are the real environmental cost of AIWhere to start if you're a product manager, engineer, or CTO who wants to find the climate lever in your current role━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━About Nolwenn GodardNolwenn Godard helps turn tech jobs into climate jobs. After leadership roles at PayPal, SoFi, and California's Office of Data and Innovation, she founded Carbon 2C, her sustainability consultancy for software companies. She co-authored Sustainable by Design: A Playbook for Product Managers, leads Green IO US, and co-leads the SF chapter of the Green Software Foundation.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Chapters0:00 Intro2:07 Growing up with climate at the dinner table4:34 From France to Silicon Valley6:09 PayGreen: the climate idea PayPal wasn't ready for11:34 Traditional AI vs. generative AI and the real cost of AI video13:26 Writing California's GenAI executive order in 60 days19:49 "Am I the only one thinking of this here?"23:02 Founding Carbon 2C25:46 Do companies care about green software?27:10 Green hushing: the new greenwashing29:25 Can change happen without regulation?33:38 MasterCard: $28M savings, 47% electricity cut36:17 Where to start if you're in tech39:30 Moral ambition and the tech industry45:52 Where to find Nolwenn━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Resources mentionedNolwenn on LinkedInCarbon 2C - Nolwenn's consultancyClimate Product Leaders Playbook (free)Resources for a Climate Career (see Tech Stack)Green Software FoundationGreen IO podcastElectricity MapsAI Watch (browser extension for real-time AI carbon/water tracking)terra.do (climate education)Climate Fresk: a 3 hour workshop to get you up to speedCalifornia Executive Order N-12-23Disclaimer: This episode is for informational purposes only. Views are the guest’s own, and nothing here should be taken as professional advice.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎧 Listen to the podcastYouTubeApple Podcasts━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🗞️ Sign up for the newsletterhttps://anyjobcanbeaclimatejob.substack.com/🤝 [email protected]✨ Work with meFor speaking, coaching, and workshops━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎙 CreditsProduced and hosted by Louisa HenryEdited by Alex LeffMusic by Run Riot RunLogo by Cassidy Frost

Building ventilation eats 10% of all US energy — just for temperature. Most systems are on autopilot. Dr. Suresh Dhaniyala (Clarkson University, sensors on the International Space Station) explains how sensor-driven ventilation cuts energy 30-40% while improving the air we breathe. If your work touches buildings, facilities, or public health, your job can be a climate job.In this episode, we cover:Why CO2, humidity, and particulates matter more than temperature aloneThe 10% stat: what's really consuming building energy, and where the savings hideHow smart ventilation delivers better air quality AND lower energy useThe 30-40% energy savings that's already been validatedWho can start now: facilities managers, VPs of operations, building engineersThree sensors that matter: particulate matter, VOCs, CO2How NASA monitors air on the International Space StationPractical first steps: EPA AQI, indoor sensors, raising the question with your teamWho this episode is for:Facilities managers, VPs of Operations, building engineersHVAC and public health professionalsParents concerned about indoor air quality in schoolsAnyone whose work touches buildings━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Chapters0:00 A daughter's asthma attack0:24 Why buildings matter for climate1:20 What fills your days?2:49 Particles you can't see, sensors that can3:11 Growing up in polluted southern India4:27 How air moves through buildings5:20 Relative humidity and why it matters6:08 What's missing from current air monitoring7:28 CO2 as an occupancy and infection indicator9:38 The 10% stat: US energy for building HVAC12:11 How better measurement reduces climate impact13:33 Smart ventilation: better air AND lower energy14:46 Classrooms and offices: variable occupancy17:04 30-40% energy savings, validated19:35 Who can start: facilities managers and VPs of operations21:50 Seeing pollution from above: New Delhi from a plane25:15 A daughter's asthmatic episode28:27 Practical tools: EPA AQI, indoor sensors to buy31:27 Three sensors that matter: PM, VOCs, CO231:53 Air quality on the International Space Station34:10 ISS air: extremely clean and dirty at the same time36:43 We all have responsibility38:26 The invisible climate lever━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━About Dr. Suresh DhaniyalaProfessor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Clarkson University. Founder of an air quality sensor startup with sensors in commercial buildings and on the International Space Station. Research focuses on airborne particulate matter and affordable sensing technologies.Resources mentionedEPA Air Quality Index (AQI): https://www.airnow.gov/South Coast Air Quality Management District (sensor performance reviews) https://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations/summary-tableThree sensor types to look for: particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and CO2Disclaimer: Views are the guest's own and shared for informational purposes.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎧 Listen to the podcastAlways posted here on Spotify, or: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@anyjobcanbeaclimatejobApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/any-job-can-be-a-climate-job/id1780900570Substack: https://anyjobcanbeaclimatejob.substack.com/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎙 CreditsProduced and hosted by Louisa HenryEdited by ⁠Alex Leff⁠Music by ⁠Run Riot RunLogo by Cassidy Frost━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Sponsor or partner with the show: [email protected] with Louisa - coaching and advising for founders and leaders: kidoki.comKnow someone who thinks their job has nothing to do with climate? Send them this episode.

The U.S. Air Force was planning multi-million dollar combat missions on a whiteboard covered in magnets. It took three people, twelve hours every night. A product manager showed up, built a tool in 90 days, and accidentally created one of the biggest climate wins in the Department of Defense.🌎 This episode is part of Any Job Can Be a Climate Job — a podcast about bringing climate impact into work that isn't labeled "climate."When Eric Schmidt visited the Air Operations Center in Qatar, he found three people spending twelve hours every night planning mid-air refueling missions on a magnetic whiteboard. 70% of those missions were replanned the next morning anyway, and the fix was always the same: put another tanker in the air. Getting a single tanker to altitude costs $200,000. And every gallon of jet fuel releases 20 pounds of CO2.Jason Fraser was at Pivotal Labs when the Air Force came with this problem. His team built a mission planning tool in 90 days. Twelve-hour cycles dropped to two hours; replanning to ten to fifteen minutes. Within 90 days of delivery, at least one tanker was staying grounded every day — and the emissions went with it.Jason never pitched climate. He pitched speed, efficiency, and cost — what the Air Force cared about. Climate came along for the ride. Find the overlap between what your organization needs and what the planet needs, and lead with the former.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━In this episode, we cover:The magnetic whiteboard running billion-dollar missions — and why it kept failingWhy 70% of missions got replanned daily, and why the fix was always "another tanker"How Jigsaw got built in 90 days instead of yearsWhy leading with efficiency (not climate) was the right callEvery gallon = 20 pounds of CO2: the down pillows metaphor that makes it realThe granddaughter frame: "is the carbon cost worth the increase in temperature for my granddaughter?"━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Who this episode is for:Product managers, engineers, and ops professionals who want their work to connect to climate — without a title changeAnyone inside large institutions wondering whether change is possible from where they sitAnyone curious about how one of the world's most bureaucratic institutions learned to ship software in 90 days━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━About Jason FraserJason Fraser is an impact strategy consultant, formerly Director of Product Management and Design at Pivotal Labs' public sector division. He's worked with the U.S. Federal Government and the White House Presidential Personnel Office, and serves as a program mentor for the Earthshot Prize. Co-author of Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama. Find him at missionratio.com.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Resources mentionedFarther, Faster, and Far Less DramaJason's websiteJigsaw case studyNATO + the tanker planning appAFRL — Air Force seeks to accelerate efficiency━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✨ Work with mehttps://www.kidoki.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎙 CreditsProduced and hosted by Louisa Henry | Edited by Alex Leff | Music by Run Riot Run | Logo by Cassidy Frost━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━The views expressed are Jason Fraser's own and reflect his personal experience; nothing here should be taken as official government policy or professional advice.

Your utility bill is a behavior-change problem (and a benefits opportunity). Lizzy Kolar explains the Carbon Savings Account and why employees actually use it.This episode is part of Any Job Can Be a Climate Job - a podcast exploring how people bring climate impact into everyday work, even in roles that aren't labeled 'climate.'━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Lizzy Kolar grew up in West Virginia, worked as an engineer, and became co-founder + CEO of Scope Zero. She shares how her experiences shaped a focus on everyday consumer behavior - because small changes, repeated at scale, add up to real impact.We go deep on Scope Zero's Carbon Savings Account (CSA): a financial wellness benefit that reimburses employees for home technology and transportation upgrades (LEDs, power strips, low-flow fixtures, ENERGY STAR appliances, and more). Lizzy explains why this works even for people who aren't climate-motivated. When the incentives make sense, people opt in, learn how they're consuming, and shift their behavior at home and at work.If you're an employee, you'll leave with a concrete next step to bring to HR. If you're a leader, you'll hear why "Scope 3, Category 7" (employee commute + work-from-home emissions) matters - and how a benefit can measure, report, and reduce it.In this episode:Why Lizzy shifted from "clean energy" to everyday behavior changeThe Carbon Savings Account and how it's like a wellness benefitWhy companies offer this: talent retention + automated Scope 3 reporting"Low-hanging fruit" upgrades (LEDs, power strips, low-flow fixtures)What "vampire loads" are and why unplugging mattersHow employees can pitch CSA internallyWho this is for:HR/Benefits leaders evaluating practical benefitsSustainability leaders tracking Scope 3 reductionsEmployees wanting to pitch new benefitsAnyone reducing household costs through efficiency━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━About Lizzy Kolar:Co-founder and CEO of Scope Zero. She holds a master's in sustainable design engineering from Stanford and a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from WVU. Former engineer at Ameresco designing energy and water efficiency upgrades for military base housing. She's leading Scope Zero's mission to reduce utility bills by $300B per year and co-created the podcast "It All Adds Up."━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Resources:Scope Zero - Lizzy's companyDOE standby power guideRewiring America calculatorThe Conundrum (book)"It All Adds Up" podcastLizzy on LinkedInDisclaimer: This episode is for informational purposes only. Views are the guest's own, not professional advice.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎧 Other platforms:YouTubeApple PodcastsSubstack✨ Work with me🎙 Credits:Produced & Hosted by Louisa HenryEdited by Alex LeffMusic by Run Riot RunLogo by Cassidy Frost

If you work in a lab, one small habit can save a surprising amount of energy: Shut the sash.Architect Jacob Werner explains why airflow, safety, and infrastructure choices are some of the biggest (hidden) climate levers.This episode is part of Any Job Can Be a Climate Job — a podcast exploring how people bring climate impact into everyday work, even in roles that aren’t labeled “climate.”👉 Subscribe and leave a comment — I’d love to hear what resonates.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Research labs are where some of the most important work in the world happens: curing disease, developing renewable energy, and building the future of science.They’re also some of the most energy- and resource-intensive buildings we have. Not because people are careless, but because labs are designed to optimize for safety, airflow, and precision.In this episode, I talk with Jacob Werner, an architect at Ellenzweig who designs science labs for colleges and universities, about why labs function more like machines than offices — and why that makes design such a powerful climate lever.Jacob explains how decisions about airflow, temperature control, filtration, and safety systems quietly shape energy use for decades — and how good design can make the sustainable choice the easiest choice, without relying on constant heroics from the people inside the building.Listen for:Why labs use so much energy (and what “stable experimental conditions” requires)What designers can “bake in” so sustainable behavior is easier (fume hood sashes, recycling access, efficient HVAC)How sustainability sticks best when it’s treated as good design, not an add-onPractical lab actions that matter: Shut the Sash, lights, and equipment power-down normsWhy climate action often starts far upstream, in systems most of us never seeAbout JacobJacob Werner is an architect with Ellenzweig in Boston. Ellenzweig designs science labs primarily for colleges and universities. Jacob also co-chairs the AIA 2030 Commitment, a program supporting architects in tracking and reporting progress toward lower-carbon buildings.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2030 CommitmentInternational Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) Resource HubI2SL – Smart Labs Toolkit (practical guidance)⁠Ellenzweig – Jacob / team page⁠Sustainability at Harvard LabsJacob on LinkedIn━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━00:00 — Cold open: reduce → electrify → renewables00:00:32 — Intro: why lab design matters00:01:53 — Who Jacob is + what he designs (Ellenzweig, AIA 2030)00:02:35 — What is AIA / AIA 2030?00:03:00 — How Jacob got into architecture and lab design00:06:25 — How you start designing a lab (vision + flexibility)00:07:54 — Why labs are so energy- and resource-intensive00:10:29 — What designers can build in vs what occupants control00:11:19 — Six Sigma + workflow convenience (waste + behavior design)00:11:37 — Persuading clients: make sustainability “part of the package”00:13:33 — Biggest lesson: climate action isn’t all-or-nothing00:15:00 — Project story: designing for ocean/climate research (URI)00:17:29 — Renovation + reuse + embodied carbon00:19:09 — Low-hanging fruit for lab occupants (Shut the Sash, lights, equipment)00:20:54 — Where to learn more (AIA + I2SL resources)00:21:28 — What green labs may look like in 10–20 years00:25:20 — Closing thoughts: everyone can contribute00:26:23 — Reflection: the biggest wins come from changing systemsDisclaimer: This episode is for informational purposes only. Views are the guest’s own, and nothing here should be taken as professional advice.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎧 Listen to the podcastYouTubeApple PodcastsSubstack (behind-the-scenes + updates)━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✨ Work with me━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎙 Any Job Can Be a Climate Job is produced and hosted by Louisa Henry Edited by ⁠Alex Leff⁠Original music by ⁠Run Riot Run Logo design by Cassidy Frost

What does it really take to make sustainability stick?Pam Greenley shares how she brought the Green Labs concept back to MIT, and adapted it to a culture driven by metrics, incentives, and competition. By designing contests around resource savings and innovation, she helped turn an idea into everyday practice without forcing behavior change.This episode is for anyone working inside complex, high-performance organizations who wants to make sustainability normal, practical, and durable.🎙 Any Job Can Be a Climate Job is produced and hosted by ⁠Louisa Henry⁠. Edited by ⁠Alex Leff⁠. Original music by ⁠Run Riot Run⁠. Logo design by ⁠Cassidy Frost⁠.Newsletter: https://anyjobcanbeaclimatejob.substack.com/Coaching: https://www.kidoki.com/

Teddy Salgado, a Senior Manager of Continuous Improvement at Boston Children's Hospital, loved the idea of using his education to help combat climate change. He had the opportunity to help a brewery in Thailand cut waste with the help of the process improvement methodology, Six Sigma.Disappointed in the lack of manufacturing opportunities to take the same climate action in Boston, he joined Boston Children’s Hospital to help with process improvement. Soon after, he saw an opportunity to connect those efficiencies with the company’s sustainability strategy. Teddy became a Six Sigma coach, helping employees across the company spot opportunities, and implement change.In this interview, Teddy talks through case studies, and gives us tools to help spot waste and take action in our own workplaces. You’ll leave with tips, ideas, and proof that the triple bottom line can (and does) exist: People, Planet, Profit.About Teddy: Teddy Salgado is a Senior Manager of Continuous Improvement at Boston Children's Hospital. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his Master of Business Administration from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. In addition to healthcare, Teddy has professional experience in education and sustainability. His current focus is partnering with the operating rooms on improvement initiatives, and he serves on the leadership committee for the hospital's sustainability focused employee affinity group. In his personal time, Teddy enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, biking, and hiking with his wife and retired racing greyhound. Mentions: Lean Six Sigma“8 wastes” DOWNTIME framework - Defects, Overproduction, Waiting, Non-utilized talent, Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Extra process5S Methodology - Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, SustainVisual management - using pictures instead of textTriple Bottom Line - People, Planet, ProfitBoston Children’s Hospital - SustainabilityCredits:🎙 Any Job Can Be a Climate Job is produced and hosted by Louisa Henry. Edited by Alex Leff. Original music by Run Riot Run. Logo design by Cassidy Frost. Subscribe for more episodes on how real people are driving climate impact through their everyday work. Found wherever you get your podcasts. anyjobcanbeaclimatejob.com

For many inhaled anesthetic gases, very little is metabolized. So a lot of what’s delivered ends up getting exhausted/vented out (for staff safety), and not processed. They go up and out into the atmosphere.In the third episode of the Greener Hospitals, Healthier Futures series, I sat down with Dr. Prabhakar Devavaram, Director of Environmental Sustainability in the Division of Peri-operative Anesthesia and a pediatric anesthesiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. He’s also the site principal investigator for Project SPRUCE, a multicenter trial to reduce anesthetic greenhouse gas emissions. Prabhakar’s cared about this topic for some time, and shares not only how Boston Children’s Hospital is going about reducing their anesthetic climate impact, but also dives into what these gases are, the various types, and how they’re used. Did you know that nitrous oxide (laughing gas) can linger in the atmosphere for ~114 years! And very little is metabolized at all. Nitrous oxide is especially relevant in pediatrics, where it’s often used to help kids feel comfortable during mask induction, before adding other agents. Prabhakar teaches us how anesthesiologists can reduce their climate impact by using non-inhaled alternatives when possible, low-flow options, checking for leaks, and how to make smarter decisions in patient care. He also shares a surprising systems fix: a big chunk of nitrous emissions can happen before it ever reaches the patient. It’s lost through central piping and leaks. Switching to point-of-use cylinders (and tightening the system) can dramatically reduce waste.In this episode you’ll learn: Understand the main anesthetic gases and their climate impactLearn practical levers (alternatives, low-flow, leak reduction)See how hospitals operationalize change (systems & workflow)Discover how data and feedback loops shift clinician behaviorMentions: Project SPRUCE Joint Commission “Reducing the Environmental Impact of Anesthetic Gases” + Seattle Children’s Project SPRUCE reference ASA Environmental Sustainability: “Environmental Impact of Inhaled Anesthetics” (clear, clinician-friendly guidance) Association of Anaesthetists “Guide to green anaesthesia”Practice Greenhealth anesthetic gas how-to toolkit (PDF) Health Sector Climate Pledge (waste anesthetic gases explicitly called out) Ether Dome background (Mass General Museum page) Credits:🎙 Any Job Can Be a Climate Job is produced and hosted by Louisa Henry. Edited by Alex Leff. Original music by Run Riot Run. Logo design by Cassidy Frost. Image attribution: vecteezy.com.Subscribe for more episodes on how real people are driving climate impact through their everyday work. Found here, Substack, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hospital operating rooms are an impressive dance of teamwork and timing. At Boston Children's Hospital, when the operating team wraps up, the cleaning team enters, each with specific assignments to clean and prep the room for the next surgery. On top of that, the team is always on the lookout for ways to reduce the environmental impact.We start today's episode with a conversation with Kristine Rodman, mother of a patient at Boston Children's Hospital. It was incredibly emotional to sit down and hear her story. It was a stark reminder of the stakes behind each operational decision. Julian Inferrera is the Operating Room Flow Manager at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he integrates sustainability into one of the most resource-intensive areas of healthcare. By focusing on waste streams, partnering with colleagues, and using data to reshape daily workflows, he works to demonstrate that sustainability initiatives can be integrated into clinical practice.In this episode, you'll learn: The invisible systems, decisions, and people behind each surgeryWhy ORs are one of the most resource-intensive spaces in the hospitalAn inside look into the operating roomWhat OR waste streams look like, and his team's ideas to reduce themHow Julian and his team take inspiration from NASCAR pit crewsWhy bottom's-up movements can be more effective than top-down mandatesWhy noticing, asking questions, and starting small matters🎧 Listen now and start spotting climate wins in your own workplace.Credits:🎙 Any Job Can Be a Climate Job is produced and hosted by Louisa Henry. Edited by Alex Leff. Original music by Run Riot Run. Logo design by Cassidy Frost. Image attribution: vecteezy.com.Mentions: Surgery waste art exhibit👉 Subscribe for more episodes on how real people are driving climate impact through their everyday work. Found here, Substack, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hospital labs aren’t where most people look for climate solutions. But Chuck Blanchette did — and found more than anyone expected.As Manager of Research Facilities at Boston Children’s Hospital, Chuck oversees 200+ labs and more than 800 freezers. When he joined the Freezer Challenge, it sparked a transformation: turning routine lab maintenance into a nationally recognized climate program that’s slashed energy use, reduced plastic waste, and changed how researchers work.In this episode, you’ll hear:How Chuck helped Boston Children’s become a model for sustainable labsWhat most people get wrong about climate work in hospitalsHow storytelling and competition sparked behavior change across 50+ labsWhy fume hoods, defrost kits, and cheese farms all matter more than you think🎧 Listen now and start spotting climate wins in your own workplace — no matter your job title.Guest Bio: Chuck Blanchette is the Manager of Research Facilities at Boston Children’s Hospital. He leads their award-winning Green Labs Program, co-chairs the E.A.R.T.H. sustainability group, and was honored as the Phil Wirdzek Emerging Leader in Healthcare. Under his leadership, BCH has become a national leader in lab energy reduction, reuse systems, and sustainable research operations.He’s also a dad of two — and everything he builds is grounded in a deep commitment to leaving behind a livable planet for the next generation.📬 Connect with Chuck → LinkedInPhotos + Substack Story:Check out freezer photos, defrost kits, and behind-the-scenes images from this episode on Substack.Referenced Organizations & Resources:My Green Lab - A nonprofit promoting sustainability in science, and the origin of tools like the Freezer Challenge and SWOOP stickers.International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) - A nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainable lab design, operation, and use. Chuck is actively involved with I2SL and was recognized by them as an emerging leader.The Freezer Challenge - Hosted by My Green Lab and I2SL. An international competition that encourages labs to optimize cold storage for energy efficiency.AstraZeneca SWOOP Case Study - “Creating a culture of sustainability across labs”Credits: 🎙 Any Job Can Be a Climate Job is produced and hosted by Louisa Henry. Original music by Run Riot Run. Logo design by Cassidy Frost. Subscribe for more episodes on how real people are driving climate impact through their everyday work.

Marissa Pitchford didn’t plan to lead climate strategy. She started behind the scenes as an executive assistant at a global cybersecurity company — managing calendars, planning events, and supporting leadership. But she began to notice: her company could be doing more.In this episode, Marissa shares how she turned that quiet awareness into a full-scale sustainability and corporate responsibility program at ESET North America. We talk about how to gain influence without a title, how to embed sustainability into everyday decisions, and what it really takes to lead change from the inside out.Whether you're in operations, admin, HR, or tech — this is an inspiring reminder that any job can be a climate job.⏱️ Chapter Markers:00:00 Introduction and Background01:15 ESET: Company Overview and Role Evolution02:06 Sustainability Journey Begins05:31 Transforming Philanthropy into Corporate Social Responsibility07:33 Doing a Materiality Assessment08:35 Building a Strategic Framework for Sustainability11:28 Aligning to Company Values13:10 Navigating Change & Resistance15:10 Building the Case for Sustainability18:41 Landfill Neutral Guarantee21:04 Empowering Sustainable Choices in Business23:07 Starting Sustainable Actions in the Workplace25:23 The Role of ESG in Corporate Strategy26:54 Navigating Diversity and Inclusion in Changing Times30:58 Measuring Impact and Progress in Sustainability33:19 Strategies for Achieving Net Zero by 205037:47 Innovative Approaches to Vendor and Travel Management41:15 Personal Growth and the Journey to Sustainability45:00 Wrap Up & Thank You🔗 Resources Mentioned:Learn more about ESET’s sustainability efforts: eset.com/about/environmentBoston College Center for Corporate Citizenship: ccc.bc.eduHow to do your own double materiality assessment: opinionx.co/blogZero Waste Chef — Anne-Marie BonneauConnect with Marissa on LinkedIn

How one animated video helped Springfield pass clean-energy policy—and what it teaches us about moving people and systems.Guests: Kathryn Taccone (Open Pixel Studios) and Samantha Hamilton (Public Health Institute of Western Mass).Host: Louisa HenryIf you'd like to support the show, please follow, like, and share. Reach out and join the conversation on Subtack.Links mentioned in the show: LiveWell SpringfieldCommunity Choice EnergyPublic Health Institute of Western MAOpenPixel StudiosCheck out the Animation Video on YouTubeLocal News article about City Council ApprovalLooking to learn from people who have made the switch into climate-specific careers? Check out Climate Swings Podcast.

A compost bin. A bold question. A re-written conference agenda. This special Earth Day episode brings back two past guests—Charlie Sellars and Gabe Dover—and introduces Shruti Chander, showing how small, surprising workplace actions can launch big climate impact.🎙 New here? Check out our earlier one-on-one conversations with Charlie and Gabe after this episode for a deeper dive into their journeys.In this episode:Shruti sparks change with a compost binGabe pushes a data question that reshapes a companyCharlie pivots from events to Microsoft sustainabilityReal tactics for starting conversations and building momentum🎯 Chapters: 0:00 Intro 4:30 Start Small (Shruti) 11:20 Ask the Question (Gabe) 18:40 Make the Business Case (Charlie) 24:00 Build Culture & Ripples 31:10 Q&A: Land a role, start where you are🔗 Show Notes:Climate Action Resource Library (CARL)Charlie’s Book - What We Can Do: A Climate Optimist's Guide to Sustainable Living Charlie SellarsMoon Five - Gabe’s EV charging start-upClimate Reality Project - Tools, training and network to fight climate change. Sign up for my newsletter🎤 Know someone turning their job into climate action? I want to hear from you: [email protected]

What if you could turn your existing career into a climate job — no matter what your title says?In this inspiring conversation, Charlie Sellars, a sustainability leader at Microsoft and author of What We Can Do, shares how he embedded climate action into his work at Gartner and later at Microsoft.He reveals how personal branding, customer focus, and small strategic actions helped him drive big change inside global companies — and how you can do it too.🌎 Key topics:Building a sustainability career from any roleLessons from creating the Ocean Plastic Mouse and Xbox circular economy innovationsAdvice for professionals navigating climate action in the private sectorHow to stay optimistic in the face of climate challengesMentioned: Gartner: Making An Impact With Sustainability: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQFzFwx1sYE ➡️ Read Charlie’s book: https://www.charliesellars.com/➡️ Connect with Charlie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlessellars/

Michael Freedman helped design Amazon’s donation and liquidation programs—keeping millions of products out of landfills.In this episode of Any Job Can Be a Climate Job, host Louisa Henry sits down with Michael to unpack how he helped reshape how corporate giants think about sustainability—from the inside out.The “Four Zeros” framework behind Amazon’s return strategyWhy donating products was a harder business case than you’d think—and how it still got leadership supportThe difference between a climate job and a climate titleHow any role—yes, even yours—can drive meaningful environmental changeStories from inside Amazon’s warehouses and the third-party resale economyResources & Mentions:Good360 – Amazon’s product donation partnerNet Impact – nonprofit supporting social + environmental careersMichael Freedman on LinkedIn - include a note that you heard him on the podcast💬 Have a question about your Amazon returns? Drop it in the comments—we’d love to answer or include it in a future episode.📧 Got a story about making your job a climate job? Email us: [email protected]

Did you know that online ads and data centers have a massive carbon footprint? In this episode of Any Job Can Be a Climate Job, we uncover the hidden environmental impact of the internet—and meet Gabe Dover, a former ad tech employee who asked one simple question that sparked real change.Learn how Gabe went from employee Slack chats to influencing his company's sustainability strategy, and eventually launching Moon Five, a startup making EV charging accessible for renters. 🚗⚡This episode dives into:The climate cost of digital advertising and data centersHow employee action can lead to top-down changeTurning your day job into a climate jobWhat it's really like to build a climate tech companyGabe’s unforgettable start as a bike-powered activist (yes, really)🎧 Don’t miss this story of hope, strategy, and how one person inside the system helped shift it.🔗 Show Notes🎙 Guest: Gabe Dover📧 [email protected]🌐 ⁠https://www.moonfive.tech/⁠🔗 ⁠Gabe on LinkedIn⁠Mentions:Index ExchangeScope3 – Green ad techProject Drawdown: Every Job Can Be a Climate JobCARL – Climate Action Resource LibraryLearn more: - Web Neutral Project - Decarbonize your carbon footprint- Does your site run on green energy? Want to get involved?✅ Join a climate Slack group at your job✅ Ask your company about its digital carbon footprint✅ Attend or host a climate week event✅ Support climate tech startups like Moon Five#ClimateJobs #ClimateTech #AdTech #Sustainability #EVCharging #InternetCarbonFootprint #DigitalAdvertising #GreenBusiness #WorkplaceClimateAction

Inside Shedd Aquarium’s Conservation EffortsEver wonder how aquariums help protect wildlife and ecosystems? Whether you work with animals, love visiting aquariums, or are just curious about conservation, this episode will change how you see these institutions.Join us as we talk with Jaclyn Wegner, Senior Director of Conservation Action at Shedd Aquarium, about how aquariums are going beyond exhibits to lead real-world conservation efforts. From restoring urban waterways to partnering with restaurants to cut plastic waste, Shedd is proving that even in the heart of a city, nature can thrive—and we can help.In this episode, you’ll learn:🌿 How Shedd Aquarium is bringing wildlife back to the Chicago River🐟 Why zoos and aquariums are key players in fighting climate change🚣 How a kayak trip through the city can shift your perspective on conservation🍽️ How restaurants, coffee shops, and even aquarium gift shops are reducing plastic waste💡 How you can integrate conservation into your own career—no matter what you doThis episode is for animal lovers, educators, aquarium enthusiasts, and anyone looking to take climate action in their work.🔗 Links & Resources: Learn more about Shedd Aquarium’s Conservation Programs Find out if your local aquarium or zoo is certified by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums  Host your own Climate Café Read What If We Get It Right? by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Connect with us: [email protected] 👉 If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review and share it with a friend! Any job can be a climate job—what’s your story?This episode of Any Job Can Be A Climate Job was produced by Louisa Henry. Original music by Run Riot Run.

Think running a restaurant is all about hustle, stress, and razor-thin margins? Think again.Meet Lumi Gardner, the visionary owner of Fuki Sushi, a third-generation restaurant flipping the script on food service. In an industry notorious for burnout and high turnover, Lumi is proving that climate-conscious practices aren’t just good for the planet—they can transform how we do business.This episode is a must-listen for anyone in the food industry, from chefs to servers and even customers who want to make more sustainable dining choices. Lumi shares the secrets behind her success, from sourcing responsibly to creating a thriving workplace culture.Discover how one restaurant is redefining the rules—and inspiring a new way forward for food service.Mentioned: Fuki Sushi restaurant Restaurant Technologies - Automated cooking oil management Santa Clara County Food Recovery Program feature on LumiMonterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch - the leading source of science-based information for sustainable seafoodRestaurants looking for advice from Lumi can email us, and we’ll connect you. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Want to share your story? Email us at [email protected] episode of Any Job Can Be A Climate Job was produced by Louisa Henry. Original music by Run Riot Run.

What if every job could be a climate job?
 Small actions at work—like better choices in policy, supply chains, or purchasing—could create massive change. Imagine the ripple effect across industries and countries. This is about sharing stories of people making a difference from their desks, showing what works, and inspiring others to act. Together, we can turn everyday work into a force for good. Let’s do this. Any job can be a climate job.