Guest Post: Matthew Sekol, Author of The ESG Mindset & Transitioning Sustainability Leader
I have never held back on giving my opinion. Still, as I move my focus away from ESG in the next stage of my career, I find it odd to be asked to provide an opinion on what I hope to see coming out of Climate Week this year.
This time around, you’re all going to have to have it without me.
Still, hope is something that is needed more than ever going into this year’s NYC Climate Week.
I’ve felt a lack of hope over the past few years and have experienced the burnout so many professionals do in this fight. I’m hopeful that the profession is transitioning from accounting to business relevance. Still, that hope is tethered to the elimination of sustainability teams and the disappearance of senior roles.
I mentioned to someone recently that something just feels off. He agreed, but we couldn’t quite name it.
Individually, if we aren’t fighting against rollbacks, many are dealing with the indignant indifference of the work and its value to the business, the world, and its people. Some have reached out to me to make new connections, desperately seeking a community to find support.
In all of the pullback and greenhushing lies a group of incredibly talented people that are suddenly disconnected and walled off from each other.
Pull aside a veteran at Climate Week, and you’ll hear stories about the ups and downs that have occurred in their career over decades. This transition might feel different and a little more desperate, but ESG and sustainability topics are unavoidable in modern business.
But if you find one of those veterans, recognize yourself in them. They are you, just at a different stage of their career.
And that is where the hope lies for me.
There is still a high level of interest in Climate Week, and many reached out to ask if they’d see me there. I had a conversation with an academic preparing his materials for a class in the fall. I offered career advice to someone freshly looking to pivot into this space.
You are what brings me hope, so here’s what I’m hoping to see out of NYC Climate Week this year.
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If you are early on in your sustainability career, I hope you recognize your current position and the long path ahead of you. I hope you have the patience and perseverance to continue the work in the face of mounting pressure. Listen. Learn.
If you are middle or late in your career, I hope you comfort those coming behind you because while this time around feels the same, it really isn’t. Share your lessons learned. Outcomes are great to showcase, but it’s also critical to educate others on how you achieved them.
As companies go dark and CSR reports tout the outcomes, it’s the how that will ripple across the ecosystem and drive change.
No matter where you are in your career, seek out connections and strengthen your bonds. As I told a friend years ago, sustainability is a team sport, and it’s dangerous to go alone.
If I had one big hope for NYC Climate Week this year, it is that you find strength in each other and bring back the vibrant community I know is there. If that happens, there’s no telling what you can achieve.
Farewell Tribute to Matthew Sekol at Climate Week NYC
By Matt Bird CEO & Editor-in-Chief, ESG News
Matthew Sekol was ESG News’ very first contributor, and his leadership, insights, and unique blend of logic, data, and wit have resonated across the ESG community for as long as many of us can remember. His voice has guided countless conversations, and his perspective has shaped how we think about the ESG mindset.
This year, Climate Week NYC will feel different without him. Matthew’s reflections in his piece “My Hope for Climate Week NYC – A Farewell (for now) with Love” remind us that while he may be stepping back from ESG in this stage of his career, his presence continues to inspire.
As Matthew writes, sustainability is a team sport—it’s dangerous to go alone. His call to strengthen bonds, share lessons, and bring hope back into our community is exactly the spirit that Climate Week needs.
Matthew, you will be missed on the ground this year, but until your next insight, thank you for your enduring contributions to the ESG industry and for helping us all embody the ESG Mindset.
