TOG Talk X The Now Work - Reimagining how impact work happens

We know the challenge: accelerate the transition to a regenerative, equitable future. But is the way that sustainability work happens helping or hindering our ability to get there?

Many working in sustainability are overworked and burnt out at a time when we need action and drive more than ever. The ‘role-ification’ of work means people are getting stuck in vertical careers unable to fulfil their curiosity at a time when we need radical innovation. And, in the business world, a scarcity mindset and spirit of competitiveness prevail when the demand for collective intelligence has never been clearer.

In this conversation we will explore how might we re-imagine how work happens so that people working in sustainability can do better work, be more effective, and keep themselves well and thriving.

Agenda:

18:00 - Registration and Welcome Drink

18:30 - Talk Starts

19:15 - Q&A and Networking Drinks

This event is hosted by The Now Work, a sustainability talent network of bright, brilliant minds ready to change the world.

The Now Work has been founded by Laura Hunter and Hannah Phang, two people who thought there must be a better approach to work in sustainability. We’ve experienced the challenges of finding freelancers, and of securing freelance work firsthand. Relying on personal networks keeps opportunities locked within a small group. It’s not inclusive, it limits divergent thinking and it reduces innovation potential. Scouring the internet and LinkedIn can waste precious time that could be better spent delivering positive change. We knew there was a better way. So we decided to build it. The Now Work will open up access to opportunities to change the world and reduce the friction associated with finding freelance talent for vital sustainability projects.

Rachel Arthur, Advocacy Lead for Sustainable Fashion at the United Nations Environment Programme

Rachel Arthur is a sustainability strategist and writer dedicated to actioning systems-level change within the fashion industry. She is the Advocacy Lead for Sustainable Fashion at the United Nations Environment Programme, overseeing a strategy aiming to redirect consumer-facing communication in the context of the triple planetary crisis. This work explores greenwashing, the power of inclusive storytelling, aspiration’s influence on consumption and beyond. She has also worked with the UNFCCC's Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and the British Fashion Council's Institute of Positive Fashion, and previously led the industry strategy for Google's environmental data platform in partnership with WWF and Stella McCartney.

By background she is an award-winning business journalist having contributed to titles as varied as Business of Fashion, Vogue Business, The NY Times, Guardian and more. Rachel has delivered a TEDx talk about the role innovation needs to play to enable a more environmentally sustainable fashion industry, and was named in a list of 30 people changing the face of fashion by Glamour magazine.

Mikaela Loach, Climate Justice Activist and Author of It's Not The Radical: Climate Action to Transform our World

Mikaela Loach is a climate justice activist, author of It's Not That Radical!: Climate Action To Transform Our World (April 2023), co-host of The YIKES Podcast, writer and 4th year medical student based in the United Kingdom. In 2020, Forbes, Global Citizen and BBC Woman's Hour named Mikaela as one of the most influential women in the UK climate movement. In 2021, she was one of three claimants on the "Paid To Pollute" case who took the UK government to court over the huge public payments they give to fossil fuel companies every year. Her work focuses on the intersections of the climate crisis with oppressive systems and making the climate movement a more accessible space.

Kerem Alper, Founder of Neol and ATÖLYE

Kerem is the co-founder and CEO of Neol and co-founder and Chair of ATOLYE.

As a multidisciplinary systems thinker with a background in entrepreneurship, decentralized systems and design, his deep commitment to unleashing the creative confidence in communities and enabling meaningful change in the world is what motivates him at core. As Neol’s CEO, he drives the vision for the startup to build it into a global decentralized creative teams platform focusing on impact innovation. Neol is a VC-backed technology startup revolutionizing the way the creative services industry operates. As ATOLYE Chair, Kerem’s primary focus is to advise leadership around strategy while contributing to certain global relationships. Kerem holds a dual masters in MBA and MS in Sustainable Design Systems from Stanford University.