Podcast
Engaging ESG with Jennifer Owens and Kati Kallins
Hosted by Jennifer Owens and Kati Kallins · EN
Engaging ESG brings together sustainability and marketing leaders for candid conversations about what actually works when communicating sustainability and social impact. Join Jennifer Owens, ESG marketing consultant, and Kati Kallins, global head of sustainability at Adobe, as they and their guests cut through the noise to deliver practical strategies you can implement today.
21episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Making Sustainability Part of Everybody's Job EP 40
2w ago00:33:38Tap to summarizeDrew Wilkinson, founder of the Climate Leadership Collective and LinkedIn Learning instructor, joins Jennifer and Kati to explore why less than 1 percent of any workforce working on sustainability simply doesn't scale — and what to do about it.Drew's journey started as a paralegal at Microsoft. Over 10 years, he helped build the company's first employee sustainability community, helped push Microsoft toward its 2020 climate commitments, and watched as software engineers created green coding principles that now influence the entire profession. Today, he is bringing his experience to a wide array of companies and industries.We dig into the difference between working in climate and working on climate, why the professional sphere is a sweet spot for impact, and how to create pathways for employees to connect their passion with their purpose.Have a question for us? Email us today at engagingesg@gmail.com!Learn more about us at https://bit.ly/EngagingESGpod. Show Links Learn more about Drew Wilkinson Learn more about the Climate Leadership Collective Take Drew's LinkedIn Learning course on employee sustainability engagement Explore Earthwise Architectural Salvage Learn about the Green Software Foundation Our theme music is “Lost in Translation” by Wendy Marcini and Elvin Vangard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Collective Action in a Polarized World EP 39
4w ago00:34:36Tap to summarizeAmanda Gardiner, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network USA, joins Jennifer and Kati for a conversation about leading one of the world's most influential corporate sustainability networks and why this moment calls for a new kind of community.With a career spanning the United Nations, Fortune 500s like Meta and Verizon, and global education company Pearson, Amanda brings hard-won lessons about integrating ESG strategy across decentralized organizations. She shares her experience building trust with stakeholders and mapping value chains to unlock influence.We also dig into the evolving language of sustainability and how the UN Global Compact is helping companies navigate reduced budgets, leadership turnover and regulatory uncertainty.Have a question for us? Email us today at engagingesg@gmail.com! Learn more about us at https://bit.ly/EngagingESGpod Show Links Learn more about Amanda Gardiner Visit UN Global Compact Network USA Watch: Pluribus + Sinners Our theme music is "Lost in Translation" by Wendy Marcini and Elvin Vangard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Building a Regenerative Future EP 38
Apr 100:32:02Tap to summarizeLindsay Baker, CEO of the Living Future Institute, joins Jennifer and Kati to demystify the built environment's role in climate action. With a career that spans LEED's early days, Google's green building team, WeWork's sustainability efforts and climate tech startups, Lindsay brings deep sector expertise to the question: How does sustainability actually happen? She breaks down why passion without understanding is too often misdirected and makes the case for maintaining what we have rather than always building new. Plus: Why "fetch" still isn't happening in sustainability terminology (!), how agricultural waste like straw bale and hemp are revolutionizing building materials, and the important (and unsung) role your building maintenance team plays in reaching climate goals. Have a question for us? Email us today at engagingesg@gmail.com! Learn more about Engaging ESG at bit.ly/EngagingESGpod. Show links • Learn more about Lindsay Baker. • Living Future Institute • Design the Future podcast • Living Building Challenge • Climate Wayfaring by Katharine K. Wilkinson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →What's Really Happening Right Now in Sustainability Hiring EP 37
Mar 1800:44:55Tap to summarizeWhat's Really Happening Right Now in Sustainability Hiring They're back! Catherine Harris and Richard Kent of Acre — the global leader in sustainability recruitment — return for our first-ever repeat interview… and for very good reason. Their Season 3 episode was one of our most popular, and the sustainability job market has shifted dramatically since we last talked. Catherine, Acre's Executive Director of Sustainable Business for the Americas, and Richard, a Principal Consultant specializing in sustainability and technology leadership, share what's really happening behind the hiring headlines and offer advice on how professionals in this space should position themselves. We also discuss why hiring timelines have doubled, how AI is reshaping the talent landscape, and what Catherine and Richard are telling candidates right now about building resumes, rethinking job titles and staying sharp in a tough market. Have a question for us? Email us today at engagingesg@gmail.com! Learn more about us at https://bit.ly/EngagingESGpod. Show Links Learn more about Catherine Harris. Learn more about Richard Kent. Learn more about Acre. Read Ride the Waves from Futerra. Read LinkedIn Green Skills Report. Read Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson. Read New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson. Read Alison Taylor Higher Ground. Read Solitaire Townsend’s Solitaire's Storytelling. Read Andrew Winston. Our theme music is "Lost in Translation" by Wendy Marcini and Elvin Vangard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Seeing Climate Change: Hope, Humanity + Conservation EP 36
Mar 400:31:39Tap to summarizeNational Geographic photographer and filmmaker Ami Vitale joins Jennifer and Kati to explore how visual storytelling can transform conservation narratives, from documenting the last northern white rhinos to centering indigenous voices in climate solutions. After a decade covering global conflicts, Ami discovered environmental breakdown was at the heart of human suffering, leading her to reimagine how we tell nature's stories. Through her nonprofit Vital Impacts, which has raised more than $5 million for conservation, she demonstrates why hope isn't soft but strategic, and why the real question isn't whether local voices are included, but “who's holding the microphone and who's benefiting?’ Learn how Kenya's community-led conservation turned around rhino extinction, why we need to get comfortable with discomfort, and how finding joy in tragedy becomes an act of resistance against apathy. Have a question for us? Email us today at engagingesg@gmail.com! Learn more about Engaging ESG at bit.ly/EngagingESGpod. Show Links * Learn more about Ami Vitale. * Ami's iconic photographs of Sudan, the last male northern white rhino (National Geographic) * Vital Impacts Our theme music is "Lost in Translation" by Wendy Marcini and Elvin Vangard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Soil, Stories and the Power of Positive Messaging EP 35
Feb 1800:31:50Tap to summarizeLast year, only 9% of Americans spoke to a farmer about their food. Evan Harrison, CEO of Kiss the Ground, is here to change that with an approach to regenerative agriculture designed to bring the concept into the mainstream through strategic storytelling. Its impact is already being felt. This year, Kiss the Ground has produced 400 pieces of content to reach 2 million people monthly, turning farmers into the real rock stars of the movement. In this conversation with Jennifer + Kati, Evan offers his data-driven approach to awareness building, how his music industry background at iHeartRadio and BMG shaped his nonprofit leadership style, and why leading with health instead of climate alarm is the key to resonating more and more. Have a question for us? Email us today at engagingesg@gmail.com! Learn more about Engaging ESG at bit.ly/EngagingESGpod. Our theme music is "Lost in Translation" by Wendy Marcini and Elvin Vangard. Show links Learn about: Kiss the Ground Watch: Kiss the Ground documentary Watch: Stories of Regeneration with Dan Barber Follow: 5 with a Farmer Read: Project Drawdown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The Bestest and Worstest of Times for ESG Comms EP 34
Feb 400:36:31Tap to summarizeThis week, Jennifer and Kati sit down with Joel Makower, chairman and co-founder of Trellis Group, for a candid conversation about the current state of sustainability communications after 35+ years in the field. Joel shares why we're living with higher highs and lower lows than ever before. We explore the trust crisis affecting not just sustainability, but business, media, science and government — and what it means for communicators trying to make the case for climate action. Joel also offers his advice for integrating head and heart through storytelling, how to reframe sustainability as "better" rather than sacrifice, and why ESG became a political landmine while the s-word endures. Have a question for us? Email us today at engagingesg@gmail.com! Learn more about Engaging ESG at bit.ly/EngagingESGpod. Show Links Learn more about Joel Makower Visit Trellis Watch: Joel Makower: Poetry in Motion Listen: Smartless Listen: So Many Steves: Afternoons with Steve Martin Our theme music is "Lost in Translation" by Wendy Marcini and Elvin Vangard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Gaming for Good: Climate Action in Digital Worlds EP 33
Jan 2100:33:03Tap to summarizeClimate and sustainability strategist Marina Psaros joins Jennifer and Kati to explore an unexpected frontier for climate communications: the gaming world. Marina shares her journey from NOAA scientist to Head of Sustainability at Unity Technologies, and how that experience revealed a massive untapped opportunity. With 3 billion people playing games worldwide, gaming communities have become powerful "third spaces" where climate conversations are already happening, just without professional communicators at the table. We also explore Marina's beautiful book, The Atlas of Disappearing Places, and why she chose to frame fossil fuel dependence as an addiction rather than an individual moral failing. Learn how this shift from blame to systemic thinking opens up more honest, actionable conversations about climate. Have a question for us? Email us today at engagingesg@gmail.com! Learn more about Engaging ESG at bit.ly/EngagingESGpod. Our theme music is "Lost in Translation" by Wendy Marcini and Elvin Vangard. Show Links Learn more about Marina Psaros at marinapsaros.com. Read: The Atlas of Disappearing Places: Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis Read: Social strategies to engage video gamers in climate action Listen: Earthworks podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The Story Is the Glue: Creating a Portfolio Career EP 32
Jan 700:30:28Tap to summarizeMichael Neuwirth has built what he calls a "portfolio career" — and after hearing his story, you'll want one too. The communications veteran spent 20+ years at Danone, served as the first Chief Communications Officer for the American Sustainable Business Council, and now angel invests in 14 sustainability-focused startups (from period equity solutions to upcycled food platforms). In this wide-ranging conversation, Michael reveals why authentic storytelling is the fabric that holds early-stage companies together, how sustainability communications evolved from charity golf outings and "chairman projects" to strategic business imperatives, and why comms professionals must expect — and not ask for — a seat at the decision-making table. Have a question for us? Email us today at engagingesg@gmail.com! Learn more about Engaging ESG at bit.ly/EngagingESGpod. Show Links Learn more about Michael Neuwirth Watch: Pluribus Listen: Desperately Seeking the 80s Our theme music is "Lost in Translation" by Wendy Marcini and Elvin Vangard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Engaging ESG is back for season 4!
Dec 1700:01:11Tap to summarizeEngaging ESG returns for season 4 on January 7th. Engaging ESG is a bimonthly series exploring the evolving landscape of ESG communications. Join Jennifer Owens, former external content strategy lead for Meta Sustainability, and Kati Kallins, former head of sustainability engagement at Meta, as they address the pitfalls and opportunities hidden in your ESG comms plan and provide practical answers you and your team can use today. Learn more about Engaging ESG at bit.ly/EngagingESGpod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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