Meet These Rising Stars Fighting Climate Change at Work
Younger adults lead other generations in seeking purpose-driven work: A large majority of Gen Z (86%) and Millennial (89%) workers say that having a meaningful mission is important in their career, according to a Deloitte survey of 22,800 younger workers.
They’ll even “climate quit” when their employers renege on sustainability commitments.
This year’s GreenBiz 30 Under 30 list recognizes the rising stars of sustainability. These are the people who are driving change, at scale, at some of the world’s largest organizations.
The ninth class of the GreenBiz 30 Under 30 were all born on or after March 29, 1994. They hail from the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil and the Philippines.
The GreenBiz editorial team has selected these individuals from nearly 300 nominations submitted in the spring, for their unique and effective efforts to impact the climate crisis at scale.
They are working at corporate giants like BlackRock, Estée Lauder and Whole Foods; startups such as HelloFresh and Circ, and non-governmental organizations including EDF and GRID Alternatives.
Their vocations include making sure that Starbucks serves ethically sourced coffee beans, doubling JetBlue’s sustainable fuel usage and helping drive Zara’s use of recycled fabric.
Their influence is already vast: Assessing climate risk for $2.5 trillion in assets under management at Barclays. Engineering millions of square feet of low-carbon buildings at Gensler, the architectural firm. Setting up the U.S. Department of Energy’s $3.5 billion carbon-removal hubs.
And they’re doing hard, difficult work that often goes unsung, like electrifying truck fleets and home appliances, embedding circularity into food and textiles, and installing renewable energy sources at companies that previously burned oil.
It’s important work, and it’s just beginning. Wish them well — because we’re all going to live in the future they are creating today.
The 2024 30 Under 30 Honorees List:
Kayalin Akens-Irby, Head of Growth at Planet FWD in San Francisco
Alex Authie, Associate, Energy and Sustainability at AMA Group in California
Sneha Balasubramanian, Sustainability Specialist at Cisco in Austin, Texas
Raunak Barnwal, Vice President at JP Morgan in London
Ngozi Chukwueke, Africa Technical Associate, Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices at SCS Global Services in Washington, D.C.
Tin Dalida, Chief Operations Officer and Co-founder at Wovoka in Manila
Dan Dinh, Assistant Manager, Product Sustainability at The Estée Lauder Companies in New York
Edward Freer, Sustainability Communications Lead at the London Stock Exchange Group
Hannah Friedman, Founding Principal, Independent Strategic Financial Advisor at Planeteer Capital in New York
Holly Funk, Manager of Energy Performance at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in Miami
Vincent Gauthier, Manager, Climate-Smart Agriculture, at Environmental Defense Fund in Boston
Nicoline Good, Associate, Corporate Sustainability at BlackRock in New York
Peter Harrison, interior designer and climate action + sustainability specialist at Gensler in Portland, Oregon
Maile Hartsook, Environmental Sustainability Program Manager at Brown-Forman in San Francisco
Bella Horstmann, Senior Analyst, Sustainability & ESG at JetBlue Airways in New York
Arshiya Lal, Director of Corporate Development at Circ in New York
Andrew Loranger, Senior Analyst, Energy & Sustainability at Host Hotels & Resorts in Bethesda, Maryland
Pedro Alexandre Martins, Senior Sustainable Sourcing Manager at HelloFresh International in Berlin
Kermith Morales Moguel, Impact Manager at United Nations Global Compact in Cordoba, Mexico
Marcela Mulholland, Deputy Director of Partnerships at the Carbon Removal Alliance in New York
Charles Orgbon III, Manager, Climate Change & Sustainability Services at EY in San Francisco
Colton Orr, Sustainable Transportation Program Manager at Gladstein, Neandross and Associates in Los Angeles
Daniel Park, Sustainable Design Specialist at HOK in Ellicott City, Maryland
Sarah Reice, Sustainability Manager at Anthropologie in Philadelphia
Kaity Robbins, Senior Program Manager of Diversion at Whole Foods Market in Austin, Texas
Jess Roberts, VP of Ratings at Sylvera in London
Campbell Weyland, Senior Sustainability Analyst at Lowe’s Companies in Charlotte, North Carolina
Michael Wong, Senior Manager for Environmental Sustainability at Ferguson in Richmond, Virginia
Angelica Wright, Tribal Education and Workforce Manager at the Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund, GRID Alternatives in Orlando, Florida
Christy Zakarias, Climate Risk Vice President at Barclays in London
You can read more about each of these young innovators here.
Source: GreenBiz / Trellis