Want to Work on Climate? Start Here.
By: Susan Su
Tags: Startup, Climate Change, Career Development, Startup Lessons, Venture Capital

“Semaphore” is an ecological workplace concept created by architect Vincent Callebaut. I want to work here!

👋🏽 I am a seasoned technology startup operator who now works in VC. After deciding I wanted to apply a serious climate lens to the work I do, I started to spend around 15 hours / week learning about this space (see below for how I carved out 15 hours).

Lately, more people I know who work in tech and VC are coming out of the woodwork saying that they too want to “work on climate change” but they’re not exactly sure what that means.

Where should they start? (answer: here)

To share my thoughts on this question, I’ve put together this Climate Focus Guide of the best resources I’ve come across on how to learn about climate change so that you can:

Apply a climate lens to your current role and organization, Apply your skills to the climate problem outside of your job in a volunteer or part-time capacity that maximizes your time and leverage, Work at a climate company or organization, OR… Start a climate company.

Note: Many of the biggest impact+profit opportunities in climate are big infrastructure or ‘hard tech’ solutions where your current skillset (like mine) may not apply. You can still start working on climate right now from within your current job and life, and to do that effectively, it’s important to commit to the foundational work outlined below. No matter which option above is right for you, everyone’s welcome here.

Click to jump to the Table of Contents

First, how I did all this with a busy day job

Since I have a busy job that I love and yet wanted to make progress in a new area quickly, I did two things that I believe helped me maximize my time and progress:

I chose to make climate 100% of my multimedia content consumption. From climate-related podcasts and/or videos, to climate-related news, research, long-form articles and books, anything ‘extra’ that I am consuming is related to climate. I joined a course called Terra.do, the original climate bootcamp which has been invaluable in helping me to structure the learning path. The folks there are incredibly kind and inclusive, yet also hardcore experts in climate science and practice. I’ve really enjoyed being in a cohort with other members from around the world, especially from India and Southeast Asia where climate change takes on a different urgency.

I’ve included more detail about each of these options in the list below.

The 3 phases of building a Climate Focus: Learning, Connecting, and Staying in the Loop

It’s not enough to watch a few documentaries, read some stressful New York Times articles or even directly peruse the latest IPCC reports (props though).

Climate change is a highly complex systems problem, where coming up with great ideas (or knowing the best companies into which you should invest your time or money) requires a systematic approach to understanding the many facets of the challenge. In other words, you need to invest serious significant time in Learning, Connecting and Staying in the Loop.

I. Learning because it’s global challenge that touches science, policy, human behavior, society and even civilization itself (no big deal)

because it’s global challenge that touches science, policy, human behavior, society and even civilization itself (no big deal) II. Connecting because there are thousands of knowledgable and dedicated leaders and builders already working on this, and you should be their friend

because there are thousands of knowledgable and dedicated leaders and builders already working on this, and you should be their friend III. Staying in the Loop because climate is literally always changing. Sad pun intended.

With that, let’s have a look at the Climate Focus Guide.

Climate Focus Guide — Table of Contents

This is a long Guide, so I’ve created a Table of Contents to help you navigate. Everything that appears underlined is a hyperlink, and at the end of every section there’s a link back to the Table of Contents. Click to jump straight to any section.

I. LEARNING — PODCASTS 🎧 BOOKS📚 ARTICLES 🖋 & COURSES 📓

II. CONNECTING — SLACK COMMUNITIES 💬 & 1:1 CONVERSATIONS📞

III. STAYING IN THE LOOP — DATABASES 🏫 NEWS SITES 📰 AND POLITICAL ACTION 🗳

Note: If you know of an unmissable resource that I’ve nonetheless managed to miss, please share it in the comments below!