Last week I attended the Bloomberg Green Festival in Seattle. I'd attended two Bloomberg Green Summits in New York City in previous years, and was curious as to what might be different with the new locale and format. As a  coach I'm always looking to find the intersection of leadership and sustainability, and the summit provided both an update as to what that looks like and inspiration for moving forward. 

On the flight from D.C. to Seattle I read Leading by Nature by Giles Hutchins, and on the return flight I read The Generous Leader by Joe Davis. Each book focused on the behaviors of the leader in these volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) times. From Hutchins I learned the acronym L&OD, which combines the areas of my two Georgetown certificate programs and my subsequent focus: leadership (coaching) and organization development. I thought O.D. was dead (!), so I'm relieved it's still breathing. From Davis, I appreciated his chronicle of how encouraging the heart through human connections, and particularly during the pandemic, was / is the core of effective leadership. 

Weaving these themes into the festival, I gave myself a foundation from which to explore the latest trends, solutions and opportunities in the area of climate. It was great to be among so many hard-working and inspired professionals who, far from throwing the challenges of climate out the window, embraced them with an optimistic spirit. 

Which leads to the overarching trend that I observed at the festival: optimism. There was a conscious effort on behalf of the presenters to counteract the trend of dire predictions which lead (particularly young) folks to despair and feel immobilized. On the first day of the conference they even offered counseling to those who needed it. At the opening sesssion in the evening, environmentalist Adrian Grenier set an upbeat tone focused on abundance. 

From there, a number of themes which emerged particularly sparked my attention:

1) The world's 2024 elections. If Trump returns to the Presidency in the United States, he'll likely move swiftly to dismantle climate infrastructure and policy. He'll withdraw again from Paris, lowering regulations, slowing the progress of the IRA, and lowering taxes. 

2) Global safeguards. The UK election of Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister was a stunning Labour victory, and promises to strengthen the UK's position as a climate leader in years to come. In the European Union, strong climate standards have been established which will require any U.S. company which wants to collaborate to conform. 

3) Act local. In the U.S., we may return to a period similar to the first Trump term, in which states and municipalities took a stronger role. I've always been drawn to this movement, and regardless of the election's outcome, I think it's a promising area for public service and citizen engagement.

4) The economy is green and getting greener. Over the last four years, green energy has moved forward. EVs and renewables (wind and solar) are now central sources of profit and efficiency. 

5) Sustainability careers are diverse and abundant. In short, green means jobs. In a panel on green careers, we heard from a scientist, a venture capitalist and the head of an office of sustainability. 

Finally, I was personally inspired by the city of Seattle and the State of Washington. We heard from the Mayor of Seattle, Bruce Harrell, and the Governor of Washington, Jay Inslee. The green economy there is booming, and development of the city has accomodated green space and walkability. The state's Climate Commitment Act (CCA) has been successful, despite facing a challenge in the next election. The Pacific Northwest stands as a beacon to the rest of the country in the areas of climate action and opportunity. My sojourn to Seattle only strengthened my resolve to be an agent of change, inspiring and equipping green and global leaders in sustainable business and development.