On the (Virtual) Park Bench with Sarah Gilbert

RHR International is a prominent consulting firm that works with senior executives around the globe to unlock their leadership potential. RHR believes that leadership is a principled undertaking with the ability to create tremendous good in the world. As awareness and urgency about climate issues are increasingly at the forefront of business discussions, RHR is uniquely positioned to help shape the dialog and inform the solutions companies are seeking.

Sarah has been instrumental in organizing internal efforts at RHR to get all levels of the organization involved with environmental issues.

Sarah: RHR started getting serious about climate issues over eighteen months ago as part of a global movement called COUNTDOWN 2020 – more on that later. As a company with 125 employees and consultants spread across the US, Canada, and the UK, we traditionally do quite a bit of air travel – COVID notwithstanding.  We want to do our part and have enjoyed the full support of senior management to pursue this. And, as a thought leader on best practices for successful corporate executives, we are compelled to put good ideas into practice – and help others do the same.

Sarah: As I mentioned, we organized education and employee engagement activities in partnership with COUNTDOWN 2020. As part of that partnership, we participated in the online conference in October of last year that was a joint effort between TED talks, Future Stewards, and YouTube. It was very exciting. More than 3 million people and 650 companies participated. Then, to continue our work, a small team of RHR employees that included me started a group called Forces of Nature. Forces of Nature focuses on environmental issues and initiatives including food, transportation, materials, energy, and nature. Forty employees – about one-third of the company – have since signed up to join us. Together we are educating ourselves, conducting a carbon audit for the company, engaging clients in conversations about sustainability, training leaders, and helping employees convert their personal lifestyles to be more carbon-friendly.

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