Meet Nicole Sullivan, our Impact Director and true influencer (not the social media kind!). Nicole has a knack for finding opportunities to make change and developing strategies that make a difference, both for people and companies.
Nicole at our colleague Tanya’s Mehendi (henna) event for her wedding
Why did you choose a career in sustainability?
I’ve always been focused on making processes more efficient and effective, especially when it comes to using resources and impacting the environment.
The global financial crisis presented an opportunity to work in marketing in a technical sustainability role. As an engineer, that sounded pretty exciting to me, as I could learn many new things and be more focused on making things better.
What do you like most about your work?
Helping people to make positive change. The little things and the big things. “Every Drop Counts” used to be about water saving. To me now, it’s about every drop in impacts that we can achieve, in every place that we can. I love clients that want to learn to do what they can in everything they can influence. I also love clients with big, bold projects that want to change the world – or their world, at least. Actions, no matter how small, and ambitions, no matter how big. Both matter and get me out of bed every morning!
Nicole and her beloved Cavoodle, Tilly
What are you proud of in your career?
I’m most proud of helping others to succeed. I’m happiest when I am enabling others to do things they didn’t think they could do. I feel really proud of several wonderful people who have blossomed since working with me (over many years) and I hope that my influence helped along their way.
What do you see as the biggest challenge in sustainability?
Moving from publicly treating climate change as an ideology to subscribe to, rather than a crisis that demands action NOW. It’s a bit like gravity. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there, isn’t happening around us right now. What do we need to lose before we will move forward together rather than bickering around the edges?
What is the best advice you can give your client?
Sustainability needs to make good business sense. If it doesn’t, your business is not sustainable. On the other hand, people are constantly surprised when becoming more sustainable saves money!
Nicole in Bangalore on tour with her family
Is there a book or podcast you would like to recommend and why?
Many! But if I have to choose one, I would go with Brene Brown. Books and podcasts alike – let’s get vulnerable, courageous and daring together!
When I was a child, I wanted to grow up and…
Make a difference in the world. When I was being interviewed for an engineering job, an older man laughed at me for suggesting I could do that in a steelworks. Well, somehow I still got the job and look at me now. The joke’s on him!