Specializing in sustainability has by no means been a cakewalk. When the world feels prefer it’s on hearth, speaking concerning the significance of recycling and clear vitality could seem to be a luxurious. However, attempting to reside a sustainable life could really feel like a burden, with an emphasis on the forms of issues we should always keep away from with a view to defend the surroundings.
Ashlee Piper has made it her mission to show the other. As a sustainability knowledgeable, creator, advisor, professor, and media persona, Piper has constructed a profession serving to folks and organizations see sustainability not as sacrifice, however as satisfaction — accessible, joyful, and deeply human.
From Animal Rescue to Sustainability Advocate
Piper’s path to turning into a number one sustainability voice wasn’t linear. “I positively didn’t research this in class,” she mentioned. “In case you’d requested me 20 years in the past if I’d be doing this work, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
Her “gateway drug” to sustainability was animal rights, a ardour rooted in childhood. Rising up in a house filled with rescued animals, due to her mom’s casual neighborhood rescue work, she developed an early empathy for dwelling beings. However it wasn’t till she grew to become an moral vegan in 2012 that she started to attach these early classes to broader environmental and social techniques.
“That non-public journey confirmed me how interconnected every thing actually is,” Piper mentioned. “How we deal with animals, the planet, and one another are all a part of the identical story. It opened my eyes to sustainability as a way of life, not only a trigger.”
Turning Communication Expertise into Local weather Advocacy
On the time, Piper was working as a political strategist in Chicago, crafting messages and campaigns for candidates and public businesses throughout the nation. However she was struck by how little sustainability featured within the political dialog.
“I used to be so energized by my very own sustainability journey and couldn’t perceive why no one was speaking about it,” she recalled. “And when it was talked about, it was both too educational or painted as this inaccessible, joyless life-style.”
So, Piper determined to alter the narrative herself. With no media expertise, she launched a vegan meals weblog to discover sustainable dwelling and take a look at how on a regular basis audiences would possibly reply. What started as a private outlet quickly grew to become a launchpad for a nationwide voice in sustainability communication.
Constructing a Platform for Accessible Sustainability
Over the following decade, Piper grew her affect by way of a number of channels, all linked by a easy perception: sustainability needs to be inclusive, inviting, and fascinating. In her sustainability follow, she consults with firms and organizations on sustainability advertising and marketing, ESG communication, and strategic storytelling. As well as, Piper teaches advertising and marketing for sustainability at a number of universities and speaks publicly to company, nonprofit, and group audiences on sustainable dwelling and accountable communication. She has additionally change into a media persona, showing on greater than 300 TV segments, together with high-profile reveals comparable to Good Morning America and The As we speak Present. “I really like doing TV,” she mentioned. “It’s such an effective way to succeed in folks the place they already are — to point out them that sustainability may be heat, enjoyable, and completely achievable.”
How No New Issues Can Profit Individuals and the Setting
In April 2025, Piper revealed her second e book, No New Issues: A Radically Easy 30-Day Information to Saving Cash, the Planet, and Your Sanity. The e book recaps how she went from senseless on-line shopper to a virtually two-year journey of shopping for solely important gadgets, leaving her happier, more healthy, and debt-free. She presents recommendation for others wanting to deal with what she calls “conditioned consumerism” and the way being intentional about purchases may also help each people’ monetary lives and the Earth.
“We’ve been programmed into an perspective of consumerism as a salve for every thing,” she mentioned. “It’s change into so ingrained that I feel folks, particularly once they’re feeling unhappy or apathetic, will fall for the advertising and marketing ploy that purchasing extra new stuff will make you really feel higher.”
Within the e book, Piper attracts a direct hyperlink between how particular person selections can have an effect on local weather change, because the fixed need for brand spanking new, usually pointless stuff results in overproduction and environmental injury. In brief, by making extra conscious purchases, we are able to defend each our pocketbooks and the planet — a deceptively easy however highly effective message.
Challenges and Alternatives in Sustainability
When requested about immediately’s largest sustainability challenges, Piper doesn’t hesitate. “Governmental obstruction is a large hurdle,” she says. “The political surroundings has made significant sustainability work tougher than ever. Many rollbacks from earlier administrations set us again years, and a few could by no means be undone.”
Nonetheless, Piper stays an optimist. “When issues are difficult, alternatives broaden. Individuals begin reprioritizing what issues. Financial uncertainty can really push us to rethink overconsumption and reconnect with group.”
She’s seen that shift firsthand. “I’ve given talks to teams from company execs to agricultural staff — folks with very completely different beliefs. However by the top, we’re all speaking about small, significant methods to reside extra sustainably. It doesn’t all the time have to begin with ideology; typically it begins with saving cash or discovering pleasure.”
Recommendation for the Subsequent Era on Constructing a Sustainable Profession
As a college teacher, Piper mentors many college students coming into the rising subject of sustainability. Her recommendation balances realism and hope. “Company sustainability may be irritating and barely feels prefer it goes far sufficient,” she mentioned. “However should you may be proud that you simply’re nudging issues in the correct route, that’s a win.”
She additionally encourages younger professionals to not really feel pressured to make sustainability their full-time job. “You don’t need to professionalize your ardour,” she mentioned. “Be a part of a bunch, volunteer, begin a small venture. That’s activism, too.” And persistence, she provides, is crucial. “This work is like turning a large ship. Progress s sluggish, however that doesn’t imply it’s not occurring.”
Whether or not she’s instructing, consulting, or showing on tv, Piper’s message stays constant: sustainability may be for everybody. “It’s not about perfection,” she mentioned. “It’s about participation. Each alternative counts, and each individual can contribute to a extra sustainable world.”
Take the Subsequent Step
For extra insights and steering on navigating the evolving panorama of sustainability and different associated points, keep tuned to our weblog for future updates and knowledgeable analyses.
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*Neither the creator nor Advance ESG has an expert affiliation with Ms. Piper.
