GSG 2023 Overview and Actions
In the sustainability working world, April is a busy month and April 2024 did not disappoint. April is known as Earth Month and Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd. Organizations of all stripes use this month to draw attention to environmental work, challenges, causes, etc. Seeing all of the work highlighted during Earth Month is inspiring and motivating, especially when one works in the environmental space as a professional year round. Therefore, I want to take the opportunity to thank the many, many people who worked so hard to showcase the myriad ways they and/or their organizations are providing just and equal work environments for employees, integrating practices that lower the organization’s carbon footprint, investing in nature, and bettering the environment we all inhabit. This work matters. Your effort matters.
At Green Spark Group, we have spent time reflecting on our own company’s social handprint, environmental footprint and approach to governance so that we may strive to serve our clients well, keep improving our operations and clearly define our own carbon emissions. Our 2023 annual report is a summary of this work.
It's undeniable that the largest part of our carbon footprint comes from travel. As a small company we struggle with the social benefits of engaging in person and when to go virtual, as well as the practical benefits of in-person, experiential learning and engagement. This will always be a tension which we will need to balance. In person engagement is so important and when we decide to do it, we strive to bundle as many meetings, speaking engagements and events into one trip.
April 2024 was a perfect example. I went to both Halifax and St. John’s on Canada’s East Coast to participate on four panels and workshops over several days in the Clean Energy Series produced by the Sustainable Entertainment Society. I then headed to Las Vegas to speak at three distinct sessions at the hugely successful NABShow on my way home. Once there, I moderated the Director’s Guild of Canada’s Earth Day session over Zoom and then wrapped the month out in Los Angeles at the Dancing with Light showcase hosted by Amazon Studios and meetings with colleagues. Here’s our photo book for a look. This was a lot of travel, but I probably talked to over 100 people in person and made tangible connections that will ripple from there towards additional sustainable outcomes.
As a small company, we continually work to improve our governance. We lay the bricks one by one as we build out our policies to strengthen the way we work so we may thrive in our external client engagements. We hope our annual report gives you a snapshot of our work in this space. As always, we welcome comments and feedback so we may continue to improve.
Here are a few takeaways from our reflections and recent travels:
Planning is critical - asking tough questions, problem solving, and engaging in dialogue early on is imperative and will likely save time and ease the stress in an inevitable pivot.
Plans are iterative - while planning is imperative, remaining flexible is crucial. I am reminded by the quote: “Just because you made a good plan, doesn’t mean that’s what’s gonna happen.” Taylor Swift
Leadership is necessary - Whether it be at an organizational level, on a production, in a department, good leaders know how to create conditions for their people to thrive and do their best work.
Practice is essential - the sustainability journey is all a work in progress; a constant effort to improve, do better, practice. Keep moving forward.
Our company has been in business for a decade. We can see a resounding ripple effect of our work on the social landscape. Whole programs and group engagement have been started, taken root and are now growing in part because of our early work and the continual work of local stakeholders. We’ll share more on this ripple effect later this year.
