Every year on Earth Day, businesses around the world make commitments, launch campaigns, and announce new sustainability goals.

What happens when the Earth Month celebrations pass?

Because the real test of sustainability isn’t what gets said on April 22nd—it’s what actually gets done on April 23rd, and every day after that.

In this special Earth Day episode of It Shouldn’t Be This Hard, co-hosts Phil White and Heidi Schoeneck sit down with Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet, to unpack one of the most quietly powerful models in climate action today: what happens when businesses commit to just 1% - consistently, transparently, and in community.

Because simple actions. Done repeatedly. In community. isn’t just the 1% For The Planet philosophy, it’s a theory of change that has already driven over $800M in environmental giving.

But this conversation goes deeper than giving.

It’s about the structural barrier holding sustainability back: the intention–action gap.

Why do so many businesses care but still hesitate to act?

Kate breaks down the tension at the heart of the system:

- The pressure to be perfect vs. the need to start

- The fear of criticism vs. the urgency of transparency

- Greenwashing on one side, green-hushing on the other and a growing silence in between

And in that silence, progress stalls.

This episode explores why progress (not perfection) is the only model that scales, and why aggregated small actions are often more powerful than isolated big ones.

Because the economy impacts the planet—full stop. The question is whether businesses are willing to act on that consistently enough for it to matter.

This is not about Earth Day as a moment.

It’s about Earth Day as a practice.

Key Takeaways:

- Why the intention–action gap is now one of the biggest blockers in sustainability execution

- How the 1% model turns incremental commitments into over $800M in verified environmental impact

- Why “progress over perfection” is a strategic advantage, not just a mindset

- How greenwashing fear and green-hushing are slowing down real climate action

- What it takes to build movements that scale beyond awareness into action

- Why consistency—not intensity—is what actually drives systemic change

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction: The intention–action gap in sustainability

01:10 – Why businesses are stuck between intention and execution

03:40 – Kate Williams on the 1% model and $800M in impact

04:10 – The theory of change: simple actions, done repeatedly, in community

04:45 – Greenwashing vs green-hushing: the new sustainability paralysis

05:00 – Why progress over perfection is the only scalable path

06:15 – Building movements through transparency and participation

07:00 – Closing reflection: what actually drives change at scale

About the Show:

It Shouldn’t Be This Hard is the podcast for leaders, founders, and change-makers reimagining what good business looks like—real conversations, radical ideas, and the belief that purpose and profit can—and must—coexist.

Additional Resources:

🤖 Meet Gaia, our sustainability AI: https://grounded.world/gaia/

🌍 Get Grounded: https://grounded.world/

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