What keeps experienced sustainability leaders hopeful when the world around them keeps changing?

In this episode of Rooted: The Human Side of Sustainability Leadership, I'm joined by Katherine Rolfe, Director of Corporate Sustainability at Wickes. With more than 25 years' experience spanning consultancy, Heathrow Airport and retail, Katherine has seen political priorities shift, new legislation emerge, ESG rise to prominence and public attention move from one issue to the next.

But rather than seeing these as endless cycles, Katherine offers a different perspective. She sees them as evolution.

Throughout our conversation, we explore how sustainability leadership has changed over the last two decades, why maintaining perspective matters, and how focusing on the influence we have today can create ripple effects we may never even see.

One of the things that struck me most was Katherine's curiosity. As a child, she remembers watching Newsround stories about acid rain, the ozone layer and rainforest destruction. While others might have become campaigners or activists, Katherine simply wanted to understand. That curiosity eventually led her into environmental management and corporate sustainability, helping businesses become part of the solution from within.

We also talk about something I think many sustainability professionals will recognise: balancing passion with commercial credibility. Early in her career, Katherine felt she needed to dial down the environmentalist in herself in order to be taken seriously in business. Today, she sees things differently. She believes sustainability leaders have an important responsibility to speak with conviction, because if they aren't prepared to champion these issues, who will?

Another highlight of our conversation is Katherine's story about the unexpected power of influence. One presentation sparked an idea that eventually became a project tackling wildlife trafficking using artificial intelligence. It reinforced her belief that meaningful change often begins with a single conversation, and that some of our greatest impact comes from connecting with people outside the sustainability profession who bring completely different skills, experiences and ways of thinking.

We also explore why sustainability communities are so valuable. They're places to learn, recharge and connect with others who understand the challenges of the role. But Katherine believes we shouldn't stay in that echo chamber for too long. The real work happens when we take those ideas back into our organisations, building relationships and influencing colleagues who may see the world very differently.

Whether you're working in corporate sustainability, ESG, environmental management, or you're simply interested in leading positive change within organisations, this conversation is a reminder that progress doesn't always happen in straight lines. Sometimes the most important thing we can do is keep showing up, stay curious, maintain perspective and trust that our influence extends further than we realise.

In this episode we discuss:
• Why Katherine sees sustainability as an evolution rather than a series of endless cycles
• Staying hopeful and maintaining perspective during changing political and commercial priorities
• How childhood curiosity about climate change and environmental issues shaped her career
• Building a career in corporate sustainability and environmental management
• The influence of teachers and careers advisers in shaping career choices
• Why one conversation can create unexpected ripple effects
• Working within businesses to create meaningful change
• Connecting with people outside the sustainability community to achieve greater impact
• Balancing commercial credibility with authentic passion for sustainability
• Why sustainability leaders shouldn't feel they have to hide their enthusiasm
• Leading change through influence, relationships and practical action
• What keeps Katherine optimistic after more than 25 years in sustainability

About Katherine Rolfe
Katherine Rolfe is Director of Corporate Sustainability at Wickes. She has more than 25 years' experience in sustainability and environmental management across consultancy, aviation and retail, helping organisations integrate sustainability into strategy, operations and decision making.

🎧 Listen now and subscribe to Rooted: The Human Side of Sustainability Leadership for honest conversations about leadership, careers, burnout, purpose and what it really feels like to create change from within organisations.

For almost four decades, Andrew Bowley has built his career in investment banking, holding executive and non-executive roles across the globe. He shaped sustainability strategies at Nomura and Wells Fargo, before stepping into a new chapter earlier this year with a portfolio career through his advisory business, BowleyFI (Finance with Impact).
In this episode of Rooted: the human side of sustainability leadership, Andrew reflects on what it really takes to create lasting change inside large organisations and why curiosity has been the thread running through his entire career.
We explore how a deep fascination with understanding how things work led him from developing financial products and building new businesses through to creating sustainability strategies. Rather than treating sustainability as a separate department, Andrew shares why he believes it has to become part of every commercial conversation if organisations are going to transform.
Alongside the strategic discussion, we also have a very honest conversation about the pressures that many ambitious leaders carry. Andrew talks openly about the anxiety that has fuelled his success, the temptation to respond by simply working harder, and the importance of recognising when healthy challenge begins to tip into something more damaging.
We also reflect on his experiences working through moments such as Black Monday and the 2008 financial crisis, what those periods taught him about perspective, and why today's sustainability leaders should keep their eyes firmly on the bigger picture.
If you've ever wondered whether you're pushing yourself because you're growing or because you're trying to prove something, I think you'll find plenty to reflect on in this conversation.
In this episode we discuss:
• Andrew's journey from investment banking into sustainability leadership
• Why curiosity and problem solving have shaped every stage of his career
• Building sustainability into the fabric of a business rather than treating it as a standalone function
• The difference between healthy challenge and destructive pressure
• Anxiety, perfectionism and the hidden drivers behind high performance
• Lessons from leading through financial crises and organisational change
• Why sustainability leaders need to think bigger, stay hopeful and keep learning

As always, I'd love to hear what resonates with you after listening.

You can connect with Andrew on LinkedIn.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please hit subscribe, post a review, and share this episode with your friends. I'd also love you to join my Rooted email community, where I share regular insights about the human side of sustainability leadership - click here to join.
Have any questions? You can find me on LinkedIn or Instagram.
Interested in one-to-one coaching with me? Check out www.yellowbenchcoaching.com to book a discovery call.
Thanks for listening!
From Liv 💛

What if the biggest impact you could make wasn't creating a better PowerPoint deck, but asking whether you're solving the right problem in the first place? In this episode of Rooted: The Human Side of Sustainability Leadership, I sit down with Janet Greenwood, former Global Lead for Sustainable Infrastructure at KPMG and Times Consultant of the Year 2024, to explore systems thinking, courageous leadership and making a bigger impact. We discuss challenging ingrained ways of working, leading with integrity when faced with difficult decisions, trusting your instincts, developing self-awareness and embracing creativity in the next chapter of your career. Whether you're a sustainability leader, engineer or senior professional navigating complex change, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about leadership, influence and seeing the bigger picture.
You can connect with Janet on LinkedIn.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please hit subscribe, post a review, and share this episode with your friends. I'd also love you to join my Rooted email community, where I share regular insights from my yellow bench - click here to join.
Have any questions? You can find me on LinkedIn or Instagram.
Interested in one-to-one coaching with me? Check out my website to book a free discovery call.
Thanks for listening!
From Liv 💛