What does it mean to be a corporate sustainability thought leader these days?

In this episode Joel Makower and Solitaire Townsend delve into that question, confronting a paradox at the heart of corporate sustainability: At the very moment when business needs to step up and help shape the sustainability agenda, most companies have lost their nerve to talk about it.

In an era of climate disruption, institutional distrust and political polarization, silence isn’t neutral. It’s risky.

The sustainability landscape is littered with bold claims, ambitious targets and a widening gap between rhetoric and reality. Against that backdrop, Siemens AG presents a case worth examining — not because it declares itself a climate leader, but because it treats the climate transition as an operating constraint rather than a branding opportunity.

Eva Riesenhuber, Siemens’ Global Head of Sustainability, is explicit about the forces shaping the moment. “We are in the middle of two transitions,” she told us — the energy transition and the emerging circularity transition — and “the business case for sustainability is very healthy.”

That’s a confident assertion, but it raises a question: Is Siemens ahead of the curve, or simply well positioned to adapt to a world whose regulations and market forces increasingly leave companies little choice?

What's going on at COP30? You wouldn't know much by reading the mainstream media, other than the relatively mild protests and the usual infrastructure problems nearly all COPs face. But what should companies know about the substance of the event?

In this episode of our Two Steps Forward podcast, we take stock — Soli from inside the Blue Zone at COP30 in sweltering Belém, Brazil, and Joel comfortably ensconced at home.

What emerges is a candid dispatch from inside one of the hottest and most complex COPs yet.

What happens when the world’s dominant measurement system for corporate climate impact no longer reflects the world we’re operating in? And what should replace or supplement it?

At this year’s Climate Week in New York City, amid the 1,000-plus events and 100,000 attendees crowding the streets and stages, one theme stood out: leadership. Not just any leadership, but the kind that comes from the very top.

On our Two Steps Forward podcast, recorded live at Solutions House, my co-host Solitaire Townsend and I sat down with Jesper Brodin, CEO of IKEA and chair of The B Team, to explore the role of corporate leaders in accelerating the sustainability transition. What emerged was a candid conversation about agency, accountability and belief.

Solitaire Townsend and Joel Makower dive deep into the messy, confusing and often misleading world of corporate carbon claims. “Carbon neutral” once carried a certain promise. When Interface, the carpet company, popularized the phrase two decades ago, it felt like a step forward — an early signal that business could take responsibility for its role in the climate crisis. But as Soli and I explore, the term has since morphed into a hall pass for greenwash, a way for some companies to buy absolution without changing much.

What is the connection between creativity and sustainability? That's the topic of the conversation between Joel and Soli this episode.

To be clear, this isn’t just about those who can play an instrument, tell a story or paint a picture. Indeed, we challenged the popular notions of people as “creatives”or “influentials,” since these labels segment people unnecessarily. Instead, we emphasize that creativity is universal: from crafting bedtime stories to everyday problem-solving in supply chains or sustainability roles. Even repetitive jobs can involve improvisation, lateral thinking, negotiation and imaginative work behind the scenes.

Also important, we discussed, is the role of humor and levity. For example, wordplay and punning can be a useful way of processing ideas and connecting — creative elements that make sustainability work more enjoyable and less depressing at times.

Godelnik’s critique of current corporate efforts calls for moving beyond incrementalism and into systems-level transformation that prioritizes values over profits. “We’re living in an era where, for the most part, what we’re doing is tweaking the system rather than transforming the system,” he told us. “I call it sustainability as usual... grounded in the prioritization of profit maximization and growth, mostly short-term growth.”

Godelnik described how external conditions — regulation, social pressure, policy — can accelerate or impede corporate sustainability, often more than internal ambition. This sharp distinction reflects a concern that compliance is crowding out creativity. True progress will require investment in bold, entrepreneurial approaches, he said.