Building Credibility in Climate Networking

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙀𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙋𝙞𝙫𝙤𝙩 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙? Yesterday’s post focused on job leads and resources. Today, let’s talk about you. This is about how to pivot, not just react. Let’s get real: Losing your role at the EPA or a mission-driven org isn’t just a career hiccup; it’s a gut punch. But here’s the raw truth: Your impact isn’t tied to a badge or a title. I’ve watched colleagues turn layoffs into launching pads (yes, even in this messy climate). Here’s how to pivot without losing your purpose: 1. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 "𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞" 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 "𝐀𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲" 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 Stop saying, “I only did permitting/compliance/fieldwork.” Example: Your EPA regulatory expertise? Private firms salivate for that. They need people who can navigate NEPA reviews like a second language. e.g., a friend reframed “enforcement officer” into “risk mitigation strategist”. 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧: 𝙒𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨-𝙤𝙣-𝙩𝙝𝙚-𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚. 2. 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 (𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞!) The private sector isn’t the enemy. Utilities need pros who understand water equity and infrastructure gaps. NGOs don’t care if you’re ex-EPA—they care that you can fight for clean water in courtrooms and boardrooms. State roles are hiring like crazy for climate resilience. Pro tip: Use ECO-USA.net to find hyper-local gigs where your federal experience = instant credibility. 3. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 Join LinkedIn groups like “Environmental Consulting Network” and “Sustainable Jobs.” Attend industry webinars (many are free via ACS, AWMA, WEF). Find mentors outside EPA. If you only network with former colleagues, your search stays too narrow. Forget LinkedIn spam. Do this instead: Slide into the DMs of NEIWPCC or NAEP webinar speakers. Say: “Your talk on PFAS regs resonated. I’m pivoting from federal work—any advice?” (Works 10x better than “Looking for jobs!”) Join WEF’s “Young Professionals” Slack. They’re 24/7 hype squads for water nerds. 4. 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 It’s okay to grieve. But: Your “why” still matters.  You don’t need another degree, but micro-credentials & certifications can boost your resume. Certified Environmental Professional (CEP) GIS for Environmental Applications Project Management (PMP) Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻: Rewrite your LinkedIn headline: “EPA Alum | Bridging Regulation + Innovation in Water Equity” Pick 3 firms from the previous post. Research their projects, then email a manager: “I helped streamline EPA permitting for [X]—can I share insights on your Y project?” #Environmentaljobs #PivotWithPurpose #MissionDrivenHustle

There’s a dangerous assumption in the scientific world: facts speak for themselves. They don’t. This is the Enlightenment Fallacy—the belief that truth alone is enough to persuade. Meanwhile, master storytellers use cognitive science, marketing, and repetition to embed ideas into public consciousness. If you want people—investors, customers, or the public—to care about your work, you need more than just the science. This is especially crucial for systemic issues like climate. Here’s where most founders go wrong: → Skipping the process and only showing the results Spending years refining a method but only presenting the final answer leaves people disconnected. Fix: Showing your journey—the hurdles, pivots, and breakthroughs—builds trust and intrigue. → Assuming credibility is implied Grants, peer reviews, and pilot results aren’t obvious to outsiders unless they’re highlighted. Fix: Weaving credibility markers into your story instead of dumping them in a bullet list. → Overpromising without showing the work Making bold claims without proof creates skepticism. Fix: Balancing ambition with evidence. Highlighting milestones and proof points that back up big ideas. → Hiding the “why” behind the “how” Explaining the mechanics before explaining why it matters makes people tune out. Fix: Leading with the problem, urgency, and stakes—then diving into the solution. → Leaving the audience intrigued but not invested Getting people interested but not giving them a clear next step keeps them on the sidelines. Fix: Closing the loop with deeper data, case studies, and execution details to convert interest into action. → Saying too much or too little Drowning people in details makes them disengage. Being too vague makes them skeptical. Fix: Showing just enough for the right audience to get interested and ask for more. A great pitch doesn’t answer every question—it makes people want to lean in. You don’t just need to do the work You need to show the work —clearly, strategically, and in a way that builds belief and moves people and gets people to say “Tell me more”, “ Show me that graph” --- I'm Akhila, the founder of What if Design. Here to elevate climate organizations with crisp messaging and visuals on websites, pitches and brands. Reach out to see if we can help!

For those of us in climate, we knew the retreat from the Paris climate accord would happen in this administration. The executive orders and the behavior is predictably disheartening. But there is still a lot that we can do on a system level, even as individuals, like: 1) Tell your story. Why are you in this? What inspires you? What were the moments that collected and added up to you doing this work. From what I've seen, stories grounded in your own experience are less refuted. When I talk about a love of the place I live or my kids, I also get fewer scolding remarks. And the better you tell your story, the more people will hear it and think about their own, and admire the work that you're doing. 2) Build community. You are tethered to multiple communities that care about climate. There are the safe spaces in climate and the slack channels. The Climate Weeks and the sweet coworking spaces at 9Zero Climate Innovation Hub. There's Nivi Achanta's glorious Soapbox Project work. There's climate job seekers in Work on Climate and builders in MCJ slack channels. There are places that are important, if split, like family dinners and school boards. Public Utility Comissions. City council meetings. Call your congressional representative (I have done meetings with mine in the past). They feel scary, but they are the places we need to be heard. If you feel the strength are activist groups trying to raise messages on climate. Get loud. (I've been to them, they're sneaky fun). Focus on how you can help. On being clear about making progress. 3) Understand the money game for climate. Doesn't matter if it's a climate tech company or a conservation non-profit. They all need money to operate and pay people. Get smart on how to find that money and use it wisely. Also, know that your story will connect you to money well, whether that's a VC pitch or a grant proposal. If it's in start ups, get smart on the VC game, and start to understand who invests in whom. Understand what a capital stack is, the difference between dilutive and non-dilutive capital and how to access them. Look at grants for companies. Some good resources are Sightline Climate (CTVC), Dimitry Gershenson, Pedro Henriques da Silva. If it's nonprofits, get smart on what foundations grant, what gets individuals to donate to climate causes. Start to understand what matters. Pay attention to places like ClimateWorks Foundation, etc. And be smart about where you put your money, whether it's individual banking where your deposits are lent out to other companies (I'm Atmos Financial and at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union) or investing (I have my liquid investments at Carbon Collective obviously), this stuff matters. These financial relationships apply to where you work. 4) Put it in perspective. Yes, these are hard times. And humanity has gone through hard times before. We will be testing our limits, but there is time for joy and life. Both can be true. Let's do this.

Every month, I consult Series A climate tech founders who want to build their personal brand and turn dormant audiences into new opportunities. The most common questions I get: 1️⃣ How do I write LinkedIn content that actually works? 2️⃣ How do I use it to build trust with investors and customers? 3️⃣ How do I stand out in a niche full of greenwashing & noise? Most founders expect me to say something complex. Instead, I tell them: 💁🏻♂️ Record sales & investor calls → These conversations are gold. They reveal what your audience actually cares about. Use them to shape your content. 💁🏻♂️ Share your journey as a founder and your original PoV on what's going on in the industry → People follow founders, not faceless companies. 💁🏻♂️ Ignore 99% of LinkedIn advice → Most of it isn’t built for climate tech. Your audience isn’t looking for virality. They’re looking for credibility. I spent years chasing tactics that worked for others. Only when I focused on my specific audience and niche, my business started to scale. Do the same. And watch what happens.

If you think credibility automatically brings opportunities… here’s why 9 out of 10 people get stuck. You can be credible. You can have skills. You can even have proof of work. But still… silence. No calls. No clients. No new projects. I remember one of my team members in Delhi who faced this. She had everything lined up— ✨ Testimonials from her first client ✨ A strong portfolio ✨ Even recognition from her college community On paper, she was credible. But weeks passed. Nothing moved. She asked me, “Why isn’t anything happening?” That’s when I understood where she was lagging—because I had been there too. Here’s what I told her (the exact things I follow myself): 1️⃣ Credibility without visibility is invisible. Share stories, not just results. Talk about your first client, your failures, the late-night hustle. People don’t just trust skills, they trust the human behind them. 2️⃣ Turn every win into proof of trust. Don’t just deliver → document how you delivered. That chai at midnight you sent to a client? That extra revision you did without being asked? Share it. People remember how you made them feel. 3️⃣ Borrow trust when you don’t have it. Partner with someone credible, collaborate on a project, or even ask for a LinkedIn recommendation. Standing next to trust builds your own. 4️⃣ Be findable when no one’s looking. Most people post when they need clients. I show up even when I don’t. Why? Because when someone finally searches for help, your consistency puts you top-of-mind. 5️⃣ Follow up like a human, not a salesperson. Don’t just write, “Any updates?” Instead, share a resource, an idea, or even encouragement. It’s not about chasing—it’s about showing you care. 💡 Takeaway: Credibility is the seed. But visibility, care, and persistence are the sunlight, water, and soil that turn it into real opportunities. This is Day 14 of my 21-day series. Tomorrow, I’ll share how to ask for opportunities without sounding “salesy” or desperate—this is where most people fail, but it can actually flip rejections into yeses. Now tell me 👇 What’s one small action you take that turns your credibility into trust? #OpportunityMindset #CredibilityToGrowth #21DaySeries #OnlineGrowth

🌿 The Trust Factor: How Transparent Communication Drives Credibility in Sustainability 🌍 In today’s world, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a business imperative. But let’s be real: building credibility in sustainability efforts takes more than promises; it requires transparent communication at every level. 🔍 **Why does transparency matter?** ✔️ It builds trust: Consumers, employees, and stakeholders want to see actions, not just hear words. ✔️ It drives accountability: Openly sharing successes and setbacks demonstrates commitment. ✔️ It fosters innovation: Collaboration thrives in an environment of clarity and honesty. 💡 Key steps to enhance transparent communication in sustainability: 1️⃣ Share the journey: Be honest about challenges and progress. Authenticity resonates. 2️⃣ Engage stakeholders: Involve your community in meaningful discussions and decision-making. 3️⃣ Report with clarity: Use data to back up your impact, but keep it accessible and relatable. Transparency isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being authentic. When organizations communicate openly, they inspire trust, strengthen their brand, and create lasting impact. 🌟 Let’s spark a conversation: How does your organization prioritize transparency in its sustainability efforts? Share your experiences and ideas below—we’d love to learn from you! #Sustainability #TransparentLeadership #Credibility #BeezConsultingCH