Impact Interview: Amber Stryker

Name: Amber Stryker

Role/Function: Founder and CEO, Bespoke ESG

What are you working on these days?

At Bespoke ESG, we are developing custom approaches to climate risk assessment for our clients. This is a part of preparing for new regulation AND they are delivering insights on how the business can thrive in the transition to a low carbon economy.

While there is uncertainty around new regulation after the U.S. election, we still know that the ESG regulation wave has crested and cannot be stopped. Even with setbacks with the SEC and slowdowns in the EU, the foundational principles of TCFD and its requirements for climate risk assessment remain core to the EU and California. Further, the EU will likely retain the tighter requirements than TCFD on risk assessment and double materiality.

Now is the time to embark on a climate risk assessment tailored to each business — there's no one-size-fits-all solution for budget, scope or strategy. I founded Bespoke ESG to provide the right-sized consulting support I struggled to find as an in-house leader. I love that we get to support clients from Fortune 500 to startups, and help them advance sustainability goals — especially when their needs may fall outside the scope of the Big Four or other large agencies.

What was the “aha” moment that sparked your interest in social and environmental impact? 

My faith tradition puts a strong emphasis on serving the poor and loving the neighbor and foreigner alike. This is something I’ve carried with me from a young age. Early in my career, I thought I had to work in nonprofits to make an impact but in my first corporate job for the MAC AIDS Fund at MAC Cosmetics, I found that I thrived in an environment where I could figure out the puzzle of how to do what is right for the world while also driving the business. I had the chance to work for one of the original cause marketing programs, helping fund HIV/AIDS nonprofits in the EMEA region. I loved working on the corporate side of the equation and I knew I’d found my place. Since then, I was able to grow into other responsibilities in the business and move to the sustainability side as well.

How did you break into the impact space? What career advice would you give to professionals who are just starting out or looking to transition?

First, I like to be honest and say that it can be tough to get a foot in the door! But it is possible.

If you want to work in areas related to corporate sustainability, it’s a big step to have corporate experience, even in other types of roles. Then consider how those roles can also serve the sustainability or impact teams. Join an ERG that’s relevant to the work you want to do and take on a substantive role within the group. Or offer tangible help to an overworked ESG team (it won’t always be ‘helpful’ but it’s worth an ask). Take those skills to sustainability openings and apply for relevant roles that relate to your experience and external training. Tell the story of how your experience will be useful in the new role.

If you are looking to learn, and you have some amazing sustainability skills and corporate or consultancy experience, apply to Bespoke ESG to join our remote and flexible consultant pool. We go to this pool when we are staffing our projects with contractors. I love forming dynamic teams that include both experienced consultants and people early in their career or career transitioners.

Right now there’s a lot to be said for hard skills like GHG accounting, writing, design, Scope 3 reduction, supply chain management, data management and understanding regulation. These are gold to consultancies and in-house teams. Go in with these talents and find opportunities to learn more about other areas of work that interest you. It takes time, but you can get in and grow this way.

Working in impact is often about driving change. What is the skill or trait that has been most important for your work as a change agent? How did you learn or hone it?

During 15 years on corporate sustainability and impact teams, one of my best soft skills was good judgment — sensing when to pause before sending an email, developing a plan to bring stakeholders on board and creating a corporate strategy that speaks the company’s language while pushing it further. I’ve worked in environments where it was more prized to take it slow and talk to every stakeholder and other orgs where it was more important to get going with the project. Learn the environment you’re in and proceed accordingly.

Build real relationships with the people you work with. It’s more fun that way. Remember that everyone has a whole life outside of work, and you don’t know what they are going through, so give them some grace (cherished advice from a mentor, friend, and former boss).

As a founder, I’ve had the opportunity to take more independent action and learn from other leaders, founders, and my clients. It takes bravery to start something new, but mostly it’s been fun and exciting. I get to work with incredible people who are making things happen in really tough environments in their companies. It’s amazing what they are doing and it’s been a joy to support them in critical areas like GHG accounting, carbon reduction strategy and responding to new regulation in the U.S. and EU.

What most excites you about the impact space right now?

I’m excited to see how innovation takes root after companies get their sea legs with regulation. It’s so new right now and there’s a lot of uncertainty. But it’s amazing how much more data we will have in the next few years as companies report more. How can we harness and leverage that data? How can we take the potential exposure of this data vulnerability and turn it into an asset to building sustainability strategy and innovating to reduce impact and preserve nature?

This season, our Impact Interviews series features members of the Change Hub, our membership community for busy sustainable business professionals. Tap into trainings, tools and a trusted network of fellow impact practitioners (including Amber!) by JOINING US HERE.