DURHAM -- Climate Counts was launched in 2007 with the goal of bringing consumers and high profile companies together to address solutions to global climate change. Motivated by the idea that halting climate change can only happen with action taken by an informed public, Climate Counts is out to prove that engaged citizens around the world have the power to make long-lasting change. The organization has scored some of the world’s most recognizable companies – from restaurants to software companies and everything in between – in an effort to provide consumers a transparent look into what the world’s biggest employers are doing to curb their environmental footprints.
In Director Mike Bellamente, 37, the organization has a leader as committed to unearthing our shared climate challenges as he is coming up with tangible solutions. He’s also bringing the Climate Counts message to students through collaboration with the University of New Hampshire’s Sustainability Institute as a way of inspiring the next generation of sustainability leadership.
“With how political the climate change debate has become, we’ve found that the most productive way forward is to drive change in the private sector by highlighting companies that are truly ahead of the curve on sustainability,” says Bellamente. “We believe it’s necessary to develop tools that help consumers vote with their dollar and reward the companies who are doing their part.”
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Theresa Conn (TC): What do you like most about your job?
Mike Bellamente (MB): I worked in the private sector for a very long time. I enjoyed the work, but didn’t feel like what I was doing was meaningful. Working for Climate Counts, I feel like I’m at the leading edge of something that’s very critical to how we operate as a society. That, to me, is what I find most fulfilling.
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TC: Where did you go to college? Does your college education help with your current job? What skills from college most prepared you for the work you do now?
MB: I’m a proud graduate of Plymouth State here in New Hampshire. I came away with a marketing degree that allowed me to understand the relationship between brand marketers and consumers. In the end, like it or not, everyone is trying to sell something - regardless of the field you’re in. Coming to accept that has helped me understand that whatever I’m selling. In our case, what we’re trying to sell is a citizen-led response to climate change. And it needs to be sold in a way that’s unique, provocative and not preachy. People don’t respond well to preachy.
TC: What do you look for in an employee in this field?
MB: People who “get it.” We hire people that look beyond the politics of climate change and see that there’s a real issue there that requires a market-driven solution. We need those types of people – people that can bring fresh ideas and thinking to the problem. I like employees who don’t need a lot of hand-holding and are willing to get their hands dirty.
TC: What made you integrate sustainability into your business / go into a green industry?
MB: It’s the nature of what we do. Climate Counts has encouraged dozens of big, national businesses to operate in a more environmentally friendly way. My background in marketing and experience in the business world helped me find a way to inspire real change. Our Climate Scores help take sustainability out of the theoretical realm and into the actual market.
TC: What are you most proud of in your business as relates to sustainability?
MB: I’m proud to see that our work influences the market as a whole. Companies rated by Climate Counts care very deeply about their Climate Score; they’re constantly looking to improve. That means they’re willing to put resources into things like renewable energy, waste minimization and sustainable product research and development. These changes within the business and production world have the potential to create lasting changes that are good for businesses and for the planet.
Climate Counts is a green-certified business in the Green Alliance. For more info on Climate Counts, visit www.climatecounts.org. To learn more about the Green Alliance, go to www.greenalliance.biz.
Theresa Conn is a senior Environmental Conservation and Sustainability major at UNH and a writer for the Green Alliance.
