How Nicole Condon Of Marine Stewardship Council Is Helping to Promote Sustainability and Climate Justice
An Interview With Monica Sanders
Being adaptable is a strength, and it certainly is not the same thing as giving up. While it can sometimes be beneficial to remain steadfast and be the proverbial squeaky wheel, understanding that the world and your part in it are constantly evolving will only benefit your journey.
According to the University of Colorado, “Those who are most affected and have the fewest resources to adapt to climate change are also the least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions — both globally and within the United States.” Promoting climate justice is an incredibly important environmental responsibility that is slowly becoming more and more recognized. In this interview series, we are talking to leaders who are helping to promote sustainability and climate justice. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Nicole Condon.
Nicole Condon serves as the U.S. Program Director for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Condon oversees the fisheries, commercial, and marketing and communications strategies to develop growth opportunities for certified fisheries and MSC-labeled products in the U.S. She has nearly 20 years of combined experience in marine science, non-profit program management, and seafood sustainability.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I grew up in upstate New York near Lake Ontario and spent summers in Maine with my extended New England-based family. I was always drawn to the ocean from a young age and loved combing the beach for critters that I had never seen before. I’ve never been a lie-and-bake kind of beachgoer. I needed to be up and exploring. Especially considering that, until I could make the trip on my own, this was only a once-a-year opportunity. My curiosity got the best of me, and I soon became enthralled with the depths that I could not see from land. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to study deep-sea marine life. It was astonishing to me that there were depths of the planet that had never been explored, and species still to be discovered! Since then, I have been out at sea fishing and/or conducting research off New England, Hawaii, all along the U.S. West Coast, and in the Gulf of Mexico. I managed to do all of this while seasick — a super fun trait I picked up at about the age of 17.
Everyone has a cataclysmic moment or marker in their life which propels them to take certain actions, a “why”. What is your why?
For me, academia ended up being rather unfulfilling. At the time, I was working in a very male-dominated field and faced challenges that many young females looking to break in face. I had trouble finding my voice and finding a path that held personal meaning. I also hit a point where I felt that I was sacrificing fish for the sake of science — gathering samples and conducting research with very loose connections to policy or management decisions. I had a “what do I want to be when I grow up” moment of introspection and something that my advisor at the time said stuck with me. After noting that scientists are notoriously bad communicators, he challenged that any good scientist should be able to explain what they do in two sentences or less. I certainly struggled with this, and I started to notice that science was largely not being translated for policy or inserted into a larger-scale and interdisciplinary picture. Graduating after the 2008/2009 recession when science funding was scarce, and job openings in my discipline were even scarcer, I was handed the hard reset that I needed to redefine my path. I ultimately decided to transition into a space where I could facilitate both better science and better policy to drive real-world impact.
You are currently leading an organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change?
At its core, the Marine Stewardship Council was created to address the issue of overfishing and the environmental impacts of global fisheries. Our vision is a world with oceans teeming with life and seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations. What I truly appreciate about our mission is that there is a balance between people and the planet. We are a science-based standard setter for sustainable fisheries that seeks to incentivize more sustainable choices in the supply chain, improve the health of our world’s oceans, and keep fishers fishing for generations to come. With billions of people around the world reliant on seafood for food, nutrition, livelihood, and economic security, it is imperative that we conduct business responsibly and in a way that protects well-managed fisheries for the future.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
For me, the most interesting and amazing part of my role leading the U.S. arm of our organization is my transition from peer to team leader. I am purposely putting that in the present tense as it is a constantly evolving journey. I was promoted into my current role, and I am still amazed every day by the outpouring of support from the team with the transition. Working with a group of people who show up every day with purpose and support for one another is inspiring.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
I am beyond grateful for the people in my life who have stuck with me, kept me motivated, and helped me navigate big ideas. I can pick out both mentors and people I may have only met one time who have positively impacted me going back to a very young age. People encouraged me to be more confident, to be bold, and to be comfortable with change. On the other end of the spectrum, the people who have not supported me have been just as motivating. Having regularly been the only woman in the room or on the boat, I’ve learned to transform the “don’t bother” and the “that might be too hard for you” or the “you probably don’t need to know that” into a very loud “just watch me!” There is immense power in words. I can point to at least three off-handed comments, both positive and negative, that completely shaped where I’ve ended up in my career. As I transition into more leadership roles, I constantly challenge myself to keep this in mind and to try and be that positive voice in someone’s ear.
Thank you for that. Let’s now move to the central part of our discussion. Let’s start with a basic definition of terms so that everyone is on the same page. What does climate justice/sustainability mean to you? How do we operationalize it?
Within the context of sustainable fishing, climate justice means continuing to ensure that measurable progress is being made on the water. That means the overall sustainability of global fisheries, making sure that communities and fishers are a part of the decision-making process, and making sure that our ocean health and ocean resources are a part of global discussions around policy influencing work like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This last part is truly pressing. The ocean is a primary driver of our climate, our oxygen, and our global economy. And yet, ocean-based SDGs are the least funded and least progressing. The primary focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land-based impacts — while incredibly important — tends to ignore our oceans and aquatic foods.
Science is telling us that we have 7–10 years to make critical decisions about climate change. What are three things you or your organization are doing to help?
- Providing a globally consistent standard for best practices in fisheries management.
- Providing a framework for all stakeholders to come together to build more resilient and adaptable systems.
- Elevating aquatic “blue” foods as part of ongoing conversations about sustainable food systems. Our oceans are at the nexus of climate change, food security, and livelihoods.
Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you in your mission?
When faced with big issues that are hard to grasp and impacts that are even harder to see, it’s important to:
- Get educated about the issues,
- keep our oceans and seafood in mind when considering policy decisions, and
- take small steps, like voting with your wallet and supporting sustainable brands and products.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
Sustainability is an investment in long-term profits and supply chain resiliency. Wild-caught fisheries are a perfect example of this concept. They are truly the last, large-scale wild-caught animal protein on the planet. Period. Seafood is also the largest globally traded food commodity. The risks of overfishing for short-term profits are incredibly high. By sustainably managing what we have, we actually have the potential to increase the available resources, keep it productive and profitable for generations to come, and decrease the duration and intensity of climate-driven supply chain disruptions.
On top of this, consumers are increasingly conscious and discerning about what they buy and will support brands that demonstrate that they are meeting their values. Our research shows that Gen Z, in particular, has strong brand loyalty around products that do good and that back up their claims. They are also the most willing to stop eating seafood to protect ocean health. This means that making credible strides toward sustainability and effectively communicating your impact will go a long way to enabling younger generations to maintain and grow within the category.
This is the signature question we ask in most of our interviews. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started promoting sustainability and climate justice” and why?
1 . Perspective matters. You cannot truly understand the impact and potential of your work unless you identify, seek out, and ACTIVELY LISTEN to alternative viewpoints. Showing up and meeting people where they are can go a long way toward creating scalable change.
2 . Common ground is easy to find if you seek it. You can have the best of intentions in your work, but you won’t get very far alone. Finding ways to connect and raise those around you who have a stake in the work you do is essential to continued progress.
3 . You might not be able to solve the whole problem, but if you take the time to understand the bigger picture you can find a piece of the whole that you can impact. At the MSC, we understand that we are only one part of a much bigger picture. We are experts in environmental sustainability in wild-caught fisheries, and we are constantly seeking to understand how our work impacts and compliments others in the sustainable seafood movement.
4 . Being adaptable is a strength, and it certainly is not the same thing as giving up. While it can sometimes be beneficial to remain steadfast and be the proverbial squeaky wheel, understanding that the world and your part in it are constantly evolving will only benefit your journey.
5 . Sustainability is not an end goal; it is a journey of continuous improvement. Even at the MSC, we are redefining our standards for best practices every five years to continue to raise the bar. I have seen organizations repeatedly fail to collaborate and collectively define sustainability in their industry or field. They get so caught up in defining “perfect”, that they fail to come together to drive collective and measurable progress. Defining the next phase and allowing time for good players to take a collective and meaningful step forward is ultimately what matters. Just keep everyone rowing in the same boat and the same direction.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would love to sit down with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to talk about how we might help more U.S. consumers find and love sustainable and highly nutritious seafood. It might sound completely random, but I hear that whitefish, like cod and pollock, is a prominent part of his daily caloric intake. And who better to talk about ocean health than Moana’s “Maui” himself? As anyone who has tried to make a New Year’s resolution can attest, behavior change is hard. Someone as influential as him, who also consumes A LOT of seafood, might have some great ideas to share!
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
Learn more about who we are and what we do at MSC.org, and follow along @MSCBlueFish on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
About the Interviewer: Monica Sanders JD, LL.M, is the founder of “The Undivide Project”, an organization dedicated to creating climate resilience in underserved communities using good tech and the power of the Internet. She holds faculty roles at the Georgetown University Law Center and the Tulane University Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy. Professor Sanders also serves on several UN agency working groups. As an attorney, Monica has held senior roles in all three branches of government, private industry, and nonprofits. In her previous life, she was a journalist for seven years and the recipient of several awards, including an Emmy. Now the New Orleans native spends her time in solidarity with and championing change for those on the frontlines of climate change and digital divestment. Learn more about how to join her at: www.theundivideproject.org.
How Nicole Condon Of Marine Stewardship Council Is Helping to Promote Sustainability and Climate… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.