An Interview With Monica Sanders
Progress is slow, but micro changes can have the biggest impact. If you’re only in it for big wins, then you’re likely to be disappointed.
Although the United States has had a long trend of non-renewable consumption, the tides are turning. Many companies are working hard to break this cycle, moving towards renewable consumption. In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders who are sharing the steps they are taking toward renewable consumption. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Vita Woods.
Vita woods is the Innovation Manager at STEAMhouse, responsible for supporting academic communities, SMEs and organizations merging creativity with commerce by analyzing, exploring, and experimenting to create innovative processes, concepts and solutions. She worked at the luxury department store Selfridges & Co for 7 years and led the development, adoption and communication of their in-house sustainability strategy ‘Buying Better, Inspiring Change’. This had a lasting impact on her approach to work and life, ultimately leading her to move away from retail to find deeper meaning in her projects. She has worked with many of the worlds most recognized brands as well as start-ups and emerging artists and design talent.
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 was born in Birmingham, United Kingdom, and, at aged 6, moved into a cottage on a dairy farm in Worcestershire as my parents wanted us to have a different type of life. It was idyllic in a 1990’s way — lots of time (unsupervised) up trees and crawling around in hedges trying to catch rabbits. We had our own allotment in the garden to provide most of our veg and, living on a dairy farm, I was surrounded by the realities of food production and farming. The farm went organic in the 2000’s and, sadly, it was so squeezed by consumer and retailer price demands it went under. This was pivotal in shaping my thoughts around responsible consumption.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I had a brilliant and inspiring Sustainability Director whilst I was at Selfridges, Daniella Vega, who backed me in bringing sustainability under my wing despite having no technical knowledge — just a lot of passion. Daniella was instrumental in the pivot of my career path, she recognized that the softer skills I had in innovation strategy, storytelling, communication and influencing , were essential in embedding and delivering sustainability initiatives.
What is the mission of your company? What problems are you aiming to solve? What is your “why”?
STEAMhouse is on a mission to enable innovation through collaboration. Powered by Birmingham City University, we’re a supportive community and space where entrepreneurs, students, businesses and organisations co-exist to solve real-world problems and develop new ideas. STEAMhouse provides the latest technology, kit, and equipment, complemented by portfolio of services and programmes that include skills development, space hire, consultancy services, and events. We make innovation happen.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
STEAMhouse has completely changed my approach to how I operate. It’s been eye opening to work with so many different people and organizations who want to work collaboratively to solve problems. The level of openness is really inspiring, I meet people every day from all industries who recognize that looking outwards for solutions shows true leadership.
Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you tell us how that was relevant to you in your own life?
Don’t have the rug pulled from under you, learn to dance on a moving carpet!
Let’s now shift to the main part of our interview. Can you tell our readers about the initiatives that you or your company are taking to help break the cycle of non-renewable consumption? What specific problems related to non-renewable consumption are you aiming to solve?”
Our ambition is to be planet centered, with a focus on people. We know a huge barrier is behavioral change, both in terms of consumers and the internal culture of businesses and organizations. We’re really interested to see how we can utilize people as a force for positive change, and how we can empower and skill-up people to take a planet centered approach to the design of new products and services. We also think that creativity and experimentation is essential in driving the change we need, so we are doing a lot of work in how we utilize waste and develop new materials as a result. We combine this with practical tools and methods to demonstrate how we can break the cycle before it begins, embedding circular principles into the fabric of our business models and creative practices.
Can you give a few examples of what you are implementing to help address those issues?
Our Materials Club provides an experimental space for the development of new materials which utilize waste as a valuable resource. We think it’s important to harness open innovation as a vehicle for change and that it takes all types of minds, skills and businesses to work together to develop solutions for the knotty problems that sustainability provides. We recently put on a pop-up exhibition on city design and urban planning following an exploratory 3-day workshop! Our STEAM Challenge Events and open innovation challenge programmes bring together diverse minds who are involved in and affected by problems, who supported by our innovation tools and methods, work collectively to find solutions.
How do you measure the impact of your company’s sustainability initiatives, both in terms of environmental benefits and business growth? Can you share any key metrics or success stories?
I think you can’t underestimate the value of brand perception. Your brand isn’t what you want it to be, it’s what people think it is. Of course, the bottom line is important but making money isn’t something that people buy into to, that’s your goal not your customers. I think it’s important to create (and live) values which matter to people and tell engaging stories which enable customers to build deep relationships and trust that drives them to feel like and extension of your brand and that they are on the mission with you. This is why we launched our Journey to B Corp programme, as it’s a great way for businesses to not only demonstrate their commitment to people and the planet but showcase to their customers the level of their commitment.
What challenges have you faced while implementing sustainable practices in your company, and how did you overcome them? Can you share a specific example?
At Selfridges I was tasked with developing a culture within the Buying department to engage the team and ultimately equip them to meet our sustainability commitments. At the time this wasn’t something many companies were talking about, so it was a pretty enormous cultural shift (and being honest, meant a lot more work for the teams involved who, like in most businesses, were working at capacity). On a practical level the challenge was the internal processes and believe me there were a lot, but the mindset was the key. We couldn’t expect people to suddenly start caring, so the first step was immerse and inspire them and show them WHY change was needed. Next, we set to developing HOW; for us this meant creating an environment to support change and developing a network of passionate individuals who could build their confidence as initiators of change. It was then we provided the WHAT; the tools, methods and processes enabled the teams to do what they needed to do with confidence. This was underpinned by supportive leadership and a commitment right from the top to embed sustainability into the core values of the business. What we found was that quite quickly, it wasn’t just those individuals who wanted to make changes who were getting involved, it was a department and business wide passion. Oh, and once the mindset was in place, the internal barriers fell pretty quickly.
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?
I talk a lot about the ‘sweet spot’ and that, in today’s climate (literally and economically), just being good at what you do isn’t enough. I think we need a fundamental reframing of sustainability as multi-faceted force for good. I was lucky enough to work for a forward-thinking retailer at the forefront of fashion. If you look at what Selfridges has achieved in terms of rent, repair, and resale it’s pretty clear that the sweet spot can be found and that sustainability can challenge your preconceptions, look and feel luxurious and drive sales. On the flip side, I recently developed a STEAM Challenge Event for Solihull Council supporting their mission to decarbonize schools and, whilst they don’t drive profit, they can drive impact on a huge scale. Through the work that they have already implemented because of our event, it’s clear to see that sustainability isn’t just another thing to do. It’s a fundamental driving force in any businesses or organization who want to succeed.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started promoting sustainability and climate justice” and why?
1 . You’ll spend most of your time influencing not necessarily ‘doing’. You need to be comfortable with knowing that sometimes it’ll work as you want it to and other times it won’t.
2 . Progress is slow, but micro changes can have the biggest impact. If you’re only in it for big wins, then you’re likely to be disappointed.
3 . There’s no perfect solution, there will always be consequences to change and that’s ok.
4 . It can feel like a bit of a pandoras box: muddy and, if you’re not careful, disheartening. You have to focus on what you can reasonably do.
5 . When you can see the tangible impact you can have, it feels like winning the lottery.
You are a person of great influence and doing some great things for the world! If you could inspire a movement that would bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would advocate that the people most impacted by climate change are often those least contributing to the problem. It’s our collective responsibility, to people and the planet, to be aware of how our behaviors impact everyone, everywhere.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
Follow me on LinkedIn and check out STEAMhouse!
This was so inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
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
Vita Woods Of STEAMhouse On How They Are Breaking the Cycle of Non-Renewable Consumption was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.