Listening, Learning, and Rebuilding Connection: Reflections from Our First ISSP Town Hall
Elizabeth Dinschel, MA, MBA, is the Executive Director of ISSP
Earlier this month, we hosted our first global ISSP Town Hall since I stepped into the role of Executive Director. I logged off that call energized, humbled, and deeply grateful for the honesty, generosity, and care that our members brought into the space.
This Town Hall was never meant to be a one-way update. It was designed as a listening session — a chance for ISSP leadership and staff to hear directly from sustainability professionals across regions, sectors, and career stages. And you delivered.
What follows are a few reflections on what I heard, what we learned, and where we’re headed next together.
Why We Called This Town Hall
ISSP has gone through a period of transition — new leadership, new staff, and a renewed focus on modernizing how we serve a truly global membership. Change can be energizing, but it can also create moments of uncertainty and disconnection. We knew we needed to pause, gather our community, and listen with intention.
The Town Hall brought together members from multiple continents, industries, and disciplines. Sustainability practitioners, consultants, engineers, communicators, policy professionals, and career-transitioners all showed up with thoughtful questions and candid feedback.
One thing was immediately clear: this community cares deeply about its work, about each other, and about ISSP’s role in supporting sustainability professionals at a challenging moment for the field.
What We Heard Loud and Clear
While the conversation covered a wide range of topics, several themes surfaced again and again — both in the live discussion and in the survey responses shared before and during the session.
First: sustainability work is getting harder, not easier.
Many of you spoke about shrinking budgets, leadership buy-in challenges, and sustainability slipping down the priority list inside organizations. Scope 3 data, reporting complexity, and the pressure to justify every initiative with a business case were recurring pain points. These challenges are real, and they’re shared across sectors and geographies.
Second: career pressure is very real right now.
We heard from members navigating job searches, underemployment, role eliminations, and career transitions into sustainability. For some, ISSP is not just a professional association — it’s a source of stability, learning, and connection during uncertain times.
Third: networking matters — but how we do it matters more.
Members consistently asked for more meaningful ways to connect with one another. Large, unstructured networking calls don’t always work. You want smaller conversations, clearer purpose, local connections where possible, and spaces that feel collaborative rather than promotional. Several of you also shared candid feedback that our current LinkedIn group isn’t delivering the value you’re looking for.
Fourth: access and visibility need improvement.
From logging continuing professional development (CPD) hours, to finding webinars, to understanding which courses are right for your experience level — too much feels harder to navigate than it should. That’s on us, and it’s fixable.
What This Means for ISSP
I want to be very clear: this feedback is not discouraging — it’s incredibly useful.
What I heard most strongly is that members want ISSP to be more than a credentialing body or a webinar provider. You want a professional home — one that supports learning, career growth, and community in practical, human ways.
That means we need to:
- Make networking more intentional and inclusive
- Improve how we communicate and surface opportunities
- Clarify professional development pathways from beginner to advanced
- Better support members navigating today’s job market
- Ensure our global membership feels seen and served
None of this requires reinventing ISSP. It requires aligning our offerings more closely with how sustainability professionals actually work — and what you need right now.
What We're Already Working On
Some of the ideas raised during the Town Hall are already moving forward:
- Clearer guidance on how to log CPD and maintenance hours, including short explainer resources
- Exploring smaller, facilitated networking formats, including breakout conversations and topic-focused sessions
- Improving visibility of upcoming events so opportunities don’t get lost in inboxes
- Looking at ways to better organize courses by experience level and topic area
- Continuing conversations around study cohorts, mentorship, and career-focused programming
We’re also taking a closer look at how members find and connect with one another — geographically and professionally — so networking feels more organic and useful.
And yes, we heard the request for regular Town Halls. This will not be a one-off. While we’re in this period of transition and rebuilding, we plan to host these conversations on a recurring basis.
Moving Forward, Together
One of the most meaningful parts of the Town Hall for me was the generosity of spirit in the room. Members didn’t just point out what wasn’t working — you offered ideas, examples, and encouragement. You spoke not only about your own needs, but about how ISSP can better serve sustainability professionals globally.
That’s the kind of community we’re building.
If you weren’t able to join the Town Hall live, I hope this reflection gives you a sense of the conversation and the direction we’re heading. And if you did attend: thank you. Your voice matters more than you know, and it’s shaping what comes next.
We’re rebuilding connection — not just through programs and platforms, but through listening, transparency, and shared purpose. I’m grateful to be doing that work alongside you.
About the Author:
Elizabeth Dinschel, MA, MBA
Executive Director
ISSP
PHOTOS: Adobe Stock
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