Ismail KARFAL- SEA Case Story

Ismail KARFAL is a Senior Sustainability Manager at OCP Group, where he has made significant contributions to project structuring and initiatives aimed at integrating ESG systems and improving ratings from various rating agencies.

What brought you to this moment in your career where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) made sense for you?

I began my career in a Finance & Controlling department, where short-term financial performance management is critical. It was a strategy focused on increasing shareholder wealth. With the definition of a new corporate strategy and the opening to other leadership and strategic planning topics, as well as the constraints of the external environment, my interest in sustainability grew over time, and I began to work on it part-time before switching to full-time.

On a personal level, I've always been involved in environmentally responsible practices, waste reduction, recycling, and ethical business practices. I enjoy watching TV programs about climate change, biodiversity, supply chains, and other aspects of sustainability. Knowing and mastering the language of sustainability was a big challenge for me when I first began working full-time in sustainability. That is why I believed that obtaining a professional certification would help me accomplish my learning objectives.

I chose to become a SEA because it is a generalist credential that perfectly fits my requirements and my ultimate objective. Indeed, given my current position, having a broad knowledge base and a holistic strategy to problem solving is critical.

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

As a member of an entity that works with various departments and profiles, it is crucial to have a 360° view of the business and its relationship with sustainability in its entirety. In this regard, I am confident that SEA has given me the opportunity to gain a bird's-eye view of a variety of subjects, especially how to incorporate systems thinking into analysis and problem solving processes.

I am currently heading transformation projects aimed at making sustainability part of our company's DNA, and SEA provided me with the required jargon and cleared the way for me to prepare for the SEP, which enabled me to realize my ambition of becoming a sustainability professional with a significant impact.

Of course, in the spirit of constant development, I will continue to support SEA through continuing education as well as the opportunities provided.

For those starting out in the sustainability field, what advice do you have for them?

First and foremost, I will urge them to have a desire to learn from other industry colleagues and to be open to others on a continuous basis. Indeed, as a sustainability professional, learning the key concepts of sustainability is a critical step toward completely understanding the philosophy and history of events that have shaped the global face of sustainability.

And I believe that SEA offers a fantastic opportunity to do so. My advice to newcomers who want to have SEA is to read the material and attempt to comprehend the connection to the real world.

The final crucial point is to learn from the experiences of others. Indeed, I think that sharing and learning are essential for career advancement in the sustainability industry. Joining a professional organization, such as ISSP, is an excellent idea!

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Read perspectives from the ISSP blog

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By By Elizabeth Dinschel & Bangaly Kourouma • January 16, 2026

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Listening, Learning, and Rebuilding Connection: Reflections from Our First ISSP Town Hall

By Elizabeth Dinschel, December 18, 2025 • December 18, 2025

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.

Can sustainability be saved by tackling loneliness, not just CO₂ emissions?

By Raz Godelnik, Associate Professor • November 20, 2025

Raz Godelnik is an Associate Professor of Strategic Design and Management at Parsons School of Design — The New School. He is the author of Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis . You can follow him on LinkedIn . Can sustainability be saved by tackling loneliness, not just CO₂ emissions? Earlier this month, I stopped at Sunshine Coffee in Laramie, Wyoming, on our way to Yellowstone Park. What brought me there was the fact that it’s a zero-waste coffee shop, with no single-use consumer items. In other words, there are no disposable cups — not for customers dining in, and not even for those who want their coffee to go, like I did. Instead, you can either bring your own reusable cup or get your drink in a glass jar for $1, which is refunded on your next order when you return it (or you can simply keep it, as I did). At first, I was excited about the zero-waste coffee shop concept, wondering what it would take for Starbucks and other coffee chains to adopt it and eliminate the waste that has become an integral part of our coffee (and other drinks) consumption. But as I waited for my coffee, I began to notice something else — something that had little to do with waste and everything to do with people. As I looked around, I noticed their stickers. Beneath the logo, it read: Zero waste. Community space . Suddenly it clicked — this coffee shop isn’t just about eliminating waste; it’s about creating a place where people feel connected. As owner and founder of Sunshine Coffee, Megan Johnson, explained in an interview with This is Laramie : “I wanted to bring sustainable values to Wyoming as well as build a business that serves the community.” That got me thinking about how the second part — serving the community — is integral to the first. After all, in a world where loneliness — a key barrier to people’s well-being — is on the rise, shouldn’t creating spaces for connection be just as central to sustainability as going zero waste?