Sustainability, Pineapple Leather Pants, and Writing for TV with Sree Ratna Kancherla

Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick! 

On today’s episode, we talk with Sree Ratna Kancherla, Global Sustainability Director for management consulting firm Kearney, Storyteller, Social Impact Innovator, and Futurist about Sustainability, Pineapple Leather Pants, and Writing for TV.   Read her full bio below.

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This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org.

Connect with Sree Ratna Kancherla at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreeratna/

Guest Bio:
Sree Ratna Kancherla is Global Director of Sustainability at Kearney, with 25 years of experience in sustainability and human rights law and policy. She has lived in Africa and India for a decade, building sustainability ecosystems. As a strategic advisor to Fortune 500 companies, she focuses on sustainability impact in supply chains across industries. She integrates ‘eclectic leadership’ into her work, drawing from studies with enlightened Masters and personal experiences. Through her transformative service, "Eclectic Awareness," she empowers individuals and businesses to navigate modern complexities with purpose. A published writer and speaker, she is developing a book and podcast.

Music Credits
Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa
Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to APR with your favorite environmental nerds, Nick and Laura. On today's episode, Nick and I talk about the NAP conference. We bring Sree Kancherla on the show to discuss sustainability, pineapple leather pants, and writing for TV. And finally, pineapples are what considered a multiple fruit where several flowers fuse together. Many of you may know that you can take the crown of a pineapple and grow that into a new plant, but they ripen from the bottom up, and the bromemelin enzyme found in the plant can help tenderize meat and aid digestion. Yeah, how about that? Right, I all I know is it tastes delicious. Yeah, uh, still not doing pineapple pizza, that's all I'm saying. What? No, that's not for me. That's it. No, I have. It's too sweet. I can't do sweet with pizza to get it out of here. That's not for me. We're a divided podcast. 

Hit that music. 

The National Association of Environmental Professionals is working on providing guidance and support for those affected by the changes in the government since the start of the year. If you are a member of NAEP, be on the lookout for a survey asking how NAEP can support current and former government employees. Also, for those who are either members or not members, look out for webinars about transitioning to the private sector, virtual job fairs, in-person networking, and an Ask Me Anything on YouTube. Check all this out at www.nA.org. Let's get to our segment. Hey, Nick, how'd the conference go? Hey, Laura, what a surprising question that you're asking me. Yeah, so I do want to say the Charleston conference, NAEP conference was great.

 It was wonderful. It's always wonderful to see everybody, of course, like that's always a nice part of it, but it's a really interesting time, I think for a lot of environmental professionals in general. I think the way that the administration has come out with their agenda has been a little different than what we were expecting. Even from what we were expecting, if that makes sense. But it was really interesting to see what that means and how that's gonna come out and, you know, we have our live episode, we did that with, you know, Fred and Romala and Siobhan Gordon, who was great, and it was a really fun way of kind of marrying a little bit about Charleston with two very agreeable disagreeable lawyers talking and uh it was it was really, it was really fun. It was really good to do, really interesting to do. We got to laugh and listen. It was really a nice, nice event and I think the message has always has been, you know, this is gonna be, you know, it's a buckle up as number one, you know, but. Hey, you know, there's always going to be opportunity for us to adjust, adapt, and move forward. And I think that was the overall message that was really cool to see from the professionals that were there. And, you know, we had a bunch of former CEQ workers as well talking about similar kinds of things. So it was really neat. I'm really glad that we got to do it, really happy that we were there. They did. NAEP did surprise me with the President's Award at the end of the podcast, which I, I only heard, I saw that in like a Yeah, I don't know, a post that flew by or someone's comment or something. I think it was a comment, so yeah, congrats. Thank you, thank you. I was like, I knew it the second that Mike was like, OK, we got one more thing, and I'm like, he's gonna give me an award this. This punk, you know, you got me.

 So, I mean, I'm really, really appreciative of all that, but it was really cool, really an honor and we've said this on the show a couple of times. It's easy to be, to kind of get caught up in the moment, but there is a bigger picture, and some of what's changing is good, some of it isn't, but it's our ability to adapt is what's important, and I think that's the overall message from the conference and from the people that we talk to on this show. So that's kind of my recap. It's really Yeah, but you guys did a careers thing too? Yeah, we did, we actually did a couple of things. We had a resume writing workshop and then we had a speed networking event after that, and both of those I thought were really successful and it was a lot of fun for me to do. The networking event in general, I mean, I, I'm sure it doesn't surprise you, but like, it was really cool. It was like I got to meet a bunch of different people that I wouldn't have otherwise. And it actually reminded me of something I wanted to talk to you about, and I don't know why I thought of this, but like, being in that leadership position, because I'm also now the vice president of NAEP, that happened as well. So, uh, that means one, yeah, that's crazy. I know, I know, it really, it truly is. It means I'll be president in 2 years, you know. So long as I'm breathing, it made me think of something that I really wanted your perspective on, because, uh, a couple of times when I was talking to people, like some people that wanted to be on the show, some people that will be on the show, um, they're like, I know you're busy, but I hope, I hope, do you have a second for me? And it was, in a way, it's very humbling, right? It's like, you know, people don't think I have the time for them, but at the same time, I'm like, of course I do, you know, like it was almost like I always have a hard time accepting compliments, right? 

But I also have a hard time being like, oh no, I'm, I'm not that important. I really am not. I'm approachable, please talk to me. But it's kind of like when you get in a career, when you're in a certain spot, things change, right? Like even where you are now too, I'm sure people look up to you. I'm sure people are afraid to ask you a question just because of who you are. So how do you, how do you manage that? I mean, I'm serious. Like, how do you, how do you deal with that? Well, I second that. I'm not very important and I'm just a person doing weird things, but We have to exemplify that or demonstrate that we have one videographer on my social media crew who, he has a palsy, he has some sort of shake, and we love him. He's reliable and he shows up and he's always there. And if you ask him to get something, he won't just walk to get it. He will run. Yeah. I think I've seen him almost get hit by a car running to go get something. And, uh, we kind of have joked before that when I'm standing watching him, his shakes get worse. Yeah, I know what you mean. The pressure's on. Laura's here and um I think I am approachable. I think, you know, if you listen to the podcast, I say dumb stuff all the time. I'm not afraid to admit if I don't know something or I try to be very real. I don't personally like pompous leadership. No, I don't like inflated people, so I try very hard not to be like that. Yeah. I also, when I was younger, did not get helpful practical advice. I got a lot of pomp and circumstance, and I would have preferred someone to speak to me as an equal human. So I work, I, I don't say I work for that, but that's kind of like just part of who I am, I think. And I'm sure that there's there's cases where someone's gonna say, that's not what I perceived of you, but I think the key though is just to really remember that we're all equals and somebody you're talking to today could be your boss in 10 years, you know, this is. For sure, for sure, that's the case. 

And yeah, I think I love that because it's like approachable leadership is kind of the way. But yeah, no matter what, like it's, there's some things like I, I think that's been a big shift for me learning like there are gonna be people who are afraid to approach and afraid to talk to me just because of the position that I'm in. But please do, please bother me. That's all I'm saying. But no, I appreciate that that perspective. Thanks a lot. Yeah, you, you will see me also same sort of thing. I am anti-ties. I'm not a man, so I don't wear a tie anyway. But if I were, I wouldn't wear one. I prefer to wear a branded t-shirt over like a button up blouse. I want to be casual and all of that when you meet a lot of people who become leaders, a lot of times they also, and sometimes, you know, they have a PR element as well. They have to look apart. But if you don't, you just, you know, I have worked very hard to make my own rules. I prefer to show up in a t-shirt and jeans and something comfy casual, and that also can help someone. If I walk up to you and you have a blazer on and really expensive jewelry, that also is a barrier to someone who might want to think they can come and talk to you. That's so funny. I know we're going along in the segment, but I will, I want one last injection. Like I got a tie for Christmas and I have not worn it, so I was like, I'm wearing a tie at this conference, but I'm only gonna do it on the advanced Nipa leadership training that we're doing, and that's it. That's the only time I wore a tie and it was only because I wanted to because I would look good, and I was like, yeah, cool, wear a tie with a bunch of people who aren't afraid of me anyways, and boom, we're good. And then jacket's off, there's no tie, and I'm, yeah, read the room. You don't, you know, don't do that in that when you're in career networking. Like, don't show up like I've made it this far and you shall listen to me. Like, I have met people like that who asked me for advice on how they could become career coaches and I'm basically like, please don't. Oh man, that's a great, we should end there. 

That's where we should end. That was a great segment. I love that. Let's get to our interview. 

Welcome back to EPR.

Today we have Sree Kancherla with us. Sree is a global sustainability director at Kearney and storyteller focused on social and environmental change. Welcome, Sree. Hi, Laura, thank you. Excited to be here. I am so excited to have you here. I have been kind of waiting this for this ever since Kenyatta introduced us. So I'm excited to learn so much about all the different things that you're doing. And there's a lot of really cool stuff, travel, media, everything. So, but let's start with your role at Kearney and tell us what you do there. Thanks, Laura. Yeah, super excited to be here as well and been looking forward to having this discussion. So my name is Sree Kancherla, and I'm a global sustainable director at management consulting from Kearney. And at Kearney, a lot of what we do is advise multinationals and governments and various organizations on their supply chain operations. That's our biggest strength. And as a sustainability director, I actually advise them on their sustainability, both environmental and social impact of the supply chain. So talking about from a place of sourcing, who are your sourcing, how do you design the products, and basically how can your operations and your supply chain and value chain be more sustainable. That's awesome. That's Sounds really fun. 

Do you travel a lot? So I did, I did travel quite a bit. So in my life, I've traveled a lot. So I can say that the relative above a lot is changed. And now my a lot is more domestic, which I have really appreciated. Kearney has a design lab in Chicago, so I was helping to do quite a bit on designing innovative products around that. And I'll get to that a little bit later. But yeah, a lot of travel, you know, the work I do is very much hands on, working in various countries. So it's been really exciting over the years. Yeah, that sounds awesome. And I know that there's a lot of people that are trying to get into sustainability, whether they're just graduated or they're changing careers. So was this something that when you were in school, you knew you wanted to do, or how did you end up here? So, you know, I love this question because I'm a veteran in this space. So I get to tell you my story, like the old people's stories on the rocking chair. So, um, you know what I mean? So let's get our lemonade and talk about it. Yep, ready. Um, so I've actually been in this space for 25 years. And by been it, I mean, like, when I was starting out, there was no hit on Google for social entrepreneurship or social impact. There was not even a word sustainability. Maybe there was two hits. So I would say it was part of the, a group of people that were pioneering this. And I always say that sustainability has, has its own iterations, but when you are in this as long as I have been, You're part of the different iterations. So I started off as an international human rights lawyer and doing policy for the UN. A lot of my work was rebuilding nations post-conflict. So I was doing things like I was working for the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda to help get that set up. And then somewhere along the way, post 9/11, this is going to age me. Um, I realized I wanted to have more of an impact. 

I was working in, um, private military kind of work and doing stuff for things happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. And I said, you know, if I'm going to be on this planet, what do I really want to do for the next 20 years of my life? And I go back to 25 years ago because it was in my 20s that I made this pivot and how I'm here right now. And that's where I kind of had my aha moment and said, where can I have the most impact? And I I read this article in The Economist, this is, I was sitting in a cafe and I read an article and I heard that word, social entrepreneurship. And I said, What is this? And I googled it. Like I said, not a lot of hits. One of the two people. Exactly. one of like maybe 5 people on the planet. And then I found it. I found an organization, a group of people that were trying to pioneer. And that's the beginning of my story. And so it's, since then, it's been this really cool winding road of paving paths and being on paths and, you know, being here where we are right now, where we have sustainability and ESG and environmental and social impact. That's really amazing. I, I think that I hope that gives some hope and perspective to some of the people who are really on in their sustainability careers now, because, you know, they're coming out of school or they're coming into it going, oh, there's nothing available, there's nothing there. And I was just explaining to some career seekers yesterday that, well, maybe there's nothing there, but then all of these people who are now becoming the, let's say, first full generation. Of sustainability careers and they're starting new things and launching new products. So what is your take on what the landscape actually looks like? Well, you know, I always say this to that generation, and that generation doesn't have to necessarily be age. It's also where people are in their state of mind and in where they are in their life. But having started this decades ago. We, and I say there's a group of pioneers, we did this to open up the space for y'all. So we kind of, you know, say like, we're kind of clearing the bushes and the paths like metaphorically and literally, in a way for y'all to kind of usher through and build. And I think it's changed so much to where there's so many opportunities, there's so much creativity, and it's really what I say is finding your place in it. And it might take a little bit of time because it is very, it's still changing. 

You're kind of in the middle of a lot of changes right now. So I think it's about one listening to yourself and truly saying, hey, this is what I really am passionate about, this is where my skill is. And then saying, this is opportunities, the opportunities are there and it's about discovering where you want to put yourself. Hm I like that. Yeah, definitely. So tell us more about your actual projects. What do you do day to day? OK, so this is, a lot of things change, but a lot of what I do is, you know, what we do, especially in this space, when I think about what I think about what's happening with the environment and social is, it's about problem solving. You know, we're here about taking the biggest problems in the world and coming up with those solutions. And there's different ways to do that. There's different ways to, you can create. Products that are more environmentally sustainable. There's different ways to source your products. There's different ways to create your operations. So I have my hands in a lot of different things like that where I look mainly at suppliers within a supply chain for a corporation or an organization and help them identify where there could be. Social impact issues predominantly around human rights. Right now, there's a lot of regulations that are out there that are asking companies to look at human rights abuses, like what we say modern day slavery, child labor, so I always say look at our cell phone. The chips that are in our cell phone being mined in the Congo with kids, solar panels, modern day slavery issues out of the wigger in China. So my work is one identifying that risk, following those regulations and policy, advising corporations on now how they can mitigate that, looking at their suppliers, about thousands of suppliers, like, you know, I work a lot in retail and fashion. So that's the fashion companies designing their tops, you know, where are they getting the cotton? Where are they getting the materials and Where's their issues of child labor? And then we balance that with what we call green procurement. So the decarbonization aspect. Are you working with suppliers that have less carbon footprint, less use of water. So again, looking at suppliers, looking at operations, helping them on that piece of it. That's my day to day with Kearney.

And then, of course, uh, there's all a whole bunch of other stuff that I do around that. Right. So what are your clients like? You don't have to say like specific names if you don't want to, but like, what's the, who's coming to you asking for that kind of thing? Is it company specifically or is it entrepreneurs? At Kearney itself, a lot of the clients that Kearney advises, again, a lot of Kearney's strength is around procurement, and these are multinational Fortune 500 companies, your everyday kind of consumption companies, retail consumer, laptops, all the brand names that you probably would know. And over the years, I've done this across with governments, I've worked with the Rwanda government, I've worked with governments in East Africa. In India, I've worked with social entrepreneurs to build it up and pipeline them into big multinationals. So over the years, kind of all of the above. What are some of the like, biggest hurdles you have in working like that, you know, like crossing boundaries and cultures and stuff. That's a great question. So when I started this off, a lot of my work was really with the entrepreneurs, Nick, like how you had asked the question. What we call social entrepreneurs and that these are entrepreneurs that are dedicating their lives to build up companies working on the level of empowerment and economic empowerment in certain regions, certain areas or developing environmental products that are going to reach consumers that are not your total mass market. And so, for a long time, I was working with the entrepreneurs. But I always say, like, where is the biggest influence? And that's where I, where you can actually make the change, but also where there's problems that are not being solved. And that's where I think social entrepreneurs came up, where governments were not giving them access to water or to electricity. And that's how that space grew. Now over the years, when you think about our global markets, it's our multinational companies that also influence our clothing, any brand name, right? 

I live in Atlanta. You take any brand name here, we won't even say, um, you know, all of them have the influence. Because they're working with women farmers and regions like in Sub-Saharan Africa and India, where I have been, that's in the sense that that's where they're procuring the sugar from, or that's where they're procuring the cacao from, or that's where you're getting your cotton, you know, if you're a big clothing company. So I found that the multinationals have the biggest influence, but it's been so challenging, of course, to build a business case all around sustainability. So when you ask me the question, where are the challenges, The cultural adoption is easy if you're open to it. But the influencing multinationals or the influencing of decision makers, whether there are private investors who may not be aware of the return on their investment, that's the biggest challenge, because how do you say it's important to someone whose main ethos is to profit? That the way that you're doing work is not going to do that, right? Or time. So I think that's been the biggest challenge. It's also one of the biggest influences, and that's why I love what I'm doing right now is because I work from the inside to help influence. Very interesting and stimulate my brain a little. So when you have something like that, and you have influence and you're working on trying to, you know, pull those things in. Do you look at it in terms of like, well, you know, if you print less paper, you save money because you're printing less things, and then like how do you pull in that social element into the environmental realm as well? Do you have to couch it certain ways depending on your client? I'm assuming you do, but that's got to be pretty challenging too. So I know we're seeing, there's got to be some. 

Connectivity between all of those things. So how do you do that? Absolutely. You know, when we think about the social, what does the estuary means it's people? And who are the ones that are making the paper? Or who are the ones that are making this product on some level, somewhere, whether it's squeezing the pulp, right? Or whether it's, you know, doing the manufacturing. So always say you really can't talk about the environmental without incorporating the S. and there's different ways to do that. I think business models are the best way, but there's also upskilling. So when we think about moving ourselves into a more environmentally conscious space, both in terms of our, the way we work and in terms of the products that we have out there. It's about working with the people to understand that and I say, understand that the people, I'm saying the people in the communities, the ones that are doing the day to day labor. Um, you take our backyard in Atlanta, if you're a manufacturing company here, what is the environment like for them? Are there business models that are built where they can become shareholders? Are we providing them with the skills that they need to have the awareness of the environmental shift that's happening? And so that's how we bring in, I would say different ways, skills, business models. So I always, there's two things that can help with this transition, but also help society, and that's education and economic empowerment. Do you have something that like you think of that you're proud of, something that you kind of have brought to a company's attention and it's gone through the whole cycle, you've gone through your business development, the company's incorporated that into their modeling and now they, you know, it's part of the culture, it's almost not even thought about. Like, is there, is there a start finish kind of thing that you can think of? Well, so this is something really exciting. So let's go back to, uh, when I started in this space. When we were starting, we didn't really know. What was going to happen 20 years from now or 15 years from now, we're just building these models.

 So when I was living in India, I had the opportunity to work with across 50 entrepreneurs. Some of them were private organizations, some of them were nonprofits. We taught them how to create a hybrid business model where there's both, and you can maximize revenues in both places, while also having a social impact. And We're working with an entrepreneur out of India that was a designer, and she was having her own supplies that went into the local markets. Now, as I was working with her, she was able to shift her business model to be one that was environmentally more aware. So for example, when we think about creating table runners using natural dyes, because these were home goods, um, because that would work with, so most of the designers were women. And they were in rural areas. And it was about upskilling them. So she was able to create a model where she was upskilling them, teaching them about the environmental pieces, teaching them about savings and how to do more of the financial planning. And throughout this process, she created a cooperative. And that cooperative meant that the women were shareholders in their own companies and they had their own platform to create. And then they started to learn about technology. Now talk about the global market. Where do companies that want to supply table runners come from? Let's say like a Walmart and IKEA. They have to come to these suppliers in the countries that I've been working in. So through this model, she was able to now attract IKEA. To be one of her buyers. So this was again, this was back in early 2000s. Now we're in 2025. IKEA now has a business model where they are procuring directly from these women in the most rural villages and semi-urban areas in India that have designed these products in a way that actually aesthetically fits into our Western homes. They are shareholders, and they run the technical platform. H&M adopted that same model with them as well. So to see this, and of course, it took over a decade to get there, but to see the start conception, I remember sitting in her office under a tree, trying to figure out the name of this new environmentally friendly, socially conscious label, and to now say 15 years later that that model is integrated in a global company is the most beautiful thing and it, it validates all the work that we have been doing and where the world is going. That's very incredible.

You gotta be proud of that. That's, yeah, that's really, really great. Laura and I are big travelers, big proponents of traveling, seeing the world, seeing the country, and you're a person who's really lived that quite literally, right? You've lived and worked in, was it 4 continents, um, which is also quite impressive. So how does that perspective, right? Being able to see people from all different walks, how's that kind of helped you bring that awareness to other countries, other cultures, um, to do what you do? Right. Thank you. That's a great question. I love that y'all travel. I always say the best way to know the world is to know other people and experience it. I think we have such great advantages now we live in a, a global technological age, but there's nothing like feeling and sitting in a community and a culture. Yeah. Right? And so that's what it comes down to me. It's the human connection. And I deliberately put myself in places where I would not be a visitor or not be an expat. Which is also a way that you can learn the culture but try to integrate myself to learn. And with that, then you really understand where you can make that change, because again, I go back to, let's say we want to do things for the environment. Who are we truly working with? We're working with the farmers, we're working with the villagers, we're working with the community members in our backyard. So unless we truly connect in that moment with them, how can we truly understand how to make that shift happen? And that was a perspective I took is, you know, people like, Oh, what's your favorite vacation? My favorite vacation is going to another country and like immersing myself into that place. Yeah, so I mean, like, where have you been? Where, where have you stayed for more than like a month or so? Yes. So I lived in Rwanda. I lived in Kenya. I've lived in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, like Namibia. I would say the biggest cultural shift for me was in Rwanda and Kenya, really integrating myself into those cultures, because the tribalness of it is still there, but in a modern way. And I think the tribal essence of it is community and how you really work with your community. 

And I think that's something we can adopt and, you know, bring into what we're doing here in the West. And then the culture aspects comes in so many different ways. And whether it's the language or the food or how you communicate. And so those were the areas that I lived significantly and really appreciated as well as India. I also lived in a small village in the Netherlands. So that was really fun. It was very hard to pick up the language, but it was just really cool to be like in this Dutch village. So. Yeah, I know. Well, I wanna ask you 1000 more questions about that, but I know we have other things we have to get to, but, um, so you know, a lot of times we talk about like, uh, sustainability and, and companies and what they're willing to do. There's a lot of, some companies in particular, the, the larger they get, almost the more risk averse they get. And you said, you know, you can turn risk into opportunity. So how do companies actually do that in practice? And how do you get a company that maybe is like, what is this sustainability thing? Is it really going to help me? I don't know, should I invest in that? How do you get them to say, yes, like, how do they get, take that, that first big step? Yeah, I think you're on to something, you know, the word sustainability is so. It can be very jarring sometimes. It's big, right? You don't really know where to put it. And they throw an ESG and then companies like, Oh my gosh, what does that mean? So I do think there's something about the terminology that we are scaring them with. And that's why there is this default to, let me just be compliant and let me not put myself at risk. And I do think it's because the space over the and Needed to happen was very much pushing towards regulation and compliance. And so that's what we saw a lot with companies at the bare minimum. What can I do? But then you have other organizations and companies that have actually been on this journey for a very long time and want to actually really know how to take to the next level. 

You think about companies like Patagonia, or you think about, you know, what do you think about other companies that have been TOMS, for example, They want to figure out how to take their model away from risk and embed it more. For those that are kind of in between, what I always say is that there is an ROI. So first off, you want to make sure that your supply chain is resilient. What we found after COVID is our supply chains were not resilient. It was all over the. So what, what do I mean by that? Your suppliers, they're coming from different parts of the world. We're dependent on this global multinational supply chain manufacturing and all of that. So now what I say is, let's start to think about how sustainability can be a lever to have a more resilient supply chain. So instead of having operations that might be in another country, and we're driving up emissions by importing and, you know, exporting products, excuse me. Then let's bring it closer. So that's one way that companies kind of resonate if you talk about near shoring or onshoring, especially right now with tariffs. So you know what I mean, like people like, oh, I've got to do manufacturing. Now let's build in the sustainability aspect of it. Because that means now, you're shipping more locally. Or if you think about when you're want to build a house, you know, buying wood that's more local. And so we talked to the big companies on how we can use sustainability, not as a way to be just compliant, but as an opportunity. And that's not just in building new business models, but also working with different suppliers and shifting your manufacturing a certain way. The return financially, just like anything we do, that it takes time. So it might be 5 years, it might be 7 years, it might be 10 years, but there will be a return. If you think about the past 25 years, what we have seen is that there's actually a return on investment. Now it's about showing to these companies that it's applicable in their way in their sector. Yeah, and I mean, if you say return on investment and you got it, it's kind of like, OK, yeah, sure, great. I don't remember what else you said, but you said, as you said, there'd be money at the end and that's where I'm going and uh. I know we've seen that a lot, and I definitely we'll get back to, uh, Kearney Lab specifically in a second, but I want to ask one follow up on this. We mentioned tariffs, you know, briefly, and there is, you know, kind of, no matter what, there's a shift in the global economy going on right now. 

So how is that impacting some of what you're doing? Is it still too early to tell for you or is it kind of something, I mean, I know we all have our eye on it, but what does it mean practically for you? Yes, so practically for me. As consultants, we're definitely seeing that companies are looking more towards maximizing their bottom line differently and, you know, cost efficiency because of the tariffs. So I do think there's a bit of a shift away from putting capital investment towards sustainability, particularly here in the Americas. The balance, and I think the interesting part is there's still regulations that a lot of organizations have to follow. That are not from the US. And so that is what I'm trying to do is balance that. And then, you know, I talked a little bit, you know, this is what I do at Kearney, but I'm also doing other work that is not dependent on what's happening here, which is elevating people's minds on understanding how to build more social business models. Social innovation is what I call it, just of environmental innovation. And by taking that social innovation, we can take it to these companies as well. And maybe that would allow them to not think about that bottom line and the threat of tariffs but see again where that opportunity is. Very cool. I like that a lot. And then that goes back to that question about product and your previous question is, how do you create opportunity? Look, there's a new generation, we're talking to them right now. And this new generation is demanding better products, products that are not going to go into landfills. You know, products that are conscious that I know that a child is not breaking their back to make. So I do think that there is a new generation that is demanding this. And by generation, again, I say age and also mindset for our consumers. And when we think about sustainability, and we think about what I Saying about where those influences. It's really with consumers, and that's products. And so that's where I said that other opportunities for companies and organizations, both social entrepreneurs, governments and companies, is to rethink how we make our products, to look at it from a place of making products that are more environmentally friendly or made from waste. For example, how about some pineapple leather pants, everybody? Right? And that are circular in nature. 

And that are made ethically. So, again, opportunity is if you figure out where your risk is, and you identify that risk, and you think innovatively and expansively, then you have the opportunity and you're hitting your consumers and you're hitting the world on all levels. Yeah. No, it's amazing. And from a consumer standpoint, I've been waiting for this for just as long as you've been working in it. So, I have been vegetarian for almost 25 years, and I stopped buying leather 25 years ago and I have been Watching labels and I've been looking for animal cruelty. I can tell you which ones had animal cruelty. Scott bought and sold and took it off and put it back on. I can tell you. And now there are more now than ever. It's almost like it's not be more if your product doesn't have the cruelty-free symbol on it. So, I love that shift has definitely probably in the last 5 years seems like it's happened. And, you know, almost anything you pick up now, it has something like that on it and the major labels are finally like, OK, we have to do this too, because I think there was so much competition from new brands, because that's what people want. I don't want to put people, especially, you know, you say the new generation, uh, anyone at any age, whatever. You want to put chemicals on their face for makeup every day. No one does. Now everything has to be natural. My brother has a lotion company and they launched a new line for teenagers and facial soap, and it's all fresh products, all crazy chemicals, everything you can understand, and I don't can't even imagine how else would you do it? Exactly. Like, why did we have to do it this way to begin with, right? Like, it makes no sense. There's enough wealth, and there's enough abundance, there's enough out there, enough resources. So, and here's one more thing, Laura, you could look for talking about trends and regulations is traceability. So now they're putting QR codes on packaging. To trace where, remember I talked about supply chain and procurement, all of that, to trace it. I've seen this on coffee products. I've seen this on chocolate and now we want to get this on all products. So I think, again, it's up to the consumers, it's up to us. It's up to your generation. We just keep pushing, we keep demanding it, and the companies have no choice but to do it. Right, just so awesome. So you mentioned earlier something about an education lab or a lab in Chicago. 

So Kearney has this really cool innovation product lab. And this was, so they're all actually now they have several product labs across Europe. And what they actually do is take a product and break it down. Most companies come to the product lab for more cost efficiency. But what we have done is that if you're all. Looking at your cost efficiency, and we're already breaking down your product. Let's also look at the environmental aspect of it. So I'll give you an example. If it's a food company, food companies tend to use, if it's not their own manufacturing, and they have private labels. And so they have to figure out now how to drive down emissions as part of their supply chains. So manufacturing emissions, I think you talked about earlier, Nick, about papers of packaging. Have different colors, ink, you know, that connects to your branding. More ink, more colors actually have more emissions. So our lab looks at like branding, consumer, looks at the actual products, the food product. If it's dark chocolate, it will have less carbon emissions, and it can have a social business model versus if it's regular chocolate, we go through that whole process of redesigning that product with a lens of designing for sustainability. And now social innovation is what I'm looking into. Yeah, well, you know, it's, you just reminded me, it's almost like I remember National Geographic changed from a plastic cover to a paper cover for those kind of reasons, you know, but yeah, that's, it's really great. 

And this has been a really great conversation, and it's just, you know, there's so much already that we're going into, but we, uh, we always have a segment that we call Field Notes and it's part of our show where we ask our guests to talk about memorable moments doing their work, and we do ask the audience to send us their funny, scary, or awkward field story to info@environmentalprofessionalsradio.com.

But you mentioned working in places all over the world. You've worked in, you know, places with extreme poverty, to staying in a seven-star hotel, which I'm not even sure I can comprehend what that is. So, what's going through your mind when you're, you're seeing that that wild contrast in the way we live in this global on Earth, and how does that impact your day to day? I think this has been the most interesting part about working in the space that I'm working in, in the way that I'm working in, and that is being exposed to the extremes because I work with ultra high net worth individuals, I'm talking about billionaires, sovereign wealth funds where I can't even count that high. And then I'm in villages where a housemaid is counting her, her small coins to be able to educate her daughter so that she doesn't live in poverty and learns English, and that's only $100 a year. And so I recall having been in the situation where I was in that impoverished village and we're coming up with these social models. But the next day I had to be in Dubai and I was living in Dubai working with these investors, and I happened to be in the 7 star hotel, which didn't really know there were 7 stars, right? Right? I'm like, what is that? What does that mean? What's above a 5? So, I'll tell you what it is, gold everywhere, gold, toilets, gold, bathtub, gold everywhere. And it was just so interesting to me to now walk into this space of gold and decadence and then being picked up in literally gold Bentleys, like gold plated Bentleys. I've never seen that either. And it was really hard. And at first it was like, God, this doesn't feel Right. You know, I don't feel good. It feels like I am, this doesn't feel like it's me. And then, but I also had to recognize again, where is that power of influence? 

And how do we become that voice where influence needs to be? And that's sort of where my brain had to rationalize that. I had, it was all very out of body. I almost maybe had to get out of my body to be accepting of where I was. Yeah, no kidding. Yeah. Yeah, and so I think that was the thing is seeing the extremes of the world, but also knowing, like we said, there's enough abundance. There should be no reason why people are starving anymore. There's no reason why the earth should be in as much trouble as it is that people don't have water, that we have depleted soil minerals, that we have depleted water sources because there's enough wealth. And that's what that taught me is figure out where that wealth is, figure out the people who are passionate about it and who are committed to it, and see if we can drive that to the places that we can truly invest and build up communities and the environment. Yeah, and, you know, funny you say that too. I think one of the discussion points we have in this country, like, you know, the, the tax breaks and loopholes that rich, uh, very rich can get, can use to not pay taxes. And, you know, you'll hear billionaires say, you know, oh, this isn't really right. And then you can always ask them, well, you know, you don't have to take the loophole. You don't have to do that. That's a choice that you make. And if you want to not pay taxes, you can, but you can still also choose to pay them. Uh, and, and getting someone to do that because it's almost against their own self-interest in a way, it's really hard. And like I said, I'm not gonna get on a soapbox and say everyone should or has to, but you know, there are people that, that do that are very philanthropic and are really involved in, in that, so it's not a one, a zero-sum game either. So I love hearing you talk about it because it's not, if you're not at the table, you're not even having the conversation. You have to at least be there. Yeah, and you know, and this is also where we are on the space. It's philanthropy, but it's also investing. So let's talk to the people who have the money. That's what we created was impact investing. 

Take out the word impact. Now let's just start investing in things that give you an ROI and why not in the process, make sure it has environmental and social return on it? Because now this is where I'm saying the space is going to where you're, what might be considered environmental technology or environmental innovation. is actually just another innovation just like an Uber or an Etsy or you know whatever it may be and it will give you that return on investment. So there is a I have worked with and some of my greatest mentors are 100% portfolio committed impact investors and philanthropists. So 100% of their billion dollar or million-dollar portfolio is going to what we call impact businesses that in, you know, 5 to 7 years, you will get a return on that investment. And you can invest anywhere from $500 million up to more than that now because there's so much innovation happening. And so that's what I say to those that are saying, I just want to make my money. Well, look at the trends. Then it's just like you invested in software technology in the early 2000s, then now 2, yeah, here, and, and they're millionaires now. So look at the trend of where you can invest and maybe get out of that mindset of like, oh, it's environmental just to do good, and there actually is a huge impact financially as well. So, you know, it's funny, I love hearing that. I think it's really great and If we had more time, but we could talk about any one of these things that we've talked about for like an hour. And I think, you know, it's funny we have people on the show that are really innovative and are really creative, and they tend to do lots of different things. And that's totally the case for you, right? And so yeah, we're gonna brag on you a little bit. 

So you, you've written a TV series that's in pre-production. Like, I'm sorry, wait, first of all, what? And first of all, how do you have the time? Yeah, exactly. They didn't tell us what's it about? Like, how did you, how did you decide I'm gonna do this? Well, you know, here's what I finally have found comfort in. I was just in an event last week and I heard from a Gen Z that she's a multi-hyphenated, which means that she has multi things that she does. She's not just one title, like, Oh, I can do that. Because my generation was very afraid to say I do more than one thing. And that's probably where a lot of my Identity crisis was happened. Like, well, can I do a lot of things? Can I just all the stuff I do a lot of things. I know conference recently, and she was like, she was an actress and she's a writer and she's doing this and I told her all the stuff I was doing. She goes, You make me feel normal. I think it's so OK now. I think that the world needs it, like, own it. So I am so happy to learn from. Your generation to own that fact that I can do a lot of things. I am doing a lot of things because I definitely feel like in my career, I was not allowed to embrace it. So, to that effect, I would say about a couple of years ago. So in my journeys of the work I've been doing environmental and social work all over the world, I really believe storytelling is So important in what we're doing, especially when we talk about the social human aspect of it. So part of my work has always been about documenting what I've been doing. So if I was in a village in India, I, I worked in the village of widows in Rwanda. So that's the village of widows in Rwanda, documenting their lives, surviving the genocide. My really good best friend is a documentary filmmaker and photojournalist, and he would once in a while join me on these trips, and we would create videos and write in magazines. And recently, a couple of years ago, we came across a story that inspired us, and neither one of us had written a script, although we've been on sets. I come from a family of filmmakers from India. So it's always been a passion of mine. 

But I didn't know exactly when it would happen. And so we found this story, and then we started to create a story about America. And this was back in 2018, when we were really going through a lot. And it's interesting because we are here now, and that story still remains, but it really is a collection of true stories based off of what's happening in the US from the identity of, of an immigrant story. identity of those in prison, the identity of a generation who's trying to figure out who they are, women, young girls, the Me-Too movement, and really it's about the fabric of America. But the hope of if we work together using our creativity and our collaboration, the upliftment of America to what it can be. Yeah. That sounds great. Can I tell you something though of all the things I've done in my life, this was the hardest thing ever. I sat there on the couch. I looked at my friend and I was like, where did we start? And he goes, I was like, Can we just outsource this? I know. Well it's so funny cause like being creative isn't just coming up with the idea, it's following through on that idea, right? It's easy to come up with an idea. It is hard to put it into action. So I mean, like, you talk about like joke writing, even writing a joke takes forever to get it not good, but great, right? And that's what you want. You want it to be great. So how do you get over that hurdle? Because that is hard. Nick, you hit it on the head. The first thing we said before we even, so he draws. And so he was like sketching out the first scene, and I'm just staring at a. because we have a whole, my whole dining room eventually ended up becoming just a storyboard of caricatures. But that is exactly what we said is, what is it that we want to say before we get started? And we said, we're gonna finish this. No matter what, we're going to finish this. We don't want to start this because it is easy as a creator to start something, get really involved and say, Oh, no, let's go in this direction and it doesn't finish, whatever. But we're gonna finish this. And I will say it is 67 years later, and we did have COVID in between and we got jobs and all of that, but we have finished it. We are finishing the second pilot. We have a trailer, and this summer we are going to pitch it. So it did take us time, but we, we did our goal, and that was it exactly was the commitment, and you commit to it. And a lot of grapes. We were like throwing grapes in each other's mouths, trying to be all creative. So that got us through a lot of moments. Like, open your mouth, can you catch? Yeah. This will work, right? Yeah, we're geniuses. Let's go. I know, I know, it's like, uh, you know, I hear so many times that people in the creative space, like they're just like, well, or you say you do something creative, right? Like I say I tell people I've done say no comedy before and they're like, oh, I'd never do that. Well, it's like, well, you, you can't if that's your mentality, right? 

You can't do it cause you're literally saying you won't. And it's like, you know, just go out there and see what happens. The worst thing that happens is that no one laughs, and you and you get off stage and go on with your life, right? That's the same thing with anything, but you created that and that's exactly. Oh man, I know. Everything about everything around us is created by somebody. Yeah, exactly. Everything came from somebody's imagination. Yeah. Oh man, I know. OK, so, yeah, yeah, I know, uh, Laura's gonna yell at me if I keep going. So I'll send it back to you. But it is, but it is a mindset, right? It's, and, and that's a lot, you know, when I say my multi-hyphenate it, that's a lot part of what I do as well is working with individuals to know themselves. And especially a generation that is trying to understand what they want to do in their career and how they want to be in the world and how they want to show up in the world, especially at a time when we feel like we have to. Help save the world, and we don't want to hurt it. We want to be a part of it. So I work with a lot of people on understanding themselves and their mindset. And that goes to what you're saying is, your thoughts really do create your reality, because your thoughts are your vibration. And so, if you are thinking, I want to write this joke, then if you're gonna keep thinking it, then it's not gonna get done. But now, how do you take that thought and say, OK, I'm gonna write this joke and I'm really gonna write this joke, and you turn that into an action. And that's what we have to shift within us is like really looking within ourselves. That's why I was saying at the early part of our conversation is, there's a place for everybody in this space. But first, know what your skill set. And I will say it took me a long time to figure out how to put myself in a space, especially when there was not really a space. You know? And so I think a large part of this journey is to figure out yourself. 

And Laura, you can do 10 different things. And that's great because there will be a place where it is going to come together on a whole other level, that's going to maximize your skill sets. And that's what I say to everyone on this career path. Work on that piece of it. Let it come from inside of you, and then that shapes the outside of what needs to happen. I couldn't agree. Yeah, perfect. I don't think we have to ask you the last questions, but we are running out of time. So is there anything else that I don't know how you talked the last thing you just said, but like to talk about or philosophies you'd like to share? You know, I think I'll just build up on that. Find your center because this world is a crazy place now and we need A beautiful army of soldiers to do really good things. I always say life is finite and everything around us is finite, and we are finite beings. And work with time, move with time, but don't get caught up on time and work within the space that you're in, learn yourself and bring that to the world. I think oftentimes what we do is we say, what can the world do for me? And where do I fit myself in versus saying, OK, what can I do for the world? Because you were born with a skill set. I say every single one of us has a superpower, figure out your superpower. And you're at the time of your life where you can do that. Figure out your superpower. You might have several. and then then it will come out naturally and be placed where it needs to be placed. And you will draw in the people you need to draw in. Like all of you wonderful people so I could have this conversation. Exactly. Oh yeah, Marley is a new addition to being pulled in. She's amazing, so. 

Well, thank you, Sree. That was a really awesome talk. And where can people get in touch with you if they'd like to follow up. So you can come to my website, https://www.sreeratna.com. So that's S R E E R A T N A.com And my LinkedIn, I post quite a bit of articles on LinkedIn and videos on this topic. And so that's LinkedIn, Sree Kancherla. Very cool. Thank you so much. Thank you. That's our show. Thank you, Sree, for joining us today. Please be sure to check us out each and every Friday and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. Bye. See you, everybody.