How

to

Be

a

Corporate

Climate

Activist

(Without

Quitting

Your

Day

Job)

How to Be a Corporate Climate Activist (Without Quitting Your Day Job)

What if your biggest tool for fighting climate change isn’t a protest sign or a reusable coffee cup—but your job title?

In our latest Mucky Middle episode, we sat down with Lucy Piper, filmmaker-turned-brand-strategist-turned-climate-crusader, and now the program director of Work for Climate. Her mission? Mobilise employees inside some of the world’s biggest corporations to become internal climate activists—and accelerate climate action from within the system.

This episode hits hard for anyone navigating the tension between “doing well” and “doing good.” And Lucy doesn’t just offer inspiration—she lays out a framework for meaningful, inside-out transformation.

1. Climate Change Needs a Rebrand—And Employees Are the New Creative Department

Lucy spent nearly a decade working at Intrepid Travel, a B Corp where purpose was “centre stage.” But it wasn’t until she made the leap into climate that she realised something: most sustainability strategies fail not because they lack technical solutions, but because they lack storytelling.

“Businesses don’t change—people do. And people respond to stories.”

That’s the ethos of Work for Climate. They don’t just hand employees data—they teach them how to sell it in. Whether you work in marketing, finance, product or procurement, the role of brand storytelling is key to driving change. If the C-suite thinks climate action is “off-brand,” you’ve already lost.

2. You Don’t Need to Be a Climate Expert—Just a Bit Brave and Very Annoying

If there’s one message Lucy wants to drill home, it’s this: you don’t need a degree in environmental science to make a difference.

You need:

• A working knowledge of the emissions problem
• A killer sense of narrative
• And a tenacious-as-hell attitude

“You’ll get told ‘no’—a lot. But you need to keep going. Celebrate small wins. Build internal allies. Be patient but persistent.”

Work for Climate calls these folks “intrapreneurs”—employees who agitate for change from within. They’re the ones asking: “Why is our default super fund invested in fossil fuels?” or “What would it take to decarbonise our product lifecycle?”

The good news? Those questions matter. And they ripple.

3. The Corporate Sector Is the Only Lever Big Enough

In Lucy’s words: “If the corporate sector doesn’t change, nothing else will matter.”

Governments are slow. Individuals are limited. But businesses? They can reallocate budgets, people, resources and lobbying muscle overnight.

Which is why Work for Climate doesn’t just engage with the “good guys.” Their focus is the movable middle—the giant household-name companies doing just enough to not be evil, but nowhere near enough to meet the moment. Think of it as the "grey area" of the emissions bell curve—and the exact place where the biggest impact can be made.

4. Offset Guilt Isn’t Enough—We Need Emission Ambition

Too many businesses are still hiding behind carbon offsets and glossy net-zero-by-2050 promises. Lucy pulls no punches here:

“Offsetting is like paying to play. The maths just doesn’t add up.”

It’s not about looking carbon neutral. It’s about becoming a different kind of business entirely—one that actively reduces emissions, transforms its operations, and lobbies for policy change. If your marketing team’s net-zero roadmap is more detailed than your supply chain’s, it’s time for a rethink.

5. Your Brand DNA Is Your Mandate for Change

One of the most powerful takeaways from Lucy’s journey is this: brand isn’t just a communications function—it’s a strategic tool for transformation.

Every company has a founding story, a set of values, a mission they put in pitch decks and on About pages. Those same stories can be used to justify bold climate action.

“No company says their brand stands for destroying humanity. So use that. Use the brand to push the company forward.”

If your brand stands for innovation, prove it by being the first in your industry to go carbon-positive. If your brand stands for empowerment, empower your people to decarbonise their workflows. The values are there—dig them out of the website copy and put them to work.

6. The Climate Crisis Is a Wicked Problem—And Brand Creatives Are Built for That

This episode hits close to home for Paper Moose. As a B Corp and creative agency, we straddle the tension of selling products while pushing for systems change. And like Lucy, we believe creative thinkers have a vital role to play in that transition.

We don’t need another campaign for “awareness.” We need ideas that transform, not just communicate.

We need:

• Brand teams challenging unsustainable defaults
• Marketing folk influencing procurement and packaging
• Creative directors pushing back on briefs that feel misaligned
• Everyone asking: Should this even exist?

Because if we’re not designing for a 100-year business plan, are we even building for the future?

TL;DR: How to Be a Climate Intrapreneur

Here’s your crash course in Work for Climate’s philosophy:

• Change happens inside companies, not just outside them
• Employees have power—they just need support, language and guts
• Storytelling isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s the lever
• Brand values are your compass and your argument
• Persistence > perfection
• Progress happens when people stop asking for permission

Want to use creativity to spark corporate transformation?
At Paper Moose, we help brands act as boldly as they speak—through storytelling, strategy and soul. Let’s make your business unforgettable for the right reasons. Talk to us.