How I helped develop climate change adaptation strategies in the energy industry, with Future17

I was accepted onto a project titled ‘Climate change adaptation for businesses in energy and utilities and consumer products and retail sectors’ and was tasked to come up with a climate adaptation strategy for global consultancy, Capgemini.  

I worked with a multinational and multidisciplinary team of ten students coming from Europe, Egypt and Hong Kong, studying a variety of subjects across undergraduate and graduate level, including political science, economics, communication, and environmental studies. 

It was incredible how we flowed our different expertise into the understanding of the impact of energy utilities and consumer goods on the climate and came up with a multi-stage strategy for climate adaptation.  

We divided our efforts into four stages, identifying the climate-related risks and opportunities available and assigning each one of us a specific task. Using design thinking, we came up with creative approaches to problem-solving and suggested new products and adaptive business models. Our research explored climate governance, data and communications, awareness-raising and technology enhancements.  

At the end we presented our proposal to the company with a group presentation and a detailed written report. After some questions from the panel, I felt proud of our project and I hope it has contributed to making the world a better place to live in the future.  

Indeed, when it comes to sustainability, stakeholders are trying to shift from ambition to execution—and that’s the hard part! Our goal, as young students, consisted in translating that ambition into concrete results. 

During these months, I think I treasured many lessons on sustainability issues, but learning new skills and building new competencies was surely the most valuable lesson that will be fundamental for my future career.  

Firstly, Future17 equips you with the necessary project management skills to understand the full scope of the project and manage it from the beginning to the final presentation. By combining project management, organisational and problem-solving skills, you’re able to quickly strategise and prioritise the steps your team needs to deliver a project within the given deadlines.  

Secondly (and particularly useful for shy people like me), constant video calls with the team as well as the final presentation to the company helped me improve my public speaking skills, learning how to communicate ideas in a clear, compelling way. As you advance in the professional world, you may be asked to speak publicly about your work, and it is essential to present yourself in the best way possible.  

Finally, the project also taught me how to be adaptable, working with sufficient flexibility to adapt and incorporate different opinions and approaches from other team members.