At Earth Action (EA), we collaborate with leading sustainability experts who bring deep technical expertise to our projects. One of these experts is Lindsey Lessard, a specialist in life cycle assessment, climate impact, and nature-based solutions. With nearly 15 years of experience in sustainability consulting, she has helped businesses navigate complex environmental challenges by integrating systemic analysis into corporate strategies.
Lindsay’s career spans both private sector consulting and public sector policy work, giving her a unique perspective on the intersection of business sustainability, regulatory frameworks, and real-world implementation. From advising multinational corporations on supply chain transparency to shaping regional sustainability strategies, she is a key force in pushing sustainability beyond surface-level commitments.
Here’s how Lindsay is making an impact—and why businesses need to pay attention.
From Business Consulting to Systemic Sustainability Thinking
Lindsay’s expertise lies in life cycle assessment (LCA), which examines the full environmental footprint of products and processes, from raw material extraction to disposal. During her consulting career, she worked with global companies across sectors like food, agriculture, and consumer goods, helping them identify environmental hotspots and develop data-driven sustainability strategies.
Through this work, Lindsay saw firsthand the complexity of corporate supply chains, and how sustainability cannot be tackled in silos. Her approach has always been systemic—connecting planetary boundaries, resource consumption, and business resilience. She helps companies move beyond carbon tunnel vision to address broader ecological concerns, from biodiversity loss to water use and land degradation.
‘Businesses need to stop seeing sustainability as just a carbon problem. The reality is, we are dealing with interconnected planetary crises. If companies don’t take a holistic approach, they risk solving one problem while worsening another.’
After years of advising private-sector clients, Lindsay sought new ways to drive impact beyond corporate sustainability reports. In 2024, she transitioned to the public sector, where she now contributes to the 2035 cycling strategy for the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. This move allows her to apply the same analytical thinking she brought to businesses—but on a broader policy level, shaping urban planning and mobility solutions that align with climate goals.
Beyond her professional work, Lindsay also serves as a City Council Member in her hometown of Aubonne, reflecting her deep commitment to embedding sustainability at the community level.
The Business Imperative: Transparency, Accountability, and Social Justice
For businesses, sustainability is no longer optional—it’s a necessity for resilience and long-term success. Lindsay sees complex supply chains as a major challenge, arguing that companies must embrace greater transparency and accountability.
‘There needs to be more social justice across supply chains. Without it, businesses will struggle to build truly sustainable systems.’ Consumer behaviour plays a role, but Lindsay is realistic about its limitations.
‘Unfortunately, I don’t think consumer pressure alone will make companies move fast enough. Regulation will remain essential, and many businesses will wait for catastrophic climate events before acting—by then, it may be too late.’
This stark reality highlights the importance of proactive leadership, both in business and policy, to accelerate meaningful change.
Decoupling Growth from Environmental Impact: The Corporate Dilemma
One of the biggest misconceptions Lindsay encounters in the corporate world is the belief that economic growth can be fully decoupled from environmental degradation. Despite widespread sustainability commitments, there is no empirical evidence proving that businesses can continue to grow indefinitely without increasing resource consumption and emissions.
This presents a fundamental challenge: How can companies thrive while operating within planetary boundaries? Lindsay believes that businesses need to engage with concepts like degrowth and alternative economic models rather than relying on incremental efficiency improvements.
What is Degrowth? (And What It Isn’t)
Degrowth is not about economic collapse, recession, or making people poorer. Instead, it is an economic framework that seeks to reduce environmentally destructive activities while improving well-being and resilience.
‘Many people think degrowth means economic decline, but that’s not the case. The goal isn’t to reduce prosperity—it’s to shift our definition of prosperity away from GDP growth and toward a model where people and ecosystems thrive within planetary limits.’
It’s important to distinguish positive growth from negative growth:
- Negative Growth – Many GDP-boosting activities are actually harmful. A city devastated by floods caused by climate change contributes to « growth » when it has to rebuild. Rising air pollution increases GDP because it leads to more spending on healthcare, but that’s a cost to society, not a benefit.
- Positive Growth – Investments in renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, circular economies, and public health improve quality of life while reducing our dependence on unsustainable expansion. This is the kind of growth degrowth encourages.
‘At the moment, GDP measures everything except what actually makes life worth living. The destruction caused by climate disasters counts as economic growth. But is that really progress?’
What Does Degrowth Look Like for Businesses?
Degrowth does not mean businesses stop selling products—it means rethinking value creation to move away from disposable, resource-intensive models. Some companies are already embracing this shift:
- Patagonia’s Repair & Resale Model – Instead of pushing new product sales, Patagonia promotes repairs, second-hand clothing, and gear rentals.
- Fairphone’s Modular Design – Unlike traditional smartphones designed for obsolescence, Fairphone creates modular, repairable phones.
- Car Sharing Instead of Ownership – Companies like Zipcar and Mobility reduce the number of vehicles produced by shifting from individual ownership to shared access models.
- Furniture-as-a-Service – Companies like NORNORM provide high-quality, durable office furniture through subscriptions, keeping products in use rather than in landfills.
‘Degrowth isn’t about shutting businesses down—it’s about creating business models that work within planetary limits. Companies that rethink their strategies today will be the ones that survive in the long term.’
Expertise Meets Action: Partnering with Earth Action
Lindsay Lessard’s technical expertise, consulting experience, and systemic approach make her a critical voice in the sustainability space. Her work with Earth Action supports businesses in tackling their most pressing environmental challenges—not just from a compliance perspective, but from a resilience and long-term strategy lens.
‘Companies that take action today won’t just reduce risk—they’ll gain a competitive advantage. Those who wait will be left behind.’ As businesses face increasing regulatory, financial, and environmental pressures, experts like Lindsay provide the guidance needed to turn sustainability from an abstract goal into a concrete, actionable strategy.
Are you ready to take sustainability to the next level? Earth Action collaborates with top experts like Lindsay to drive meaningful, science-based corporate transformation.
Get in touch with us to explore how systemic sustainability analysis can future-proof your business.
