I had two expert meetings within 40 days in Bangkok and Rome recently. The meetings were held by two big, multinational organizations that share the same characteristics and values. They oppose people who harm the environment and mostly work at the policy level - they are stubborn and take legal action as a way to achieve their mission. People who work there have spent many years of their lives fighting in their own war (I met someone who has worked there for more than 27 years!). It is such an honor to be able to speak among them and witness their spirit despite of the fact that they are no longer young.

In my late meeting, the organization also talked seriously about its organizational climate regarding harassment. It came to my surprise that there is an environmental organization that seriously defends their female workers and non-native English speakers for being underrepresented and discriminated against. I was there, amazed and awed. I was sitting among badass women who speak for themselves - and invite men to be on the same page. There is a significant link between environmentalism and feminism because the basic value of those beliefs is sharing an equal proportion of resources and responsibility. Stopping women objectification (which includes catcalling, prostitution, and rape) and environmental objectification (which includes over-mining, overfishing, and overhunting) are basically in line. Some studies show that people who are feminists usually have a tendency to be environmentalists.

In my own personal experience, I got insight from North Flores, where men often are the ones who go to an environmental meeting - but it is a woman who controls the household and asks her man to fulfill their family needs, regardless of the environmental cost to cover those needs. For a woman, her family is everything. That shows educating women about the environment is really important no matter how strong the gender role of men is in some particular areas.

But being a feminist or environmentalist just by working in an organization that works for those issues is no longer important when we don't walk the talk. I don't trust the Ministry of Forestry ever since the honored minister was found to own a protected bird in her villa when she just had given a talk about keeping that bird is illegal. Last week, I spent time for myself to go to two museums in Amsterdam. I really like how the city really does its portion to help the environment - and science. Its national aviation brand even does things seriously with the weight of cargo nets and trolleys to reduce fuel consumption, eliminates newspapers, reduces water for cleaning their aircraft, and changes fuel to a more sustainable resource. I also can feel this spirit on the flight: the utensils, cardboard for the cake, the tissue. They do really walk the talk. I am currently working with a huge brand in making an SOP for their waste recovery system, so I know it is not easy at all to reform a policy to comply with the environmental standards of a big company. I've been working with various environmental agencies and organizations since 2012 - not that many of their workers - or the organizations really work on their own carbon emission reduction.

Well - practicing what we preach is a big homework for us all.
Me included.