How to start an All We Can Save Circle where you work

“When I was younger, I envisioned companies as being surrounded by impenetrable gray walls,” writes youth activist Xiye Bastida in All We Can Save. “I thought that I couldn’t change corporations because they were inaccessible, and I thought they didn’t want to change. But now youth understand that companies are made up of people.” 

To forge a just and life-giving future, we need to be starting conversations, building community, and working towards solutions wherever we have influence—and that includes work. Many climate-related decisions are made in workplaces, and work is an often-overlooked area where meaningful climate action is possible. 

But it can be hard to know where to start with climate conversations or building community to move towards meaningful climate action. That’s where All We Can Save Circles come in.

→ What are Circles?

Circles are a self-led framework of 10 sessions that follow the course of the All We Can Save anthology, designed to nurture connection, encourage generous dialogue, and seed action for climate solutions. 

→ Why should I start a workplace Circle? 

Climate action is too important to go it alone, especially at work. Building a trust-filled community can help not only identify what we can do to accelerate climate action in the workplace, but also provide the community and sustenance to keep the work going. 

We collaborated with the climate-at-work experts at Drawdown Labs to develop workplace-specific explorations for each Circle session, designed to help uncover and deepen understanding about where climate opportunity exists within your organization or company.

→ I don’t know anything about climate, and my work isn’t directly related to the environment. Should I still start a Circle at my workplace?

Circles are designed to work for everyone—whether you’re working in a sustainability-focused industry or totally new to climate justice.

Every job has ties to climate, even when they’re not an explicit part of your job description. Circles are designed to help you build community with your colleagues to recognize how you can move towards climate action together at work.

→ What’s the difference between a workplace Circle and a non-workplace Circle?

Workplace Circles use the same session content as regular Circles, with one difference: Towards the end of each session, you’ll find a workplace exploration prompt that you can offer to your colleagues to reflect on before the next time you meet. For your final Circle session, we also provide a workplace-specific, action-focused facilitation guide, designed for synthesizing what you’ve learned over the course of your Circle and thinking through how to spark climate action together. 

Both of these additions draw on a publication from Drawdown Labs, “Climate Solutions at Work,” which you may want to keep on hand as a resource.

→ Okay, I’m in! But I’m not sure how to start. 

Great! First, sign up here, and stay tuned for an email from us.

Then, the easiest place to start is to invite one colleague. Is there someone at work who you’re comfortable with, who might be interested in going deeper into climate conversations together? Once they say yes, think together about other colleagues to invite. A Circle can be as small as 3-4 people, but 6-10 people is probably the sweet spot. If you’d like more support on how to facilitate a group, check out our guide for first-time facilitators.