Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Tom Bowman of Bowman Change Is Helping To Change Our World
An Interview With Penny Bauder
I urge everyone to shift their focus. We will have more success when we stop trying to avoid harm and, instead, start building the healthy and well-connected society we have always wanted. The emotional power of a “crisis” might feel magnetic, but it can also be dispiriting. We are so much more productive when we embrace the excitement and joy of creating a cleaner, quieter, healthier world.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Bowman.
Tom Bowman is an advisor, speaker, and changemaker who believes that the solutions to even the world’s toughest problems are within our grasp. His gift for distilling complex problems and scientific information to their central nuggets empowers people to take ownership and act.
As principal of Bowman Change, Inc., Tom works with people and organizations who care deeply about their communities and their world. Bowman’s contributions as a strategic advisor on an Action for Climate Empowerment framework for the United States are helping shape our world’s future. This strategic framework is an initiative by educators, activists, policymakers, communication professionals, and others to advance the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Bowman’s recent book, What if Solving the Climate Crisis Is Simple? was heralded by Dr. Michael Mann as an “inspiring, concise primer on climate action.” He has been featured by CNN, NPR’s Marketplace, Time, New York Times, Science and other leading media outlets.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I am a fifth-generation preacher’s kid, which is a label that makes me chuckle. My father and grandfather were scholars and teachers, primarily, and both of my parents were trained in music. I grew up in a household that valued lifelong learning, the arts, and a curiosity about how people’s ideas and perceptions move in the world and impact society. It also instilled a very healthy skepticism about institutions and institutional leaders.
We lived in small college towns as a household of boys, where athleticism and exploration were everyday fare. I’ll note, too, that I have a lifelong vision condition called strabismus, which means that I see out of misaligned eyes one at a time. I’ve experienced 3D vision only once, and only for a miraculous instant. It was a breathtaking experience. My childhood involved endlessly learning to compensate so that I could do everyday things. I only mention this because it has so much to do with my convictions that every belief is worth challenging and obstacles can be overcome if we look at them constructively.
You are currently leading a social impact organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
I am interested in creating a culture of action on climate change. Building the future that we have always wanted begins with us, our attitudes, and our sense of empowerment. My professional background is in communication. I owned an exhibition design firm for 25 years. Today, I focus on shifting our relationship to environmental and justice issues by creating more strategic and effective ways to help people engage. On a day-to-day basis, I advise leaders, publish on the climate challenge, speak to a wide range of audiences, and organize teams of people to work on communication and climate-related projects.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
I read Bill McKibben’s wonderful book, The End of Nature, in the late 1980s and was moved by the fact that human activities had already touched every inch of the Earth’s surface. Bill’s book described how our romantic view of nature as raw, untouched, and separate from us no longer makes sense. That idealized view persists, though, and it has practical consequences.
My design company, meanwhile, created energy efficiency education projects for several electric utility companies. As I was learning about the nation’s energy systems, I was also working with other clients on brand identity projects. I was fascinated to study how some images and ideas took root while others simply died away.
Then, in the early 2000s, my firm was invited to create a new museum for the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. This project was a great honor. It also gave me a rare opportunity to work with some of the most eminent climate scientists in the country. Since my role was to interpret the science in ways that the public could easily understand, I took a deep dive into climate science. What I learned ultimately changed my life.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest them. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?
The word “epiphany” comes to mind because that’s what happened to me. “Epiphanies” are sudden, unexpected, intuitive insights into aspects of reality. When an epiphany strikes, it can pack quite an emotional punch. Some epiphanies are joyous, but others are quite dark. I wrote about my climate epiphany in What if Solving the Climate Crisis Is Simple?
It happened while I was working on my second climate science exhibition. The science curator and I were reviewing the content when I mentioned that the folks at the National Academies had said to pay attention to the ocean. That’s because the ocean can absorb an enormous amount of heat before temperatures begin to rise. They said that when ocean temperatures finally do start rise, we will be committed to a warming climate for 500–1,000 years.
“Oh,” she said. “We’ve already measured warming in every ocean basin in the world to a depth of 1,000 meters.”
Just pause and think about that for a moment: a 3,000-foot-deep-mass of water large enough to cover more than three-quarters of the world has already started warming. In the space of a heartbeat, everything I knew about dystopian climate impacts — impacts that had seemed hypothetical or far in the distant future — came home to roost. It was visceral. I could hardly breath. And I knew that my life had suddenly changed. There is no way to squeeze an insight like that back into the proverbial toothpaste tube.
Many people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. But you did. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?
The best piece of advice I’ve ever heard about starting a business or a nonprofit is to do it in a field that you already know. Understanding how suppliers and clients or benefactors go about things is a huge advantage. My design firm started as an extension of exhibit work that I had already been doing. Likewise, my consultancy began as an extension of the strategic advising and collaborations with experts that I had already been doing for years.
It helps to realize just how diverse the solutions to our climate and climate justice challenges are. As one colleague put it, “The bad news is that we have a lot of work to do. The good news is there’s plenty of work for everybody.” It’s true. Everyone can make meaningful contributions that build upon their unique talents, interests, values, and skills. Taking stock of my own situation led me into consulting and, eventually, selling the design firm to my employees.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
I have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to interesting experiences, so I’ll describe one that I found especially impactful. I had decided to rapidly decarbonize the operations of Bowman Design Group. I set extraordinarily ambitious goals based on some reading I’d done. I presented the plan at a staff meeting and someone asked, “Are you crazy?!” This was a good sign. Sure enough, eighteen months later we earned a statewide award as a small business climate leader because we had achieved a verified carbon footprint reduction of more than two thirds. We even saved a little money in the process.
Then came the big surprise. The award was announced and a day later my phone rang. It was a manager for our biggest client. She said, “I just called to say how proud we are to work with a supplier who would do this voluntarily.” Think about what this means. There is a deep wellspring of goodwill available to anybody and any organization that takes ownership of the climate challenge and acts accordingly.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?
In the book I describe how stupid I felt after we enacted our carbon reduction plan. For about fifteen years we had done what other businesses did: we commuted to work. Then, if someone needed to meet with a supplier, they would drive about sixty miles, have their meeting, and then drive back to the office. Fatigued and under growing deadline pressure, they would work past closing time and then commute home through rush hour traffic. We hated it, but we never questioned it.
Our carbon action plan made me look at this differently. We decided that longest-distance commuters would work from home most days — and this was in 2007, long before online meetings were a thing. Supplier meetings would be scheduled early and late in the day to coincide with commuting. We even juggled assignments so that the people who commuted closest to a suppliers’ facility could handle most of the meetings. I could see progress in our reduced mileage costs, but the best indicator was the increased joy and good humor in the office. People were less stressed, less tired, and altogether happier. The lesson I took from this is simple: don’t take the obvious for granted.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
For a guy like me, who learns by doing, mentors have been indispensable. I’ve never taken a business class, but my last employers and a taught me how business works, what to prioritize, and how to be an authentic boss. When I got into climate change, I benefited from the generosity of scholars in science, social science, economics, energy, and so much more. They taught me to be much more methodical and strategic in this work, and how to rely on evidence rather than my own familiar assumptions. In my experience, people are eager to share their knowledge and insights. Those insights are gems because they reflect lived experience, not abstract ideas.
The single most humbling and inspiring experience came through the project that Dr. Deb Morrison and I wrote about in Empowering Climate Action in the United States. We observed a series of online dialogues involving a diverse group of educators, activists, researchers, communicators, community organizers, and civil servants who came together as volunteers to co-create a national framework for empowering people and organizations to engage, share, and lead. The sheer depth and range of wisdom was astonishing. As we grow in our educations and careers, we are taught to become “experts.” But when you hear people from so many different walks of life expressing so much wisdom, you quickly realize that the “expert” label is a fiction. Hope lies in supporting the work of leaders in every corner of society. I owe a great debt to the people who co-created this project and to Deb, who worked with me to express the participants’ voices on the printed page.
Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
I urge everyone to shift their focus. We will have more success when we stop trying to avoid harm and, instead, start building the healthy and well-connected society we have always wanted. The emotional power of a “crisis” might feel magnetic, but it can also be dispiriting. We are so much more productive when we embrace the excitement and joy of creating a cleaner, quieter, healthier world.
The second thing is to pay attention to our collective progress. Buying into the myth that our individual actions are small is disheartening. It is also incorrect. The signs of rapid progress in clean energy, energy efficiency, and resilience are everywhere. These are not merely anecdotes; they are the pieces of a much larger narrative that we would be wise to embrace.
Third, it’s time to talk about the future we want to create and the actions we are already taking to create it. The social science is very clear on this: relatively few of us talk about climate change. The lack of climate talk is hindering our efforts to generate hope, create mutual expectations, and establish a culture that embraces rising to the challenge. Break the ice. Start talking about your hopes and the benefits that people are already creating.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
A mentor taught me that focusing on profitability is a mistake. Profit is a byproduct of doing right by clients, employees, suppliers, and the community. When you approach business this way you create an enterprise that is resilient, well connected, trusted, and attractive. Embracing sustainability in its many dimensions — environmental performance, diversity, human dignity, and quality of life — is empowering. The story about a client calling to thank me is a case in point. How often does a client call and say they are proud to be associated with your company? You can’t go out and buy loyalty like that.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
I used to laugh and say, “I wish someone had told me how hard this would be.” Would I have done it anyway? Well, probably yes. I just couldn’t imagine getting a steady job.
I wish someone had told me to prioritize hiring people who are good at the things that I struggled with. Bookkeeping is one of those things. I can be meticulous but given the nature of my vision it comes at a high price. Early in my business life an employee asked me to please do the books after hours or on weekends because the tension I created in the office was intolerable. I could have offloaded that work much earlier than I did.
Delegating is something I learned to do slowly. I gradually learned a good rule of thumb, though, which is do the things you are good at and trust skillful people to do the other things. One of my mentors was a natural at this, but it took me years to discover how right he was.
Working for a better world can be joyous! For years I felt a sense of calling, but also a heavy burden of obligation. A mentor helped me turn this around and see that being joyful helps me do my best work. Each of us is part of a larger community, after all, so there is ample room to contribute by being at our best.
Finally, I’d say that balance matters. Owning a small business seems to teach owners that survival is everything. When you have bills to pay and deadlines to meet, it is easy to put the rest of your life on hold. I’ve seen countless business owners do this. I did it too. I think it is inevitable from time to time. But as I got older and my business matured, I started finding more balance. I urge entrepreneurs to monitor this dynamic and make work-life balance one of their explicit priorities as their businesses evolve.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
Does this question assume people are choosing whether to have a positive impact or not? What if this is a false choice? I urge people to pursue the things that excite, energize, intrigue, and fulfill them. There are so many different angles from which to approach improving our society and the environment that choosing between your interests and the societal benefit is not necessary.
With that said, I also urge people not to settle for doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. If climate change truly is an existential crisis, then we need to challenge ourselves. We need to take ownership of what the future will look like. Hoping for a better future while thinking we’ve already done our part makes no sense. Owning the issue means challenging our comfort zones and our presumed limits. When you start feeling a little too comfortable, draw a new line for yourself in the sand. Make sure it challenges you. Then cross that line and be ready to discover unexpected rewards.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite quote came from a meditation teacher named Shinzen Young. In response to a question he said, “I have lots of ideas. I just don’t believe any of them.” It’s true: ideas are not reality; they are merely interpretations. Seeing this helps me set assumptions aside and discover new ways to redefine and overcome old problems. This approach, in fact, lets us discover how simple the climate crisis really is.
I feel compelled to also mention something a famous track and field athlete once said. His statement has helped me find poise and joy in the face of weighty issues. He said, “If you take care of your body, everything else takes care of itself.” So simple, and so accurate.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
There are a few, but I am going to pick Vice President Kamila Harris. Potentially becoming the first woman and woman of color to be elected President surrounds her with expectations, people’s interpretations, and distractions. I would like to discover how clear-eyed she is about the climate challenge and explore the unique opportunities she might have to help mobilize our entire society in response.
How can our readers follow you online?
You can find me at TomBowman.com and on social media @BowmanClimate.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
