With the POC Team taking it in turns for a bit of annual leave over the summer, it has been a great opportunity for us all to get stuck into some of the books on our shelves – or updating our To Be Read lists!
So with many companies in the Northern Hemisphere also enjoying their summer holidays, we’d thought we’d share what we’re packing in our suitcases or breaking the spine of while enjoying the sunshine in the garden.
Nicola’s stack aptly features plenty on marketing, socials, and of course sustainability, but she picks out a book that is a little different to her usual to highlight:
The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St Clair
I find this fascinating, the way that colour is interwoven with historical events and the role colours have played in shaping identities is endlessly interesting.
The way that green became ubiquitous for environment and nature, is intrinsically linked to a series of photographs from the 1960s and 70s, following the crude oil disaster in California, and then the globe photos by the Apollo 17 crew.
The avocado green of these photos, shaped 1970s fashion and home decor (who remembers an avocado bathroom!) and is now entering the trend colour palettes for the mid 20s, as colour trends evolve and once again the need for environmental activism has reached the everyday vernacular due to climate change.
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan (not pictured as it is on loan..!)
While my stack in the photo is entirely non-fiction, I am chiefly a fiction reader, but still lean towards novels that very much have something to say and that offer me a new perspective or commentary on people and our world.
A few months ago I went to the launch of Ian McEwan’s new book What We Can Know, where McEwan was interviewed on-stage by George Monbiot, an author, journalist as well as an environmental and political activist. The Guardian readers among you may recognise his name from his regular column for the publication.
The novel follows two timelines, one of more or less the present day, and the second set about 100 years in the future when, due to both climate and geopolitical disasters, the world has been flooded, completely changing the natural landscape we are familiar with and uprooting the social and cultural structures that are inextricably tied to it.
At the launch, Monbiot and McEwan engaged in a frank and fascinating discussion on the inevitability of climate fallout, the role of AI, and how humanity and its culture weaves amongst this all. While technically something of a dystopia, that’s not really what this book is about, it is about art and literature and the tenacity of humanity.
“Humanity has a profound genius for destruction but a profound genius for creation,” said McEwan, a quote that has absolutely stuck with me and provides a reminder for the innately human capacity for innovation, adaptation, and resilience.
Sustainability forward:
The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist’s Guide to the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac
Why: What drew me in was how personal and actionable this book makes an issue that so often feels overwhelming and abstract. Figueres and Rivett-Carnac—who were both instrumental in the Paris Agreement—lay out two possible futures and then hand readers a concrete set of mindsets and actions we can adopt right now. It reframes climate change from something happening to us into something we each have a hand in shaping, which is exactly the kind of optimism needed as we think about our own role in driving positive change.
Sustainability in business:
The Future of the Responsible Company, What We’ve Learned from Patagonia’s First 50 Years by Vincent Stanley with Yvon Chouinard
Why: I found this a fascinating read told from a personal and internal perspective which covered Patagonia from its very beginning through current times on its own journey towards sustainability as a product company. Additionally, it includes some great photography, and a thoughtful set of strategic checklists at the back of the book for businesses looking to move their own operations towards a more sustainable future.
Not so obvious pick:
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
Why: This one might seem like an odd fit for a sustainability list, but I think it belongs here. What I love most is Clear’s math on marginal gains—the idea that improving just 1% a day compounds to roughly a 37% improvement over a year. That framing has genuinely changed how I think about sustainability at both a personal and organizational level: it’s easy to feel like individual actions don’t matter, but this book makes the case that small, consistent choices—made repeatedly, by enough people—are exactly how meaningful change happens. It’s a great reminder that we don’t need a single grand gesture; we just need to start and keep going.
Happy reading!
Kathryn and Team POC
