Meet Bianca Doenicke, a mentor and member of our core team.
Bianca, a sustainability professional and mentor based in Germany, is not only an integral part of the core team working to finely tune the Sustainability Mentors service but is also involved as a mentor. Here she explains why sustainability is so close to her heart and how mentoring influences her and those she supports.
Tell us a bit about you and what you do
Sustainability has been my profession for 15 years. It is also my passion. I lead sustainability and improvement systems for the international part of Haworth, one of the world’s largest office furniture manufacturer and knowledge partner for workspaces. Other industries have been energy, consultancy, and non-profit.
I am a big fan of outdoor activities and traveling. I also enjoy supporting sustainable entrepreneurship in Africa.
How did you get involved with Sustainability Mentors and why?
I got some extra time during the start of the pandemic because commuting and travelling was not possible. Sustainability Mentors became visible to me and I registered as a mentor because empowering other sustainability players is also my mission. After a few weeks I was contacted by three mentees from different countries. I set up the getting-to-know session with each of them, and we continued with video calls via the Sustainability Mentors platform every two to three weeks.
Why do you think mentoring is so important?
Mentoring can accelerate learning and is a fantastic growing opportunity, for the mentee and the mentor. When knowledge meets experience, new abilities are created. In sustainability the variety of job roles and tasks can be very exciting, but also overwhelming.
Mentorships offer access to broader views and experienced people – not everybody has these connections in the circles of family and friends.
I also believe sharing is caring.
Why would you recommend being a mentor?
You receive new inspirations and views on the subjects you think you know well already. You can personally grow in areas such as communication and leadership. You may find new talents or potential partners as well. If you have a passion for something, mentorship is a great way to empower others who share the same interest. In my case, it is to advance sustainability which also means supporting equal opportunities.
Do you have any examples of what you have helped your mentees to achieve?
The feedback so far includes that they appreciate the regular exchange about their challenges, goals, and progress, which holds them accountable, too. One mentee wanted to identify their first job in sustainability after studies. Another mentee considers a career change in sustainability from the non-profit sector to sustainability management within a company, a role I am very familiar with.
I help develop scenarios, decisions, and focus. These conversations also review what is important in life in general. We talk about personal values, strengths, and improvement opportunities to be more confident and visible in networks, to increase the positive impact on people and planet.
What advice would you give other mentors who are about to start working with a mentee?
Get involved with heart and mind. Set goals for the mentorship, as goals set actions in motion. Listen well and be willing to share your own experiences, in particular failures and learnings.
Be surprised what you can learn from your mentee. I have gained great insights into topics of my profession and different methods because of diverse backgrounds.
What one piece of advice do you have for someone interested in a career in sustainability industry?
If you want to make existing businesses more sustainable, understand the core business and the involved people so that you know how you can foster change. For instance, if you want to integrate sustainability criteria into product design, you should know how designers work. If you start your own business in sustainability, again, it is recommended to understand the essentials of business and financial mechanisms.
What is it that motivates and drives you?
I am grateful that I have this inner energy and want to make the world a little better. My curiosity lets me learn and try new things which helps in the complex world of sustainability with a variety of topics and stakeholders.
Saving the beauty of nature guides me as well. At the same time, social inequalities are hard to take, and this releases some extra energy in my case. Supporting and seeing others growing is most rewarding. People say that I am very results-oriented which means that the desired sustainability impacts drive me, too.
What would you say are the key elements for starting and running a successful and sustainable business?
It starts with an entrepreneurial mindset and stakeholder inclusive approach. Sustaining the business means an enabling culture, continuous improvement processes with metrics, aligned purpose and a focus on the customer. Sustainability in business for me describes how well I consider social, environmental, and economic aspects to create value for the customer, together with relevant partners, now and in the long run.
Overall, there is no sustainable business without financial stability.
Who inspires you?
I embrace diversity and that is why a variety of people inspire me, not least my mentees and colleagues from different continents. Let me also highlight some young entrepreneurs in Kenya who I met when I volunteered there and shared some of my management knowledge and experience. They started their businesses with at least one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals in mind. Isn’t that promising?
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