Paula Miquelis, co-founder of sustainability-focused content and events platform Green Is The New Black, discusses everything from her break from investment banking to the book that changed her life
I am Generation T is a series of quick-fire Q&As with some of the extraordinary individuals on the Gen.T List.
“My first job was in investment banking. It was the whole grey suit thing with serious amounts of money,” Paula Miquelis says, describing herself at the time as “thirsty for power”.
A year after she began climbing the corporate ladder she started to crave more impactful work, becoming desperate to escape society’s traditional ideas of success.
Unsure of what to do next, she went back to school to get a master's degree, which is where she learned about the concept of social entrepreneurship—a discovery that would shape the next decade of her career. “[It was the first time] I realised you could grow an organisation that is both financially sustainable and impactful,” says Miquelis.
After graduating she gained experience working for Gone Adventurin, a consultancy that assists multinational companies set up circular economy chains, travelling across the world from Madagascar to Papua New Guinea. “[It was] the dream job,” she says. “But it then occurred to me that sustainability is often associated with charity work and in order to make it mainstream, we’d have to make it cool and sexy so that everyone would want to be involved. That’s when I met Stephanie Dickson.”
Dickson, a fellow Gen.T honouree, and Miquelis co-founded Green Is The New Black, a lifestyle media and events platform that works to make sustainability mainstream. The startup organises Conscious Festivals across the globe to promote conscious fashion, brands and lifestyles. This year, the duo are launching their next Conscious Festival in Paris, with smaller events in both Singapore and London from 24 to 26 September.
Here, Miquelis talks to Gen.T about everything from her greatest hero to the book that changed her life.
What is your proudest career moment?
It would have to be the creation of the Conscious Festival in Hong Kong in 2019, which happened to be during my birthday weekend. It was our second ever Conscious Festival in Hong Kong, previously it was held only in Singapore. The event in Hong Kong was held at the Kerry Hotel in Hung Hom, and we took over the entire ground floor with our talks, workshops and sustainable marketplace. The atmosphere was amazing, very vibrant and inspiring and I felt so lucky to have been able to celebrate my birthday surrounded by my team, partner, friends, and other passionate environmentalists.
Who is your hero?
Sebastiao Salgado, a photographer who switched from covering war and very difficult events such as famine in Ethiopia to becoming an environmentalist, recovering hectares of jungles and forests in Brazil, which is actually where he grew up with his wife. I am constantly inspired by his life and work.
See also: Serial Entrepreneur Parith Rungsimanond On What He's Learned From His Successes And Failures