A London-founded systems change and sustainability company, set up in 2016 with offices in London and Munich, that works on energy, nature and food, circular materials and sustainable finance.
Systemiq describes itself as a company that helps change the economic systems behind how we live, so that they work for people and the planet. Its work is organised across four platforms: energy, nature and food, materials and the circular economy, and sustainable finance. In its own tenth anniversary publication it gives examples such as Project STOP, which built waste collection systems in cities in Indonesia, the Zero Emission Port Alliance, which helped electrify equipment at ports, and Partnerships for Forests, which brings private money into protecting tropical forests. It is a good example of a group that works on the circular economy as part of a wider mission.
Systemiq was founded in 2016 with its first two offices in London and Munich. Co-founder Jeremy Oppenheim, now managing partner, says it came from "hope and frustration in equal parts". The publication says the aim was a new kind of organisation that could "rewire the economic systems that underpin how we live" and that would "punch its weight". The qualities it stresses again and again are rigorous analysis, building coalitions, honest argument, staying the course through setbacks, and connecting change to people's everyday lives.
London is one of Systemiq's two original offices and remains part of a wider network that now includes Amsterdam, Berlin, Jakarta, Nairobi, New York, Paris and Sao Paulo. The publication does not give a UK headcount or say how many people work in London, so we cannot say how large the UK team is today. The company also posts jobs through its own job board for roles linked to London. The UK matters to its work because London is a global centre for finance, policy and climate organisations that it works with.
On people and culture, the publication says more than 700 people have been part of Systemiq, including current staff and alumni, with an alumni network of over 300. Alumni describe a "culture created by a diverse group with a common focus on sustainable transitions". Chief operating officer Christiana Dujardin says the company aims to develop leaders who can "see entire systems" and have the courage to rewire them. These are the company's own words, in a publication celebrating itself, so read them as its aspiration rather than an independent assessment.
The roles at an organisation like this include analysts and consultants who study how an industry works and where change is possible, specialists in energy, food, materials and finance, people who build partnerships with governments, businesses and charities, and communications, events, finance and operations staff. Degrees in economics, science, engineering, politics and geography are all relevant. It is a smaller, more specialised employer than the big waste firms, and shows another way to work on sustainability.
Website: www.systemiq.earth
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