Imagine a world that is sustainable and equitable

MEET JO

I came to Brussels to work in the European Parliament just before the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The feeling of optimism for positive change and building bridges for a better world has remained with me.

I founded Conscience Consulting in 2008 as the first sustainability agency in Brussels, the first ethical advocacy agency, the first change agency. 

OUR THEORY OF CHANGE

VISION

MAPPING

NARRATIVE

PARTNERSHIPS

In a planetary emergency, businesses need to transform themselves into more sustainable, resilient and responsible organisations.

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Wherever you are on the sustainability journey, we can help speed your progress.

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A sustainability narrative is front and centre as a bridge builder of any successful public affairs strategy.

READ MORE ABOUT NARRATIVE

One of our assets is the strength of our ethics and our reputation for integrity among policy makers, NGOs and business leaders.

READ MORE ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS

ABOUT

Conscience is a change agency – In a world in transition, we believe in the positive impact of ethical advocacy and climate diplomacy. We build bridges for inclusive sustainable societies. We convene coalitions and design campaigns that drive positive change. We are driven to innovate, committed to integrity, delivering influence. We’re working to help shape a world that is environmentally sound and socially just. 

We convene policy pioneers in progressive partnerships to drive ambition and action on the EU Green Deal. We consult with the architects of the Green Deal and the activists in EU Institutions. Our perspective on possibilities and power enable businesses to transform in partnership with civil society and policymakers.

Conscience has longstanding relationships with independent experts in Brussels and is the founding partner of a global network of independent sustainability consultancies with affiliates in Berlin, Buenos Aires, London, Paris and San Francisco. 

OUR CLIENTS

We carefully select the clients we want to work with. We have crafted narratives, messages and slogans for 100s of campaigns to build support for global goals.

We have done a lot of meaningful work and focus on these five major areas. Please click on a box below to find out more.

GREEN DEAL ADVOCACY​

SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION​

STRATEGIC COALITIONS​

CAMPAIGN NARRATIVE

CAPACITY BUILDING

WORK

At Conscience we believe in purposeful communication to reach positive policy outcomes. Our theory of change anchors our work and enables clients to achieve advocacy ambition.

As a client you benefit from our unique experience, insight and perspective, as well as new tools of ethical advocacy and climate diplomacy.

Working with us means stepping up to become an essential policy partner.

GREEN DEAL ADVOCACY

At Conscience, we believe in ethical advocacy. We choose our assignments carefully as we are part of the Green Deal policy making circle.

Our Green Deal advocacy helps policy makers reward sustainability trailblazers with opportunities to collaborate as strategic policy partners and to level up policy ambition.

Sustainability Communication

At Conscience we have been communicating on sustainability policies and practices for more than 20 years.

The EU Green Deal provides novel opportunities for Institutions and brands to communicate how their sustainability priorities contribute to future wellbeing.

Strategic Coalitions

We are widely reputed at Conscience for our climate diplomacy, building bridges between leaders of NGOs, Institutions and Business into effective partnerships for advocacy and communication.

Convening roundtables that bring together knowledge partners with industry and policy partners proves effective for constructive dialogue on the complexities of policy intersectionality and to strengthen policy partnerships.

CAMPAIGN NARRATIVE

A core component of our theory for change is a bold narrative. We have worked with 100s of organisations to develop narratives that go beyond key messages.

Our narratives are compelling calls to action, anchored in immutable principles – inspiring, influential and integral to effective campaigns, coalitions and advocacy.

CAPACITY BUILDING

We share 30 years of know-how in bespoke training sessions that build the capacity of people, teams and whole organisations to be effective policy partners in EU Green Deal and UN SDG ambition.

Honing essential skills of narrative and strategy, the Conscience Masterclasses equip you for ethical advocacy and climate diplomacy – the new way of doing policy in Brussels.

Testimonials

“Jo Sullivan is an inspiring agent of change. She is an expert partnership builder who works round-the-clock to push the boundaries towards a more inclusive and sustainable society. I have personally enjoyed our conversations where she has challenged me to think bigger and more boldly.”

Mustan Lalani, Global Director Public Affairs, Tetra Pak

“We have been working with Conscience Consulting for years on a variety of projects. With the support of its creative, inspiring and impact-led team, we have been able to increase our exposure and create new partnerships.”

Céline Charveriat, Executive Director, Institute for European Environmental Policy

“It was great to have Jo in the team, she brings good vibes 🙂 thanks for taking the opportunity.”

Natalia Alonso, Head of Oxfam International EU Office, now at UNICEF

“It has been a true pleasure working with Jo Sullivan on developing the core narrative for our democracy and climate work at Democratic Society. Within a short timeframe, she grasped complex concepts, united team members behind a joint narrative for our work, and enabled us to communicate our messages clearly and concisely.”

Nadja Nickel, Programme Director Climate, Democratic Society

Jo is talented, insightful and experienced. The training session she conducted for UNHCR Regional Communicators provided the team with an excellent grounding in how to use the tools of strategic communication to shape the public agenda and build support. Her passion, patience and performance mark her out as a true professional.’

Nicholas Van Praag, Director External Relations, UN Refugee Agency, now at the World Bank

“Jo / Conscience Consulting provided the IRC with valued support on EC proposal development. Her commitment and interest in tailoring services to our needs and demonstrating flexibility was very much appreciated.”

Elinor Raikes
Regional Director, Europe and North Africa, International Rescue Committee

NEW PODCAST

Jo interviewed for the series ‘Stories with the power to move people’

Our Partners

Our partners are respected sustainability leaders with unparalleled insights and networks. 

United Kingdom: Jo met Brendan May founder of Robertsbridge back in 2012 while building a pan-European team for a new client. They partnered together to create a pan-European network of sustainability agencies.

Germany: Jacob Bilabel is founder of Thema1 a Berlin-based think-do-tank. Jo and Jacob share a passion for bringing people together around green music and green energy.

France: Founder of Transitions Bruno Rebelle is former number two of Greenpeace International and architect of the ecological transition in France.

United States: Together with Future500 founder Bill Shireman, we created global sustainability network Transition500 in 2013. Jo and Bill reunited at the 2020 Impossible Summit.

Argentina: Guillermo Schulmeier and Pedro Tarak founded Emprendia as the first B-Corp in South America. Jo met the inspiring team in Buenos Aires in 2013.

Singapore: ConsciousLab was co-founded with local partner Cheryl Loh in 2018 to advise companies on sustainability branding in Asia.

My Documentary

MasterClasses

We offer masterclasses to share our 30 years of expertise in sustainability communication

Building narratives

Learn how to frame your narrative, build your story and decide talking points. With so many voices competing for attention in Green Deal policy making, how do you make sure your campaign narrative is memorable?
A narrative that’s resilient to ambiguity and uncertainty will stand the test of time.

Crafting messages

Learn how to craft powerful messages that bring clarity to complexity. Rolling out new campaigns, commissioning new research or programming events without first crafting key messages is a costly mistake. Every briefing paper, speech and video should live and breathe your key messages.

Crisis communication

Learn how to keep calm and communicate in the face of massive uncertainty. From one day to the next, crises can hit, leaving leaders reeling with uncertainty as to what to say, when and how. Recent years have provided us plenty of experience to help you steer a clear approach.

Book onto Joanna’s masterclass using the form at the bottom of the page

Moderating Events

“Thank you for your great moderation and overall guidance to me and the team. I believe that the retreat helped us to all come together around a common goal with a positive and constructive team spirit. This is an important achievement.”

Yasmine Rockenfeller, Chief Global Issues EU, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

Book Joanna to moderate your event using the form at the bottom of the page

Recent speaking engagements

  • How Civil Society and Business engage in climate action – and where Policymakers need to follow – COP26 EU Pavilion – watch the video
  • UN Food Systems Summit – Implications for EU Food Systems Strategy – European Commission
  • Thematic session #1 – Game changers for a sustainable food system – European Commission
  • Thematic session #4 – Sustainable Business Models – European Commission
  • Biocontrol: An essential ingredient of the Green Deal – Institute for European Environment Policy
  • Coalition for Higher Ambition – Climate Action Network Europe
  • Resilient Communities – Committee of the Regions
  • Digital Transformation – Committee of the Regions
  • Digital Transformation for Good – TechSoup
  • EU Refugee Policy – UN Refugee Agency

Speaking At Events

Recent speaking engagements

  • Speech – Crisis Communication in practice – EU Committee of the Regions, February 2022

  • Panel discussion – Using digital to tell stories and communicate with purpose – Public Affairs Council #EUDAS21 Digital Conference, December 2021 

  • Speech – How can we help manufacturers shape and build the future more sustainably? Tacton, Sweden, November 2021

  • Speech – Getting sustainability communication right – Congress of International Biocontrol Manufacturers, November 2021

Book Joanna to speak at your event using the form at the bottom of the page

News & Views

Listen above to hear Jo Sullivan in conversation with Michael Peel European diplomatic correspondent for the Financial Times on news shaping and change-making.  

Think Act Change

In 2020 as the pandemic set in, we hosted a series of silo busting events on sustainability. Hosts David Labi and Jo Sullivan gathered friends from California and Chile, Paris and Berlin, Stockholm, London and Brussels, some truly inspiring movement founders, business leaders and decision making officials.

We discussed how to burst bubbles and build bridges in society, together with an audience of 1000+. Watch this space for more radical collaboration workshops to THINK ACT CHANGE. See you there !