Engaging your team in sustainability - a fireside chat with Dr Niki Harre

Engaging your team with sustainability is a challenge - and psychology holds the key.

Join us for an exclusive fireside chat between business sustainability specialist and Professor of Practice at the University of Canterbury Caroline Thalund and Dr Niki Harre, Professor of Psychology and Head of School at the University of Auckland. Dr Harre writes, researches, and teaches on values-based practice, sustainability and the psychology of how people engage with change.

In this recorded conversation, Caroline and Dr Harre explore what really drives internal engagement with sustainability initiatives - and why organisations often struggle to get traction even when leadership is supportive.

They discuss:

• why leadership endorsement matters – but isn’t enough on its own

• how psychology explains the power of peer influence in behaviour change

• the role of small, visible wins in building momentum

• how to support champions and avoid burnout

• practical steps to make sustainability “business as usual”

How it works

• Register via Humanitix to access the fireside chat recording

• You’ll also receive a summary of key takeaways

• Bonus: Resources from S360's recent 90-minute workshop with change expert John Eatwell, on internal engagement, including frameworks, tools, and examples you can apply in your organisation.

This fireside chat is a follow-up to S360’s recent workshop on internal engagement with sustainability, and is ideal for sustainability managers, executives, and green team leaders who want practical, psychology-based strategies for getting their people on board.

Niki Harre

Niki is Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland. She was the sustainability lead for a recent curriculum review at the university, and, with colleagues, established a transdisciplinary three-course sustainability teaching module for undergraduate students. Niki’s research focuses on the psychology of sustainability, values, and civil discourse. She has led action research programmes in educational and health organisations focused on creating a sustainability culture. She is the author of Psychology for a Better World: Working with People to Save the Planet and The Infinite Game: How to Live Well Together. In 2026 her book Once there were Priests: A Year Exploring what the Secular World can Learn from Religion will be published by AUP.