Key themes that were raised to Alex and discussed with audience participation:

• Quiet advocacy. Although many executives, when engaged behind the scenes, were extremely supportive of the book’s approach and content, many suggested they weren’t personally comfortable in bringing this conversation forward due to mounting political risks. With so much policy upheaval from the White House, The Courage to Continue looks to strip away the emotion and politics around a topic so critical to our nation’s security and prosperity. Let’s debate these questions on their pragmatic and economic merit, not on moral platitudes or partisan divides
• Short-term political risks vs. Long-term ROI. Environmental security can be a pathway to re-evaluate long-term private and public sector investments in sustainability, especially in the context of growing trade wars with China, more limited access to critical minerals, the burgeoning of sustainability regulation domestically and globally, and risk for stranding of assets due to climate risks or the energy transition
• Middleground in a polarized society. So, it sounds good, but how do we actually create a middleground? The Courage to Continue offers the suggestion, not unlike when we suspend our disbelief as we watch Harry Potter’s sorcery in amazement, that we suspend our own beliefs in engaging on polarized topics
• Financial data can be a non-partisan oasis. If climate science is polarizing, let’s examine financial data. The largest U.S. insurance providers are pulling out of coastal and inland regions due to hundreds of billions of losses from climate disasters. If they are radically changing their business models, we need to listen
• The biggest companies are staying the course. Even if the current messaging could be more effective, let’s look at the dollars invested to determine the efficacy of corporate Sustainability efforts. Year over year, companies and countries are investing hundreds of billions of dollars a year to advance the energy transition, decarbonize business models, and limit all types of pollution. Even in anticipation of President Trump coming to office, large corporations increased their overall dollars invested and breadth of information disclosed in 2024

More to come as we continue to spark more non-partisan, technical debate on whether we should stay the course on sustainability. In offering a choose-your-own adventure approach to diving into the technical pillars, we can better illuminate how sustainability investments drive national security and economic prosperity.

Learn more about Alex and The Courage to Continue at www.alex-kruzel.com

Available for purchase on Amazon: The Courage to Continue: Stay the Course on Sustainability to Secure our Future