- Campus: Dijon
- Sciences Po Major: Economics
- UC Berkeley Major: Environmental Economics and Policy
- Current Industry: Climate-Positive Travel Media
- Location: Previously – Bay Area, Currently – Worldwide!
Polo was born and raised in Nantes, France. Since the age of 15, he has been interested in traveling the world and sharing his passion for climate solutions. As a student in the UC Berkeley Sciences Po dual degree, Polo pursued courses and extracurriculars to further develop his knowledge of this issue, majoring in Economics at Sciences Po and in Environmental Economics and Policy at Berkeley.
He cites his first ever “scientific” course tackling climate change, a physics class at Berkeley, through which he began to realize that the climate crisis is an information crisis, an understanding that informed the strategies he would pursue in his own efforts to address the crisis. Further experience modeling climate risks during an internship at a startup called Four Twenty Seven, and consulting on sustainability for companies across sectors as a member of BEACN, an environmentally focused consulting club at Berkeley, confirmed his dedication to taking action.
“The major realization was that we’ll need everyone to solve this challenge, given it impacts us all. All sectors, all skills, all people. … People have to be presented with positive news, solutions, actions they can take, because doomsday news creates fear, prevents action and allows for the continuation of the status quo.”
After graduating from the Dual Degree program in 2019, Polo worked as a Solution Manager on the ESG team at Mckinsey & Co in San Francisco, but left in 2023 to co-found his own non-profit organization, The Green Journey
The mission of The Green Journey is to create and share stories of climate hope through the process of completing a “climate positive” world tour. The non-profit defines climate positive as adhering to three pillars: reducing environmental impact, respecting communities and cultures, and restoring by leaving the world a better place than you found it.
“We realized that the type of travel glamorized by business trips and exotic vacations is not compatible with a livable future. Transport accounts for more than a 1/3 of CO2 emissions (IEA). And the climate clock is ticking to reduce this impact.”
Over the next 3+ years, Polo and his co-founder, Megan Routbort will travel to “climate hotspots,” destinations designated as some of the most important in the climate crisis due to their risk of endangerment in the face of the crisis and/or their offering of solutions to aspects of the crisis. At each hotspot they will interview “climate warriors” including entrepreneurs, scientists, activists, community leaders, policy makers, etc. and share their stories via social media.
Polo and Megan’s stops so far have included:
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Europe’s oldest forest, Bialowieza, in Poland
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Tallinn, Estonia, the 2023 European Green Capital
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Copenhagen, Denmark, home to the first global cooperatively owned offshore wind farm
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The Algarve region, Portugal, home to major cetacean conservation programs
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Europe’s last wild river, the Vjosa, in Albania
and they are excited to be heading across the Atlantic in November, 2023 to explore more critical climate hotspots such as San Francisco, New York City, Costa Rica, Salar de Uyuni, and many more. They encourage those interested to follow and spread the word about their journey via Instagram, Facebook, Substack, TikTok, and Threads. They are also looking for collaborators able to support their mission through:
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Media coverage
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Green mobility (EV, sailing, train, bike, etc.)
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Connecting them with a climate & nature warrior
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Offering mentorship
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Production of a book or documentary
