Jennifer Shulman

Jennifer’s focus on the social element of climate change began at an early age.

“Growing up in Toronto, I wondered what life was like for people in different countries. People who didn’t have, for example, national healthcare. I later experienced this by living in different countries, but I was lucky and had private insurance through my company. The fact people could go bankrupt for having a heart attack was shocking to me.”

“Closer to home, these kinds of inequities still affect many people in Canada, in particular First Nations, Inuit, and Metís peoples. Much work remains to be done with respect to Truth and Reconciliation.”

Jennifer completed a masters and a PhD in international political economy, with a focus on quantitative methods. She chose a consulting career as the best way to help solve social challenges.

“Economies change gradually. By trying to solve things incrementally, you’re more likely to have a meaningful impact that sticks. Trying to swing the pendulum can be less effective because the pendulum swings back.”

Jennifer’s career in economic consulting spans over 20 years and she worked in several high-profile firms before joining Deloitte.

“My work has always concerned the economics of equity. This might mean helping organizations understand fair access to health care or helping to increase vaccine development and distribution in a more equitable way globally.”

“I see three waves. We’re in the middle of the first wave, climate change, with its intense focus on decarbonization. The next wave is biodiversity—learning to protect flora and fauna and avert extinction-level events.”

“Both of these waves have a component of equity underlying them. You don’t want to solve one problem but make something else worse in the process. The third wave will be social. Social inequity is not new, but it is becoming more pressing as we work to solve other problems.”

Jennifer operates in the social side of ESG and its interplay with the economic and environmental/climate sides.

“Climate change can exacerbate existing inequities. And the solutions to climate change can cause new inequities or exacerbate the existing ones.”

“Most companies recognize the need to decarbonize. Far fewer consider the human component when developing climate solutions or the opportunities to support an equitable transition. When the social side is not front of mind, unintended consequences that cause inequity can arise.”

“Solving our ESG and climate and sustainability challenges while not harming people requires a multidisciplinary approach that understands the interdependencies.”

“Our multidisciplinary approach helps organizations see the linkages and adopt solutions that avoid causing inequity. A strategic approach begins with mapping and quantifying an organization’s social impacts so it can make informed decisions.”

“You can’t have a healthy, productive, thriving economy without healthy, productive, thriving people. To me, this calls for resolving inequities in an inclusive manner.”

“The world has a history of making decisions without consulting the communities affected by them. Inclusive decision-making is a small extra step to deliver a more equitable transition to a net-zero world.”

Jennifer finds inspiration from a range of climate influencers.

“Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, and its message that nature is vulnerable to human intervention. Carson is an inspirational figure and withstood fierce criticism for trying to educate the public on the hazards of the pesticide DDT.”

“The economics emerging around climate change inspire me, such as in Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics and the books by Mariana Mazzucato exploring the economic roles of governments and corporations.”

“Another inspiration is Johan Rockström and his planetary boundaries work on the Earth’s interdependencies that must be in balance for humans to survive.”

“I’m proud to be Canadian, but we must recognize our flaws. Though Canada’s a wealthy country, people suffer from many different insecurities, from income to housing to food to education, preventing them from reaching their potential.”

“There’s no quick fix to solve these inequities. It requires government action and corporate and personal effort.”

“Once you’re mindful that climate change should be equitable and inclusive—and that our solutions may have unintended consequences—you can change your decisions to mitigate inequities.”