We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rick Crawford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rick, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Reading “Let My People Go Surfing” by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, and learning to fly fish for trout while living in Wyoming is how I initially came up with the idea of marrying fly fishing and sustainability. “Let My People Go Surfing” is about Patagonia using their business to solve environmental problems, which really resonated with me, and learning to fly fish teaches you about systems-thinking. So, the seed was planted to somehow figure out how to marry fly fishing and sustainability, but I knew I had to get some experience first.

I spent several years in the sustainability field doing everything from installing solar panels, working as an Aquatic Invasive Species Tech from Wyoming Game & Fish, manufacturing biodiesel and working in the green building industry, but after a couple of failed start-ups in the sustainability field, I decided to marry what I am passionate about, which is fly fishing and sustainable business and launched Emerger Strategies in 2016.

I assessed the fly fishing industry and saw that the vast majority of companies in the fly fishing industry were giving back to conservation, but weren’t doing anything to clean up their own act. These businesses are dependent upon the health of our fisheries, so if they are contributing to climate change and plastic pollution with their businesses, it doesn’t really make sense. I saw this as an opportunity, as there was no other companies doing this kind of consulting in the fly fishing industry, as well as an opportunity to help businesses measure and improve their sustainability performance, reduce their overall greenhouse gas emissions and transparently report to their stakeholders.

Since 2016, we have helped over fifteen businesses achieve carbon neutrality and helped several businesses achieve zero waste operations. Today, Emerger Strategies works with a variety of clients in several different sectors, including: fly fishing, outdoor industry, and manufacturing.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

After graduating from college, I moved from the Lowcountry of Savannah, GA to the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and spent several years living in Jackson Hole. It was during this time that I fell in love with the sport of fly fishing and decided to pursue a career protecting what I love. I pursued an MBA in Sustainable Business from Marylhurst University and has spent over a decade in the sustainability field doing everything from installing solar panels, manufacturing biodiesel and working at a couple of green building software start-ups. However, I decided to marry his passion for fly fishing and sustainability when I founded the sustainable business consultancy, Emerger Strategies in 2016.

Emerger Strategies’ mission is measure and improve your sustainability performance, reduce your overall greenhouse gas emissions, and help you tell a compelling story to customers through transparent reporting. We offer a variety of sustainability services, including: Sustainability Assessment, Strategic Sustainability Plan, Carbon Footprint, Zero Waste and Annual Sustainability Reporting. Most of our clients want to improve their sustainability performance, but don’t know where to begin or what to measure. For example, they commit what I call “random acts of sustainability” meaning that the intent was good, but it was missed opportunity to not tell a more compelling story through a more effective strategy. Emerger Strategies is a small company, but we donate 1% of our annual sales to environmental nonprofits through our 1% for the Planet membership. I am very proud that we are helping our clients set and achieve their sustainability goals, while simultaneously helping them be part of the climate solution and protecting what we love.

I am also the creator and host of the award-winning podcast, The Sustainable Angler, which is a platform to provide sustainability education, inspiration and activism by sharing success stories of the people and brands working to protect the fisheries and wild places we love. Most recently, I founded the Fly Fishing Climate Alliance, which is made up of guides, shops, lodges, brands & nonprofits who have committed to going net-zero emissions by 2050. I currently live in Charleston, SC with my family where I enjoy chasing tailing redfish, surfing and protecting what he loves.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I honestly believe when you are genuinely passionate about the work you are doing, you will naturally attract like-minded businesses because your clients are willing to provide you with referrals because they have had such a positive experience working with you, and you have demonstrable results. So, do good work, take care of your customers and ask for referrals is my advice.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I mentioned I had worked in biodiesel and the green building industry, but the reason I got out of those was simple: they went out of business. The biodiesel manufacturing company I was working for was a startup and simply didn’t have enough buyers for the fuel so it went under. At that point, I began to question if the “sustainability field” was a good idea. I decided to stick with it and the next job I got was working for a green building startup that helped architects, engineers and contractors more easily achieve LEED certification, but after 3.5 years, they also went out of business.

At this point, I thought it might be time to move on from the “sustainability” field, but I was still very passionate about protecting what I love by helping businesses improve their sustainability performance. So, I went to visit a friend in Colorado for a week-long fly fishing and camping trip and came back renewed and revived, and decided to finally marry what I was passionate about, which is fly fishing and sustainability. Luckily it worked out!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emergerstrategies.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emergerstrategies/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emergerstrategies
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emerger-strategies/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/emergerstrategy
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrniIJ9rN3H95VQucg3lVtQ

Image Credits
Joel Caldwell