Faculty

Profile

Raz Godelnik is an Associate Professor of Strategic Design and Management at Parsons School of Design, where his work examines how strategic design can challenge sustainability-as-usual, with a focus on sustainable business models, 1.5°C lifestyles, and corporate responses to the climate crisis. His work sits at the intersection of sustainability, business, and strategic design, exploring how companies can move beyond conventional approaches and drive more meaningful and transformative change.

Raz is the author of Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis: A Strategic Design Approach (2021) and the forthcoming The New Sustainability Sandbox: Breaking Free from Business as Usual.

Raz teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in innovation, leadership, sustainable design, business models, and strategic design. Raz served as the Co-Director of the MS Strategic Design and Management program from 2015 to 2018 and as the Director of the BBA Strategic Design and Management program from 2022 to 2024. He is the co-founder of two green startups, Hemper Jeans and Eco-Libris, and writes regularly on issues related to sustainable business, climate change, and strategic design. He holds an MBA from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Communication and Economics from the Hebrew University.

Recent Publications

Books:
Godelnik, R. The New Sustainability Sandbox: Breaking Free from Business as Usual. Routledge/Taylor & Francis, under contract; expected 2026.

Godelnik, R. (2021) "Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis - A Strategic Design Approach". Palgrave Macmillan.

Book chapters:
Godelnik R. (2026) Designing for 1.5°C Lifestyles: Using Personal Agency to Drive Systemic Transformation. In: Ivanova E., Rimanoczy I., Singhal D. (eds) The Power of Arts-Based Pedagogies: Transforming Mindsets to Shape Our Future. Routledge.

Godelnik, R., Jaramillo, L. (2026). Designing for 1.5°C Lifestyles: A Business-Driven Framework for Systemic Change. In: Poonamallee, L., Joy, S., Scillitoe, J., Howard, A., S.G., A. (eds) Technology, Management, and Design for Social Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-20821-7_8

Godelnik R. and van der Meer J. (2019) Sustainable Business Models in an Entrepreneurial Environment. In: Aagaard A. (eds) Sustainable Business Models. Palgrave Macmillan.

Papers: 
Godelnik, R. (2026). Hacking sufficiency: bridging personal action and systemic barriers through design. Consumption and Society. https://doi.org/10.1332/27528499Y2026D000000087

Godelnik, R. (2021). "Designers and the Fight against Climate Change: A Design Knowledge Framework for the Age of Climate Crisis." The International Journal of Design Management and Professional Practice 15 (1): 21-42. doi:10.18848/2325-162X/CGP/v15i01/21-42.

Godelnik, R. (2020, May/Aug.). The sharing economy dilemma: the response of incumbent firms to the rise of the sharing economy. International Journal of Innovation - IJI, São Paulo, 8(2), 176-203. https://doi.org/10.5585/iji.v8i2.17391.

Selected articles:
The 2029 AI Climate Dividend: How AI Reshaped Home Insurance in a Warming World. Medium. 

It’s reset time: 10 design principles for a warming world. Medium. 

Five GLP-1 lessons for sustainable design. Medium. 

Why AI is the biggest threat to sustainability — and what you can do about it. Medium. 

Can sustainability be saved by tackling loneliness, not just CO₂ emissions?. Medium. 

Is killing capitalism the only way to make sustainability affordable?. Medium. 

The Joy Crisis: Why Sustainability can’t be serious and fun at the same time?. Medium. 

Performances and Appearances

Latest media appearances/interviews:
Interviewed for CoreNet Global's What's Next podcast ("Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis”), February 2025.

Participated in a panel shared on Sustainable Fashion Forum's podcast ("Balancing Profitability and Responsibilit: Navigating the Complexities of Sustainable Fashion"), June 2023.

Interviewed for a New York Times' article on Copenhagen Fashion Week ("Can Fashion Week's Trash Problem Be Solved”), January 2023.

Interviewed for an episode of PwC’s Experience Consulting’s PreWork Walk (“What’s Wrong With Corporate Sustainability”), June 2022.

Interviewed for 42courses podcast (“Raz Godelnik – The Circular Economy”), February 2022.

Interviewed for Climify podcast (“Let’s Write A New Story About Sustainability“), November 2021.

Interviewed for NPR Marketplace on corporate climate plans (“‘Look For Actions’ From Companies, Not Just Green Pledges, Experts Say”), October 2021.

Interviewed on Environmentenlist podcast (“New Narratives For Corporate Sustainability”), October 2021.

Interviewed The Deep Dive podcast (“Sustainability as Usual is Dead”), September 2021.

Interviewed for Fortune on Salesforce’s sustainability efforts (“How Salesforce Wants To Make Its Supply Chain More Sustainable”), June 2021.

Interviewed for Glossy on sustainability in fashion brands (“‘Secret Sustainability’: Fashion Brands are Learning to Master Initiatives Before Marketing Them“), January 2021.

Research Interests

Corporate sustainability; strategic design; sustainable business models; climate change; climate resilience; design for 1.5°C lifestyles; sustainability-as-usual; circular economy; sufficiency and degrowth; systems change; resilience.