Faculty

Profile

Raz Godelnik is an Associate Professor of Strategic Design and Management at the School of Design Strategies, where he explores sustainable business models, design for 1.5°C lifestyles, and how companies can respond effectively to the climate crisis. His book, Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis: A Strategic Design Approach, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2021. Currently, Raz serves as the Associate Director of the BBA Strategic Design and Management Program.

Raz teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in innovation, leadership, sustainable design, business models, and strategic design. His research focuses on developing sustainable business models, designing low-carbon lifestyles, and helping companies move beyond sustainability-as-usual. He also led a collaboration between Parsons students and refugees in Berlin, working together on entrepreneurial initiatives to address refugee needs in cities and refugee camps. 

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

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

Book chapter: Raz Godelnik and Jen van der Meer, “Sustainable Business Models in an Entrepreneurial Environment” in Sustainable Business Models: Innovation, Implementation and Success, ed. Annabeth Aagaard (Plagrave MacMillan, 2019), 239–76.

Papers: 

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 Rise and Fall of Degrowth, Medium, February 2025

Sustainability reporting is the problem, not the solution (or: The case against CSRD), Medium, January 2025

Why we are trapped in the ear of circular-ish — and how to break free, Medium, October 2024

Why Greenhindering is the New Greenwashing, Medium, September 2024

Design for the climate crisis — an updated approach, Medium, August 2024

The Business case for sustainability is not working. It is time to focus on the Customer case for sustainability, Medium, May 2024

1.5C Lifesyles and the City (co-written with Dr. Peleg Kremer), The Nature of Cities, May 2024

Why the future of the fashion industry depends on selling less and supporting 1.5C lifestyles?, Medum, March 2024

How to end sustainability-as-usual in 2024? Change the zeitgeist, Medium, January 2024

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, climate change, business models, strategic design, circular economy, sharing economy, platform coops, design for low-carbon lifestyles (1.5C lifestyles), degrowth-baseed business models, sufficiency strategies, CSR, ESG.