Stella Hye Chung Jeon
on building relationships, not just strategies

Mānuka thrives in clusters, growing stronger among others who share its space. For Stella Jeon, sustainability is no different.

As the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Eco Choice Aotearoa, New Zealand’s official Type 1 ecolabel, Stella’s work is rooted in connection - linking people, ideas, and systems to build something lasting. But her path wasn’t linear. It was shaped by curiosity, adversity, and, most profoundly, personal loss and planetary grief.

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The sudden death of her younger brother was a rupture that fundamentally changed how she saw the world and her place in it. “Grief stripped away any illusions I had about control, linear progress, or the idea about hard work fairly paying off eventually” she reflects. At the time, she was already working in sustainability, but his passing shifted her focus from simply doing the work to understanding the deeper why behind it. “It made everything more personal, more urgent, and paradoxically, more patient. I realised that systems don’t change just through strategy; they change through people, through relationships, through tending to what feels unbearable.”

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Sustainability, to Stella, is like mānuka: resilient, regenerative, and deeply connected to its ecosystem. “Mānuka isn’t an attention-seeking plant. It doesn’t grow for aesthetics or status; it rather thrives with purpose. Mānuka is one of the first plants that will take root and can survive degraded landscapes. It will then regenerate the land and biodiversity, much like how true sustainability requires working within complexity, restoring what’s been damaged, and holding space for long-term transformation.”

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But it’s not always easy. “Mānuka leaves are prickly to the touch. Sustainability isn’t always palatable, and it needs to hold ground even when it makes people uncomfortable.” Stella embraces that discomfort, challenging the status quo with resilience and authenticity.

A quote by Korean feminist philosopher Kim Hye-sook serves as her guiding principle: “We are responsible for the suffering of others.” For Stella, sustainability isn’t about optics - it’s about accountability. “Curiosity is not neutral; it is a privilege. The ability to ask questions, access knowledge, and act on what I learn has been shaped by structural advantages and intellectual freedom. That quote pushes me to turn that curiosity outward; to ask whose pain is being ignored, whose stories are being silenced, and what responsibilities come with knowing better.”

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Her journey has not been without challenges. In the sustainability sector, she has encountered a frustrating mix of short-termism, delayism, and the data divide. “Too many decisions are still driven by quarterly reporting cycles and brand optics rather than long-term systems change. Delayism - the strategic stalling masked as caution or due diligence - slows down urgent action under the guise of ‘further research’ or ‘waiting for alignment.’ And then there’s the data divide: accessing credible, useful sustainability data is frustratingly difficult. It’s either scattered across silos, locked behind paywalls, or simply not measured in ways that are accessible or relevant to the people doing the mahi.”

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For Stella, many businesses still operate in a mindset of risk avoidance rather than value creation. “Fear of complexity leads to oversimplified solutions that don’t actually solve the problem. Type 1 ecolabels like Eco Choice Aotearoa cut through the noise, but communicating real impact - beyond marketing fluff - remains an ongoing battle.”

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Beyond environmental sustainability, she is also deeply invested in the intersection of environmental and social justice, particularly within AI governance. “Discussions around AI’s environmental consequences - carbon emissions, water consumption, mineral extraction - often fail to translate these impacts into tangible social ramifications for employees and communities. But resource depletion has been linked to large-scale conflicts, and environmental stressors exacerbate social instability. After the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Australia, for instance, there was a reported increase in domestic violence incidents.” Yet this kind of intersectional thinking is still largely absent from corporate governance discussions.

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If she could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, she’d tell them this: “So many of the people in leadership roles are not actually that much smarter than you. Truly. The system rewards confidence and conformity far more than critical thinking or compassion, so don’t let imposter syndrome drive you into another postgrad course unless it’s something that genuinely excites you. Instead, spend time building real, values-aligned relationships across industries: people who challenge you, hold you accountable, and make the work feel less isolating.”

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The Māori principle of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) deeply resonates with her. “It’s often described as radical or future-facing, but the truth is, it’s not new at all.” Indigenous communities have practised and protected these principles for generations, centering responsibility on land, community, and future generations. “Unlike much Western environmentalism, which focuses on individual behaviours like recycling, kaitiakitanga is deeply relational. It acknowledges the interconnected well-being of people, whenua (land), wai (water), and atua (spiritual forces).”

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Stella is committed to uplifting these perspectives - but she knows that cannot be done in good faith without first acknowledging the historical and ongoing discrimination faced by those who have held onto them. “For decades, Indigenous communities have been ridiculed, dismissed as ‘unscientific,’ or punished for holding fast to values we now claim to admire. Reconnecting with these principles isn’t just a sustainability tactic. It’s an opportunity for truth, humility, and reparative justice.”

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At the heart of Stella’s work is a simple but powerful belief: true sustainability isn’t about sustaining the status quo - it’s about transforming it. And like mānuka, she’s here for the long haul, thriving in the ecosystem that challenges, nurtures, and grows alongside her.

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BLOOMING  Sustainability Questionnaire

Name: Stella Hye Chung Jeon

Company & Title: Eco Choice Aotearoa, Head of Strategic Partnerships

Website & LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellahjeon/ & https://entangledcuriosities.substack.com/

 

* Guiding Values | Kaupapa 

If sustainability were a flower blooming in your life, what would it look like? What nurtures it?  

Sustainability, for me, would be manuka: resilient, regenerative, and deeply connected to its ecosystem. Mānuka isn’t an attention-seeking plant. It doesn’t grow for aesthetics or status; it rather thrives with purpose. Mānuka is one of the first plants that will take root and can survive degraded landscapes. It will then regenerate the land and biodiversity, much like how true sustainability requires working within complexity, restoring what’s been damaged, and holding space for long-term transformation. It’s also medicinal, much like systems change. Often undervalued at first, but essential for healing. What nurtures it? Critical thinking, intersectionality, behavioural science, and a refusal to accept ‘business as usual’ when better futures are possible.

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It also isn’t soft or delicate. Its leaves are prickly to the touch, unlike its close relative, Kānuka, which is much smoother. And we know sustainability isn’t always easy or palatable and needs to hold ground even when it makes people uncomfortable. But the reward is well worth it.

 

Mānuka thrives in clusters, growing stronger among others who share its space. I aspire to the same: surrounded by values-aligned people, working collectively to regenerate ideas, challenge systems, and build something lasting. Intersectional sustainability isn’t a solo endeavour; it’s an ecosystem, and I want to grow within one that nourishes rather than extracts.

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A quote, personal motto or whakataukī that reflects your vision:  

We are responsible for the suffering of others,” a quote by Korean feminist philosopher Kim Hye-sook, encapsulates one of the most enduring principles guiding my work: that sustainability is fundamentally about accountability, not optics. It reminds me that curiosity is not neutral; it is a privilege, as I explored in my Substack essay Curiosity is a Privilege. My curiosity has always been my biggest driver. It’s how I make sense of the world, connect seemingly unrelated ideas, and imagine better systems. But it’s not lost on me that the ability to ask questions, access knowledge, and act on what I learn has been shaped by structural advantages and intellectual freedom. This quote pushes me to turn that curiosity outward; to ask whose pain is being ignored, whose stories are being silenced, and what responsibilities come with knowing better. It’s a call to ensure that learning doesn’t end in awareness, but moves into solidarity and action.

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If you could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, what advice would you share?  

Honestly, I learn more from the rising younger generation than I could ever offer in return. The depth of analysis, creativity, and moral clarity I see in the rangatahi I mentor gives me real hope and guilt that we haven’t done enough for them.

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That said, there is one piece of advice I find myself repeating often; so many of the people in leadership roles are not actually that much smarter than you. Truly. The system rewards confidence and conformity far more than critical thinking or compassion, so don’t let imposter syndrome drive you into another postgrad course unless it’s something that genuinely excites you. Instead, spend time building real, values-aligned relationships across industries: people who challenge you, hold you accountable, and make the work feel less isolating. Because this work is tough as hell. The pressure, the tokenism, the resistance to change…it adds up. So when the mahi gets exhausting (and it will), you’ll need to know someone’s got your back. Not in a performative endorsement kind of way, but in a "let me read over that email you’re too tired to write because you're carrying too much invisible labour again" kind of way. That’s how we last. That’s how we lead together.

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* Leading Change | Arataki

A key moment in your journey that shaped your path:  

The sudden death of my younger brother was a rupture that fundamentally changed how I see the world and my place in it. Grief stripped away any illusions I had about control, linear progress, or the idea about hard work fairly paying off eventually. At the time, I was already working in sustainability, but his passing shifted my focus from doing the work to understanding the deeper why behind it. It made everything more personal, more urgent, and paradoxically, more patient. I realised that systems don’t change just through strategy; they change through people, through relationships, through tending to what feels unbearable. It’s what led me to explore ecological grief more seriously, and to recognise how personal loss and planetary grief often echo each other. My brother’s death didn’t introduce me a new sense of purpose. It rather stripped everything back so I could find what truly matters: connection, collective care, and refusing to turn away, even when it hurts.

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What’s the main challenge you face in driving sustainability within your sector? 

A cocktail of short-termism, delayism, and the data divide. Too many decisions are still driven by quarterly reporting cycles and brand optics, rather than long-term systems change. Delayism is the strategic stalling masked as caution or due diligence and it slows down urgent action under the guise of “further research” or “waiting for alignment.”. Us Kiwis are notoriously bad at ‘rocking the boat’ with our culture of politeness and aversion to change. But that is really hurting the urgency we have in front of us with sustainability.

 

And then there’s the data divide: accessing credible, useful sustainability data is frustratingly difficult. It’s either scattered across silos, locked behind paywalls, or simply not measured in ways that are accessible or relevant to the people doing the mahi. Without the right information at the right time, the sector risks chasing shadows instead of making informed, equitable decisions.

 

Many businesses still operate in a mindset of risk avoidance rather than value creation, and fear of complexity leads to oversimplified solutions that don’t actually solve the problem. Type 1 ecolabels like Eco Choice Aotearoa cut through the noise, but communicating real impact (beyond marketing fluff) remains an ongoing battle.

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An area you need more support with:

Engaging business leaders and governance professionals to recognise and act upon the interconnectedness of environmental and social impacts, particularly within the realm of AI governance, remains a significant challenge.

 

These discussions often highlight the environmental consequences of AI such as carbon emissions, water consumption, and mineral extraction. But most of the time they fail to translate these impacts into tangible social ramifications for employees and communities. This oversight is frustrating, especially given the robust evidence linking environmental stressors to social instability.​

 

For instance, studies have shown that drought conditions can exacerbate domestic violence. In Australia, following the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, there was a reported increase in domestic violence incidents, with some victims experiencing abuse for the first time. Resource depletion has been linked to large-scale conflicts and supply chain disruptions, underscoring the profound societal implications of environmental degradation.​

 

However, there is a notable gap in integrating these insights into business strategies and governance frameworks. Addressing this requires disseminating information and fostering a paradigm shift among leaders to view environmental and social issues as inherently interconnected, necessitating holistic and proactive approaches.

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An Indigenous perspective you admire and want people to be mindful of:  

The Māori principle of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) offers an approach to sustainability that is often described as radical, alternative, or future-facing. But the truth is, it’s not new at all. What we often brand as innovative today is, in fact, a rediscovery of what Indigenous peoples have practised and protected for generations: a worldview that centres responsibility on land, community, and future generations, not extractive ownership or individual action.

 

Unlike much Western environmentalism, which focuses on atomised behaviours like recycling or ethical consumption, kaitiakitanga is deeply relational. It acknowledges the interconnected well-being of people, whenua (land), wai (water), and atua (spiritual forces). But we can’t uplift these ideas in good faith without first recognising the historical and ongoing discrimination faced by those who have held onto them. For decades and centuries, Indigenous communities have been ridiculed, dismissed as ‘unscientific,’ or punished for holding fast to values we now claim to admire.

 

Before celebrating these frameworks as bold new strategies, we must honour the people who never let them die, despite extraordinary pressure to assimilate or abandon them. We owe deep gratitude to those who’ve carried these values forward; not just for their wisdom, but for their resilience in the face of systemic erasure. Reconnecting with these principles isn’t just a sustainability tactic. It’s an opportunity for truth, humility, and reparative justice.

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Your best approach for engaging stakeholders in meaningful dialogue about ESG:  

I like to flip the script: instead of asking, ‘Why should you do this?’ I ask, ‘What happens if you don’t?’

• What risks are you accepting by maintaining the status quo?

• What opportunities are you missing by not adapting?

 

Behavioural science tells us that people are more motivated to avoid loss than pursue gain, so making inaction the ‘risky’ choice is often more effective than preaching about benefits at the start. We can then go onto talk about the opportunities and benefits, once you build that rapport and trust.

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What do you think is Aotearoa’s superpower in creating a sustainable future?  

• Innovative pragmatism. Aotearoa has a history of ‘punching above its weight’ in sustainability innovation.

• Māori knowledge systems. The world is only now catching up to what Indigenous environmental practices have known for centuries.

• Strong community-driven action. Large-scale government action is often slow and our legislations lag behind for many things, but grassroots and business-led initiatives in Aotearoa move fast and push boundaries.

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​ * Surfing the Green Wave | Kakariki

Books, podcasts, courses or other resources that profoundly shaped your approach to sustainability:  

• The Wake Up – Michelle MiJung Kim (on intersectional leadership).

• Capitalist Realism – Mark Fisher (why systemic change feels impossible)

• The Divide – Jason Hickel (reshaping how you understand global inequality, sustainability, and the legacy of colonialism)

 

So this is a sneaky plug.  Podcast: Angry Nerds – We’re looking for sponsors to launch our very first season of a podcast unpacking the intersection of sustainability, psychology, and systemic dysfunction. A space for people who want more than feel-good sustainability soundbites. We go deep, we get frustrated, and we turn it into action. Please get in touch with me if you like to see this come to life!​

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A sustainable initiative or project in Aotearoa that deserves more attention:  

The Right to Repair Bill, now open for consultation, could be a game-changer for waste reduction and consumer rights in Aotearoa. Some people mistakenly believe that repair is quite a niche issue, but it’s a critical lever for climate action, product stewardship, and affordability.

 

At Eco Choice Aotearoa, we’ve been working with committed businesses to develop a Durability and Repairability Scorecard, helping translate the right-to-repair into practical tools across categories. This work supports both policy and business readiness by aligning design and procurement with circular economy goals.

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If your work could plant one seed of change for the future, what would it be?

Embedding intersectionality in sustainability. Because climate, labour, and equity issues are deeply entangled, yet they are still treated as separate conversations. A truly sustainable future isn’t just low-carbon; it’s low-exploitation, high-accountability, and structurally just.

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The leader(s) you endorse for a future edition of Blooming Sustainability:

•  Dr Andrea Edwards. She is such a great storyteller who can unpack complex concepts anything from Environmental Justice to hexavalent chrome. But you should definitely ask her about her tea collection too.

• Pok Wei-Heng: I’m privileged to call this young leader a friend. The level of intelligence and empathy in this man at is simply inspirational.

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* One actionable takeaway for our readers to make a change today for a brighter tomorrow:

The tension between individual and systemic action is a false dichotomy; we need both. But if we are honest, we spend far too much time asking consumers to do better, while sidestepping the long-term accountability of businesses and institutions. Sustainability isn’t about nudging individuals to recycle more or buy the slightly greener option; it’s about changing the structures that make unsustainable choices the default. As a business leader, your decisions like product design, supply chains, warranties, and communication set the parameters for what’s even possible at the individual level.

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So ask yourself: Are we enabling better choices, or just outsourcing the burden? True leadership means owning your slice of the system—and being brave enough to redesign it.