Society and Planet: How Eco-Aware Coaches Embody Ethical Responsibility
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62882/btn46382Keywords:
Coaching ethics, climate change, climate coaching, social change, neutralityAbstract
Objectives: Coaching professional bodies have publicly acknowledged the role of coaches in responding to climate change, but there is a lack of research into how executive coaches concerned with climate change experience their roles. This qualitative study addresses this gap, exploring, ‘How does being an eco-aware coach show up in coaching?’.
Methods: This study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore in rich detail the lived experience of self-identified eco-aware executive coaches. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six experienced coaches based in the UK and Ireland.
Results: The findings reveal that eco-aware coaches show up with ethical responsibility towards Society and Planet which interlinks three Group Experiential Themes: Mindset, Inner Work and Partnership.
Discussion: The identified themes offer a nuanced understanding of how eco-aware coaches show up, specifically how they experience cognitive dissonance and navigate tensions between their responsibility towards Society and Planet and their professionalism as coaches, ultimately embodying ethical responsibility. The findings challenge the wider coaching community, raising questions about whether coaches can claim to be fully agenda-free.
Conclusion: The results of this study contribute to the coaching psychology literature about the emerging field of climate change coaching, illuminating how eco-aware coaches balance their social purpose with their professionalism.
References
Allan, J., & Lewis, L. (2023). Supervision ethics. In W.-A. Smith, J. Passmore, E. Turner, Y.-L. Lai, & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The ethical coach's handbook: A guide to developing ethical maturity in practise (pp. 131-150). Routledge.
Attari, S.Z., Krantz, D.H. & Weber, E.U. (2016). Statements about climate researchers’ carbon footprints affect their credibility and the impact of their advice. Climatic Change (138), 325-338.
Bachkirova, T., Spence, G. & Drake, D. (2017). Introduction. In T. Bachkirova, G. Spence & D. Drake (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of coaching (pp. 1-20). Sage.
Bachkirova, T. (2024). The purpose of organisational coaching: Time to explore and commit. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 22(1), 214–233. https://doi.org/10.24384/5vd4-5a59
Beck, V. (2023). Climate hypocrisy and environmental integrity. Journal of Social Philosophy. 1-20.
Blakey, J. & Day, I. (2012). Challenging coaching: going beyond traditional coaching to face the FACTS. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Brunning, H. & Khaleelee, O. (2021). From here to eternity? Work, coaching, and consulting in a post-Covid world. Organisational and Social Dynamics, 21(1), 171-188.
Cavanagh, M. & Turner, E. (2023). Ethics and the ecological environment in coaching: searching for a new paradigm. In: W.A. Smith, J. Passmore, J.E. Turner, Y.L. Lai. & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The ethical coaches’ handbook: A guide to developing ethical maturity in practice (pp. 351-368). Routledge.
Clifford, L. (2023). Busting coaching and climate change myths. Coaching Perspectives, July, (38), 40-43.
Clutterbuck, D. (2023). Coaching and mentoring: a journey through the models, theories, frameworks and narratives of David Clutterbuck. Routledge.
Coffé, H., Crawley, S. & Givens, J. (2025). Growing polarisation: ideology and attitudes towards climate change. West European Politics, 1–29.
Cohen, Z., Aspey, L. & Whybrow, A. (2019, 23 July). An open letter to coaches, the coaching and coaching psychology professional bodies and coach educators. LinkedIn. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/open-letter-coaches-coaching-psychology-professional-bodies-zoe-cohen-1e/
Cox, C. & Flynn, S. (2022). Climate change coaching: the power of connection to create climate action. Open University Press.
Dahlmann, F., Stubbs, W., Raven, R. & de Albuquerque, J.P. (2020). The “purpose ecosystem”: Emerging private sector actors in earth system governance. Earth System Governance, (4), 100053.
De Haan, E. (2022, January). Love for the planet: our contract with the world and the crisis of leadership, Coaching Today, 8-11.
Dunbar, A. (2017). Clean coaching: The insider guide to making change happen. Routledge.
Du Toit, A. & Sim, S. (2010). Rethinking coaching: Critical theory and the economic crisis Palgrave MacMillan.
Einzig, H. (2017). The future of coaching: vision, leadership and responsibility in a transforming world. Routledge.
Fatien, P., Louis, D. & Islam, G. (2023). Neutral in‐tensions: Navigating neutrality in coaching. Journal of Management Studies, 60(6),1485-1520.
Fatien, P., Shoukry, H., Stokes, P. & Dixit, R. (2022). Beyond the individual, behind the scenes: A macro sociological lens on ethics in coaching, Coaching Ethics Forum. 24 February. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q43-SVw6raU
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Row, Peterson.
Flick, U. (2023). An introduction to qualitative research (7th ed.). Sage.
Gallacher, G. (2022). Coaching women: changing the system not the person. Open University Press.
Gannon, J.M. (2021). Applying the lens of social movements to coaching and mentoring. Philosophy of Coaching: An International Journal, 6(1), 5-29.
Garvey, B., & Giraldez-Hayes, A. (2023). Ethics in education and the development of coaches. In W.-A. Smith, J. Passmore, E. Turner, Y.-L. Lai, & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The ethical coach's handbook: A guide to developing ethical maturity in practice (pp. 267–278). Routledge.
Garvey, B., Stokes, P. & Megginson, D. (2022). Coaching and mentoring: Theory and practice. (4th ed.). Sage.
Global Code of Ethics. (2021). About the global code of ethics for coaches, mentors and supervisors. https://www.globalcodeofethics.org/
Gray, D.E., Garvey. B. & Lane. D.A. (2016). A critical introduction to coaching and mentoring: Debates, dialogues and discourses. Sage.
Gunster, S., Fleet, D., Paterson, M. & Saurette, P. (2018). “Why don't you act like you believe it?”: competing visions of climate hypocrisy. Frontiers in Communication, 3, 49. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2018.00049
Hardingham, A. (2004). The coach’s coach: personal development for personal developers. CIPD Publishing.
Hawkins, P. (2021). Leadership team coaching: developing collective transformational leadership (4th ed.). Kogan Page.
Hawkins, P. & Turner, E. (2020). Systemic coaching: delivering value beyond the individual. Routledge.
Hogg, M. A., & Vaughan, G. M. (2022). Social psychology (9th ed). Pearson Education.
Hutchings, K. (2005). Don't call me a tree hugger!: sticks, stones, and stereotypes in ecocriticism. Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, 7(1), 5-26.
International Coaching Federation. (2025a). Homepage.
https://coachingfederation.org/
International Coaching Federation. (2025b). ICF code of ethics. https://coachingfederation.org/ethics/code-of-ethics
International Coaching Federation. (2025c). ICF core competencies. https://coachingfederation.org/core-competencies
International Coaching Federation. (n.d.). Criteria for assessing coaching at the PCC credential level. https://coachingfederation.org/credentialing/performance-evaluations/criteria-for-assessing-pcc/
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2023). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.001
Iordanou, I., Hawley, R. & Iordanou, C. (2017). Values and ethics in coaching. Sage.
Iordanou, I., & Hawley, R. (2020). Ethics in coaching. In J. Passmore (Ed.), The coaches' handbook (pp. 334–343). Routledge.
Lane, D., Stelter, R. & Stout-Rostron, S. (2018). The future of coaching as a profession. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The complete handbook of coaching (3rd ed, pp. 417-433). Sage.
Lewis, H.M. & Vignoles, V.L. (2023). Construction and contestation of climate activist identities in the comments section of a large UK‐based online newspaper. European Journal of Social Psychology, 154-169.
Li, P., Yang, J., Islam, M. A., & Ren, S. (2023). Making AI less "thirsty": Uncovering and addressing the secret water footprint of AI models. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2304.03271
Maitland, R., Kahyaoglu S. B., & Symons, R. (2023). Exploring the role and boundaries of coaching for climate action. EMCC Global Centre for Excellence on Climate Action and Sustainability. https://emccdrive.emccglobal.org/api/file/download/phNSE28yKXeNTdHTkBoUfcoI868d7fXghT53sZRj
Marks, E. & Hudson, K. (2024). Cognitive behavioural principles for conceptualising young people’s eco-emotions and eco-distress. In E. Haase & K. Hudson (Eds.), Climate change and youth mental health: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 148-167). Cambridge University Press.
Mayhead, B. (2023). The systemic nature of duty of care in coaching: Coach, client, customer and beyond. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching & Mentoring, 17.
Milman, O. (2025, February 21). Outcry as Trump withdraws support for research that mentions ‘climate’. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/21/trump-scientific-research-climate
Nizza, I.E., Farr, J. & Smith, J.A. (2021). Achieving excellence in interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA): Four markers of high quality, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 369-386.
Outhwaite, A. & Bettridge, N. (2009). From the inside out: coaching's role in transformation towards a sustainable society. Coaching Psychologist, 5(2), 76-89.
Palmer, S. & Whybrow, A. (2019). Past, present and future. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of coaching psychology: A guide for practitioners (pp. 5-13). Routledge.
Passmore, J. & Sinclair, T. (2020). Becoming a coach: The essential ICF guide. Pavilion Publishing and Media.
Penafort, F., Gupta, A., Pasqual, J. L., & Passmore, J. (2024). Exploring competency 1: Demonstrates ethical practice. In J. Passmore & J. A. von Bartheld (Eds.), Becoming an ICF credentialed coach: The journey to ACC, PCC, and MCC - Practice insights from ICF assessors (pp. 18-40). Libri Publishing.
Rajasinghe, D. (2020). Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) as a coaching research methodology. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 21(2), 162-178.
Ripple, W.J., Wolf, C., Gregg, J.W., Rockström, J., Mann, M.E., Oreskes, N., Lenton, T.M., Rahmstorf, S., Newsome, T.M., Xu, C., Svenning, J.C, Pereira, C.C., Law, B.E. & Crowther, T.W. (2024). The 2024 state of the climate report: Perilous times on planet Earth. BioScience, 0, 1-13.
Roche, C. (2022). Decolonising reflective practice and supervision, Philosophy of Coaching: An International Journal, 7(1), 30-49.
Roche, C. & Passmore, J. (2023). Anti-racism in coaching: A global call to action, Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice. 16(1), 115-132.
Rojas, F., & King, B.G. (2018). How social movements interact with organizations and fields. In D.A. Snow, S.A. Soule, H. Kriesi, & H.J. McCammon (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell companion to social movements (pp. 203-219). John Wiley & Sons.
Shabi, A. & Whybrow, A. (2019). Ontological coaching. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of coaching psychology: A guide for practitioners (2nd ed., pp. 219-228). Routledge.
Shah, S. (2022). Diversity, inclusion and belonging in coaching: A practical guide. Kogan Page.
Shoukry, H. (2017). Coaching for social change. In T. Bachkirova, G. Spence & D. Drake (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of coaching (pp. 176-194). Sage.
Shoukry, H. & Cox, E. (2018). Coaching as a social process. Management Learning, 49(4), 413–428.
Smith, J. A. & Nizza, I.E. (2022). Essentials of interpretative phenomenological analysis. USA: American Psychological Society.
Smith, J.A., Flowers, P. & Larkin, M. (2022). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research (2nd ed.). Sage.
Smith, J.A. & Osborn, M. (2015). Interpretative phenomenological analysis as a useful methodology for research on the lived experience of pain. British Journal of Pain, 9(1), 41-42.
Stokes, P., Hill, A. & Kelly, K. (2023). Exploring ethical codes. In W.A. Smith, J. Passmore, J.E. Turner, Y.L. Lai & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The ethical coaches’ handbook: A guide to developing ethical maturity in practice (pp. 52-66). Routledge.
Sustainability Coaching Coalition (SCC). (2025). Joint global statement on sustainability. https://www.sustainabilitycoachingcoalition.org/joint-global-statement/
Tollemache, R. (2019). We have to talk about… climate change. In P. Hoggett (Ed.), Climate psychology: On indifference to disaster, (pp. 217-237). Springer Nature Switzerland.
Tomkins, L. & Eatough, V. (2010) Reflecting on the use of IPA with focus groups: Pitfalls and potentials, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 7(3), 244-262.
Western, S. (2012). Coaching and mentoring: a critical text. Sage.
Whybrow, A., Turner, E., McLean, J. & Hawkins, P. (Eds.) (2023). Ecological and climate-conscious coaching: a companion guide to evolving coaching practice. Routledge.
World Meteorological Organization. (2025). State of the global climate 2024. WMO. https://library.wmo.int/records/item/69455-
Yahya, A. H., & Sukmayadi, V. (2020). A review of cognitive dissonance theory and its relevance to current social issues. MIMBAR: Jurnal Sosial Dan Pembangunan, 36(2), 480-488
Downloads
Published
Data Availability Statement
The research data is not publicly available but is available to the researcher should there be any queries
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Kate Sandars, Verity Hannell (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Published open access under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (CC BY-NC-ND). This license permits others to share the work with proper attribution, for non-commercial purposes only, and without any modifications.
