Profile
Raz Godelnik is an Associate Professor of Strategic Design and Management at Parsons School of Design, where he explores sustainable business models, design for 1.5°C lifestyles, and how companies can respond effectively to the climate crisis. His work sits at the intersection of climate strategy, innovation, and design-led systems change, translating climate ambition into actionable frameworks for organizational leaders.
Raz is the author of and is currently working on his second book, 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. 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 . 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) "". 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) . Routledge.
Godelnik R. and Jaramillo L. (Forthcoming, 2026) Designing for 1.5°C Lifestyles: A Business-Driven Framework for Systemic Change. In: Poonamallee L., Joy S., Scillitoe J., Howard A., Akhil S.G. (eds) Technology, Management, and Social Justice: Critical Perspectives on Innovation, Equity, and Power. Springer.
Godelnik R. and van der Meer J. (2019) Sustainable Business Models in an Entrepreneurial Environment. In: Aagaard A. (eds) . Palgrave Macmillan.
ʲ:
Godelnik, R. (Under review). Hacking Sufficiency: Bridging Individual Agency and Systemic Barriers Through Design. Consumption & Society, Special Issue on Structuring Sufficiency.
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. .
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. .
Selected articles:
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Performances and Appearances
Latest media appearances/interviews:
Interviewed for CoreNet Global's What's Next podcast ("”), February 2025.
Participated in a panel shared on Sustainable Fashion Forum's podcast (""), June 2023.
Interviewed for a New York Times' article on Copenhagen Fashion Week ("”), January 2023.
Interviewed for an episode of PwC’s Experience Consulting’s PreWork Walk (“”), June 2022.
Interviewed for 42courses podcast (“”), February 2022.
Interviewed for Climify ǻ峦(““), November 2021.
Interviewed for NPR Marketplace on corporate climate plans (“‘”), October 2021.
Interviewed on Environmentenlist podcast (“”), October 2021.
Interviewed The Deep Dive podcast (“”), September 2021.
Interviewed for Fortune on Salesforce’s sustainability efforts (“”), June 2021.
Interviewed for Glossy on sustainability in fashion brands (““), 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.