What Can We Do by Friday?: The Practical Guide to Personal Climate Action

With the climate crisis demanding a new narrative to inspire action, What Can We Do by Friday? arrives at the perfect moment. This book offers readers a call to arms, providing practical, actionable advice to take climate action now-starting today.

Written for everyone-from young professionals to business leaders-this book inspires change in a fast-moving world. With more than 52 short, punchy chapters, written as poetry, metaphors, fictions, or real-life narratives of what they experienced during their global careers, David Benattar and Tony Balfour guide you through key principles and practical actions to help you engage in the most important transformation of our time: tackling the climate crisis.

Whether it’s shifting your personal mindset, making a change in your community, or driving transformation in your business, What Can We Do by Friday? equips you with the tools to turn ideas into meaningful action now, by Friday.

This book is not about lofty goals but practical, incremental steps that anyone can take-whether it’s reducing your personal carbon footprint, shifting your business operations, or advocating for policy change.

What Can We Do by Friday? is part call to action, part field guide, and part motivational tool-designed to be read quickly and shared widely.

Inside this book, you’ll find:

• Stories of change from everyday life as well as from the world’s best organisations
• Resources and frameworks for sustainability and climate action, reflection, and habit-building
• Ways to involve your family, community, friends, or colleagues in meaningful climate actions
• How to transform your business or organization into a force for sustainability
• Insights into the psychology of climate action and why it’s never too late to start

Praise for the book "What Can We Do by Friday? arrives at the perfect moment. Concise and compelling, it speaks to everyone from young professionals to boardroom leaders, igniting intrinsic motivation to make a difference." - Fabrizio Palmucci, Founding Partner, Impactivise​

About the Authors

David Benattar

David Benattar is a global sustainability leader and adviser. He recently spearheaded the sustainability transformation at TWG, New Zealand’s largest publicly listed retail group. He was a member of New Zealand’s ministerial delegation at COP25 in Madrid and COP26 in Glasgow. David began his career at Aveda before joining the Earth Pledge Foundation in New York, where he pioneered early-stage sustainability solutions.

David has collaborated with organisations including NRDC, WWF, WRI, and WBCSD. He has advised DuPont, Kering, L’Oréal, LVMH, Mitsubishi, PwC, United Technologies, and more. He currently lives and studies in Oxford.

Tony Balfour

Tony is one of New Zealand’s most experienced directors. He currently serves on the boards of Realnz Tourism, Pioneer Energy, Ravensdown Ventures (Agnition), and chairs Ecogas Limited.

He has authored two books on governance and leadership and leads workshops on strategy, boardroom productivity, and executive team performance. Tony also held international executive roles with Lion Nathan, Nike, Seek.com, Monster.com, and Icebreaker. He recently self-published A Word in Your Ear: A Field Guide for Virgin Directors.