About
Jo.
My Story
I’m an environmental strategist who guides leaders to activate their climate courage and transform industries from within.
As a fifth generation farm kid from Tenterfield, NSW, I witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of the 1990s drought, an experience that shaped my lifelong commitment to the interconnectedness of nature, community and business.
My background spans health, safety and community systems. I earned an Honours degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Queensland, spent more than a decade in corporate health and safety with clients including Victoria Police, and co-founded the award-winning social enterprise Good for the Hood. Along the way I was nominated for Citizen of the Year and my community campaigns received a Volunteer Group of the Year award.
Today, as co-host of Channel 10’s Planet Shapers and having worked with more than 200 organisations, I help leaders integrate environmental strategy as a competitive advantage, turning climate responsibility into regenerative business and moving from extraction to restoration.
I believe lasting change requires leaders who can see beyond the industrial legacy of business as usual and step into their power as industry transformers. That takes climate courage. Activating it is what I do.
Why Work with Jo?
Academic Foundation
Academic Foundation
Award-Winning Leader
Award-Winning Leader
Media Presence
Media Presence
Social Entrepreneur
Social Entrepreneur
Industry Impact
Industry Impact
Academic Foundation
An Honours degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Queensland (2004), Diploma of Health, Safety and Environment (2009) and a career grounded in evidence-based behaviour change.
Media Presence
Co-host of Channel 10’s Planet Shapers and a trusted media voice on sustainability and climate leadership.
Award-Winning Leader
Citizen of the Year nominee, with a Volunteer Group of the Year award for community leadership and campaigns.
Social Entrepreneur
Co-founder of Good for the Hood, the award-winning social enterprise helping communities live more sustainably.
Industry Impact
More than 200 organisations guided across manufacturing, government, finance and consumer goods.
My Manifesto
We're told that sustainability is a nice-to-have
That environmental initiatives are marketing exercises
That real change happens only at government level
That our individual company impact doesn't really matter
We're born into an industrial legacy
Built on extraction and consumption
A legacy that taught us nature is a resource to be used
That environmental impact is just the cost of doing business
As leaders, we once believed we could innovate our way forward
We had purpose, we wanted to build something meaningful
But somewhere along the way, we learned to compartmentalise
To separate environmental responsibility from business strategy
And this leaves us feeling
Disconnected from our true impact
Overwhelmed by the complexity
Uncertain about where to start
But I'm here today to show you a different path
To reconnect you with your role as a steward
In a way that will restore meaning to your leadership
And transform entire industries
I believe to create lasting change
Each and every leader needs to activate their climate courage
And in doing so it will move us all forward
To a world where business becomes regenerative by design
Where leaders see environmental strategy as a competitive advantage
Where success is measured by what we restore, not just what we extract
I'M JO TARANTO,
AND I AM AN ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIST, HERE TO GUIDE LEADERS TO ACTIVATE THEIR CLIMATE COURAGE.
My Manifesto
We're told that sustainability is a nice-to-have
That environmental initiatives are marketing exercises
That real change happens only at government level
That our individual company impact doesn't really matter
We're born into an industrial legacy
Built on extraction and consumption
A legacy that taught us nature is a resource to be used
That environmental impact is just the cost of doing business
As leaders, we once believed we could innovate our way forward
We had purpose, we wanted to build something meaningful
But somewhere along the way, we learned to compartmentalise
To separate environmental responsibility from business strategy
And this leaves us feeling
Disconnected from our true impact
Overwhelmed by the complexity
Uncertain about where to start
But I'm here today to show you a different path
To reconnect you with your role as a steward
In a way that will restore meaning to your leadership
And transform entire industries
I believe to create lasting change
Each and every leader needs to activate their climate courage
And in doing so it will move us all forward
To a world where business becomes regenerative by design
Where leaders see environmental strategy as a competitive advantage
Where success is measured by what we restore, not just what we extract
