Aspen One’s SVP of Sustainability draws on 25 years of leadership to challenge conventional environmentalism and reveal how our love for the natural world can fuel transformative change.
In his new book Terrible Beauty: Reckoning with Climate Complicity and Rediscovering Our Soul, Aspen One’s Senior Vice President of Sustainability Auden Schendler challenges us to confront an uncomfortable truth: our current approach to environmentalism isn’t just failing—it’s perpetuating the very systems we need to change. Drawing from 25 years of leadership in corporate sustainability, Schendler offers a bold new vision for climate action that matches the scale of the crisis we face.
Rather than celebrating small wins and surface-level solutions, Terrible Beauty asks us to leverage our true power and influence to create systemic change. Through personal stories of parenthood, community, chasing powder turns, desert wanderings, river rafting, and more, Schendler reminds us that our love for the world’s beauty—from pristine mountain peaks to the faces of our children—can and must fuel transformative action. His message, aligning with Aspen One’s commitment to moving beyond conventional sustainability metrics to pursue impact at scale, offers both a critique of where we’ve fallen short and an inspiring roadmap for how we can harness our collective influence to protect what we cherish most.
