Creating Sustainable Impact through Education and Empathy A Customer Story:
Dinah Awino's Journey with Fifty Shades Greener
A Vision Rooted in Community and Creativity
Meet Dinah Awino, the founder of AkadiEco and Mentorship Ventures, a newly registered creative sustainability consultancy with a bold mission: to design intuitive, empathetic, and culturally rooted approaches to environmental education and green transitions. Through eco-mentorship and programmes like AkadiSisals, the organisation creates sustainable products rooted in local knowledge and regenerative practices.
The mission is clear; connect people. Especially those often left out of traditional climate conversations. But the big question was: how?
Finding Purpose in Sustainability Reporting
Dinah’s journey into sustainability started with a deep question: How do our material choices impact the environment? From this seed grew the desire to trace raw materials back to their environmental roots and to bring others along on that learning journey. There was a clear goal: reconnect with environmental consciousness and empower others, especially those without access to formal environmental education.
When the search began for a practical course to guide this journey, the name Fifty Shades Greener stood out. "It suggested depth, complexity, and relevance," she recalls. Encouraged by her mentor, Dr. Dorcas Beryl Otieno – UNESCO Chair and lifelong sustainability advocate – she enrolled in the ESG Leadership Programme, now known as the Sustainability Reporting Course.
"Coming from a humble background, where my parents, despite not having academic qualifications, sacrificed everything to support my education, I felt a deep personal responsibility to maximize every learning opportunity. As a young mother, a first-born child, and a community role model, this course represented more than education, it was an affirmation of purpose."
From Course to Confidence: Learning that Empowers
The module on biodiversity mapping left a lasting impression. Not long after completing it, she became a registered Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) expert with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Kenya. "This course illuminated the importance of assessing biodiversity before any development intervention takes place."
Other eye-opening lessons came from the module on social sustainability. "I’d never fully appreciated how labour rights, workplace safety, and organisational culture form part of the bigger ESG picture."
Putting It into Practice
Putting It into Practice
With her skills sharpened, she launched Pendo Mazingira, an eight-element programme for environmental stewardship in communities and organisations. She also reinterpreted her Master’s thesis work through a new lens – one shaped by practical sustainability and systems thinking.
While currently between clients, the course has had a transformative personal impact: “I’ve become acutely aware of the subtle disconnects that limit eco-empathy in daily life, something as simple as switching off unused lights now feels like a mindful ritual.”
In Her Own Words
"Wooow! That's the most authentic word I can use. The learning experience was transformative from the inside out. The methods, the encouragement, and the community were exceptional!"
Advice to Other Changemakers
Learning with FSG, she says, requires more than note-taking: it requires reflection. “I began a practice of reflective journaling after each class, and that made all the difference in internalizing and applying what I learned."
Her advice? Don’t wait. “Whether you're just starting or seeking to deepen your impact, this course will empower you to take meaningful climate action, for the planet, people, and profit. The FSG team is warm, inclusive, and visionary."
Looking Ahead: Leading with Purpose
Now, her focus is on championing ESG practices, driving climate action, and supporting organisations in ethical transitions. She’s committed to ensuring sustainability isn’t just an idea but a lived experience.
Ready to Lead Your Own Sustainability Journey?
Our Sustainability Reporting Course gives individuals and organisations the tools, confidence, and support to drive real change. Whether you want to measure what matters, engage diverse communities, or connect sustainability to strategy—this programme will help you do it with purpose.
Join our next cohort starting September 11th.
Let’s report like the future depends on it – because it does.
