When I started writing blog posts for my portfolio, I thought it probably wasn’t a good idea to mix all the topics. Professionally, I work in sustainability, research & development, and science-based fields. My hobby is learning and using Python as much as I can.
Everything I’ve learned about search engine optimization says you shouldn’t mix topics too much – it can confuse readers when you jump between subjects.
It took me three years to realize that these aren’t separate topics – they actually fit together really well.
Why?
Sustainability isn’t just about actions and targets – it’s also heavily about collecting and processing data (you can’t manage what you can’t measure). It relates to various impact areas like electricity, water consumption, raw materials, logistics, and distribution. You can gather a lot of data from each of these areas, but you need to bring them together into a bigger picture.
That’s where Python comes in – it’s a powerful language for structuring data and generating outputs that help define targets and actions. Python enables you to focus on your goals, not the language.
There are countless libraries available to help you achieve your goals more quickly. GeekforGeeks even has a list of “Python libraries you need to know.” Installing them is easy: just open your IDE and type pip install package_name (replace “package_name” with the library you need).
Daily Operations
Python can do countless things, but when it comes to sustainability and daily operations, I focus on tools that make my work easier. For example, I write scripts to compare large datasets and identify overlaps. People sometimes ask why I don’t just use Excel. The honest answer: Excel struggles with tables over 10,000 rows. Python doesn’t – thanks to the Pandas library. I also visualize large datasets to make sense of the entries in a practical way. Sure, there are third-party tools out there – but why pay if I can do it myself?
–> Say you have a list of all companies supporting the UN Global Compact, and you want to know how many of your suppliers are on it – that’s a perfect Python use case.
I’m glad I finally came to this conclusion and merged both blog topics into one streamlined workflow – it’s more efficient and way more fun.