I help sustainability professionals build AI tools that save a week out of every month.
Hey {{first_name|there}},
Over 20 calls so far for AI Lab Cohort 3, and we're still going. We keep the group small, and everyone has to be ready to build, not just participate. It's hands-on: you put in real work to ship real software. If you've got an idea for a tool that would save you or your clients time or money, book a call ;)
Funny enough, today's email runs on the same rule. The payoff comes from the work you put into the setup.
Cowork feels like having a new team member. But like any new team member, it's only as good as its onboarding.
This is the step-by-step setup I recommend to every sustainability manager, updated for the new Claude. It takes about an hour, once. After that, every task starts from a Claude that already knows your world.
Step 1: Get the desktop app
Download the Claude desktop app from claude.com/download (Windows or Mac). Only the desktop app can work with folders on your computer.
Sign in with a paid plan. Pro is enough to start. For company data, use a Team or Enterprise plan your IT has approved, never a personal one.
Start working. There's no Cowork toggle anymore: since 16 September, Cowork is built into Claude. Describe a task that needs your files, and Claude handles it as a job, not a chat.
Step 2: Give it one folder, not your whole drive
Create one folder per project, for example Claude Cowork or H1 Environmental Reporting. Put only what the task needs inside. When Claude asks for access, give it that folder and nothing else.
This is your first safety rule and your first quality rule at the same time. Less noise in, better work out.
Step 3: Write your CLAUDE.md
This is the most important hour you'll spend. A CLAUDE.md file in your folder is read before every task. Think of it as the onboarding deck you'd give a new colleague: your role, your industry, your company, your regulatory world, and how you like work delivered.
Store it once, and you stop repeating the same background in every prompt. Keep it short, keep instructions out of it, and keep confidential details out of it.
Copy this and make it yours:
# Professional Context
## Role
Sustainability Manager responsible for environmental performance and ESG compliance.
- ESG reporting and disclosures
- Carbon accounting (Scope 1, 2, 3)
- Supplier sustainability assessments
## Industry
Pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Key topics: wastewater, antibiotic manufacturing emissions, chemical handling.
## Company
Multinational manufacturer, several production sites in Europe,
complex supply chains for APIs and finished products.
## Regulatory context
CSRD / ESRS, GHG Protocol, SBTi, EU environmental regulation.
## How I want work delivered
- Structured answers, tables when comparing
- Practical implementation, no generic sustainability explanations
- Ask before assuming when data is missingStep 4: For recurring work, add a status file
If the task comes back every quarter or half-year, add a PROJECT_STATUS.md: the stages of your process, what "done" means for each, and where the current round stands. Then add one rule to your CLAUDE.md: read the status file first, update it after every step.
That's how the workshop demo picked up exactly where it left off. Close the laptop mid-round, come back next week, ask "where are we?", and carry on.
Step 5: Run your first real task
Pick the model for the job. Sonnet by default. Opus when the task needs real judgment, like weighing compliance risks across several documents. It uses your limits faster, so save it for when it matters.
Use this prompt shape:
"I want [task] done. Success means [criteria]. Deliver it as [Word / Excel / PowerPoint]. Go through my folder first, and ask me any questions you need answered before you start."
Claude comes back with a short set of questions. Answer them, and let it deliver.
Setup once, run many times. On Thursday: my 5 essentials for getting real work out of Claude.
FREE VALUE
See what a good setup produces
This is the dashboard Cowork built in our workshop from a properly set-up folder: seven sites, validated data, Scope 1 and 2, water and waste. No developer, one session.
Hit reply with the first line of your CLAUDE.md. I read every one.
— Zyad
Want the full setup built for you?
In SustainOS Cowork we build your folders, CLAUDE.md, skills and connectors together, on your real workflows, for you or your team.
