Before enrolling in the Sustainability Certificate, I had a brief view and understanding of what sustainability meant. I understood that living with a sustainable mindset was morally and ethically correct. However, I did not have the resources, or the education, on how to properly lead a sustainable lifestyle and influence positive change in my community. During my second year in college, I made the decision to add a non-business-related certificate to my education at the Terry College of Business out of fear that I would not find passion in my studies for finance. At that time, I knew, deep down, that my passions lay with the environment and helping the world become a better place. This led me to enroll in the Sustainability Certificate, one of the best decisions I made during my four years at the University of Georgia. To my surprise, as time has passed, I found passion in my studies of finance and business as well as the spheres of sustainability. I found that supplementing my education in finance with the interdisciplinary certificate in sustainability was the perfect solution to balance my passions, interests, and professional needs.
My interest in sustainability blossomed through taking my ecology sphere course, The Ecological Basis of Environmental Issues. I took this course long before I knew what the sustainability certificate program was. In this class, I learned about various environmental issues and how humans have negatively contributed to the current condition of the environment. Through gaining a basic understanding of environmental issues, I was motivated to learn more and get involved in sustainability. It was this course professor who introduced me to the office of sustainability and the certificate program.
Within the past few years, I have started to become more aware of the amount of waste I produce. As a result, I started to make sustainable swaps for different items throughout my home and reuse material wherever possible. I also became aware of the daunting impact factory farming has on the environment and transitioned to a vegetarian lifestyle. Now, I work for the UGA Office of Sustainability and do my best to make a positive impact on the Athens community. I am passionate about spreading consciousness and awareness to more people so they too can play a role in achieving a more sustainable future.
As a business major, I also constantly consider sustainability as it pertains to business. I know that with the current capitalism-focused mindset, most American companies’ mission statements focus solely on increasing shareholder values. This is problematic as large corporations are huge contributors to pollution, waste, and other unethical business practices. I worry that individual passions and efforts to create a more sustainable future will get overridden by these large corporations that have little care for social responsibility. However, I find hope in the fact that corporate sustainability and social responsibility are growing in popularity. Corporate sustainability is an approach to business operations aiming to create long-term stakeholder value through the implementation of a business approach that considers the ethical, social, environmental, and economic dimensions of doing business.
I was able to combine my background in finance and my values towards sustainability during my capstone project in my last semester. My team and I worked with a local sustainable investing advisory firm called Brighter Investing. I researched financial investment opportunities that contribute to sustainable initiatives with a focus on gender equity. I am excited by the fact that the world of sustainable investing is new and growing. However, I also recognize that the metrics to measure sustainability are difficult to measure so there are many limitations that still exist relating to sustainable investing. After my capstone project, I understand that as I build my own investment portfolio in the future, I want to make sure my money will go towards companies and investments with values that align with my own. A values-based portfolio is considered to be a sustainability project that will allow me to make an impact on the greater community.
While it is easier to understand sustainability goals and efforts in America, I valued how my certificate courses offered international viewpoints. For example, in my economic sphere course, Applied International Development Economics, I learned the social implications of sustainability in less developed countries and how stakeholders in more developed countries, such as the United States, can help these countries achieve greater sustainability. Also, my social sphere course, the Effects of Global Agriculture on World Culture, taught me aspects of world cultures that I would most likely otherwise never have the opportunity to learn. I am thankful for these courses because I know that there is great benefit in widening my mindset from a national perspective to a global perspective. Achieving sustainability is a global effort that must consider and involve all people of all countries and cultures.
Through my sustainability courses, I have discovered my own brief definition of sustainability. I like to think of sustainability as a way of structuring decision-making to avoid the depletion of resources in the long term. With this definition, I can consider sustainability for numerous stakeholders, projects, and scenarios. I have learned from an abundance of people throughout my sustainability certificate courses and have obtained knowledge on how they have structured their work and lives to lead a more sustainable future.
In my anchor course, Introduction to Sustainability, our textbook titled “Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation” defines sustainability with the ideas from the Brundtland Report, saying that sustainable development is “…development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This idea encompasses three components of economic, environmental, and social dimensions. I agree with this textbook definition and think that sustainability is an aspiration that we all should work towards achieving. I think it is becoming increasingly more important to be ecologically, economically, and ethically responsible as the earth ages. After taking courses in the three spheres of sustainability, attending two semesters of seminars, completing a capstone project, and developing a network of like-minded people, I feel more than confident to be an advocate for sustainability in my community and beyond.
