What is your personal definition of sustainability? 

My definition of sustainability prioritizes my value to prioritize fairness, equality, and contribution to the welfare of all. These values drive actions to minimize consumption through conscious shopping, and my waste production through composting and recycling. I respect all life on Earth, including vulnerable humans affected by climate change or animals sharing our planet. When people question my choices, like being vegetarian or opting for homemade goods over new purchases, my response will always lean back on my commitment to my values. Although I know my individual efforts will not catalyze widespread change, I will not regret inaction.

What role do you see sustainability playing in your professional career?

This summer I’m working in equity research, specifically in the sustainable finance sector. During the interview, I emphasized my passion for working exclusively in the sustainability discipline. While some may view this as risky, I see it as an opportunity to align my actions and ambitions with my values. I want sustainability in my career to be a pillar that helps me define my morals, and make decisions that may not be easy, but are necessary. During this same interview, I pitched a way to improve big corporations to have genuine desire to push for action with their ESG initiatives – through bond maturity values that are directly correlated with a particular cause. For example, if there is a bond that looks at the endangerment of honeybees, then all the money collected from lenders is used to fund honeybee revival. Then, upon maturity, the bond will increase by the same amount that the population increased. This idea was met with great enthusiasm, and I hope to make this a reality over the summer. From here, I will create a niche for myself in the sustainability sector, with the goal to become a thought leader in the space.

What sustainability projects have you been engaged in?

I have been actively involved in Western’s Sustainability Network since first year. I was introduced to this network through my position of president, then director of Western Environmental Business. This club is something I personally hold dear because of its need. Specifically, I realized that business students think that “sustainability” and “success” are two mutually exclusive concepts. As such, my club focuses on introducing students that are driven by profitability, and growth to the idea of degrowth and sustainable careers in the business space they desire to work in. Through this club, we are working on strengthening the intersectionality of ESG and business practices, and aligning their goals.  

Additionally, a new project I have taken on is a passion project to address food insecurity, which is inspired by the BCG competition that all HBA1s participated in. The goal is to tackle multiple SDGs through creating accessible, healthy, and locally grown produce boxes for locals in the London community. These experiences, and countless others drive me to focus my efforts towards projects that have immediate actions to create long-term social and environmental welfare.

Please list any sustainability-related interests you want to explore during the certificate. 

• Recently I have discovered the role this plays in wealth distribution
  • I want to see what this can look like beyond my bubble
  • How can I help solve this issues in third world countries
• How factory farming and current food systems contribute to climate change and animal welfare violations