Hi! My name is Willa and I’m an HBA1 student at the Ivey Business School. My key professional interests include social finance, social enterprise, consulting and how to implement sustainability within all key business practices. Growing up, sustainability was always a key issue and discussion within my family and community and as I got older, I often organized members of my school to join climate action rallies and lobby the school to implement more sustainable practices. I also decided to adopt a plant-based diet while in high school in order to reduce my carbon footprint. In future, I aim to be in a position where I help companies achieve success without compromising the future of our planet.  

What is your personal definition of sustainability?

I define sustainability as the practice of integrating the needs and health of the planet in all key decision making practices within individuals and corporations as a whole. Essentially, for individuals’ sustainability means making conscious choices about the products you buy and companies you support to ensure that you are having the least negative impact on the planet. For corporations, this means creating solutions to limit using up a finite amount of resources and ensuring that you are not leaving the planet worse than you found it.  

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

Sustainability is playing a growing role in every industry. At this point, I have not defined my future career path however I am sure that sustainability must be an aspect or consideration in any work that I do engage in. I am someone who believes that taking individual action is very important in protecting the planet for generations to come. Despite this, I do believe that corporations have an even greater responsibility to consider the planet in all decision making as ultimately, they are in a position to have the biggest impact either positively or negatively depending on whether they choose to integrate sustainable business practices. I know that I want to be a part of this movement in incorporating sustainability amongst all business practices, whether that’s by advising/consulting for corporations or creating my own business centered around social impact and sustainability.  

What sustainability projects have you been engaged in?

So far, I have been engaged in the social impact club at Ivey where we have the opportunity to learn more and educate others about the importance of sustainability as well as the opportunities that are out there for students with an interest. Since arriving at Western, I have also been engaged in rallying clubs on campus to try and come up with a solution to make composting more accessible at Western. Since I arrived in residence in first year, I was outraged by the fact that the cafeterias were all stocked with compostable containers however without anywhere to compost them, they were all being thrown in the garbage anyways to be sent to landfill. I have also had the opportunity to volunteer at the Western community garden where I helped nurture the plants in the greenhouse and build the pollinator garden.