Last month, as part of the Sustainability Learning Series and Black Futures Month programming at George Brown Polytechnic, two virtual panels of experts came together to discuss how students can incorporate sustainability in their career pathways, in numerous ways, no matter the industry.
A mix of BIPOC professionals from George Brown and beyond delivered a clear message: they want to broaden how sustainability is understood, connect environmental challenges with issues of equity, and highlight real-world careers that contribute to meaningful change.
Organized by the Sustainability department, there were two panels by industry: on February 5, they focused on health, communication, and food systems; on February 18, they highlighted fashion, green building, and policy.
The first panel was moderated by Cristian Fox, Student Conduct Advisor at George Brown. The guests were Devinder Lamsar, account director at McPherson Strategies; Brandon Lewis, PhD candidate at Yale University; Chef Wendy Mah from George Brown's Chef School; and Sasha Jardine, founder of SteMargScot.
The second panel was moderated by Mary Livera Ranaweera, director of Sustainability at George Brown. The guests were Leah Barrett, professor at George Brown's School of Fashion and Jewelry; Joanna Sugunathazan, program manager at BOMA BEST; Faith Edem, policy advisor for Environment & Climate Change Canada; and Tyrone Hall, head of research and innovation at George Brown's Brookfield Sustainability Institute.
Working in sustainability
Panellists shared their stories about how they came to work in sustainability, and a few recurring themes emerged: wanting to help communities in need, seeing gaps across sectors, seeking ways to solve problems, observing unsustainable product manufacturing, and even following a thread of curiosity.
Mah, a chef and educator who focuses on circular food systems, zero-waste cooking, and hyper-local food, was inspired to pursue master's studies in sustainability and human ecology after hearing from an architect friend who showed her how much waste, toxicity, and long-distance shipping went into just choosing flooring for a building. From there, she discovered how deep a problem can go in a system. By connecting her curiosity to her love of food and the restaurant industry, she found she wanted to help educate others on where food comes from, proper working conditions, and the impacts of food waste.
"I was supposed to end up here. I was always trying to fight my own individual fight through a plate. But now it's very efficient to force 48 students to listen to me every term," she laughed. "Hopefully they'll go on to own a restaurant one day and change their impact. It's human-centric. We can fix it. We created the problems, but we can also fix the problems through a bite of food."
Social inequities in sustainability
When asked for advice to students wanting to incorporate sustainability into their careers, Lewis, who is researching environmental health, air pollution, and community sustainability at Yale University's School of the Environment, emphasized critical thinking.
"Think about who is being left out of the conversation," he said. "One huge part of sustainability is equity. If sustainability is about everything being connected and everyone's affected, then who's not being a part of this conversation and how are they impacted by the decisions that we make or the problem that we're trying to solve?"
Jardine, who founded the gender-inclusive wool-based outerwear company SteMargScot, mentioned that as an immigrant to Canada, she's conscious of the privilege that comes with keeping things sustainable.
"It's always bothered me that when I was younger, I would never be able to afford the things I'm making. And I think this is not just for racialized folks, but maybe a socioeconomic issue, which sometimes racialized people tend to fall into that bucked because we haven't had that history of privilege in some areas," she said. "It bothers me that prices have to be so high and that not everybody can have something that is sustainably made. Not everybody can have organic food or great air quality. So why is it that often people who are racialized don't have the opportunity to have these things that are sustainable?'"
Pursuing change
Hall, head of research and innovation at the Brookfield Sustainability Institute, emphasized keeping curiosity at the forefront when pursuing a career with sustainability, whether directly or indirectly. He suggested taking a mind shift around your perception of the field, because there's a lot to change in the workforce and how work is done.
"Most companies are now undergoing massive changes," he said. "You cannot realize sustainability outcomes or strategies in a sort of silo. So, if you can undergo that mental shift in how you see your role, you'll be in a better position to go in and really thrive and pursue some change. You'll be able to translate sustainability into the language of whatever role you have. And be willing to build coalitions. You can't achieve any of your sustainability targets by operating by yourself. All of your goals are connected in some meaningful way to other people's function."
