Faculty of the Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies (CARS) program celebrated Earth Day on Thursday, April 22nd with a Sustainability in Business Expo presented by The Bryan School of Business and Economics Virtual Collaboratory for Sustainable Business Practices. CARS faculty participated in several of the panels that spanned this day-long event of virtual dialogue. The Sustainability in Business Expo focused on the many ways that sustainability can be integrated into the theory and practice of business across industry sectors and organizational contexts.
Creating Sustainable Problem-Solvers: Teaching Sustainability in the Business Classroom:
In this session, hosted by CARS Department Head Dr. Nancy Hodges, CARS faculty members Anne Wood, Melanie Carrico, and Jin Su discuss how grants from the VF Virtual Collaboratory made it possible for them to incorporate sustainability into their courses with a hands-on approach to teaching sustainable business practices. Other panelists included Bryan School faculty Dianne Welsh and Vidya Gargeya. Read more about these professors and their projects here.
Sustainable Business and the Triple Bottom Line: Researching Sustainability Across Industry Contexts:
Dr. Nancy Hodges hosted this session with panelists comprised of Bryan School faculty members Al Link, Chantel LaPan, Jin Su, Gillian Lei, and Nir Kshetri to discuss their research in business and sustainability made possible by the VF Virtual Collaboratory Award. Each presenter talked about how sustainability goes hand in hand with business disciplines. Read more about these professors and their individual research here.
Doing Well by Doing Good: Sustainable Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners:
CARS faculty member Melanie Carrico moderated this session to discuss the Triple Bottom Line – people, planet, and profit – with local entrepreneurs and small business owners to learn how they incorporate sustainable business practices into their businesses. Session panelists included Christina Degreaffenreidt of Multifaceted in Greensboro, Beth Stewart of Redress Raleigh in Raleigh, Matt Mullins of Empasta Cheeze Vegan Products in Greensboro, Sandi Kronick of Happy Dirt in Durham, and Andrea Crouse of Gaia Conceptions in Greensboro. Read more about these small business owners here.
Sustainability in Business Practice: Real World Roles and Responsibilities:
CARS faculty member Dr. Elena Karpova, moderated a panel comprised of senior-level professionals working across industries to discuss how sustainability is a central goal at their organizations and how sustainability values are put into practice. Panelists from this session included Lois Forde-Kohler, Ph.D, Family Care Sustainability Director and Corporate Forestry Footprint Owner at Procter and Gamble, Rejaul Hassan, Ph.D, Global Sustainability Manager at VF Corporation, Tiffany Reynolds, General Manager at Proximity Hotel, and Jaleesa Whitley, University Relations Manager at Cisco Systems. Learn more about the panelists here.
You can also listen to the Sustainable E Podcast: Earth Day Edition as part of the Sustainability Expo. Channelle James and UNCG Senior Ericka Williams talk with Dr. Temeka Carter, Owner of Black Belt Soap, and Paula Sieber of the Guilford Urban Farming Initiative about why students should be interested in sustainable entrepreneurship and why all of us should think about sustainable values in our fields of work and daily lives.
The CARS Department would like to thank VF Corporation in particular as this event was made possible by the Virtual Collaboratory for Sustainable Business Practices, a partnership with VF Corporation that supports Bryan School efforts to foster innovation, collaboration, research, and new teaching practices with a focus on sustainable business practices.
Still interested in the Sustainable Business Expo? You can go back and watch all of these sessions at https://bryan.uncg.edu/sustainability-in-business-expo/ .
